UPDATE 11/05/10
Savage originally called this rifle the
Edge. After recently discovering that the name Edge had already
been trademarked by another manufacturer, Savage has changed the
name of this rifle to the Axis.
Just a few days ago, I learned of a new bolt
action rifle that was starting production at Savage Arms. I
immediately put in a call to Bill Dermody, the Marketing Manager
at Savage to start the process of begging for a test gun. As
soon as he heard my voice, he stated, “It is already on the
way, and you should have it today.” That was easy enough.
Anyway, just as Bill informed me, the rifle arrived that
afternoon, and I headed into town to pick it up from Brigham
Hardware in Dover, Tennessee.
The Axis is reported to be a new rifle, and
not just a Savage 10/110 in a new flavor. While it does
closely resemble the classic savage 110 design, the action is a
bit different. Notably missing at first sight is the wonderful
Savage AccuTrigger. I have,
over the past several years, been spoiled by the AccuTrigger. I
absolutely love that trigger, but it is not to be found on the
new Axis. That turned out to be no real problem, as the Axis does have a very crisp trigger pull, which takes just under five
pounds of pressure to release on this Axis that I have here for
review. Not an AccuTrigger, but a very serviceable hunting
trigger nonetheless. The bolt has the same bolt head design as
the 110 series, which is a good thing. Savage has a very good
bolt head design, which allows the lugs to bear evenly on both
sides in their respective bolt lug recesses at the front of the
action. This makes for very even pressure on the rear of the
cartridge case, assuring consistent alignment of the cartridge
with the bore, contributing to the Savage reputation for
accuracy. The bolt handle is a unique design, having a
skeletonized look from the top side, much like the underside of
some bolt handles. Anyway, it looks good on the Axis. At the
rear of the bolt can be seen the tail end of the firing pin,
which serves to show that the firing pin is in the cocked
position. Also, at the right side of the receiver is a cocking
indicator as well.
The sides of the receiver are different than
that of the 110 rifles. The left side has a flat area that looks
great, and would be a good place for a Savage logo. The right
side has a smaller ejection port than does most 110 series
rifles, which I like. Loading from a detachable box magazine
allows the top of the receiver to remain solid, strengthening
and stiffening the action considerably. The detachable box
magazine is made of steel, with a polymer floorplate and
follower. The box magazine is a good idea. It has a capacity of
four rounds, and by design a box magazine allows the shooter to
load the magazine, chamber a cartridge, then drop, top off, and
re-insert the magazine, for a total loaded capacity of five
rounds. The detachable box magazine of the Axis is
well-designed, and easy to insert and remove, even while wearing
gloves.
The recoil lug of the Axis action is not
sandwiched between the barrel and receiver as on many designs,
including the 110, but is inserted into the synthetic stock.
When the stock is removed from the barreled action, the recoil
lug goes with it. Very unique and unusual design, but it seems
to work very well, inserting into the bottom of the receiver
just aft of the barrel nut. The synthetic stock on the rifle
reviewed here is a matte black, but a camouflaged pattern is
also offered. The barrel and receiver are finished in a matte
black as well, and the texture matches that of the stock. The
trigger guard is also a polymer just like the stock, and is
integral with the rear of the magazine recess in the stock. The
243 shown here is a short-action rifle, but the bolt is long
enough to serve as a long-action bolt for cartridges in the
30-06 case length class. Savage is likely using the same bolt
for both action lengths, with the box magazine and trigger
guards being different. Good idea. Speaking of the bolt, its
operation is very smooth, with no tendencies to bind at all. The
lugs run in recessed areas within the receiver to align and
steady the bolt as it travels both forward and rearward, making
for a very quick-to-operate action. I tried to make the bolt
bind, and could not. Good design. The safety button on the Axis is huge and easy to operate, located just behind the bolt for
easy operation, just as God intended. The safety is a
two-position unit. Very simple. Slide forward to fire. The
safety does not lock the bolt handle in place, and cartridges
can be cycled with the safety on safe. The trigger is also a
very simple and reliable unit. It is not user-adjustable, but is
easily serviceable by a good gunsmith if trigger work is
desired.
The Savage Axis is built for hunting, and it
shows in the stock design. The wrist area of the stock is
smaller in circumference than most, which makes for a very
secure grip, with or without heavy gloves. The grip and forend
areas are heavily textured for a secure grip as well. The
trigger guard has plenty of room for a gloved finger. The stock
has sling swivel studs attached, as should all hunting rifles.
The butt of the stock wears a very well-designed and effective
recoil pad. It has plenty of thickness and plenty of give,
making the rifle very comfortable to shoot. There are no open
sights on the twenty-two inch barrel, but the receiver is
drilled and tapped for scope bases. The sporter-taper barrel
measures just .581 inch at the muzzle, and the barrel is
free-floated into the stock. The barrel is threaded into
the receiver, and locked into place by the familiar Savage
barrel nut. As mentioned, this rifle is a hunter’s
rifle. It handles and balances very well, and the 243 shown here
weighed in at six and one-half pounds, just as advertised. It is
light enough to carry well afield, but still has enough heft to
feel like a real rifle, and not an abbreviated version of one.
For accuracy testing of the Savage Axis, I
kept it pretty simple. Knowing that this rifle will be
marketed primarily to hunters, I used off the shelf hunting
ammunition from Remington and Federal. I mounted a Leupold 3.5
to 10 power VXL scope in Leupold Rifleman rings and set up first
at twenty-five yards to get everything hitting on paper. As
expected, the rifle shot into one tight hole at that range, so I
moved out to fifty, then to one hundred yards for accuracy
testing. I fired from the bench using a Target
Shooting, Inc. Model 1000 rifle rest, but have to admit that
I was not surprised by this rifle’s accuracy. As I have come
to expect from a Savage rifle, this thing shoots like a Savage.
To those of you familiar with Savage rifles, you will know what
I mean. For those who are new to Savage bolt guns, it means that
this rifle is very accurate; a lot more accurate than a hunting
rifle has to be. Several groups were fired that measured under
one-half inch, but the five-eighths inch group shown was typical
for the day. No groups measured in excess of the magical
one-inch mark. I remember years ago when a typical hunting rifle
took a lot of tuning and load development to shoot consistently
under an inch at one hundred yards. Now, many rifles will do
that well or better, if you are willing to spend the money for a
quality rifle. This Savage Axis, with standard hunting ammo
produces very good accuracy, with no special tuning nor working
up tailored handloads. Right out of the box, it shoots like a
Savage.
Now for the surprise. There were no surprises
in the handing of the Axis; it balances and handles very well.
There were no surprises in the accuracy of the Axis; it shoots
where you point it. There were no surprises in the reliability
of the Axis; it fed, fired, and ejected perfectly. The surprise
is in the price. As of this writing, the Axis has a
manufacturer’s suggested retail price of only $329 US.
For only fifty bucks more, you can get the Axis with a 3 to 9
power scope already mounted and bore-sighted. That base price of
$329 is seventy-five bucks less than the Stevens
Model 200, which is also a very good rifle, but the Axis is
better. The Axis is also $68 less than the Marlin
XL-7, another good rifle. The Axis is $95 less than
the Mossberg ATR, and priced about the same as a Remington 770,
but so far, I am not impressed with that rifle. For the
price, I just don’t see anything that compares to the new
Savage Axis. Even without considering the low price, the Axis comes out on top when comparing features and accuracy to rifles
costing several hundred dollars more. Unless you are
wanting a nice walnut stock and polished steel, or maybe a
better trigger, there is really no reason to spend more on a
hunting rifle. Put the money saved into a quality scope or a
nice hunting trip. The fact that Savage can produce this rifle
at this price makes me wonder if they have been overcharging us
for all these years! They have always built rifles that sold for
less than their competition, but this new Axis is really a fine
entry-level hunting rifle that is not built like a typical
entry-level budget gun. Currently, in addition to the 243 shown
here, Savage builds the Axis chambered for the 223 Remington,
22-250 Remington, 7mm-08 Remington, 270 Winchester, 308
Winchester, 25-06 Remington , and 30-06 Springfield cartridges.
The new Savage Axis is an excellent rifle at an amazing price,
and is built by American craftsmen in the USA.
Check out the new Savage Axis online at www.savagearms.com.
For the location of a Savage dealer near you,
click on the DEALER FINDER at www.lipseys.com.
To order the Axis online, go to www.galleryofguns.com.
For a look at the extensive line of Leupold
optics, go to www.leupold.com.
Jeff
Quinn
For a list of dealers where you can
buy this gun, go to: |
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To buy this gun online, go to: |
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Leupold VXL scope.
Federal ammo proved to be very accurate, as did
all other ammo tried in the Axis.
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