.223 on a budget

Savage Axis. Take it from the man who owns one. I have a .223 stainless and it's a shooter. Sub 1 inch all day long. First time out, I took 5-6 shots to dial it in, then shot a 1 inch group with cheap promo factory ammo and the poor stock trigger. Obviously, it only got better from there.

Watch the sales and you can pick up one for a very good price. I just got an Axis stainless .22-250 at Cabelas during some kind of winter promo for $279. That's for a stainless model.

I have done the DIY trigger mods and they do work, but for me what works even better was to buy the Rifle Basix trigger for $89. Fully adjustable drop-in, takes 5 minutes to install and then you can make easy adjustments from there. Yes, it's an extra cost, but then the trigger goes from pretty good to terrific in 5 minutes.

The way I look at it, for $370, I have a stainless rifle that I can use hard and shoot until it won't shoot anymore, and I'm happy because it doesn't owe me anything.

I like the .223 for varmints because of the powder efficiency. I use it in the dog towns to fire the opening salvo at the close-in dogs. It's easier on powder and cheaper to shoot, so I heat up the barrel on the .223, then bring out the big bopper after the dogs that are close in go down.

Watch prices carefully on the Axis, there are good sales around.

Grouse
 
Originally Posted By: MGYSGT
Dog_Sniper said:
Tax return burnin a hole in my wallet. Got a scpoe and trigger for the 243....the rest are done.


TAX RETURN, What's that. I didn't know you could get money back.

Lmbo
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savage axis homegrown trigger job or if the newer ones with the accutrigger are out yet and ive seen them at the local walmart for 278 lately shoot great and a bargain and you can build on it later down the road also
 
I don't know what your max budget is, but the Tikka T3 lite stainless I bought a couple of months ago is turning out to be a dandy. It was around $650 after FFL transfer IIRC. Shoots everything I put in it well (1in10 twist, so up to 55gr is all I've tried). It cleans easily, I'd say it has the smoothest bore of any of my factory rifles by far. And so light and easy to carry. The blued barrel version is something like $60 cheaper also I think.
 
Originally Posted By: DWBsavage axis homegrown trigger job or if the newer ones with the accutrigger are out yet and ive seen them at the local walmart for 278 lately shoot great and a bargain and you can build on it later down the road also

I believe the Accutrigger version will be a specific upgraded model that will cost more, so it will be interesting to see if this is a cheaper option than buying an aftermarket trigger.

Either way, the trigger is the only think keeping the Axis from being a real category killer in the entry-level market. If they can do an Accutrigger and only raise the price by $30-50, it's going to be fantastic for anyone looking for a basic model that shoots very well.

Also, the aftermarket parts makers are getting it in gear, so those who want to pimp out their Axis are seeing more options. Boyds finally introduced stocks and there are mags available as well. Triggers, obviously, have been available for some time already.

I couldn't resist. I bought a thumbhole Boyds stock for my .223. It looks awesome, but it does add a significant amount of weight compared to the Tupperware plastic stock. Not an issue for dogtown shooting and in fact it may be an advantage, but for a carry rifle it may not be the way to go.

Grouse
 
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