Originally Posted by
DrThunder88
I was at Cabelas again yesterday trying to burn a few coupons when I happened to stop by the gun counter. I don't mean to make it seem like stopping at the gun counter isn't an integral part of my Cabelas regimen—far from it—but on this outing, I was not expecting any good finds. I checked out Savages, of course, and Axises specifically. While the rack was flush with XP versions, there were no more plain-Jane rifles in sight. I pulled a number from the ticket machine and asked the salesman to check. He glanced at the rack and confirmed what I had observed.
"More's the pity," I thought, "This money burning a hole in my pocket will go toward something else." I scrounged around for a while, picking up some .300 Win Mag ammo for a project in the pipeline and a few bricks of primers. I also scoured the used guns rack and did find a used Axis for $300. Typical for a used gun at Cabelas, but not worth it. I took one last longing glance at the Savage section of the new guns rack and noticed a price tag sleeping behind another rifle.
"$249.99"
It wasn't in the rimfire section, so it could only have been a mistake or a windfall. I could see the long, gray barrel and black synthetic stock, but the rest of the gun was obscured behind other guns. I pulled another numbered ticket and waited anxiously at the long, glass case separating the greasy-fingered gun browsers like me from the sanctum sanctorum trod by the sales associates. At long last, maybe about five minutes now that I think of it, my number was up. I guided the second salesman to the tag I saw and the rifle to which it was attached using the kind of indistinct verbal directions that are only slightly more effective than the joystick on a skill crane game.
Eventually the salesman's claw found the rifle in question and he lifted it toward the greasy-fingered prize chute who was still clutching a numbered ticket. Sure enough, a stainless Axis in .270 Winchester! I gave the gun a cursory once over, vainly attempting to conceal that I knew immediately it would be going home with me. The salesman knew it was a deal as soon as he saw the price on the tag. He read aloud the make, model, and caliber verbatim but prefaced the price with, "...which we're giving away for..." It was just as well that there were no more base model Axises in any finish or caliber that day. I likely would have bought another!
So that's the story of how I got a stainless steel Axis for $250. That, of course, doesn't include the coupons I used on my order, which would account for another $60 in savings, plus the $20 Cabelas Bucks they threw in for being a Club Member. As far as I can tell, I might be able to get another $50 Rifleman Rebate too, but we shall see.
