Savage Axis WIN .308 Rifle Build

Just completed my late 2017 Savage Axis Short Action WIN .308 build and hitting the woods with it shortly after this post. I documented the entire build in a 20 page MS Word "how to" pictures included tutorial for anyone that may be interested in a copy.

Coyote Colored Boyds 'At-One' stock with Oversized Target Palm Handle & Forearm Grip, Boyd's Steel Trigger Guard and 'V3 Precision' Magazine Catch Plate. I also glass & pillar bedded the action to the stock along with bedding Boyds new Steel Trigger Guard to make it perfectly flush with the stock.

• SightMark Core SX 10-40x56 Riflescope w/ 4" Sunshade & Butler Creek Scope Covers
• Weaver Tactical 6 Hole Low Profile 30mm Rings attached to Weaver 20 MOA Base Rail
• Timney Trigger polished and set to a crisp 2lbs.
• 10 Round Extended Capacity Magazine
• Glades Armory Bolt Handle
• Witt Machine Slip-on Muzzle Break
• STNGR 5-Slot M-Lok Aluminum Picatinny Rail
• 2 - TipTop Tactical Rifle Bipod Quicklock EZ Pivot & PAN 9" - 13" & 13.5" - 27" Picatinny Mount Quick Action, Extendable, Folding, with Sling-attached Hole
• Wicked Lights W403iC & ScanPro iC Red Night Hunting Light and Headlamp Combo Pack for Predator, Varmint & Hog Hunting
• Blend-in Ultimate Grip Anti-Slip Quick detach Rifle Gun Sling (Black)

Nice lookin build.

I like long legs and shes got 'em. Nice looking rifle.

Looks nice!

Appreciate the kind comments!

Like I said, I documented the entire upgrade process that I did personally for the those that may be interested. I converted MS Word document into a .PDF file that's 24 pages and approximately 3meg in file size. It includes a complete 'step by step' with photographs in what I did along with all the products and tools used. Just understand if one decides to go this route, all your warranties pretty much become null and void from the manufactures. That being said, the rifle performs far better than it ever has with regards to consistent accuracy over the original parts, that includes the original synthetic stock. I'm very pleased for what I have in the rifle and it truly exceeded my overall expectations once I completed it.

Savage truly does produce a great barrel and action for the cost in my humble opinion.

Thanks again!

Looks great.

A closer view of the final product of my rifle build.

As soon as the weather clears out around here, I'll be doing a more extensive testing with it at the range and then I'll follow up with my final results. My preliminary resighting in of the riflescope and then field testing it was in between the raindrops the other day. I shot 10 rounds of 'Federal Gold MatchKings' 168g in a somewhat rapid succession and the results from that was quite impressive. So I'm chomping at the bits for good weather here soon!

Your build just keeps looking better and better!

It’s been a journey. As an update, I have been working through an RMA process with Glades Armory for about 5 weeks now (starting March 2nd 2018). After tracking down their physical location, they are now aware of their customer service issues. They have claimed the issue is outsourcing, but have offered to follow through on their return processes. I will post results when applicable, but now may be the time to email the company if you have any issues.

Update!!! 4-14-2018:
It took some time, but Glades Armory did make good on their word. They resent the proper parts and anything that didn’t fit or work was issued a full refund. After several lengthy e-mails back and forth with the owner/manager, Glades has discovered a hole in their e-mail notification system.
Appearently this was outsourced and became a blackhole for all forms of RMAs and communications. They have been fixing their major issues and I have been able to get e-mail responses back multiple times in the same day. They also stated on planning to add a phone system to take live calls in the future, but that will be some time out. They have redeemed themselves in my eyes and as I’ve said before; now is the time to e-mail them if you have any issues.
It’s a bummer when bad technology bogs down a good company, but they’ve discovered the problem and are working to fix it. Their product is good and they went above and beyond to make things right.

Last post, I swear! No more hijacking this thread.

Thanks for sharing and I'm sorry to hear about your troubles with them. My experience was nothing like that at all.

I never ordered anything before from them and I must have been one of the lucky ones I suppose. I can honestly say it was a simply online order through their website as if I ordered something through Amazon. If was simply and easy. I received the product in less than a week in a professional manner and I was emailed with a tracking number. The product was professionally packaged once received. After I pulled the handle out of the box, it appeared to be perfect in appearance, structure and quality. I had no issues installing the handle and I'm thrilled with it over the originally part. I placed some 'Loc-tite' Blue on the bolt handle threads to keep the bolt nob from becoming loose and that was about it. Very simply install and upgrade. I couldn't of asked for more from them.

Meanwhile, as I wait for better weather around here still, I went ahead and made another modification to my rifle last night that I care to share in case anyone else may be interested in saving a little bit of money with their build.

First off, I am a fan of the 'TipTop' bipods. I own two of them at different lengths (TipTop Tactical Rifle Bipod Quicklock EZ Pivot & PAN 9" - 13" & 13.5" - 27" Picatinny Mount Quick Action, Extendable, Folding, with Sling-attached Hole) that I purchased prior to my Boyds stock upgrade. I appreciate the ease of changing them out or removing them on the fly if need be, plus the quality and performance for the price suited me quite well.

So, instead of purchasing the "Boyd's 'At-One' Bottom Cap with Picatinny Rail Section" for $61.00 plus shipping, I choose to purchase a STNGR 5-Slot M-Lok Aluminum Picatinny Rail Section Accessory through Amazon Prime for $14.99 with free shipping.

Once I received the new rail, I went ahead and made a few modifications to that and my Boyd's 'At-One' "Oversized Forearm Grip" as a solution for my quick disconnect 'TipTop' bipods. Basically about 20 minutes of physical work and enough time to allow some bonding epoxy to set up. Then a little cleanup afterwards.

Tools and products that I used was a Dremel with carving & grinder bit, exacto knife, allens, some masking tape, Brownell's release agent, some decent epoxy compound mix and a little bit of patience. I've attached a few photos for your review.

All in all, I'm satisfied how it turned out. I can easily take the rail off at anytime, which I really don't intend to. Now I can easily change between the two different bipods that I have depending on what I intend on doing with the rifle that day, hunting or target shooting.

Again, I wanted to share as a possible solution for anyone else to save a little money and still get the same results if not better. Don't hesitate in contacting me if you have any questions about anything that I did for my Axis rifle build. I'd be happy to help out if I can.

I really haven't done any extensive testing of my most recent rifle upgrade due to bad wet weather over the past week. This afternoon we had a little break in the clouds, so I snuck out to shoot up some paper. The temperature was a cool 42 degrees and sunny, but with gusty west winds from 7-19 mph. I laid my target stand sideways due to those gusty winds.

Each target received 1-10 round 168 grain full magazine of the Federal MatchKing Golds at a distance of 200 yards. I had a crosswind in my face while I laid in the prone position shooting off of my 6"-9" 'TipTop' bipod.

From left to right, the first target was to get my scope setup for the conditions and distance. The second target was after my scope was zerod for the current conditions and distance. I took my time and gave it my best on the second target. Mirage was a factor due to the sun was warming the area up quickly. The third target was shooting 10 quick rounds in a rapid succession, approximately a few seconds between trigger pull.

Between each target shot at and 10 rounds spent, I cleaned my rifle barrel and let it cool down a little. In the middle of my second target test, the wind blew over my target stand and I had to walk down to the target location and setup it back up again. I had to place a large stone on the leg so it wouldn't blow over. Kind of broke my rhythm when that happened.

A total of 30 rounds shot;

Target #1 - 8 hits out of 10
Target #2 - 10 out of 10 hits with half sub MOA
Target #3 - 10 out of 10 hits with more than half within 1.3"

Considering the conditions, I am very pleased with these results and the rifle performed flawlessly throughout this test today. Now I'm setting up for my next coyote hunt that will hopefully take place either this Friday or Saturday, right after the 4-8" snow storm we're supposed to get. https://www.ohiosportsman.com/styles...foro/clear.png

Nice work!

Yes. Very nice.

Thank you all for the nice comments!

Looks like the weather forecast has changed over the past 24 hours for the better. Now we're only suppose to get just a snowdust covering overnight. I'm going to be up early and hit the woods first thing with the rifle and see if I can put it to good use. That was the original intention when I first purchased the rifle. I couldn't be more pleased in how it turned out and the overall performance. I believe I'll be looking into another build in the near future. The next one will be a competition level type rifle. I'll keep you all posted when I get into that project.

Thanks again and please don't hesitate in contacting me if anyone has any questions about this specific build.

For those that may be interested in my "how to" tutorial on upgrading a Boyd's 'At-One' stock, click the following link below where I published the document online. Again, please understand that I'm not offering no guarantee of any kind should you take on such a project, it would be completely at your own risk. With that in mind, I'm offering to make myself available to answer any questions and try to help out in anyway that I can. Good luck!

'Pulled the Trigger' - https://view.publitas.com/wildlifeoh...d-the-trigger/

I book marked that for later. Thanks

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Originally Posted by Evlshnngns

I book marked that for later. Thanks

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Originally Posted by godale

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Is that the boyds classic?

Yes it is . I am not really a thumbhole guy or anything real radical. Going to do my Stevens 200 next . It really takes the cheap feeling out of the gun


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Quote:

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Originally Posted by godale

Yes it is . I am not really a thumbhole guy or anything real radical. Going to do my Stevens 200 next . It really takes the cheap feeling out of the gun


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I sent you a PM if you wouldn't mind answering a few questions.

Sent you one back . Hope it helps


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Managed to get out and do another range test yesterday afternoon. This would be my second extensive test since I swapped out the synthetic stock for the new Boyds 'At-One' along with the upgrades that I did to it.

04/11/2018 - Temperature 52 degrees Fahrenheit with 13 mph WSW steady wind and gust up to 25 mph from the same direction. Mirage was definitely a factor throughout the entire test this afternoon.

30 -'Federal Premium Gold Medal Sierra MatchKings', 168 grain ammunition in total used.

Three different target setups for 10 rounds. First setup at 400 yards, second setup at 200 yards and the finial setup was at 100 yards. All shots where from the prone position off the ground with the rifle resting on my 6"-9" 'TipTop' bipod.

For the first setup I placed my target 400 yards away standing in a vertical position with a large stone for added weight at the base to keep it from blowing over from the gusty winds.

(Target 400 yards straight away shooting from the prone position)
https://ohsportsman.s3.amazonaws.com...623382b8b6.jpg

(Max zoom to capture photo of the target from 400 yards away)
https://ohsportsman.s3.amazonaws.com...a87036d183.jpg

I shot at the top target with 5 rounds with a holdover of 3.5-4 MOA within my scope, which was adjusted for 200 yards when I last shot the rifle. Then I drove down to the target to see where I ended up at because I forget to bring my 'EMARTH' long range monoscope.

Out of the five shots, I hit the target twice. The WSW crosswinds definitely affected most of my shots from that range by about 5-6" from the bullseye, to the right. The black circles outside the target represent my 3 bullet hits.

(My first 5 shots from 400 yards away at the top target. Black circles resemble 3 miss shots)
https://ohsportsman.s3.amazonaws.com...c71e3a46ca.jpg

Then I drove back to my original shooting location and shot 5 more rounds at the same top target. Once again, with a holdover of about 3.5-4 MOA within my scope and then a minor wind adjustment of about 2-4 clicks to the left. I then hit the target 3 more times out of the last 5 rounds of the 10 in total for this first setup. I ended up hitting the target 6 times out of 10. Four solidly within the target with two of them nearly hit the bullseye. Two more just nicked the outermost edge to the right.

After my first setup, I then let the barrel cool down some and cleaned it before I started my second test.

I drove down to the target stand and relocated it within the field so I could shoot my 200 yard test. I place the target stand on its side so it wouldn't blow over.

(Target straight away at 200 yards)
https://ohsportsman.s3.amazonaws.com...bc094a727e.jpg

This time I simply shot all 10 rounds continuously without adjusting my scope. From this location I had more of a headwind. Definitely more in my face with some cutting crosswinds from left to right. I ended up hitting the second middle target 10 out of the 10 times from the 200 yard range.

(Both results from my 400 yard on the right and my 200 yard in the middle )
https://ohsportsman.s3.amazonaws.com...da77bd044a.jpg

For my third and final test, I backed the truck up so I could shoot from 100 yards away to furthest left/bottom target. Once again, I let the barrel cool down first and cleaned it before I began my final test.

(Target straight away at 100 yards)
https://ohsportsman.s3.amazonaws.com...d97126cc24.jpg

I shot 10 continuous rounds without making any adjustments to my scope for the 100 yards. I hit the target 10 out 10 times. A few of those rounds ended up going through a previous bullet hole.

(Left to right, 100 yards, 200 yards and 400 yards)
https://ohsportsman.s3.amazonaws.com...36319029eb.jpg

(7 of 10 rounds at 100 yards sub MOA)
https://ohsportsman.s3.amazonaws.com...abc6280e4f.jpg


After yesterday, I'm totally convinced that the new Boyds stock along with the upgrades that I did to it, most definitely made this rifle perform at a whole new level as oppose to the original configuration. Yesterday's test just sealed the deal for me and I'm very confident in taking this rifle out to the field and hunt with it.

If anyone is considering in upgrading their original stock, I hope that my shared experience helps you in making that decision.

Good luck!

Spent time at the gun range yesterday afternoon with my Savage Axis WIN .308 and some of my other guns. It was a cool 75 degree beautiful summer day for it.

My wife shot the Savage Axis WIN .308 out to 300 yards for the very first time and she did a great job!

We ended up shooting 100 rounds altogether of 168 grain Sierra MatchKings down range. The rifle functioned perfectly and it's now well broken in. I had no issues with the rifle whatsoever and I consistently hit my 300, 400 & 500 yard steel targets. Even some of the other fellow gun range shooters took notice and inquired about the rifle, especially right after my wife completed her shoot with it. It's one hell of rifle and I couldn't be more pleased with it for what I have in it.

Wife plinking steel 300 yards away;

Attachment 4954

https://youtu.be/qlX6O96Bz9I

Me shooting out to 300 & 400 yard steel targets;

https://youtu.be/1IUR87rd-V8