Bullet suggestions for savage axis 223

champ198

champ198

Active member
Got an axis today and going to work on getting bullets to reload with. I believe the gun is a 1-9 twist and is a 22" barrel. What bullets would you all suggest?
I assume with it being the slower twist it might not stabilize a light bullet like a 40 grain correct?
The powder I have to use is IMR 4895.
 
Ok, the 1-9 twist is actually quite fast for a factory bolt gun as many of them are 1 in 12. Being a faster twist it should stabilize most bullets from 40 to about 70 grains or so. Light bullets should stabilize just fine in that 9 twist barrel.
 
Your rifle will do fine with anything from 40 grains up to 68 grains and possibly even heavier. If you are predator hunting, the 60 grain VMax is a good bullet that is easy to get to shoot accurately. Put a moderate load of Benchmark powder under it and you're good to go.
 
yea realize now I had it backwards that the 9 twist would be faster than 12. duh
that's good I would like to shoot 45 or 50s if I can. the lighter the better I think so it don't tear up fox and cat hides too bad
 
Originally Posted By: champ198 the lighter the better I think so it don't tear up fox and cat hides too bad

Not necessarily. Lighter = More speed. Jack up the speed and the jackets tear apart faster and more violently. I'd prefer a game bullet like the 60 grain Nosler Partition that will not shed it's jacket. That is, if you are trying to be fur friendly.
 
Originally Posted By: HidalgoOriginally Posted By: champ198 the lighter the better I think so it don't tear up fox and cat hides too bad

Not necessarily. Lighter = More speed. Jack up the speed and the jackets tear apart faster and more violently. I'd prefer a game bullet like the 60 grain Nosler Partition that will not shed it's jacket. That is, if you are trying to be fur friendly.
I am trying to be as fur friendly as possible yea
 
The 55 and 60 grain Hornadys are quite good with the 60 being slightly tougher. maybe that is because of the lower velocity. I normally shoot Hornady 55 grain soft points with the cannelure. I get them from Midsouth for about $42/500. My son burns a lot of them in his AR 15s, so I get cheap when I can. Turns out thought that they are very accurate and quite effective. I have used them in .22-250s as far back as 1972.
 
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Whatever you use, if fox are on the menu, and you dont wanna tear 'em up, slow 'em down. 2500 - 3000 fps max seems to be where most guys are getting good killing power with penetration and less entrance splashing but fewer exits. IMR 4895 may get you down closer to 3000 fps, but H4895 will go lower if you follow Hodgdon's reduced load rules on H4895. If coyotes are on the menu, a more tough bullet may be in order, but a reduced velocity bullet will act somewhat tougher at said slower speeds. Try to stay off the bones in any case with shot placement.

Then share your results.
 
Champ, to some extent all centerfire cartridges with the possible exception of the older, slower rounds like the .22 Hornet, 218 Bee, etc, are going to be hard on fox. Fox are light, thin skinned, and they are going to blow up easily with the wrong hit from a centerfire. Foxes are not very hard to kill, when he was growing up my father used to shoot them very effectively with his 20 gauge and bird shot because that's all he had.

The best case scenario with fox is to shoot them right through the rib cage with a non-ballistic tip bullet and hope the bullet passes cleanly through. I would use a traditional soft point or spire point, not a plastic BT like the VMmax.

The best fox solution, IMO, is to carry a shotgun and a rifle and only use the rifle if you absolutely have to. I do this quite often when calling more open areas. I sit with the shotgun across my lap and the rifle beside me up on a bipod.

Shotguns whack foxes dead, they just do so by putting 6-8 small holes in vs one big hole. To me that's the ideal solution, messing around with bullet choice makes only a marginal difference at best.

Grouse
 
I have 2 savage axis's and I shoot the 50gr Z-MAX/V-max with 21.6 of imr 4198. We use these guns for steal prairie dogs out to 500 meters(9"x5")without an issue.
 
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