Sight in issue.

I have eliminated all the usual suspects ! My issue is, my bullet impact is 10" low and 5" left at 35 yards. The rifle bore and scope are pointing in the same direction right at the target. How can this be ? It shoots the same hole(it better at 35 yards right ?) Is it possible the bullets are diving that far at that range ? Can bullets veer off that much if a rifle doesn't like them ? I adjusted the scope to match bullet impact but the then the bore is way off from the target. 35 yards is the only distance I shot at, as if it's off there it will be farther off at longer distance. 7mm-08 Federal 150 gr soft point out of a SS Axis, 9 1/2 twist rate.

150gr is light for a 9 1/2 twist. May have too much spin on it. I know it's nonly 35 yards, but I wouldntry something heavier first.

What "factory" ammo are you guys using in your Axis 7mm-08 rifles ?
I can't be the only one that's had this issue.

i know a guy who had the same problem as you he tried different ammo scope mounts rings scope everything you could think of,
he ended up sending his rifle back to savage turns out the barrel to action didnt match and the the barrel nut was to tight so they fixed it for him,

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by bnizzel2000

i know a guy who had the same problem as you he tried different ammo scope mounts rings scope everything you could think of,
he ended up sending his rifle back to savage turns out the barrel to action didnt match and the the barrel nut was to tight so they fixed it for him,

---

That's the thing, the barrel "is" perfectly lined up with the action. The scope is mechanically centered and it points to the same spot as the barrel. My bullets are diving. I look through the scope and then the barrel and it's perfectly on target.

yep that was his problem to everything looked straight but when he shot his rifle he was 12-14 inched to the right of where the scope and barrel where pointing it was a weird thing to see, but sending it in ended up being his only option,

It might look straight, but it's not. A small bow in the barrel would not be evident to the naked eye. It would only take a .025" bow to make it shoot that low. I'll bet if you put that barrel between centers you would be shocked.
10" low @35 yds would need about 28 m.o.a. to correct. This could be a combination of things; inconsistent bases, inconsistent rings, a bow in the barrel, or a bent scope.
Then there is a possibility of a tipped lense in the scope. I have seen this over and over in cheap scopes, especially BSA. A tipped lense will let you sight in at one distance and when you go to a farther distance the point of impart is radically different from what it should be.

So if I make the correction with the Signature rings the bullet path will be straight ? (Not including trajectory of course.) I made the correction with the scope and the barrel was pointing 10" high and 5" right of the bull. So I must physically point the barrel away from the target to get it to hit the target ? I had a .223 that was 30" off at 100 yards but you could tell by looking through the barrel that it was off. This one is lined up perfectly with the target. I don't get it.

How did you determine the barrel, bore and receiver where perfectly aligned? If it is by 'eye' only and not through a mechanical means, you are still going to be chasing your tail. Without mechanically, as Sharpshooter said, measuring between centers, our eyes will not always be able to pick up such small differences. How is it that you are able to look through a 7mm bore and determine you are looking at the same exact spot as the center of the reticle in the scope? Are you using a scope through the bore with the same magnification as the mounted scope? Are you using a Laser Bore sighter that chambers like a round or one that feeds through the muzzle? I know when I look through the barrel of my .357 Herret, and then look through the scope, my sight picture is a hell of a lot smaller through the barrel.

A 7mm at 35 yards is going to fast for over spin to be a problem.

You might also want to check to see if you are 'canting' the rifle unintentionally at the time you go to fire it.

So I corrected the impact point with the Signature rings. Now to try it again.

Seems to have been a lot of these threads lately? Is something unusual going on at the factory??? "barrel straightener"-guy on vacation? ;-)

Funny seeing this thread, yesterday I tried to sight in my Axis at both 50 yards and 100 yards, and the shots were way off. This was after having rifle bore sighted and having 2 different people at the range try to get it on paper. Was shooting Remington 150 grain through a Redfield Revolution 4-12

RP12, I'd check my zero at multiple ranges, ie 50,100,200 etc to make sure it behaves normally. If it is in fact a bent barrel causing the bullet to depart on a tangent to the line of sight, you may be able to compensate enough with the scope or the rings to get it zeroed at one particular point, but it will likely not even be close at any other range, and get worse as you go out from there. If I'm thinking this through correctly.

I fixed it today. I traded it for a Ruger American.:thumb:

If everything "appears" to be straight, the first thing I'd do is try another scope.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by RP12

I fixed it today. I traded it for a Ruger American.:thumb:

---

So you buy a Ruger and desert us, leaving us to suffer with AK holic's jokes?

I had same issue with my savage axis xp stainless in a .243 kept shooting up high in the right side, sent it in for a check up 3 scopes and 3 diff brands of rings found the rifle was rifling to fast no bent barrel or miss aligned barrel to receiver...

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by RP12

I have eliminated all the usual suspects ! My issue is, my bullet impact is 10" low and 5" left at 35 yards. The rifle bore and scope are pointing in the same direction right at the target. How can this be ? It shoots the same hole(it better at 35 yards right ?) Is it possible the bullets are diving that far at that range ? Can bullets veer off that much if a rifle doesn't like them ? I adjusted the scope to match bullet impact but the then the bore is way off from the target. 35 yards is the only distance I shot at, as if it's off there it will be farther off at longer distance. 7mm-08 Federal 150 gr soft point out of a SS Axis, 9 1/2 twist rate.

---

Both my Axis and Ruger American 7mm-08s shoot Speer 110 gr TNTs like a target rifle. I would have sent it to Savage......

ron

I make no claim to be any precision shooter or firearm techie, but I am in a similar situation with my new .223 Axis that I bought to put together an inexpensive coyote poker. I'm not a sub-MOA snob, only looking for decent minute-of-coyote out to 300 yards typically. I have not done much bench shooting or any bipod shooting in the past.

I first started with cheap 45g HP Winchester Varmint & Predator ammo. Initial hits were way low and way left. I got it shooting only about 1 1/2 inch groups at 100 yards on the first outing. Afterwards I trimmed the trigger spring to reduce trigger pull from over 5 lb down to about 3 1/2 lb and checked barrel freefloat. I wasn't impressed with the freefloat that much as the left side of the forestock barrel channel and the stock crossribs under the barrel didn't seem to have much clearance but the paper did slide through, so I did not dwell on it. I have a Vanguard 30-06 synthetic stock rifle and it is great, so I never really put enough concern on the flexibility of the cheap Savage stock. I did notice the Axis forestock torqued even with only moderate pressure and that did not impress me very much, but again, my experience with my synthetic Vanguard being so good, I did not think that much about it.

Second outing I'd get a few shots making a ragged hole (trigger much nicer now), then I'd get fliers 4-6 inches out, then a few back to original POI. Everything was tight so I assumed the cheap, used scope I bought was NFG, so I've put a edit: brand new Burris Fullfield II on it. Note here that I didn't pay that much attention to repetitive bench support only using a bundled up coat on the first outing and a "range bag" on the second outing to support the rifle, but never touching the barrel. It has a bipod mounted on it but I did not use it.

Next outing I still had the 45g HP Winchester but also bought some 55g Hornady VMAX because that load fit the Burris Ballistic Plex reticle pretty well. The 45g were irratic and the VMAX hit way right to POI of the 45g. Again, I wasn't religious in my rifle support typically just using the range bag under the forestock. I was very exasperated at this point.

Last outing was two days ago. I still had some 45g Winchester, bought some more 55g Hornady VMAX and also picked up a box of 75g Hornady BTHP (the lgs didn't have anything in between and Savage says they use 69g for test firing). I rezeroed at 100 yards using the 55g from both bench (range bag) and bipod (laying prone). I got minute-of-coyote groups but that's largely me too. I then tried the 75g from the bipod and they hit 3-4 inches right! I then tried a few 45g and they didn't even hit paper (from past POI comparison of the 45g vs the 55g, I assume they hit way low and left off paper). I also shot a few rounds with my 30-06 and they were fine.

I am surprised at the magnitude of variance in POI between bullet weights. I may have to remove barrel channel material to ensure freefloat clearances are better and pay much more attention to supporting the forestock to prevent flex before I conclude anything about this rifle. However, at this point I am very disappointed in this plastic rifle (I discounted the stock-flexing aspects of Axis reviews I read prior to buying based on my experience with my Vanguard and the fact that the caliber I was getting is pretty tame). I'm afraid I would not recommend the plastic Axis to anyone.

I had the same problem with a Savage rifle last year. I thought of the barrel first and the scope second....mistake. Finally, I changed scopes and the problem went away. When I put the scope on another rifle the same problem occurred so it was the scope all along.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by wbm

I had the same problem with a Savage rifle last year. I thought of the barrel first and the scope second....mistake. Finally, I changed scopes and the problem went away. When I put the scope on another rifle the same problem occurred so it was the scope all along.

---

I went the other way, doubting the scope first, based on my trust in Savage (at that point) and the fact that the scope was new to me but a cheap used one. However, I've got a brand new Burris on it now. The scope is solidly mounted. I bought two Weaver #48502 (46M) top mount bases and Vortex Hunter 1" medium mount scope rings. Bullet weight to barrel twist rate information suggests the Axis 1:9 should use heavier bullets than the 55g I plan on using.

With the susceptibility to forestock flex and minimal freefloat clearances, I need to focus a lot more on uniform rifle support even though I can get reasonable groups at times. I have read the forestock stiffening threads and will consider this but am appauled that Savage would sell a junky stock like this, and am surprised there isn't a huge backlash. Why should we have to go through this crap with a new purchase? Even if it is a budget rifle, it reflects poorly on all Savage product.