I finally started an Axis project, a few questions:

Initially I wanted to try a left port right bolt Axis made from a lefty Axis action.

There was some question about how much work would be required so I got a cheap, used, right hand Axis 2 and will keep it right hand. The Accu-trigger means I probably don't have to spend much money getting a nice pull.

I do want to change the barrel, face the receiver and use a 110 style recoil lug.

I also bought a bolt handle and bolt sleeve from Glades.

Now here is the first snag I hit:

I was able to assemble the bolt with the new sleeve but the baffle now has a lot of drag because the wave washer is almost completely compressed.

Will it be OK for me to file back the bolt baffle on the wave washer side to restore the clearance?

Where can I buy a new baffle? I only seem to find 110 baffles at retailers and Savage doesn't seem to sell parts on their web site.

I would rather buy new and modify that to fit.

Now for the receiver work, I want to keep it simple and DIY. I know how to run a lathe and will be able to borrow.

I haven't done much threading so learning that will be on the menu unless I can find a cheap stub mandrel to buy, rent or borrow.

Thanks for the help.

Also, I'm going to have a spare bolt sleeve, handle and baffle. I'm thinking it might be a good idea to buy the rest of the parts to get a complete bolt. I'll probably get a PTG bolt head and an extractor upgrade kit to finish it but I haven't found a place that sells firing pins, springs and some of the other small parts.

Where should I look?

The Glades bolt body is out of spec. You won't file the baffle, it's harder than the bolt body.

Why the obsession with having a spare bolt and replacing parts...the OEM will be fine. I have shortened baffles on a grinder to get the exact bolt throw I want.

An update:

I started up the big work on my project. I removed the stock barrel by hacksawing the front of the receiver, using a hose clamp as a guide to get a pretty square cut and not hit the barrel threads. I left about 0.005" or so to do a clean up cut on the lathe. The cut let me unscrew the barrel easily.

I just did an Accu-trigger trigger blade spring swap that got my pull to 14 oz and seems to be safe.

Beside the action work, I need to make a longer forend for my chassis to work with my 31" barrel.

It's coming together and I know where I want to try it out: the November URSA event where the qualifier is shooting at a 2,000+ yard target. Luckily it's a 284 Winchester shooting 184 grain Berger's so probably supersonic at a mile and enough to get to the target.

I'm back on here looking for info on reducing bolt lift. It looks like the action is over cocking the firing pin quite a bit. Hopefully I'll find a way to fix that and make the bolt lift a lot lighter. I have a lift kit but looking at the design, I'm not sure it's going to do much and I want to install it last in case it causes problems.

Very interesting project. Keep us posted on your progress and the long range accuracy.

Progress and more questions. Questions first:

Why are the bolt baffles so hard? It seems like all they do is deflect gas in case of a primer or case failure.

Despite the warning, my baffle has been sanded and filed. I actually started on a new Savage model 10 baffle, ground down the fin on one side and thinned it by 0.009" with files and sandpaper.

As for my obsession with spares, if I have 75% of a bolt, I would rather make it 100% and have a tested good complete spare than a bunch of small parts rolling around in a box.

Second question, when I cock the action, the firing pin extends back more than 1/8" beyond the cocked position before it lands on the sear and is ready to fire, is there any way to reduce the over cocking so I'm not forced to compress the firing pin spring so far?

I think it is the ramp cut in the bolt sleeve that is making the firing pin go back so far. Is the solution lowering the seat at the top of the ramp?

I bought a thrust bearing style bolt lift kit for the bolt. Just looking at the assembly, is it going to do anything better than the standard three piece firing pin spring? I hope so but I'm reluctant to cut a spring to find out (I have no spare).

So far, my action seems like it might not have a terrible bolt lift. I did buy parts from Glades. The bolt handle was from a bad batch and has been replaced, the bolt sleeve seems to be off by about 0.011" but I may be able to make it work with a few modifications.

One thing I notice is that the single cocking cam and cocking button push the firing pin sideways. That seems like it may be contributing to heavier bolt lift.

The rest of my progress is that I faced my action, cold blued the cut and I have been working on my Leupold Backcountry rail to make everything fit together in preparation for bedding.

I was initially planning to borrow shop space and have a milling machine to work with but Plan A fell through and Plan B doesn't have a useable milling machine so I'm back to files, hand drill, hacksaw and sandpaper.

My goal of doing the URSA shoot next Sunday is not going to happen, I'm two weeks behind Plan A and on Plan C everything takes longer, I'll be lucky if my bedding sets up before Sunday. I probably won't get to my forend until next week. With my deadline gone, reloading, break in and load testing aren't urgent any more.

The good news is that I'm getting close to the point of having an action that is mostly finalized, with only chassis issues left to resolve and a wish list of ELR shooting accessory projects that aren't too difficult.

I didn't make the URSA shoot but yesterday I got some replacement parts from Glades that had been lost in the mail.

After some testing and swapping, I now have a fluted bolt sleeve and bolt handle that fit my action. I would even go so far as to say the bolt lift is pretty nice.

I have also skim bedded the recoil lug and receiver front in my chassis and am almost set to angle bed my scope rail. That will give me 23 mils of drop to dial in which should be close to 2,000 yards and I can hold over with the reticle about 13 mils which should be close to 2,500 yards (in theory).

I called up Savage to get parts to make my spare parts in to a complete spare bolt. They have a silly policy of only selling firing pins, firing pin springs, cocking pieces and bolt assembly screws to FFLs so I'm going to have to bug a friend to make a call for me.

I will try to get this together soon but I'm not sure if I'll be able to get it broken in before next year.

My FFL friend has ordered the parts to complete my spare bolt.

Some people name their projects and I haven't done that yet. I was intending to make a rifle to shoot the mile but it is easier to shoot 2,000 yards at an URSA match. My budget on this is also around $2,000 so I'm thinking Project 2,000 for $2,000.

That budget is everything beside reloading gear and I guess success hinges on wether I can shoot well enough, if my reloads are good enough and if my X-Caliber barrel is good enough. I think everything else should be up to task, my action is running smooth, my trigger is light and crisp and my Bushnell LRTSi is supposed to be a pretty solid scope.

The chassis and the work I have done are pretty simple, there isn't much to go wrong there.

Some people have done 1,000 for $1,000 and even 1,000 for $500 but I think 2,000 for $2,000 is new territory and considering that I'm including a ~$700 scope in the price, probably hard to beat.

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Originally Posted by flyer

My FFL friend has ordered the parts to complete my spare bolt.

Some people name their projects and I haven't done that yet. I was intending to make a rifle to shoot the mile but it is easier to shoot 2,000 yards at an URSA match. My budget on this is also around $2,000 so I'm thinking Project 2,000 for $2,000.

That budget is everything beside reloading gear and I guess success hinges on wether I can shoot well enough, if my reloads are good enough and if my X-Caliber barrel is good enough. I think everything else should be up to task, my action is running smooth, my trigger is light and crisp and my Bushnell LRTSi is supposed to be a pretty solid scope.

The chassis and the work I have done are pretty simple, there isn't much to go wrong there.

Some people have done 1,000 for $1,000 and even 1,000 for $500 but I think 2,000 for $2,000 is new territory and considering that I'm including a ~$700 scope in the price, probably hard to beat.

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What scope are you going with?

As I said, a Bushnell LRTSi. I bought an LRHSi 4.5-18x44 from GAP for $800 with a Leatherman Mutt. I think the Mutt is worth at least $100 so I call it a $700 scope.

The LRHSi was one of the batch that had a misaligned elevation turret (pretty much a cosmetic flaw), when I exchanged it I got an LRTSi instead. It's pretty much the same thing except the windage turret has a locking pull-out knob instead of the cap of the LRHSi.

The deal at GAP was kind of a clearance after Bushnell discontinued the LRHSi scopes but I think it was run like a pre-order, pay now, get your scope later. I am pretty sure the deal is long gone now but it was a bargain when it was available.

Just out of curiosity, for such an expensive and detailed project, why are you starting with an axis action?

I'm using an Axis because I don't like receivers that have the top cut away. The Axis has a lot more meat.

For an update, I got the scope rail angle bedded and I have been working on the forend. Hopefully I'll get the forend metal work done this week.

Oh, I also ordered magazines and a vertical pistol grip (blems) from MDT during their Black Friday sale.

My magazines are their oddball 3.56" Axis and Tikka T3 long action type so I had to buy from MDT but the blems were 60% off. I bought three and a blemished vertical grip for another $19 so great deals. My cheap Gen 1 MDT LSS is still cheap.

Did you ever mill the second port in the savage action? I'm strongly considering it for my lefty chassis build for bench shooting.

I was never planning to mill a second port, I was going to take a left hand action and install a right hand bolt handle on it to make it left port, right bolt.

The receiver looks like that might be possible but I think there might be a bevel on the receiver lug that prevents that from working properly.

In the end I didn't want to take a chance so I went right handed.

After the Glades parts and some filing on my new bolt head baffle, it cycles a lot smoother than I have any right to expect. I haven't installed my thrust bearing bolt lift kit either. If that does anything it should get even smoother. I hope the primary extraction works well and I don't get sticky cases making the bolt lift heavy.

I watched a guy shoot a bone stock, brand new Bergara B14 HMR from 100 to 200 to 500 to 1,000 a hitting a 12" metal disc 3 times in a row each with Hornady Match ammo. He literally zero'd the scope he just installed that morning, figured out the gun's tendencies, and then got to work on getting to a mile (which he achieved the next day, but I did not witness). Apparently he used his own loaded ammo and did the entire sequence up to the mile shot that next day. Anyway, he said he paid $850 for the gun off of a website and and didn't have to pay shipping or FFL (on account of him being a member of the facility). You could simple acquire one of those! But I admire you building your own gun. :)

...if only I had endless desert to shoot in whenever I wanted like that guy. :(

https://www.bergara.online/us/rifles/b14/hmr-rifle/

They look like really nice rifles. $1150 normal price for made in Spain and a bit more for stainless made in US. Seems like they hired a bunch of former Marines for the US plant.