That's a smoking deal on the Axis, where was that from? I also have a 243 Aixis I bought a year or so ago and it shoots great even with the plastic stock. All I did to it is to add a Basix trigger, Talley Lightweight rings and a Zeiss Terra 3x9 scope.
Altus is a decent looking area. I drove from Phoenix to Duncan this spring to hunt turkeys. A long drive but it was worth it. Oh, and I also sent the bolt to LRI and had it fluted as my primary goal was to have a lighweight hunting rifle.