Geez, you folks are scaring me! I have a new Savage Axis 22-250 coming by way of Gunbroker! I already planned on a Leoupold 3x12 for it! Quite difficult to find a silver finished scope of decent quality. I have thought about putting a matte finished one on there for the "two toned" effect but I always just preferred the color matched gun/scope combination. I would have guessed that the bolt would be of stainless construction like the rest of the action or at the very least aluminum or another lighter weight alloy but the thaught of painted plastic certainly doesn't please me! Say it isn't so!