Savage action work

[Kyguy]

If you're tired of dealing with stiff bolt lift on Axis or 110 rifles, I can WHOLEHEARTEDLY endorse sending the barreled action to Sharpshooter Supply for their action timing job. I just picked up 4 Axis barreled actions that Fred worked on and it's unbelievable. Two of the actions were so stiff that I could barely work them from the shoulder, even with Desh kits. Now all 4 of them can be worked from the shoulder with literally one finger, with no bolt lift kits. They're completely different rifles now. Truly astonished.

I'll be the first to admit that if I hadn't gotten smoking deals on the Axis rifles, I probably wouldn't have had the work done, but now..... It's worth the money if you have a Savage centerfire rifle that you really like but want it to operate better and easier.

 

[swampy14]

If you're tired of dealing with stiff bolt lift on Axis or 110 rifles, I can WHOLEHEARTEDLY endorse sending the barreled action to Sharpshooter Supply for their action timing job. I just picked up 4 Axis barreled actions that Fred worked on and it's unbelievable. Two of the actions were so stiff that I could barely work them from the shoulder, even with Desh kits. Now all 4 of them can be worked from the shoulder with literally one finger, with no bolt lift kits. They're completely different rifles now. Truly astonished.

I'll be the first to admit that if I hadn't gotten smoking deals on the Axis rifles, I probably wouldn't have had the work done, but now..... It's worth the money if you have a Savage centerfire rifle that you really like but want it to operate better and easier.

Do you like building on that action? Or what are your plans for them?

 

[Kyguy]

Right now my plans for them are to run them as they are. I could possibly get an itch in the future to swap a barrel but they honestly shoot very well with factory ammo and I think there would not be any huge gains other than maybe a bit better consistency in groups.

While the Axis is one of the easiest actions to do a barrel swap on, because you're not dealing with a separate recoil lug and it has a barrel nut, the weak point for doing builds on them is aftermarket stocks. Boyd's is really the only option with any choices, though MDT now has the inlet for the Field Stock, Magpul has the Hunter Lite (which I bought one of, just to check it out, didn't care for it) and Choate has their Varmint Tactical (almost 4lbs). So right now there's no way to get a "lightweight" rifle out of a Savage Axis, unless you're going to keep the factory plastic stock. Even a Boyd's sporter stock will push the rifle close to 7.5-8lbs bare weight. If you're not worried about being a light hunting rifles or want to build varmint or benchrest rifles that are 10 or 12 pounds, well you could do that.

Over the years, I would say that my general experiences with having gunsmithing work done is 40% positive and 60% negative. Everything except for a couple of jobs has ended up being a royal pain in the ass regardless of whether it was positive or negative, and almost off of them ran way past their estimated time frame. Most gunsmiths are not going to turn down work, they would rather have it waiting on them than to be waiting on it. Just the nature of the business. So at this point, if I was building off of something, it would be using a barrel nut system so I can do the work myself. Probably a Remington 700 clone or even the 700 action itself. Northland shooter supply has an action wrench that actually holds the recoil lug in alignment while installing the barrel, so that's not an issue anymore. Plus the plethora of stocks for the 700 footprint open up almost unlimited choices.

 

[swampy14]

How do you feel about the 110 actions?

 

[Kyguy]

I'll answer that with a question.. what is your goal? What are you trying to build? 110s are fine to build off of, depends on what you're wanting. You're never going to get an ultra light rifle out of a Savage action unless you use a pencil thin barrel and a carbon fiber stock or a factory plastic stock. Savage already has so many options on that action that building something that's not already offered is really splitting minutiae.

 

[swampy14]

The goal is to put together a rifle that is a capable hunting rig and can do recreational
1000yd range sessions.

Requirements are
6.5cm (I don’t hand load so best option for factory ammo for hunting and target)
Barrel length 20-22” inches
Threaded for a can
Carbon stock option
Total weight around 9lbs

 

[Kyguy]

I would buy a 110 trailhunter with 22" barrel. The factory hogue stock that comes on that weighs about 2.25 lb or so. I would take the barreled action out of the stock and weigh it, figure out which scope you're going to put on it, to get a total weight for that stuff, and then you can shop for stocks. If you want true carbon fiber, there's a couple of options on the market for that, but you may very well be able to hit your goal weight with a Bell and Carlson, depending on what scope you use.

 

[Kyguy]

When I get home tonight I'll weigh out my axis with the 22 inch heavy barrel, the barrel is about the same contour as on the trailhunter. I'm thinking it's about 6 lb for the barreled action.

 

[swampy14]

When I get home tonight I'll weigh out my axis with the 22 inch heavy barrel, the barrel is about the same contour as on the trailhunter. I'm thinking it's about 6 lb for the barreled action.

I’d appreciate that