.308 axis: upgrade or sell?

K

Kirkpatrick

New member
I have a Savage Axis .308. I'm thinking of spending about $200 for a new Timney trigger and a Boyds aftermarket stock. From what I've read, this would really make the gun more accurate and more fun to shoot. Or do you think that I should sell it and put the money I would have spent upgrading it and get another .308. I'm a causal shooter with the .308, I like shooting at the range and having a general purpose rifle. Not being an avid long range shooter or a hunter, all I really want is a 200-300 rifle, I'm not expecting sub MOA past 100'. Any ideas or suggestions? Thanks.
 
Upgrade it! Your not going to get much for it on the used market . Have you tried cutting the trigger spring on factory trigger? I was able to get mine down to 4 lbs and its still perfectly safe.
 
Keep it as is, or sell it. No matter how much money you throw at it, it will still be a budget gun worth very little. The modifications you are proposing won't do a thing to make it a better shooting rifle.
 
It's an Axis and it's your rifle, so do what you want. You won't be helping or hurting the rifle by any means as far as the value of resale. I personally wouldn't waste the money buying a new stock or trigger for it. I'd try as suggested the trigger spring trim, plenty of info for it out on the web. I just wouldn't sink a whole lot of money into the rifle at all.

I've built my fair share of expensive Savage rifles, and none have been worth the money if I ever tried to sell them. However, I did get the satisfaction of doing the majority of the work myself and having the rifle I wanted in the end. I'd just save my money and buy the rifle I wanted and until then I'd just bang away with the Axis.
 
I'm inclined to vote with bacardisteve and reynolds357. Not everything is about a return on investment. Increased enjoyment and satisfaction has a value, too.

I would certainly do the stock. The lower end savage stocks are flimsy. Since it will be primarily a range gun, (and if you don't mind the added weight), the heavier boyds stock will make the rifle more pleasant to shoot from the bench. And the axis will look nicer. In any case, your ideas sound like a fun project.

I also like the suggestion about keeping the axis and getting an additional rifle. A .223 rem or .243 win comes to mind.
 
You will get nothing by modding it so I would use it as a beater gun. This is much like modding a Hyundai to keep up with a Porsche. In the end its still a Hyundai and all the money modded up adds nothing to its value.
 
So making these changes wan't make it any more accurate or pleasant to shoot? I'm not really all that concerned about the value of the rifle and know that mods, if they do anything, usually drop the value. I was just wondering if putting $200 into this rifle will make it more accurate and/or fun to shoot or it would be a waste.

I am a budget shooter, the odds of me spending more than $500 on a bolt action .308 are slim. So I guess the question is, "Can I get a the Axis to perform like an $500, out of the box rifle by spending $200 on it"?
 
You might get it to shoot better but then you might not. There are too many variables. That's the problem with budget mods, there is no guarantee the rile will shoot better with the mods. There is even a chance it could shoot worse. I would feel better modding a higher end Savage like a XP 10. How accurate is your rifle now???
 
Kirkpatrick said:
I am a budget shooter, the odds of me spending more than $500 on a bolt action .308 are slim. So I guess the question is, "Can I get a the Axis to perform like an $500, out of the box rifle by spending $200 on it"?
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Did you spend less than $300 on the Axis when you bought it? My guess is you'll have more than $500 in the Axis by the time you're done. That is what many of us are getting at. Then you should properly bed the barreled action to the new stock, which may or may not be a daunting task to you. If you have to have a gunsmith do it be prepared to spend another $150-200 for that job.

Here is a Sub $500 rifle with a MOA guarantee T/C Venture blue and T/C Venture SS. Stock is better than the Axis and comes with an easily user adjustable trigger. Then there are the Savage Hog Hunter and the Trophy Hunter XP both already have an Accutrigger (user adjustable) and the stocks are better than the Axis still sub $500. Finally there is the Weatherby Vanguard S2, that again has an adjustable trigger and better stock than the Axis.

Now since you're wanting better accuracy, tell us what kind of groups are you getting? What ammunition are you shooting and what kind of optics are you using? Shooting accurately is more to do with consistency than a stock and trigger.
 
I got rid of mine. I couldn't get past the high lift on the bolt, requiring the scope to be mounted higher than necessary. I like to use a 40mm objective scope that hugs the bore as much as possible, so it was a personal preference thing for me. Of course Boyds released their Axis stock about 5 minutes after it sold, I might have kept it had I known that was coming LOL.

In all reality though, if you can get most of your money back out of the Axis, get into a Model 10 Trophy Hunter in .308 and you'll have way more gun and scope than $250 worth of add-ons to the Axis would ever get you.
 
Can't speak to the factory stock...
Is the barrel fully free-floated?

If it's "Tupperware", it's a bit harder to bed, but can be done.

I wouldn't see an advantage to the Boyd's necessarily- either stock needs to be bedded for optimal consistency. This is a MUST, and will usually improve the accuracy of any rifle when done properly.

The Timney (or any other quality aftermarket) trigger does not make the rifle any more accurate, it makes the shooter more accurate- and is always a wise investment.

If it were my rifle, I would check the free-float on the barrel, and bed the receiver. If that helped, I would then upgrade the trigger and you'll probably have what you are looking for in a 200-300 yard rifle.

Given your expectations, and no future desire to go long-range, I see no reason to dump more $$ than that into the stick.
 
I wouldn't worry about resale value. You're supposed to get the most enjoyment out of your guns as you can. Do what you like, if you sell it, I'm sure plenty of people wouldn't mind having those upgrades already on it.
 
Well I for one would like to hear back from the OP, as to what his rifle is already shooting. Especially since he posted this question.

So making these changes wan't make it any more accurate or pleasant to shoot?
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Adding the stock will probably make the rifle more pleasant to shoot, but generally as much as I dislike the Axis they shoot pretty well out of the box. I'm betting the OP has other problems with his shooting than the stock and trigger. My guess is if he wants a more pleasant rifle to shoot he's dealing with a flinching problem already. I may be wrong, but putting an additional $200 into the rifle in upgrades isn't going to cure a flinch. Really I'm all for spending money on a rifle, but is spending money going to help the OP?
 
Have a buddy who i sold my 223 Axis too... he added the timney and a Pepper colored Boyds stock. Like a totally different gun now. Super sweet and shoots much tighter groups without the flimsy factory stock. .. Well worth the just under $200 upgrades.
 
I have a Weatherby Vanguard S-2 in .308. It shoots sub MOA with Federal Gold Medal match loads and 2 MOA with my cast bullets. I bought it because it DID NOT have a detachable magazine made out of plastic or flimsy sheet metal. It has a MOA accuracy guarantee and a hinged floorplate mag for $500. The standard rifle has a 24" barrel, the carbine, a 20" barrel.

I had a more expensive Savage 10 PC that shot OK, but the detachable box magazine dropped out every three or four rounds. Replacement mags were over $50 each. Ditto for the otherwise very excellent Ruger American Rifle or carbine.

You can put lipstick on a pig, but...........................................
 
I like the Axis. I got my daughter a youth model (Muddy Girl camo of course) and it is a shooter. I lightened the trigger a bit.

Honestly for a budget gun it has been first rate. She loves it and is very comfortable shooting it. The finish and machining, while utilitarian, is very nice. I like it a lot.

My local box store has a .308 for $259 and if I didn't already have a .308, you can bet I'd buy that Axis.

It's your gun - if you want a nicer stock go ahead and get one. Sometimes when you sell and buy another (if you're not going into $800-$1500 territory), you realize you didn't really gain much. If it's already accurate, I'd upgrade a couple things (or do the widely circulated home trigger job at your discretion) and be happy with it. They're nice rifles.
 
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