Help me with project

**Jniedbalski** · 02-01-2016, 05:24 AM

I want to build a 458 win mag or a 500 S & W. Can it be done using the axis riffle. Would I need to get a differnt exeractor or bolt head.It will probably be a single shot so the mag will not be used.will try to make the mag work if it's not to hard. Years ago I had a 458 win mag being built on a Mauser action. It was at the gun shop almost done ,me doing most of the work when the gun shop owner suddenly died. Well the riffle some how disappeared . I still have the loading dies and Bullets for it. I want to make a short brush gun hopefully out of a axis action. Would it be best to start out with a 30/06 axis riffle to start with thanks for any help u can give me on this project

**DrThunder88** · 02-04-2016, 03:06 PM

Short answer: no, with an "if". Long answer: yes, with a "but".

The key concern I had on my .300 Win Mag Axis was the bolt head. The Axis uses a short action, standard bolt head, but even short action, magnum bolt heads are too long. I've heard Fred Moreno at SSS sells ready-made bolt heads for this application, but, like the Axis single shot adapter, it's just not on the menu. I modified my bolt head at home, and it seems to work just fine (Savage part number 103960). I've also heard something along the lines of a short action, magnum bolt head will work with a firing pin from a 111 Trophy Hunter, but, unlike the solution listed above, I have no proof to offer.

The .500 S&W would be far harder to adapt, since its bolt face would be larger than a magnum bolt face. Someone here has made a .460 S&W gun, but he had to turn down the rims of the shell casings I believe. A better choice might be something like a .45 Raptor, which uses a standard bolt face and, I believe, .308 Winchester magazine.

The other concern would be the effects of recoil on the lug recesses in the receiver. I've had no problems with my .300 Win Mag Axis, but I don't know enough about bolt thrust to say whether or how the larger projectile in a 458 Win Mag would increase or decrease the stresses on the receiver.

It won't really matter what Axis you start with unless you plan on shooting in the original plastic stock. The actions are all the same, and the factory bolt head won't fit for either of the cartridges you mentioned.