Normally, this editor reviews firearms that are at the mid-to-upper end of the price spectrum or new and noteworthy. Today’s review is none of those things. The Savage Axis II is a budget priced, entry level centerfire rifle. It was upgraded from the original Axis rifle with Savage’s Accu-Trigger and was introduced in 2014.
The rifle I shot was the wood-stocked version in .25-06. The rifle is also available in a variety of synthetic sporter stocks and a chassis from MDT. You can get this rifle in a range of hunting calibers. .22-250, .223, .243, 6.5 Creedmoor, 7mm-08, .270, .308 and .30-06 are all available.
The Axis II comes with a factory mounted and bore-sighted Bushnell Banner 3-9×40 scope. The owner of the rifle I shot today replaced the Banner with an older Leopold 3-9×40 VX Freedom.
Overall, the rifle is 43.8″ with the 22″ long 1-10″ twist barrel. Twist rates vary depending on the caliber. Length of pull is the standard 13.5″ and the whole thing, scope included, weighs in at a bit over 8 pounds. The detachable box mag holds 4 rounds.
The individual who owns the gun I shot today bought it for his daughter who is hunting for the first time this year. They picked out the rifle after checking out several ‘entry level’ rifles like the Ruger American and Winchester XPR. When we met at the range this morning, I swapped the scopes out for him and zeroed and partially broke the rifle in for him. Now, onto my impressions.
I’m going to preface everything I say here with this; the gun cost less than $600, after taxes and fees, and includes a serviceable scope. If it sounds like I’m being overly optimistic about this gun, it’s because I’m looking at it through the lens of a first-time buyer or someone with limited means. And even looking at it like I would for a gun costing twice as much, I’d still come to a lot of the same conclusions.
Don’t get me wrong, even with the wood stock, this gun is ugly as far as I’m concerned. The synthetic stocks are worse, far worse, looking. And the fit and finish is . . . not the best. The ergonomics are ok, the bolt handle is directly above the trigger. That makes running the bolt faster and easier. The tang safety is easy to manipulate and has a tactile click. However I’m more used to the safety on the side of the bolt like the Model 70.
Where this gun starts to shine is the trigger. The Axis II comes with the Accu-trigger. The AccuTrigger is a user adjustable trigger. The pull weight can be dialed down as low as 1.5 pounds. The center ‘blade’ in the trigger acts in much the same way as the Safe Action trigger in a Glock handgun, it prevents sear disengagement until it is depressed.
Because this is a hunting rig for a young person, I left the trigger at the factory setting, about 3.5 lbs. The trigger breaks cleanly with little take-up and no creep. There was a bit of overtravel, but that’s easy to deal with.
The bolt was a little gritty, but I suspect that will clean up with more use. It also features Savage’s trademark floating bolt-head. This feature helps with chamber alignment and accuracy.
From the bench, shooting Federal American Whitetail 117gr ammo, I averaged 1.5″ groups at 100m. While not spectacular, the accuracy is more than enough to hunt deer with. Admittedly, some of the spread was my fault, as I was shooting strings of 10 rounds before letting the barrel cool. My best 10 shot group, shot with a 1 minute pause between shots measured a respectable .95″. The worst, 1.8″, showed some vertical stringing indicating heat shift.
Velocity was also good. The published test velocity for the loads I was shooting is 2990 fps out of a 24″ test barrel. I was getting 2925 fps out of the 22″ Axis II.
Were I in the market for an inexpensive, entry level hunting rig, I’d take a very hard look at the Axis II just based on price. The MSRP for the wood-stocked version is $689, but you can find them for around $550. The synthetic stocked versions can be found for around $400 while the chassis models will run you about $800. Keep in mind, these prices include a scope.