I went to Cabela's yesterday with a hankering for something Savage. Specifically, I wanted to get a short magazine Axis for an as-yet uninmagined project. As I scoured the racks I saw a bunch of new XPs with scopes I didn't need and IIs with Accutriggers I didn't like. But there, hidden behind a Trophy Hunter or some other such thing, I saw the familiar, plain bow of an Axis trigger. I couldn't read the tag, but I knew it was a long magazine. I also saw it was paired with a rangefinder, which is something I've been interested in playing with. When the sales associate handed me the gun, I was even more pleased. The prices for the XPs and the IIs were in the $350-range, but this one was $270. Oh, and I did remember the Savage Rifleman Rebate that the purchase qualifies for. Actually, that's why I was on the prowl for a rifle!

I tried to assuage my guilt by buying a brick of 6-cents-per-round .22 ammo.

Oh, and if you're in or near the Dundee, MI, store, they had one .270 left.