Savage Axis rifle in .243 is a GOOD deal!

[Double Tap 45]

My FDNY cuz gets little time to hunt with his boys but he bought them a Savage Axis in .243 for $399 WITH a scope and in camo from Bud's!! The local gun shop commando who received it for him (NY) tried to get him to send it back as he had "real" deer rifles in .270 and .308!!

I wrote to Tom Gresham and he assured my cousin that in NY State any deer that you are likely to actually SHOOT AT will not know the difference between a .243 and the others. GUESS what calibers he had up the wazoo, BTW? For Christmas I bought each boy 40 rounds of Winchester 100 grain flat base to get used to the gun and for all three of them 40 round of Hornady Superformance with the 95 gr. SST bullets. Gotta start the kids off right you know.

Ray from Bloombergia

 

[MrMajestic]

Any chance of him adopting me? Good job, they are our future! The .243 is an excellent choice for Whitetail and the Savage a great platform.

 

[Catfish]

I bought one at a local gun show last month and it`s a tack driver. The triggers on them are crap with just a spring under the trigger, but I did cut some of it off and got the trigger to 1/2 way ok. The other thing I noticed that struck me as a bad idea was that there in no recoil lug on the barrel. Instead they cut a Noach out of the front of the receiver leaveing a grove between it and the barrel nut and they have the lug molded into the stock, looks funky to me, but the way it shoots it`s definately a keeper.

 

[sdneil]

I bought one in 243 shoots very well, trimmed on the spring a little( or more ) was so darn ugly I almost took it back the very first day I bought it, took my time and did the stock in camo so I could live with it, Its OK now, Mine was called the EDGE

 

[Double Tap 45]

@Mr. Majestic, I always hear gun store commandos and the hangers on opine that a .243 is not a deer rifle. It's in the power range of the .250 Savage, .300 Savage and .257 Roberts. If all the deer killed with those four in the Northeast ever came back we'd need a 5 month season to clear them out. ;D

Ray from Bloombergia

 

[BigDMT]

The other thing I noticed that struck me as a bad idea was that there in no recoil lug on the barrel. Instead they cut a Noach out of the front of the receiver leaveing a grove between it and the barrel nut and they have the lug molded into the stock, looks funky to me, but the way it shoots it`s definately a keeper.

That's actually how many high end custom benchrest actions are fashioned. BAT Machine, who makes one of the best actions in the world for building an ultra accurate rifle, machines many of their models that way. It's not a "bad idea". It actually works very well when bedded properly. That's probably a good part of the reason your rifle shoots so well : )

 

[Keith Glasscock]

I agree, 243 kills deer just fine provided a decently placed shot. On the other hand, a poorly placed shot even with a whiz-bang super mag isn't going to get the animal on the ground! Inside of 200 yards, I wouldn't hesitate to use a 223 *if* I pick my shot and had reasonable bullets loaded (not varmint types).

I saw what a 243 could do to a 4x4 mule deer buck (a big-bodied monster at that) and was so impressed that I had to reevaluate the "information" I had gotten in the past.

I don't think overkill is bad, mind you. I just recognize it for what it is.