How accurate is a Savage Axis in 223?

[Lefty2506]

This is mostly curiosity on my part, but I'm wondering what kind of accuracy people are able to get out of a Savage Axis in 223? I've never thought that the cheaper recoil lug systems were good for accuracy, but I've also always thought that for smaller cartridges the effect on accuracy would be less than with something a little bigger like a 308. I have no experience with any of the cheaper rifle platforms so its just an educated guess on my part. I'm curious to know whether my assumptions are correct, or if these rifles can be serious tack drivers like the more expensive 110 platforms.

Thanks,
Mark

 

[Fern]

I had one and shot pretty good for the price. I also seen more expensive rifles shoot worst

 

[J.D.Erwin]

i have a 22-250 in the savage axis platform with the savage 24" bull barrel it shoots very good groups out to 400 yds and has put down every varmint thats were in the crosshairs to date.
aim small/ shoot small

 

[450BM]

I had one in 308 and it shot well. I can’t compare it to the 110 as I’ve never owned one. The trigger in it was good and I didn’t have any complaints about it. I think I paid $269 for it about 5 years ago, sold it a couple of months ago for $350.

 

[K22]

I have never owned an Axis, but I have a friend who has two of them, namely a 223 Rem, and 6.5 Creedmoor. The only aftermarket change he made was installing an aftermarket trigger, I think it was a Timmey, but I can't be sure.

Both rifles shot 1 moa and on occasion, sub 1 moa with tuned reloads. I was quite stunned seeing him shoot these rifles at the range. Personally, I would be ecstatic with that kind of performance from a rifle at price he paid for them which I think was in the area of $300 or under.

 

[marazzi59]

I own 3. 2 are currently running .75 moa on any given day, but have a regular recoil lug. I'm currently building out the 3rd action to be a target/fun rifle. I would think most any axis would be a 1 moa rifle on average. I personally think there a decent action to build on.

 

[DLT]

I used to say I’d never own one but every one that a buddy has bought has shot dang good at 100. One is a 223 camo heavy barrel and it shoots good at least out to 600.

 

[std7mag]

The Axis recoil lug is the same type that Tikka uses. And those are sought after actions and the rifles are known good shooters.

If you're not looking to replace the trigger, get an Axis II. Otherwise Rifle Basix makes a good trigger for the standard Axis.

Either way, you are going to want to replace the stock!

 

[searcher]

The new Axis II seems to have some nice enhancements. Would be interesting, as you ask, whether these things shoot. I'd like to get an inexpensive .223 for walking predator hunting that I don't mind seeing it take "field" abuse.

 

[Jonnyofalltrades]

A buddy bought one of the cheapest ones a few years back. He tinkers with handloads, and has been able to get some pretty consistent 5/8" - 3/4" groups. Impressive when you see how floppy the stock is and how rough the barrel is.

The stock Axis trigger(non accutriger) is incredibly easy to tune, if you don't mind breaking out a honing stone or clipping a coil or two off of the spring.
I've done over a dozen. The last one took 32 minutes to get from 6.5 creepy pounds to 2.5 crisp ones. That included stock removal and reinstall, as well as all the usual safety and bump testing.

 

[JB10]

I got one for $299 with a scope 5 years ago. With hand loads shoots 1/2 inch at 100 yards every time i check it at the range. Its just a bad weather coyote rifle. I can not complain about that. I bought another 2 years ago in the wood stock and had my gunsmith chamber a 6x45 shouldered barrel for it. It shoots consistently 1/2 inch at 100 yards also. Again, just another coyote rifle but not the stock barrel.

 

[243winxb]

Savage Axis. Great rifles for a few dollars.

My early model 223 Axis has a standard trigger, around 6 pounds.

The 6.5 CM has the better trigger & is a 1" to 1 1/2" @100 yard gun.
Going from 3x9 scopes to 6x18 did not help accuracy. Both light sporter type barrels.

 

[Lefty2506]

I only own 1 Savage bolt action centerfire rifle and it's a Model 12FV in .223. It consistently shoots sub 1/2 moa with tuned hand loads so long as I do my part, and I haven't let the barrel get terribly dirty (ie clean it every 200 rounds or so). I've shot several Savage rifles over the years, and they normally shot 1/2 moa to 1 moa with pretty much any decent factory ammo you put in them. If I liked single action triggers, Savage would be the only bolt action rifle I'd ever buy. The rubber stocks are lousy across the board and should be replaced with a laminate or a chassis, but otherwise I've always been impressed with them.

The fact that most people are getting 1moa out of the axis platforms is good to hear but it also leaves me wondering what they are actually capable of. My threshold for acceptable accuracy out of a bolt gun from the bench is 3/4 moa, but even that is marginal to me. If I can't tune a handload to shoot 1/2, I'm probably going to continue to try to "fix" it. I can't recall ever working with a bolt gun that couldn't at least get close to 1/2 moa off of sand bags at the bench with hand loads. Yet almost everybody else is happy to get a combination that shoots 1 min. That makes it hard to understand what kind of expectation to have for an Axis. I agree with everyone in that the axis platform is a great value and plenty accurate for a hunting rifle. I'm wondering if it makes sense to go down that path for a PD rifle, or even a 500 yd plinking rifle for my teenage daughter IF she decides she likes doing it. I already know she can shoot a rifle noticeably better than 1 moa, so an axis may not be a good starting point for her.

 

[358WCF]

My buddy bought one in 223 a few years back. Out of the box, we can sometimes coax 3/4" 100 yd 4 or 5 shot groups out of it. It might do better, but the trigger is worse than abysmal.