Bought a 400 Legend!

I was at the LGS waiting for a background to go through on a new 110 Hunter in 270, and a new stainless Axis II XP was sitting there. I’ve never owned over a 30 caliber in a deer rifle, and this piqued my interest. A quick Google search showed how people were having feeding troubles with the 350 Legend. However, I saw a video of a guy with a 400 Legend and his was feeding and extracting great. That’s all I needed to see and it came home with me.

What I’ve noticed so far:

My initial concern was how it fed. I didn’t fire any rounds, but for now I loaded 3 in a mag, and they all fed great. Did it another time. 6 for 6 for flawless feeding. I thought I read somewhere that the 400 Legend has just a tiny bit more taper than a 350 Legend. Certainly that would help. The magazine spring is very strong, especially where the rear of the cartridges sit. They are tight to get in, however once you get it started, you can use your nail to grip the cartilage and scoot it back. The guy on YouTube broke the front of his magazine. I’m not sure how he would have done that. Perhaps trying to stack it full too quickly. One of my rifles, 6.5CM Ruger American, really only feeds well with two in the mag (I put one in chamber and then two in mag in that rifle), so this I’ll probably just stick with 3 plus 1 in chamber for now (maybe 4 is fine).

It came with a Bushnell Banner that I will keep on 3-to-3.5 power, so the optical quality and eye relief is definitely good enough at that low setting. The rings are almost garbage, so those won’t get used. I will check with a magnet, but the two piece bases are heavy and appear to be steel. They also have a counter sink (which I prefer to a counter bore as it seems to align, self center, and hold better, IMHO). The 8-40 screws have a red patch of vibra-tite style on them. Also, it looks like only 3.5-to-4 threads will be engaging, unfortunately. I realize you don’t want them to bottom out (especially the front one by the barrel threads), but generally at least 6-48’s stay put when they engage enough threads and are long enough to stretch some (which helps them stay put). The Ruger Americans that now come with the factory base have the 6-48 screw length about perfect from a machining standpoint, IMHO; enough threads engaging and long enough for the screw to stretch a little without breaking under approximately 25”/lbs give or take. I am suspicious that even if degreased that may not hold up over time, but I have no experience using 8-40’s. They were tight from factory (rings were not). I may end up trying them with Loc-Tite Blue (newer 243 not old blue 242).

The bolt lift is heavier than any Axis I’ve come across, but the overall machining of receiver looks great. The bore looks great, too. The pillars in the stock were very level, too. I’m very satisfied with the quality control so far. The feed ramp looks to be at a different angle than previous Axis, so I’m wondering if that’s helping feeding. I also like how the newer receiver has less machined out of it now compared to the older receiver (the one that took 6-48 screws), which will add strength.

The only available ammo is Winchester silver box PowerPoint in 215 grain. Supposedly the trajectory is very similar to a 170 grain 30-30, but it carries more energy and is obviously larger in diameter. The factory published velocity is 2,250 at the muzzle out of a 20” barrel. This Axis has a 20” barrel. Factory ammo usually runs lower velocity as we know, but Winchester typically runs hotter than others. We’ll see. They supposedly recoil approximately 20% less than a 450 Bushmaster and in the neighborhood of a 270/308. It’s pretty light and well balanced. Since it’s on the lighter end I expect it to recoil a little more, but that won’t be an issue. I’ll keep on eye on keeping the action screws snug and try to do a good job on bases and rings.

I’m looking forward to shooting it. I’ll update within the next several weeks.