The Savage Arms Axis

It seems what is true of neophyte hunters in Alaska is true of the same in Maine. Wander into any gun store south of the North Slope in our 49th State if you’re in the market for a .348 Winchester hunting rifle. None of them lined up in the rack have been used more than once. In Maine, the .348 isn’t equally abundant. Any rifle weighing over seven pounds is. The heavy weights just keep showing up. They’ve all been brought along by first time out-of-state hunters.

Depending on the season, they’re after white-tailed deer, black bear or moose. I don’t know if you’ve ever roamed some of the Maine woods, but they can get very dense. More than one game warden has told me the average range per clear shot is 50 yards. Still, the unaware keep arriving with eight pounders. The husky rifles usually are wearing sporting scopes more suitable for reaching out to mule deer or big horn ram.

The knowing and shrewd owner of a Maine gun shop will acquire several of his local client’s favored hunting rifle to await as bargaining chips in the trades sure to occur upon the return of the hunters from away. Note: "From away" is where all who visit Maine are said to come from when spoken of by a nativeborn Mainer. My Dad was born 5 pound Axis can be ordered in blued or stainless, with or without a 3-9X scope, in seven calibers, two youth models and out-of-thebox groups averaging 1" for less than $500.00.

It replaces the Edge in the Savage hunting rifle line up. in Maine. He graduated from the University of Maine. I spent the first 18 summers of my life at Sebec Lake, located in the middle of Maine. I went to Maine fishing for brookies with Dad for thirty years. I go to Maine every year to see old friends and still surviving family. Yet, I remain referred to as being from away. The favored rifle I mentioned weighs about six pounds with a scope of no greater power than 3-9X and chambered for .35 Remington.

Why that caliber? Simply by using a heavier factory bullet makes the round suitable for taking any large game found in Maine. Local folks hunting the north woods won’t be owning two or three game-specific rifles. Eighty percent of them couldn’t afford it. The other twenty percent are too smart. Decades of success with a .35 Remington are hardcore proof it’s the way to go. So, "If it taint broke, don’t fix it" prevails.

Therefore, I hereby recommend to Savage Arms they add a .35 to the impressive list of Axis chamberings. The rifle already meets the previously stated requirements of a dedicated Maine hunter’s favorite. One, the Axis lessens or equals the $500.00 cost of lightweight hunting rifles presently available.

Out-of-the box, sans its available 3-9X scope, it weighs in at 6.5 pounds and is what I freely choose to refer to as "Savagely Accurate." One reliable test reported printing of one-inch groups at 100 yards with factory loads of the lighter weight bullets (55 grain) off a sand bag rest. Even with heavier bullet loads, the average only opened up to 1.17 inches. Now that my old friend and acquaintance, Ron Coburn, has retired I will pass my recommendation along to Al Casper, the new Chairman of Savage Arms.

That’s a promise. Not a threat. Accuracy Is No Accident Savage Arms has built its broadlyheld reputation for accuracy the hard way: They’ve earned it. The Axis is their newest offering. It happens to be a chip off the well-accepted Savage Edge hunting rifle. The Edge was built with a removable recoil lug, which served to retain flush contact between barrel and action. The recoil lug in the Axis is firmly anchored in the stock. It’s possible to remove the lug but Savage would much prefer you leave it alone.

Since the Model 110 entered the hunting world over 50 years ago, all Savage center fire rifles have employed a barrel nut to set and maintain headspace. So does the Axis. All-around barrel wall thickness is established as being equal before button rifling of the bore is allowed in a Savage. That includes the Axis. Not all Savage rifles have a floating barrel. The Axis does. Twenty-two inches for adults, twenty inches for youth models. All hand straightened.

As expected, a little farther back in the rifle is the bolt. Attached to the front end of the bolt body is the bolt head. Attached to the bolt head are three—count ‘em—sturdy locking lugs. Ever heard a hunter profanely bemoan the inability of getting off a second shot because the open bolt rattled in the receiver and spooked the game? Bet you never will with the Axis. The bolt opens and closes smoothly, for sure. And those triple lugs put a silencer on open bolt rattle.

Field Stripping The magazine (10) is out, the chamber is empty, the safety is on and so is your eye protection. Pull the trigger back fully. Hold it back as you press down on the bolt release as far as it can go. You may have to do the just described with a finger on the trigger and the thumb of the same hand depressing It remains visible after the handle is lowered and the bolt locked forward. the release. Awkward? Somewhat. Stressful? It takes a large hand and strong, healthy thumb.

Otherwise, it can be maddening. Raise the bolt handle (12C) and withdraw the bolt completely from the receiver. The front and rear action screws (19D and 19C) are turned in at the factory to about 40 inch-pounds. Back out the front and then the rear with a 5/32" Allen wrench. Remove the trigger guard section (19A). Careful, there’s a trigger bracket spring close at hand. Keep it where it is. Remove the stock (18). Examine the guard section. At its lower rear there’s a small tab.

When reinstalling the stock, the small tab gets inserted into a mating cut in the stock first. Then, the front end of the section is rotated up into position. An Axis has just been readied for a fundamental cleaning. Detailed Disassembly This section is coming up sooner than in some of my articles to men-

tion a subject that should have been discussed in some detail, and probably more than once, in past issues: The Federal Firearms License and the gunsmith. I know you must have seen classified ads in a fair number of firearmoriented publications. All had a similar "hook," that being securing a FFL via the offices of the advertiser.

First, there is only ONE way to secure an FFL and that is through the licensing office of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (atf. gov, You contact them, ask for an application and they’ll send you the paperwork. Second, there is no such thing as a "gunsmithing" FFL because he or she actually takes possession of a firearm from its owner and must, by law, maintain records of the acquisition and ultimate disposition of that firearm in exactly the same manner a dealer follows.

Therefore, though a gunsmith may not include retail gun sales in the services currently offered or even plan to include them in the future, that individual has to apply for a FFL just the same. Check this out. If you have a friend who owns a gun, wants you to work on it and you don’t have an FFL, you can work on it as long as you don’t take possession. Meaning: The gun owner has to remain on the spot as long as you’re doing the work and take the gun from you as soon as you’re finished.

How’s that for gun control carried to the idiotic? Nevertheless folks, that’s the way things are. I apologize for the de- The front baffle washer (A) may look warped but it’s deliberate to provide a springlike quality to its function. lay in waving the red flag. Better late than never—I hope—but I had good reason here to delay no further. That reason is complete disassembly of the bolt assembly.

I’ve always insisted that no pistol, rifle or shotgun can be properly cleaned, inspected, and serviced when the bolt remains assembled. Savage agrees but agrees with a limitation. To wit, "No bolthead parts can be sold to other than to an FFL holder who is qualified to perform he work." Whether you can satisfy the FFL limitation I can’t say. Your answer to the qualification query?

Tell the questioner all disassembly/reassembly instructions were dictated by along time Savage factory gunsmith assigned the specific task by his management of providing them to appear exclusively in these pages. And so soon will. Bolt Disassembly The Axis has a loaded chamber indicator, also known as the back end of its firing pin (11G). It shows up whenever a cartridge has been inserted and the rifle cocked. Raise the bolt by lifting the bolt handle (12C) upward. Watch the end of the indicator.

It will withdraw into the bolt. Stop immediately with the bolt handle. The hole where the end of the firing pin used to be is nowa ¼" hex wrench open- Aing in the bolt assembly screw head (12S). Loosen the screw, use your fingers to remove it all the way and slip the bolt handle off the bolt body. You have opened the doorway to the new, multi-component mainspring system (12BB, 12BC and 12BD) being introduced in the Axis.

Before picking the parts out to the rear starting with the rearmost spring (12BD) look at the schematic closely. Note the tip on the front end of spring (12BB). In reconstructing the bolt, the tip has to fit into a notch in the firing pin. I’ll let you in on performing that task a little later. It’s very important. For the present, pull the cocking piece free, withdraw the entire firing pin assembly from the bolt body and set it safely aside. A small schematic added to the main one details the bolt head (12K).

I’ve already alerted all readers that the head and all the parts within it require satisfaction of the FFLqualified restriction. Having faith you will be able to overcome those bumps in the road, I’ll proceed. Move your attention to the bolt head retainer (103). It also plays a role in retaining the firing pin. The pin has to pass through the hole in the retainer when being reinserted in the bolt body (12G). Right now, you have to know how to remove

the bolt head retainer before you can get to work on the bolt head. This is how: Press the bolt head down on your bench top to push it inward and relax the front washer. Keep the pressure on and the retainer is at your mercy. Show none. Push and remove it. Do the same with the bolt head. This time, don’t push. A mild pull will leave the body behind the head and all it contains in your hand. Extractor and ejector removal is not unlike the method followed in dozens, perhaps hundreds, of rifles.

The entire assembly consists of an extractor (12L), a 1/8" diameter steel ball, ejector pin (12P), ejector spring (12Q), extractor spring (12M) and ejector (12O). Pick up a small, thin blade driver. Insert the blade between the ball and back end of A During final assembly the cocking piece is pressed in until end of the tail snaps into its groove in the piece. Backing out the two hex-head screws allows removal of the trigger guard and barreled action from the stock. the spring. Push the ball to the rear.

Slide the extractor out to the front. Remove the spring from the tail of the extractor. Keep an eagle eye out for the ball and spring when working on the extractor. The ejector also has a small spring to worry you. There’s no tiny steel ball threatening a flight to freedom, but there’s that ejector pin. It calls for a 16th punch and the pin is made of aluminum. Do not treat it as you would hardened steel. You’re right! The Axis has no Accu Trigger.

Despite the highly successful performance and safety features of the mechanism, several planners at Savage were concerned there would be all too many owners taking the pull down to 2.5 pounds. Note they were worried about owners in general, not experienced hunters. No, as this is written there are no plans to offer a factory-only modification to the receiver making retrofitting an Accu Trigger possible. No, you cannot secure Axis trigger parts individually. Yes, you can order a complete Axis trigger assembly.

Reassembly Tips Let’s start with the role of the firing pin. Whaduhyamean, Mr. Technical Editor? We all already know the firing pin ignites the primer in the cartridge. No doubt of that but hold up on the letters of complaint to our editorial office. The firing pin in the Axis does a whole lot more than just touch off the round.

It also holds the front end of the bolt aligned in the bolt body and makes a home for the cocking piece, without which the bolt can’t be cocked, as well as that A The tail of rearmost three-piece mainspring (A) has been positioned to enter the slot machined for it in the rear of the firing pin.

Though no individual parts are available for its trigger, by removing one pin (A) a complete new assembly can be purchased. The assembly includes the safety (B), its only plastic component. odd looking but very reliable main spring set-up. Heaven help the gunsmith who doesn’t understand the many roles played by the firing pin of the Axis.

Unlike the manufacturer of one rifle I’ll speak more of in a future article, which happens to be a lightweight hunting iron in direct competition with all other lightweight rifles, Savage realizes the advantages of making it possible for a local gunsmith to service an Axis. If Savage believed otherwise you wouldn’t be reading this article. Install the spring on the ejector tail prior to positioning the ejector in its slot within the bolt head.

Compress the ejector/spring subassembly into the head until the ejector is flush with the bolt face. Insert the ejector pin. While keeping light, rearward pressure on the ejector, slowly move the pin up and down until the ejector snaps into place. Beware the small, steel ball leaving the immediate area when reinstalling the extractor. Add the spring and be double wary. After placing 12J and 12I on 12K— in that order—half secure them in the bolt body with the bolt head retainer (103).

I say "half" because the subassembly won’t be fully secured until the primer impact end of the firing pin has been passed through its hole in the retainer. You can’t see that happen but you can feel it. With the back end of the firing pin held upward, place 12BB and 12BC on the shaft. Maintaining the subassembly vertically, set it aside for the moment. Pick up retainer, orient its center hole to 90 degrees and keep it at 90 degrees when you start the retainer into the bolt body. Just barely start it in.

Pick up the firing pin subassembly and start it into the bolt body. Worry not. The thicker diameter of the firing pin will prevent the assembly from falling through the body if you lose your grip. Feed in the retainer slowly. Wobble the firing pin back and forth a little as you lower it into contact with the retainer. Sooner than later, the pin tip will find the hole it’s supposed to pass through. Do not allow the firing pin assembly to ignore the hint.

Top off the installation with 12BD but do not reinstall the bolt screw. At this point, the cocking piece as yet to be touched since its removal. It’s about to be. A hole in the firing pin awaits. Neither the cocking piece or the hole are threaded. The cocking piece is grooved in its middle. There is a definite order for returning the firing pin assembly to the bolt body and securing it with the cocking piece. The rear stem of the firing pin has a short longitudinal groove in it.

The tail of the forward spring fits in the groove and is slid forward until the tail moves down to protrude into the cocking piece hole. Add the firing pin washer and the rearmost spring to the firing pin stem. With the pre-assembly complete, insert the assembly into the bolt body. You place the bolt handle on the body and start in the bolt assembly screw. B A Use the screw to move the firing pin assembly forward until the cocking piece hole is visible at the front end of the bolt body cut out.

Check to be certain the tail of the forward spring can be seen in its hole and install the cocking piece. It’s a press fit. An audible "snap" will let you know the tail of the spring has found its groove in the cocking piece. Tighten the bolt screw, restore the barreled action to the stock, insert an empty magazine and, paraphrasing Larry The Cable Guy, you Got-R-Dun. Schematic Notes The schematic presented here is complete and accurate, showing far more parts than the drawing in the owner’s manual.

Said drawing is incorrectly numbered with duplications, omissions and false identities. All pertinent parts are highlighted. I chose to avoid possible confusion by addressing only the parts you should be dealing with and again stress the need of an FFL to get them. I suggested strongly to my Savage contact that the manual schematic be replaced or a notice placed there-in that the one appearing here be made available via Savage Customer Service at no cost to an Axis purchaser. Only time will tell on that proposal.

AG

Savage Arms Axis (Speci ications subject to change without notice) 12BD Rear Mainspring 12BC Firing Pin Washer 12BB Front Mainspring 12A Cocking Piece Pin 11G Firing Pin 12Q Ejector Retaining Pin 12P Ejector Spring 12O Ejector 12G RH Bolt Body 12I Washer- Front Baffle 12J Front Baffle 12K Bolt Head-RH 103 Bolt Head Retainer 12M Extractor Spring 12S Bolt Assembly Screw 12C Bolt Handle RH 12N Steel Ball 1/8 inch 12L Extractor 19A Trigger Guard 19C Rear Action Screw 19D Front Action Screw 10 Magazine Box 18 Synthetic Stock