Issues dialing in scope on Axis II

[Exospeed]

Hi all,
I've been having issues dialing in my scope on my Axis II in .308.
When I first got the rifle I had to wait about 5 months before I could try it out due to California's fire season closing all outdoor ranges for a majority of the year.
Finally I was able to hit the range and I was trying to dial in the scope at 100yds. With cross hairs directly over the bull's-eye POI was 2ft high and 3ft right of the target. No matter the adjustments made on the scope POI stayed the same.
To make sure it wasn't just me, my friend who is an avid hunter tried with the same results.
I contacted Savage and their CS determined it was the weaver scope that came with the rifle and sent me a new scope.
Now after 2 months from my first range trip with this rifle, I tried to dial in the new scope Savage sent me. This time also at 100yds, cross hairs on the bull's-eye, POI was 1 1/2ft high and 1ft left of the bull's-eye. This is the closest we could get the POI to the bull's-eye as far as elevation goes. we didn't try windage as elevation was maxed out and POI was still 1 1/2ft high.
Again my friend was with me and tried again with the same results.

Ammo being used is Winchester 147gr. factory.

I have read people having issues where POI is low, but not high. I was wondering if getting higher scope rings would fix this issue I'm having?

I don't think the issue is with the rifle itself because grouping at POI is about 1 1/2 inches. I think I just need to figure out the scope situation.
Any help would be appreciated.

[Rosco]

When you received your replacement scope, did you use the same 2 piece mounts that came with the gun? If so, did you remove them and make sure they were nice and snug? Also, were you able to verify that the front and rear rings were true and not canted off a bit?

[Exospeed]

When you received your replacement scope, did you use the same 2 piece mounts that came with the gun? If so, did you remove them and make sure they were nice and snug? Also, were you able to verify that the front and rear rings were true and not canted off a bit?

If 2 piece mounts you are talking about are where the scope rings mount, then no I did not touch them.
The new scope came with rings attached to it already so I used the new rings with the new scope and sent the old set back with the old scope.
I made sure the scope rings were nice and tight and aligned on the new scope.

One thing I did before leaving for work this evening was I measured with calipers between the top of the rifle and the bottom of the scope and the scope tube is 4mm lower (closer to the rifle) in front than in the rear. The rings are the same size so I'm wondering if that is normal or not.

[sixonetonoffun]

I put a weaver from a Axis Ii on my daughters Axis 308. We used the burris signature rings and offset inserts to align it close to optically centered.So far so good. Sad thing is other then the lack of adjustment its a likable scope.

[jammer300]

I don't think it would hurt to take the scope and rings off and check the bases at this point to see if they are tight. Have you thought about lapping the scope rings? I had a scope on my wives 7mm-08 that was giving us problems shooting consistently off to one side. I pulled it off and found that the front sight was off center causing the scope to be off target. Once I re-aligned the rings and lapped them, now she is shooting awesome. The Bushnell scope and rings on her rifle are the stock ones that come on the AXIS from the factory. Just a thought that worked for me.

[Exospeed]

Thanks for the ideas everyone.

I will be checking and re checking everything this weekend. I will take measurements and make sure all is true. I'm thinking about going with some mid profile rings over the low profile rings the rifle came with. I'm also thinking about putting my Bushnell 3x9-40 that I used for years on my mini30, onto my Savage since I never had an issue with that scope and i'm very familiar with it. I think Bushnells are a little better than Weavers, but I could be wrong.
I'll also look into lapping the rings to see if that will help. I have quite a few options already suggested here to try out.

[Exospeed]

Haha my Dad was just over (vietnam vet) and I explained the situation and he said, back in the day we just shoved toothpicks in the scope rings. If that dont work you better get good at shooting blindfolded.

[DrThunder88]

It seems Iike Axises have a few lemons which prevent zeroing (specifically for elevation) under normal circumstances. It does seem to pop up on XP versions, but, while the packaged mounts and rings leave a lot to be desired, organic problems with warped receivers strikes me as most likely. If your measurements are accurate, I'd say it's almost certainly something gone wrong at the factory, but a 4mm difference would be abundantly apparent on a straight top receiver like an Axis.

[short round]

Check rear base & ring, the ring might not be seated in base correctly. Also check base height, they should be the same.

[Exospeed]

The bases were a little loose, but even after tightening I was still 4mm off at the rear of the scope, but the rings measured the same off of the rifle.
I got another set of scope rings and installed them and now I'm only 0.02mm off. Maybe for some reason the rings that came with the rifle will not seat correctly even though visually they appear to.
I also have a medium profile set of rings and a different scope I will try once I am able to get to the range.

[blacksun81212]

I have the same problem. I bought the .308 Axis II with the Weaver Kaspa scope about a month ago. Mine was also shooting high and to the right. I just got the replacement scope yesterday and will try it out soon. I may just get a different scope and rings and go from there. I hope it is the scope and not the rifle.

[MoToad]

.308 Axis with Bushnell generic scope. It was soon gone from the rifle and made a world of difference. I'd say what came with yours would be in the bottom end category and upgrading will let you sleep at night.
Oh, and the Burris rings I mounted have the extra adjuster inserts to make the alignment dead on on any rifle.

[tammons]

My guess is out of spec bases, and or bad drill job and or bad rings.
The rings are probably way out of alignment and if not aligned you could be torquing the scope when you tighten the rings.
It happens.

All the package bases and rings are garbage IMO and you could not give me a 2 piece set of bases anyway unless thats the only option.

Best = Farrel one piece base and a good set of steel rings.
Second = EGW or equal alum base and a good set of rings, burris etc.

Mount the base and rings, crank the base of the rings down, check them with a Wheeler alignment kit then hone them, until they are perfect, then you will have rings that are aligned.

If the base screw holes in the action are off then you need to bore sight it and check base alignment.

I had a rifle (not a savage) that was so far off I had to put a 1/32" brass shim on the right side of the
front base just to get it back close to zero.

I did however have a flat back Savage that the holes were a bit off, but the flat back part was also angled. Had to bed the base.

If the holes are mis-drilled you can improve it with a shim as above. Burris signature rings, etc.

To do a general check, get your hands on a new non adjusted scope that is factory zeroed, mount it loosely, put in a rest of some sort, pull the bolt and look down the barrel and compare to the cross hairs.

That will give you a rough idea.

[tammons]

I measured with calipers between the top of the rifle and the bottom of the scope and the scope tube is 4mm lower (closer to the rifle) in front than in the rear. The rings are the same size so I'm wondering if that is normal or not.

Not Normal. You have a bad or mismatched set of bases.