What grain bullets does your .223 Axis like?

[liquid]

I have had all sorts of trouble initially getting any sort of results, my previous rifle was a Bruno 601k an old beat up rifle that I bedded and cut about 4" of frosting on end of barrel. With a worked up load it shot all day well under an inch, but I never liked the floor plate for loading so switched to the savage.
1st problem was when trying to get it sorted, unknown to me, the scope was skipping in adjustments so I was chasing my tail, and could not get it zeroed in. I got sick of throwing lead down the spout, and also the trigger. went with the basix and took the rifle back to the shop. got the scope sorted and back to the range, I was using a bipod, and never realized that the flex in the stock was giving me throwers all over. Once again I was chasing my tail and blamed the scope again. back to shop for another check up, and found all was ok. By this time I had talked myself out of the scope and had lost confidence in it, so up graded to a Burrus 3x9x40. Back to the range. I shoot mostly goats, and the 55 grain is an ideal load for them, so a friend kindly worked up a load for me. Though I am now sitting about an 1", it is still no where as good as the Bruno, though good enough. I had worked up two loads for the
Bruno so did the same for this one. It does not like 60 at all, was given some Barnes 62 grn, even worse, but that just might be the make. Best of brands so far for me is the Fiocchi 55, but at $30.00 a box of 20, they can keep it. We have a local manufacturer here in New Zealand called belmont so I have tried them. Very similar to my hand loads, with a similar price of $42 for 50. At least I know know where to go if I can no longer hand load.
One thing, non of you guys have mentioned whether you have up graded your stock to get the accuracy you are getting, I am using the original until I can upgrade to a Boyds, and will give it the full works! It will cost me as much to get it here as the stock costs, so it is on the back burner for now. Cheers fellas, merry xmas!!!

les

[NicfromAlabama]

Liquid,

Your experience sounds a little like mine. My rifle shot very low when I was sighting it in, but the Leupold I was using had enough adjustment to zero the rifle. I was already using Burris Signature Zee rings, so I used the inserts to correct the rifle's point of aim. I realized early on the stock was too flimsy for a bipod. So, I shoot off a tackdriver bag with the rifle pushed all the way up until the trigger guard hits the bag. That way, there is little pressure on the end of the stock.

Last month, I went for broke and cut out all the ribbing out of the front of the stock using diagonal pliers and needle nose pliers. I then mixed up some JB Weld epoxy and filled in the hollow spot. I read somewhere that epoxy does not like to stick to plastic and that super glue will make it bond to the plastic. So, once I got all the ribbing cut out, I roughed up the interior with my Dremel and then applied super glue to the interior of the stock and let that dry overnight. I have no idea if that was necessary or not, but I did it anyway. I also cut up some nylon string in very small pieces and mixed it in with my epoxy. I figured that might help strengthen it. To avoid having all the little string pieces sticking up in the barrel channel, I covered it over with some JB Weld without the string added. The difference was night and day. The stock feels completely different and is rock solid. I also had to sand a little off one side of the stock since the barrel was touching just a little. That may be something you want to try before spending a bunch of money on an aftermarket stock.

[liquid]

It is something that I have talked about, and yes it could be a fix. I am a boat builder, so know my around epoxies a little, The fact that you roughed up the stock would help, - cyno?? The important thing is that there is proper keying, holes drilled through webbing etc to help hold all in. However, sooner or later, it will let go, as there is a fair bit of oil in the plastic, and that combined with extremes of heat and cold, cannot be a good thing, not to mention what happens when the rifle recoils!! It might take a few years, but it will happen. I have heard of the use of JB weld before, and I am not convinced of this end use. I have read a few threads on this forum and others on this sort of fix, including putting in alloy tubes, steel rods, and arrow shafts, to try and stiffen up the forearm, and also filling in the voids around the rest. This all adds weight, and must upset the balance of the rifle, this has been offset by some by adding weight in the stock. This is all ok if you are only going to shoot off benches, but not good if you have to carry it around hill and dale. The best long term is to replace the stock, pillar and bed it from the get go and be done. No problems then with bi-pods, and you know then that all issues have been dealt with, which in turn makes you more confident, and therefor a better shooter.
I suggest you have a bit of a gander about shooting here in NZ, and you may realize what sort of country we shoot in.
"Goat shooting in NZ" would be a good place to start. Tony Orsman, one of the shooters is a bit over the top, and I don't like his commentary so forget about listening to his remarks and take in the views. some of the Rabbit shooting vids are also awesome.

les