New Axis Stiff Bolt Lift

Picked up a new Axis the other day, the first thing I noticed was the stiff bolt lift. I had handled other Savage bolts recently, as well as a variety of new and used rifles from Mossberg to CZ. Obviously some were better than others, but none were as stiff as my Axis (all chambered in 30-06). This is all without any ammunition in any of the rifles. I pulled the bolt, cleaned and oiled, re-assembled. The rest of the cycle feels great, except the effort needed to cock the pin? (bring the bolt all the way up so it can begin its journey backwards).

Is this normal? Is there anything I can do to lighten up the lift? Don't really want to put a big honkey handle on there, but it is very difficult to cycle the action while keeping the rifle shouldered & target in sight.

Pretty normal for Savage - both Axis and 110-Series rifles. It's a matter of bolt timing. Aside from sending it off to be Trued & Timed by SSS there's not much you can do about it. Some claim lapping and polishing help a little, but you still have the timing issue that's the main cause of the stiffness as the bolt is binding up on the three different ramps that aren't in synch.

Is the front action screw in too tight or missing its washer? Could be binding on the bolt...

I think all axis rifles have the hard bolt lift, as mine is the same way.... My 111 was stiff as well, but not even close to the axis... Glades Armory sells the oversized handles for Axis now (So they claim) which includes the "primary extraction" that has been a problem with using a standard one designed for the 110.

I put one of the Tactical works (I think SSS provides them though) oversized handles designed for the 110, on my 111 and I can now cycle the bolt and chamber the next round without breaking cheek weld. The Axis should see similar improvements...

Yes, the Axis' are worse than the 110-series rifles in this regard.

This is my first bolt action, so bear with me. I removed the cocking pin, spring, firing pin, etc and re-installed. Everything runs smooth as butter. Everything seems to be installed correctly and I cannot find any abnormal wear.

Im assuming this is standard for the Axis then?

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Originally Posted by Mb1500

This is my first bolt action, so bear with me. I removed the cocking pin, spring, firing pin, etc and re-installed. Everything runs smooth as butter. Everything seems to be installed correctly and I cannot find any abnormal wear.

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It's just a really stiff/hard bolt lift.... It's a budget rifle... I've been shooting my 260 on the 111 action a lot lately. I went into my closet the other day and saw my "old baby" Savage Axis 22-250 (mods out the wazooo) sitting in the back of the closet. I reach in and picked her up, shouldered it, and then decided to give it a dry fire... I grabbed the bolt and tried to raise it, and darn near dropped the rifle because I almost torqued it out of my hand trying to raise the bolt.

It just reminded me again about how much better the 110/111 actions are then the Axis line.

Yep, but Fred at SSS knows how to slick them up real nice. Can't get them quite as slick as a 110 that Fred's worked over, but they're 10x better than they come from the factory. He's done both of mine, and if I buy any more they'll be going to him for a tune-up as well. Money well spent to make the rifle much more enjoyable to shoot.

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Originally Posted by MrFurious

Yep, but Fred at SSS knows how to slick them up real nice. Can't get them quite as slick as a 110 that Fred's worked over, but they're 10x better than they come from the factory. He's done both of mine, and if I buy any more they'll be going to him for a tune-up as well. Money well spent to make the rifle much more enjoyable to shoot.

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Is it more cost effective to just get a 110?

The 10/110 also has a heavy lift. Fred's work will make either much better. I think the T&T'ed Axis is lighter than the unimproved 10/110.

Just wanted to update this, I was window shopping this weekend and tried out just about every bolt action in the sub $500 rack. Not much better or worse as far as bolt lift. Tried a 110 and was more impressed with the stock than the bolt lift, which I would say was only marginally better, IMO.

What I could really go for is a handle that is slightly larger/longer than stock, yet still resembles an OEM look. The only handles I have been able to find from Glades Armory are a little bit too tacti-cool for me.

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Originally Posted by Mb1500

What I could really go for is a handle that is slightly larger/longer than stock, yet still resembles an OEM look. The only handles I have been able to find from Glades Armory are a little bit too tacti-cool for me.

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I've got a Glades Armory tactical handle on one of my 10's... it's not nearly as garishly large as it looks in the pictures (smaller than the handle on my 10T), and the extra length/leverage helps a LOT with the stiffer bolt lift.