Howdy from Texas - New Axis Owner

Hi all. Thought I'd stop in and say hello and thanks.

I bought an Axis .308 Lefty last week and found this site while researching upgrades. I signed up but waited to post until today because I wanted to get all my bits together. I have to say that I couldn't have done it without all of the posts and threads and advice y'all have laid down here over the years. Yes, I did actually manage to find all of the answers I needed by searching through the forums.

This is what I ended up with:

Savage Axis .308 Lefty
Boyd's Heritage stock in Forest Camo
Timney trigger
Burris XTR II 5-25x50 w/ FFP G2B Mil-Dot reticle (was gonna go SCR reticle but they're back ordered until Doomsday and I figured the G2B would be less clutter anyway)
EGW Axis 20 MOA mount
Vortex Precision Matched 34mm rings .92"

I believe that covers it for now. The rifle is for long range target shooting only because I don't hunt (unless ISIS visits my town). The Timney is already installed and the stock arrives today. I'll have to wait for another week for the rest of the goodies to show up but that'll give me time to fidget with the stock in case I have some of the issues I've seen others here contend with.

Also want to say thanks to EGW and Vortex. Their customer service guys were awesome and helped me through making the right decisions. EGW could have sold me their 34mm rings but they were honest and said they'd be too high so instead referred me to Vortex. Vortex took the time to ask about the rest of my rig so they could recommend the exact rings I needed. Great people at both companies.

Thanks again, y'all, for all the info you've put out there. It is greatly appreciated.

Cheers,
John

That sounds like one seriously nice rig. You should post some pictures

I will definitely post pics when it's done. Just brought the Boyd's through the door and tried to mount the action. Looks like I'm having most of the problems a lot of people have experienced with Boyd's stocks: Timney won't fit, front action bolt too short, distance between rear action bolt and rear trigger guard screw not quite far enough and mag won't seat properly. Time to go read the thread all over again LOL

Again the forum paid off. Got all but the front action screw issue sorted with a few jeweler's files. I'll have to go look for a longer screw tomorrow. I thought I was having an issue with the Timney but it turns out I wasn't. It fit in there with no problems. If there used to be wood that was interfering with the sear engagement screw and lock nut, that wood doesn't exist in my version of the stock (perhaps they've been paying attention and made modifications at Boyd's). No scope yet but here she is so far:

http://geekrc.net/images/Axis-w-Boyds.jpg

real good looking rifle, john - congrats on the build! i had used an axis hb 308win action/barrel to build a long range gun using a boyd's thumbhole stock and sun optics ffp sf 4-14x44, whit brake, caldwell bipod, and had the same timney install issues that needed some stock wood relieving ...

http://i.imgur.com/CQM0vSH.jpg

welcome to the forum officially and nice rifle! Post more pics when it's all done and how about some first round target pics too :)

Nice rifle, rfd. I will eventually have a barrel with a brake but I think I'll wait until it's time to replace the barrel.

Thanks, mudpig. I'll post pics when I get there. It'll be awhile so don't hold your breath :D

Excellent! It looks right at home in that stock. I'm glad to know the trigger area was inlet for a Timney as well.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Special Ed

Nice rifle, rfd. I will eventually have a barrel with a brake but I think I'll wait until it's time to replace the barrel.

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with a 308, that witt brake does noticeably help kill fired muzzle rise. was worth the expense, for me.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by rfd12fv

with a 308, that witt brake does noticeably help kill fired muzzle rise. was worth the expense, for me.

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I'll look into the brake now since I've decided to replace the barrel already. I'm going to put an Axis .308 heavy barrel on it. After hours and hours of reading I worked myself up into fearing how poorly my sporter barrel would hold up to the rigors of extended long range work. I eventually want to put a Shilen bull barrel on the rifle but that's going to have to wait until I no longer feel the sting of how much I'm spending to upgrade a rifle I only paid $199 for :o

I would have bought the HB to start with but they don't make it in a lefty so a barrel swap is the only option. Vortex hasn't shipped my scope rings yet so installing the barrel now seems smartest - before mounting the scope and zeroing with the sporter barrel and then having to zero all over again.

I guess it's time to go buy an action wrench and barrel nut wrench. Oh...and go/no go gagues and god knows what else LOL

Wow, that looks positively honkenbonkers with the new stock! Good choice.

Thanks, Tex

She's as done as she's gonna get until the HB arrives later this week. Then I'm taking her to a gunsmith to ensure everything I did was proper and safe. I'll also have them bed the action and swap the barrels (I really ain't in the mood to mess with that). I'm also having a bear of a time getting my eye relief set right so I'll get some help there. By the time my ammo arrives, she ought to be ready for some 100 yard sighting in.

http://geekrc.net/images/Axis-Upgraded.jpg

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Special Ed

She's as done as she's gonna get until the HB arrives later this week. Then I'm taking her to a gunsmith to ensure everything I did was proper and safe. I'll also have them bed the action and swap the barrels (I really ain't in the mood to mess with that). I'm also having a bear of a time getting my eye relief set right so I'll get some help there. By the time my ammo arrives, she ought to be ready for some 100 yard sighting in.

http://geekrc.net/images/Axis-Upgraded.jpg

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Nice rifle-I got a .22-250 on BFriday at Academy. I might go Boyds nutmeg later.

sweet - good job!

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Originally Posted by woodsman5150

Nice rifle-I got a .22-250 on BFriday at Academy. I might go Boyds nutmeg later.

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I hope you enjoy your rifle. They had a lefty .22-250 at the Academy where I got mine too but the wife would only allow me to buy one of them.

Academy had a $30 discount on the Axis but only on the right hand versions. When I pointed out that the RH .308 Axis was discounted but the LH .308 was not, the manager could only say that Corporate sets the pricing and discounts. I asked her if discrimination was a corporate policy as well. She stared at me blankly because she obviously didn't understand what I meant since I'm a middle aged white man. I explained that to discount rifles for right handed people and not left handed people was discrimination, when all other factors are the same (chambering, model, etc). She groaned about it but she gave me the discount after demanding to see the price tag for a RH .308 (as if she didn't know - silly cow).

She was really tweaked because she said she was going to have to explain to corporate why she gave me the $30 off. I told her that if corporate had offered a discount for people based on race, religion or sex, it would be no different than offering the discount based on handedness. She still thought I was being unreasonable - as she wrote a note on the paperwork with her right hand. Apparently lefties aren't as vocal of a minority as some others are - even though we're probably the single largest (smallest) minority in the world. She also told me that the Savage rebate only applied to the RH models. So of course I called Savage and they said the rebate was good for all Axis regardless of handedness. According to the customer service rep at Savage, "We don't discriminate against left handed people. That's just ludicrous."

Sorry to ramble. It just boiled up when you referenced Academy :rolleyes: