• Axis Stock Reinforcement Made Easy

    As most of you are aware, the Axis can be quite the little shooter. With a little work anyone with even marginal skill can do, it'll be worthy of a bipod or it can be rested on the forend without the stock touching the barrel. I've modified several of these & it gets easier each time. The procedure I'm going to explain will cost the average Joe about $15 & takes about 2 - hours to complete.

    Start by removing the barreled action from the stock, by removing the 2 screws in the underside of the stock. Carefully remove the barreled action so as to not let the pin fall out of the trigger assembly. Having a solid gun rest can be real helpful right about now, but not mandatory. Once you have it apart, you'll be looking at something like this:



    You'll see a main rib running down the center of the channel with shorter cross ribs. A few of the cross ribs need to be removed. Since it's a soft, flexible plastic they cut very easy with a hacksaw blade. Only cut the ribs between the point where the swivel is attached and the plastic recoil block:



    Cut along the inside of the stock & at the edge of the center rib. The hacksaw blade will cut almost down to the bottom. If it doesn't, the ribs can be removed by twisting them out with a pair of long nose pliers:



    Once you've cut & removed the ribs, it should look something like this:



    You'll need 2 pieces of 3/16th inch or 1/4 inch steel rod. I've tried this with different diameters & I prefer the 3/16" steel. Aluminum works well, too. What ever size you decide on, you'll need to drill 2 holes in the bottom of the plastic recoil block. I've found that by cutting the steel rod with a bolt cutter, the pinched end of the rod makes an excellent drill bit. You only need to drill in about 3/8" in. I find there's someting hard in the plastic block that will only let you drill in about 3/8" to 1/2".



    Now, you've already bought some 2 part epoxy when you went to Ace Hardware to get the steel rod. I'm partial to Ace's own brand of quick set epoxy or JB Weld - the quick set kind. If you don't think you can work with a quick setting epoxy, get the regular kind.

    Mix up a little epoxy - follow the instructions on the package - and scoop some up on the end of the rod. Before it drips all over, insert the end of the rod into the holes you just drilled. If you used the rod to drill the hole with, it should be a snug fit & you may need to tap it in. The rod will be pre-cut to the length you'll need which will be from the swivel to the plastic recoil block PLUS about 3/8" to go into the block. You can run the rod to the end of the stock if you want to but, I've found it gets in the way if you ever put one of those truck axle sized barrels on & have to open up the barrel channel.



    After both rods are in place, it should look like this:



    Now, it's time to fill in the barrel channel with epoxy. Keep in mind you don't want to fill it any higher than the tops of the rods and about 1/8" more. Too much & it may interfere with the barrel. Before filling it with epoxy it's a good idea to scuff up the inside of the channel with sandpaper. This will help it adhere to the plastic. I find it's best to do this in 2 batches. Mix up about 1/2 tube of each part of the epoxy in a paper cup & pour it into the channel starting with the recoil block end. Remember to keep the stock level. The epoxy will run while it's setting up. Once you find out how much more you need, mix & pour. An ice cream stick comes in handy right about here...



    If you've got to the point where it looks like this, you did well.




    SO.....

    Now you're just about ready to put it back together. But before you do, it's always a good idea to remove a little material from the sides of the barrel channel. This will help keep the stock from touching the barrel when you're loading the bipod or leaning on a fence or whatever. A battery drill & some sanding / grinding gadgets will do the trick.




    Remove a little at a time & check the fit every few passes with the cutter. When you're comfortable that you've removed enough, a little sanding to clean it up & it should be ready to reassemble.

    Once you've got it back together, slide a card down the barrel to check the fit.


    Well, you're just about done...

    One of the weakest points on the Axis stock is in the worst possible place. The grip is thin & very flexible. I've heard a few hunting stories about climbing fences & ending up with a 2 piece stock or coming out of a tree & dropping the rifle only to regret it later. Here's a quick fix that will stiffen it up a little.

    With the stock turned upside down & the trigger guard off, it'll look like this:


    You'll need some of this:


    Because you'll need to do this:


    Fill in all the voids in the stock all the way around the trigger guard. Once you have them filled, epoxy the trigger guard in place. This will stiffen & strengthen the stock quite a bit in this area. Not enough to use it for a pry bar but a lot better than it was. By the way, don't ever plan on getting the trigger guard off without a fight. I find the benefits far greater than a $5 trigger guard.

    Re-assemble everything, tightening the action screws evenly, & allow the epoxy time to fully cure. You should notice a considerable change & if you've free floated the barrel, you should have quite a shooter.

    Happy Shooting-
    Frank in Fla





    DISCLAIMER:
    The information contained in this article and/or the attached video are for educational purposes only. Should you choose to use this information to alter or modify your firearm you do so of your own accord. In doing so you accept full responsibility for any adverse affects, damages, injuries and/or death that may occur as a result.


    Comments 10 Comments
    1. Amistoso's Avatar
      Amistoso -
      This is so awesome, I will be doing this to mine. I will be getting my axis in a month, and will take my best groupings before the stock mod, and after the stock mod... Im super excited to try this. I will post my own pics as the OP has done, as i go through the steps :)
      Anyone else going to try this or already done it?
    1. JPAjrUSMC's Avatar
      JPAjrUSMC -
      Will this work on a 111 synthetic?
    1. Craddock's Avatar
      Craddock -
      Can Devcon be used in place of Ace brand or JB Weld in the forend?
    1. SGT_A-RAY223's Avatar
      SGT_A-RAY223 -
      I saw this, and took inventory out in the man cave, and came up with something similar.

      I have a model 11 .308, and use it exclusively for target shooting (no rifles in Indiana for hunting). I hated the stock as it was; it would flex to touch the barrel, so I was scared to even try a bipod. It was also very light, which wasn't doing me any favors as far as recoil management went. I took the channel, wrapped 60 grit around a 1" stainless bar I had lying around, and went to work on opening up the channel. Here, I noticed that the forearm was actually about 2 degrees off axis when compared to the pillars and action seat, but since I was opening up the channel so much, I wasn't concerned.

      Once the channel was opened up, I masked off the stock on the sides and edges of the channel, then leveled it (off the top of the pillars) in my vise. I then took lead (I have a lot because I cast my .45 cal bullets for my muzzleloader), and experimented with the temp until I had it liquid, but it would form within about 10 seconds scooping it into the ladle. Once I had this, I poured lead into the forearm, in between the ribbing, until it was level with the ribbing. I did this the length of the forearm, including the gap in front of the recoil lug "shelf." I then dammed up the area in front of the recoil lug, and poured JB weld into the channel. After curing, it was rock solid, and noticeably heavier.

      I took the recoil pad off, removed the styrofoam, and cut 1/2" stainless bars to be able to sit on the bottom of the comb, stacked vertically. I shimmed them in with paper towel, and filled the rest of the comb with caulk. After it set, I put the recoil pad back on.

      The last step was to fill the grip with caulk.

      The whole stock is now firm as can be, and weighs 6 pounds by itself after bedding. It hardly jumps at all when I shoot from a bag, and shooting off a bipod is a pleasure now.
    1. Acdumpit's Avatar
      Acdumpit -
      Can you explain why you used the metal rods in the forearm of the stock? Are they there to maintain the straightness of the stock? I ask because I'd like to know what purpose they serve, and what other sorts of compounds I may use to fill it in. I understand epoxy can harden to great strength, but is there a reason you used it in particular, such as how much lighter it is than other materials? Sorry for so many questions, but I want to do this to my first rifle (a .30-06 Savage Axis XP II) but make sure I understand why I did what I did.
    1. Sponxx's Avatar
      Sponxx -
      Acdumpit - The rods will aid with the stiffness of the stock, along with filling with epoxy. Not sure about the weight vs other materials, but it could be fluffed up with microballoons for lighter mix, although it would defeat the purpose of the bars and epoxy for stiffness.
      Bondo could work too, but it is much heavier. If adequately floated the weak spot is more the grip than the forearm.
    1. plasticweld's Avatar
      plasticweld -
      An easier fix and only costs about $2.85 Rockite which is a product used for repairing concrete and is harder can be mixed up so that it is a consistency of water. Now, I realize that the original poster had you cutting the ribs to add a steel rod. I will politely disagree with this method. The webbing that is on the bottom of the Axis is supporting not only the bottom of the stock but the sides. The trick to making it stronger is not by cutting it and then weakening it but by drilling holes through the webbing so that each of the cells are connected. Some engineer went through great pains to figure out how to make that stock rigid for the least amount of money. Take advantage of that, don't be quick to destroy it I also drilled holes in all of the openings around the lug. This is an area you do not want flex as well. I taped off the stock, mixed up my Rockite with water and stirred it well. I then poured the mixture into the cells until it was full. It hardens in about an hour.

      When you remove the butt plate, you can fill the back end of the stock using the same method. There is a vent hole that leads to the grip area, a known weak spot on this rifle. As you pour in the Rockite you will see the bubbles come out of the grip and this will take out the flex and add weight. Once that area was filled I then added a paper towel wadded up. I then took two broken carbon arrows that I had and cut them to length to fill the rest of the void in the rear of the stock. I filled the area about 2/3s full, then added the arrows to the mix.

      The stock is now about a 2 pounds heavier. It is as rigid, as I can not flex the stock in anyway no matter how I manipulate it.

      The process is messy, the stuff runs out like water, which why it works so well, tape off the screw hole for the barrel bolt, and be prepared to wipe off the residue from the barre.

      I had no idea if this was going to work when I tried. It is messy but works really, really well and cost less than three dollars and some broken arrows.
    1. Wayne Nixon's Avatar
      Wayne Nixon -
      plasticweld,

      I have done 3 or 4 Axis stocks using Rockite and found it works really well. I mix mine a little thicker than you describe but still runny enough to pour, and filled the fore end to top of ribs and let set up over night. For the stock, is the vent hole you mention the notch for the trigger guard? What I did was take a piece of modeling clay and made a flat disc and dropped it in the stock to plug the hole but allow the notch to go in the hole, nothing runs out. Filled up the stock with Rockite so the butt pad would still fit and cut a piece of foam to fill the rest of the void to take out the hollow sound. Works great for me and mixing a little ticker is not as messy.
    1. plasticweld's Avatar
      plasticweld -
      Quote Originally Posted by Wayne Nixon View Post
      plasticweld,

      I have done 3 or 4 Axis stocks using Rockite and found it works really well. I mix mine a little thicker than you describe but still runny enough to pour, and filled the fore end to top of ribs and let set up over night. For the stock, is the vent hole you mention the notch for the trigger guard? What I did was take a piece of modeling clay and made a flat disc and dropped it in the stock to plug the hole but allow the notch to go in the hole, nothing runs out. Filled up the stock with Rockite so the butt pad would still fit and cut a piece of foam to fill the rest of the void to take out the hollow sound. Works great for me and mixing a little ticker is not as messy.
      Wayne the hole for the grip is in the hollow of the butt stock, maybe ab 1/8 or so. It is not the notch for the trigger guard. Because my mixture ran like water it filled right in. It was only after it was filled that I added the paper towel to keep it from running out.

      I had in mind two different routes for a stock, one was a new Boyd thumbhole the other was to make a Rem 700 stock work by basically hollowing out where the action goes making whole new area in glass.

      This was done, cause someone had said it was a waste of time to try...Challenge accepted... I was really surprised at how well it worked. I will do some testing with it before doing anything else....

      Did you test yours before and after?
    1. Wayne Nixon's Avatar
      Wayne Nixon -
      Wayne the hole for the grip is in the hollow of the butt stock, maybe ab 1/8 or so. It is not the notch for the trigger guard. Because my mixture ran like water it filled right in. It was only after it was filled that I added the paper towel to keep it from running out.

      I will have to go out to the shop and take a look, the only Axis stock I have left that is not filled is a youth but it should be the same. The only testing I have done is shooting before and after. Mine are all hunting rigs so I am not looking for a one hole gun ( of course would be happy with one ) so was mainly looking at difference in felt recoil. I could tell a difference in all I have filled. The big difference was in a heavy barrel stock that I used with a sporter 270 and it was a lot less felt recoil, so I will use that stock for my 270,25-06 and 30-06 barrels.