how is the savage axis 30-06 springfield??

stinkyspice

stinkyspice

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Jun 2, 2011
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hey guys i recently turned 21 and am able to get a permit to aquire here in hawaii. so i am looking for a simple hunting rifle at the top of my list is the savage axis in 30-06 springfield. do u guys have any comments review experience with this rifle?

or any other good starting rifles?
 
I have owned 3 Savages and have been very well pleased with all of them, I am not familiar with the axis though. I am afraid I am going to have to disagree with Mr O'conner and agree with Elmer, sorry Codger, I like the 06 much better than the 270. But if I was getting my first rifle I would look hard at a 308 instead of the 30/06, cheaper ammo, less recoil and enough power for most big game hunting. Chris
 
Savage makes a good rifle... Also like August stated, go with the .308. Its a better choice.
 
I am a fan of Savage rifles. I own 4 of them but I would pass on the Axis(had one and sold it) and save a little more money and buy a Model 10,110, 11 or 111. These are better guns, just a higher quality manufacturing process. If you have the money, buy one with an Accutrigger. The triggers on the Axis aren't able to be switched out for an aftermarket trigger and the stock triggers suck. I know there were several companies working on an aftermarket one but just get one with the Accutrigger and you are set.

What will you be hunting in Hawaii?

Stick with the 30.06, but that's just me!!:)(Although the .308 is good as well)
 
Savage makes a good rifle, if you don't "need" the accutrigger, look at the Stevens 200.
Another to check out is the Marlin X7 - similar price point and a gunsmith buddy of mine loves them.
.308 is a nice round, but I prefer the versatility of the 30-06.
 
here is hawaii we got axis deer and hogs galore!! some wild goat too.

i was looking at the marlin x7 but couldn't find one in the stores here in maui. same with the Stevens 200.

u guys made me confused about the caliber to get lol. opinions vary a lot between .308 and 30-06
what is the difference between the two in ur opinion
 
308 has less stopping power than the 30-06, especially at longer ranges, but is a flatter cartridge and a lot cheaper. Plus if your not used to bolt action its a short cartridge aka not as long as a pull during reload whereas the 30-06 is a long cartridge.

Also, 308 is a lot nicer on the shoulder, depending on the rifle of course.
 
The .308 and the 30-06 shoot the same bullets. Using the same bullet the 30-06 can give a higher muzzle velocity and therefore less drop at range. What kind of terrain will you be hunting? What are the size of the pigs?
I haven't seen the axis lock but my nephew bought a Reminton 770 and the bolt moves around when chambering a cartridge. It probably takes half again as long to chamber a cartridge as a Mauser 98 action. Check around, you may find a good deal on a rebarreled military action.
 
pigs can get pretty big here.... the terrain can be mountains brush forest jungle.. all types over here down by the beach it forest jungle up the mountain a little bit it forest bunch of trees a little higher its mountain brush terrain.. and on the back side of haleakala its dry lava rock hunting.. quite a nice place for hunting actually. and u nothing needs to be in season to hunt.. except pheasant. but i just shoot those in my back yard with my pellet gun good eating!!

i have read and seen review that the savage axis is much better quality rifle that the reminton 770.
 
I say "get the .308 Win." if it is lighter than the .30/06 version.

These two cartridges are ballistically very similar out in the field:

The .308 is used in shorter action rifles that are lighter and handier.
It's all the power you "need" for deer hunting.
Surplus practice ammo used to be available inexpensively.
A 20 shot box of ammo in your pack will be lighter than the alternative.
This caliber is considered very accurate.


The .30/06 is ballistically like .308's big brother-- just about the same bullets, but sent a little faster.
It seems to shoot all the light and medium weight bullets a couple hundred feet faster than its little brother.
Heavy weight bullets are where it definately has a pronounced edge over .308
This is a much older, traditional caliber than .308 Win, loads of people shoot it in surplus rifles.
If you reload, you can download .30/06 to match .308, but you canna safely +p .308W to become a .30/06.
Frankly, my casual .30/06 hunting ammo is reloaded closer to .308W ballistics. This is great performance for iron sighted surplus rifles which will be shot at animals within a self imposed 200 yards. Further, my walking around blasting ammo has been influenced somewhat by Townsend Whelen's .30/06 small game load theory, which consists of a jacketed medium weight bullet going 1,500 fps. He reported excellent success with this downloaded ammo, and I'm experiencing the same for myself.


After you choose the caliber and rifle, set yourself up with a basic and inexpensive reloading outfit, and start to custom tailor your ammo to fit your needs. You can use the $20 Lee Loader and experience all the thrills attendant with hammering on primers in your garage, and then moving up to an inexpensive O frame press, w/ RCBS dies and possibly the LEE scoop-type powder measures.


I suppose you realize that the possession of a .22 LR rifle is practically mandatory, for your marksmanship training? If you don't already own one, try to borrow one and then shoot it extensively at 25 or 50 yards, on paper. Target practice is highly useful for hunters. For example, I have found Appleseed marksmanship training has been extremely useful to me in the hunting fields.

More than you wanted to know?! :) Good luck with this pursuit.
 
With your varied terrain, it is a tough call. I'd go for the 30-06 as it will give you 100 - 200 feet per second greater velocity and 200 - 400 ft. lbs..

If you are hunting at ranges of 200 yards or less you might look at a Marlin 1895 in .450 Marlin with the 18.5" barrel. I think it would make a better brush/jungle rifle.
And the .450 Marlin is every bit as powerful as the 30-06.
 
I thought I might add:

Stainless rifles w/ synthetic stocks take A Lot less maintainence to keep up, which is important after an exhaustingly hard days hunt, where all you want to do is collapse somewhere w/ a beer. For a hunter, stainless is Highly worth the slight premium it commands.

It is way harder to rust stainless with sweaty fingerprints, Labrador slobber, rainshowers and mud, than it is w/ a blued finish.

Can you tell I like Stainless?! :)
 
The Axis is a good starter rifle, my father recently purchased one in .223 for varmint hunting. With reloads it will shoot under a 1" group at 100yds, with factory ammo it averages around 1.5" groups at 100 yards. The trigger is not the greatest they will be around 5-6lbs from the factory but good enough to hunt with any day of the week. They are a lighter gun than most so keep that in mind if you plan on buying one in 30-06 but don't let the recoil scare you any.
As for the Marlin bolt action's with their version of the Accutrigger (PRO FIRE trigger) the Marlin is a good choice too with a big factor being the trigger assembly they have. I have shot the Marlin and it's well worth the extra few bucks compared to what the Savage Axis has to offer. I plan on my next centerfire rifle being one of the Marlin X7S models.
 
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