Axis in .300 Winchester Magnum

Some time ago, I got my Apache barrel installed on the Maxis project and have been dinking around with getting it out to the range for accuracy testing. Today, I finally got it, my match ammo, and another rifle to shoot while the barrel cooled down to the range. The results are pretty encouraging!

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Apart from possibly offending a nearby shooter after yanking the trigger on the last shot of the string, shooting went very well. The Hornady 195gr match ammo left a group 0.45" across the main cluster and 0.77" with the called flier. The heavy barrel, recoil pad, and muzzle brake soaked up a good deal of the recoil, making it very comfortable from the bench.

Components:

• Stainless Axis action (formerly .270 Win)
• Timney trigger
• Stainless Apache Gun Works .300 Win Mag varmint contour barrel with 5/8"-24 muzzle threads
• Boyds Pro Varmint long action in pepper laminate with 1" Pachymar recoil pad
• SWFA SS 12x42mm
• EGW 20MOA Picatinny rail
• UTG max strength rings
• Some kind of muzzle brake and crush washer
• Bit of 1/8" gray Kydex and hardware for the cheekpiece

Work done:

• Installing a small shank magnum barrel in the Axis action was the easy part. As mentioned in a previous thread, the most difficult task was to fit a magnum bolt head, but it was done mainly with hand tools.
• I pillared and bedded the stock with brass pipe and Devcon. I also had to open the barrel channel and replace the plastic trigger guard with a stainless one.
• The cheekpiece is a simple design of my own. I haven't cut slots for adjusting the height but haven't found it necessary yet.

I was going to try my Spike's Dynacomp, but I couldn't get the timing right with the crush washer I had on the gun. Interestingly, when I switched back to the unknown brake my POI seemed to have shifted a mil to the left.

That's one great looking stick, and a great looking group. Congrats on a great build! That's one beast of a bolt knob too! I like it.

Looks like the real deal to me :-)

Doc, that is a beautiful rifle. I'm glad to see the Axis is beginning to get legitimized. What are you doing for a magazine?

Thanks! The magazine is part number 109179 from the magnum Trophy Hunters. It fits and functions without modification in a long action stock. The bolt knob is an oval knob from McMaster-Carr. Phenolic over a threaded brass insert. I ground flats onto it to decrease the average diameter (from 1 1/8") and to make it a bit more handsome.

Nice!

That is one fine looking rig! How is the muzzle blast on that thing?

The muzzle blast is significant but not particularly skull-rattling. I only needed an earplug on my right side because my earmuffs kept getting dislodged from my face by the cheekpiece. My left ear seemed fine just under the earmuff.

I don't know how my neighbors at the range felt about the side-blast exactly. The DNR range has a noise-abatement baffle system, and I was the only one in my bay.