Re: Biased opinions please.
A stevens is a better rifle in my opinion. I have looked over the edge rifles in local shops and can not warm up to them at all. Added bonus is that the stevens can be rebarreled, restocked at a later date with ease.
Re: Biased opinions please.
If you want a strictly hunting/truck gun, and you have no want to ever change a thing about the gun, then the Axis/edge is a good fit. If this is not the fit of the gun then go with a Stevens 200. IMO the Stevens is leaps and bound a far better gun than the Edge/Axis could ever hope to be. You get what you pay for the Axis/Edge just feels cheap, and Savage designed the gun to be cheap, again you get what you pay for.
Re: Biased opinions please.
Just as 82 boy said, also note that the edge/axis trigger is horrendous, you can easily rework the stevens trigger to be a lot better stock trigger.
Re: Biased opinions please.
i sell both at work the stevens 200 is a much better choice the edge/axis is not on par. plastic mag release different action no aftermarket support and more costly than a 200 we sell it for about the same (20) less than a basic 11/111 at my store get a genuine 10/110 based action in the long run you will be much happier
Re: Biased opinions please.
Greetings.
Quote:
Originally Posted by MikeinGBWI
what better investment could be made for his first CF rifle.
That was kind of a rhetorical question. ;D
We have a Stevens 200 in 7mm-08 here that we disassembled for a future project. As a result, we discovered that the stock of said 200 is absolute junk. Already twisted in half and disposed of.
How does the Axis stock compare? Can it really be as bad as the Stevens was?
There is no question that the Stevens is superior, but my 10 year old son has his heart set on the Axis.
It would be safe to assume that this is a rifle that will be left alone *after* the trigger is sorted out. The Axis is available to me for around $300 - $325. Our Stevens would cost more to meet our goal and is slated for other things. Like a lot of folks, we have too many irons in the fire, so budget constraints apply.
Aside from the quality father and son time this will provide my boy and I, there is more. My father, who is past retirement and not accustomed to the recoil of rifles will be joining me at the range for some of our own quality time together. I expect that .223 will work well in either situation.
From my givens and druthers list, the Axis seems to be a good fit.
With a little more information given, for those that own or have worked with the Axis, will my expectations be met?
Thank you for all the input given so far. I knew I could rely on this forum for great information and opinions.
Shoot safe,
MikeinGBWI
Re: Biased opinions please.
Quote:
Originally Posted by MikeinGBWI
We have a Stevens 200 in 7mm-08 here that we disassembled for a future project. As a result, we discovered that the stock of said 200 is absolute junk. Already twisted in half and disposed of.
How does the Axis stock compare? Can it really be as bad as the Stevens was?
O' yes it is just as bad. The Axis uses a new design stock, they use the same stock on a long or a short action all they have to do is change the trigger guard. The trigger guard makes up about 50% of the grip area, and the stock has a lot of flex at that area. The Axis uses a strange recoil pad set up, so what you get is what you get. The recoil pad slides up inside the hollow thin stock about 3 to 4 inches. The recoil pad is held in place with the rear sling swivel, and a small thin cheap plastic finger, that will easily break if you do not watch what your doing. The stock doesn't have as much flex in the forarm area. To me the stock just feels cheap, and it is too thin in the grip area.
On stocks, the Stevens 200 stock IMO is not total junk, it serves its purpose, as a light weight, hunter grade, lower priced, stock. The gun in its true form is meant to go out and shoot, being carried by a sling, or hand held. No it is not meant to be shot like a bench rest gun.
The Axis stock also serves its purpose, to keep price way down, and function as a hunting rifle, again it is not designed to be shot like a bench gun. The point behind the Axis stock it is is cheaper to build than the Stevens stock, this is one of the few ways they are able to keep the price down on the gun. Savage did listen to the complaints of its customers, that the Stevens/Savage plastic stocks have flex in the forarm, and they did address this problem when making the Axis stock.
But lets face it, and look at the big picture, if you want the best in a gun, then you are going to have to pay for it. If you are looking at lower price guns, they have to make up the cost in some area, in the Stevens 200, and Savage 11's it is in the stock. If you want a better stock then you can either buy an aftermarket stock, (Something that can not be done with a Axis/Edge.) or go up in another model line, such as a Savage 10G. The old saying holds true you get what you pay for. If the stock did not do what you wanted then the overall gun was not a good fit, It did not fit your intended use.
With that said the Stevens 200 is still a far superior designed gun over the Axis/Edge. The Stevens 200 is the best bang for the buck, if you want a gun that is low on cost and is adaptable/changeable. Everything about the Axis/Edge is designed to keep cost down. Now don't get me wrong, I believe that there is a place for the Axis/Edge; if you want something that will shoot good, that will be low maintenance, the person is happy with it as it stands, and wants a low cost gun, that if something happens to it, they are not out of much. The gun is a pure hunting/truck gun, but IMO the Axis/Edge is like a disposable Bic lighter, use it until it breaks and throw it away and buy a new one.
Re: Biased opinions please.
Mike, I have a Savage Edge in 223 that I bought in May of last year. I wanted it for a truck gun that wouldn't cost me a fortune. I am well satisfied with it. Yes, I read all the responses here and other places as well. Some don't like the looks, and some don't like the feel, and some don't like the stock, and some don't like the mag. What they probably haven't done is actually shoot the Edge.
Mine shot sub moa right out of the box. With handloads it routinely is a sub .5 moa rifle, and I've shot many groups in the high .1's and low .2's. It shoots a wide range of bullets very well with the 1x9 twist. I shoot all the way from 50 vmax all the way up to 75 Hornady hpbt and haven't found a bullet yet this rifle couldn't be made to shoot well.
I have about 2,000 rds down the tube and it hasn't had a hiccup yet. My favorite load is 26.5g of Benchmark under a 50 vmax. Gives about 3,300 fps, hits hard, and makes little bitty groups. It took about 2 hundred rounds before I got the bore to stay pretty clean from coppering, but doesn't take much effort now. Shoots as good as my Savage 16 WW in 204 Ruger, and that's pretty good. I put a Rifle Basix trigger in it, but the stock trigger can get to 3 lbs easily with reworking.
Re: Biased opinions please.
Quote:
Originally Posted by 82boy
With that said the Stevens 200 is still a far superior designed gun over the Axis/Edge. The Stevens 200 is the best bang for the buck, if you want a gun that is low on cost and is adaptable/changeable. Everything about the Axis/Edge is designed to keep cost down. Now don't get me wrong, I believe that there is a place for the Axis/Edge; if you want something that will shoot good, that will be low maintenance, the person is happy with it as it stands, and wants a low cost gun, that if something happens to it, they are not out of much. The gun is a pure hunting/truck gun, but IMO the Axis/Edge is like a disposable Bic lighter, use it until it breaks and throw it away and buy a new one.
That's well said, if you want to leave it be for the most part this is a good gun but if you want to change stocks and trigger by just bolting them on then there is no option for the Axis as of yet. That being said I own one and have tweaked a little on it and am very happy with it for the 250 I spent
Re: Biased opinions please.
I just stopped at my favorite gun shop today and he had 2 new Stevens for $277, you can't beat that
Re: Biased opinions please.
Gentlepersons, :)
Now I have enough to go on. I did some checking and the cost between the Axis and Stevens is pretty even. The boy and I will go shopping this weekend and I will get his input. It will be good for him to be part of the decision making process. He will have to learn to live with his choice. He will witness me transform my Stevens into something else and, if he chooses the Axis, he may not get the same opportunity. I will remind him of that. I agree with folks here that the Stevens should be the better long term option, but I have my own projects. This will be my son's rifle and responsibility. I (with all of your wonderful help) will guide him, but he is the one that is going to firing line and needs to be confident with his decision.
I will post back after our shopping trip to let anyone, that is curious, know where we ended up.
Thanks for your time and effort here, it was of great help.
Shoot safe,
MikeinGBWI
Re: Biased opinions please.
With all due respect to the great replies you've received here, I'm pretty sure your son will be happy if he chooses the Edge/Axis. I bought my .223 Edge last fall as a coyote hunting rifle, and I've been very pleased overall. It's a great little shooter, it's lightweight and comfortable to carry to and from my stands, the trigger works fine for me, it always goes bang, and it doesn't complain one bit if a little rain or snow falls on us before we get back to the car. I'm sure there are better guns out there, and the points expressed in favor of the Stevens 200 are all well-taken. But sometimes we all listen to our hearts, instead of our heads, and learn from the experience. Whatever he decides, be happy and supportive of his choice, and may you both enjoy many years of happy shooting together!
Re: Biased opinions please.
I bought the Savage Edge in 308 last year. Love the rifle, very accurate. I looked at the Stevens also and decided all those extras would tempt me to change a $300 rifle into a $600 rifle really quick. I also saw the cost to rebarrel would be almost the same for a new gun. I have left the Edge just as I bought it. Even the trigger...
Re: Biased opinions please.
I have an axis in ln 30-06 and I am trying to figure out what mods can be done.
Re: Biased opinions please.
Put lots of piccatinny rails on it and call it tactical. ;D
Seriously, not alot your gonna do with out major work, and it will still be axis. Like polishing a turd.
For most of you guys holding your breathe waiting for some out fit to make aftermarket goodies, it's most probably not gonna happen. It's simply an entry level rifle, not a builder.
Re: Biased opinions please.
I have an Edge in .223. The trigger out of the box was very heavy. I cleaned up the barrel channel a little (flexible enough and allowed the barrel to touch slightly) and worked the trigger. Shoots very well, and the trigger is now nice, lighter, and crisp. The feel of the gun is slightly different due to the different contour of the Edge/axis stock, but feels good to me. My 9 and 13 YO have a harder time shooting it due to the longer LOP. Seems longer than normal. Haven't actually measured it, as it doesn't matter.....can't change anything. :).
I'm summary....good gun. All the plastic parts actually seem to be adequate....in 5 years, maybe my opinion will change, but for me it's fine. Have your son shoulder one to see how it fits, and feels to him. If he likes it, buy it.
Re: Biased opinions please.
Quote:
Originally Posted by The Bullet
I have an Edge in .223. The trigger out of the box was very heavy. I cleaned up the barrel channel a little (flexible enough and allowed the barrel to touch slightly) and worked the trigger. Shoots very well, and the trigger is now nice, lighter, and crisp. The feel of the gun is slightly different due to the different contour of the Edge/axis stock, but feels good to me. My 9 and 13 YO have a harder time shooting it due to the longer LOP. Seems longer than normal. Haven't actually measured it, as it doesn't matter.....can't change anything. :).
I'm summary....good gun. All the plastic parts actually seem to be adequate....in 5 years, maybe my opinion will change, but for me it's fine. Have your son shoulder one to see how it fits, and feels to him. If he likes it, buy it.
yep definitely longer LOP more along the lines of 15"
Re: Biased opinions please.
Just to let you know that Grices Gun Shop in Clearfield, PA has Stevens 200 on sale now for $239.00 everyone but the .223 to get the .223 you have to go to the package deal gun...
There phone number is 814-765-9273 big sale March 25, 26, 27 2011
Re: Biased opinions please.
Greetings,
I said I would post our results, so here they are.
After going back and forth between Edge and Stevens for the last couple of weeks, we made a decision.
We got....
Drum roll please....
An AR-15.
Yeah, it cost twice as much. The look on my boy's face when he got it was priceless. He loves mine, but didn't think there was a chance of him getting his own. Never saw it coming. Sorry this isn't a proper ending to a Savage saga. I did say that I would report back with our final decision.
Problem I have now is that I set a standard. My daughter will be moving up from .22LR in a year or two, and I will have to do this all over again. Maybe I'll get lucky and she will opt for a bolt gun...
In case anyone was wondering.
Shoot Safe,
MikeinGBWI
