270 Savage Axis as Beginner Sniper Rifle.

FRANK54

Private
Minuteman
Dec 9, 2013
2
0
Hello Everyone, First off I would like to wish everyone a Merry Christmas, And a Happy Holiday. I would like to know your views on The 270 Axis Savage. I recently purchased one for long range target shooting. Its equipped with a Bushnell 6x18x50 Banner scope, And tripod. Its been close to 45 yrs since I did any long range shooting. Left Nam in 73. Just looking for something to get my eye And coordination back. Im hoping that this combination will get me out to the 800- 900 yd range. Any feedback would be greatly appreciated.
 
Probably not. I am not saying it can't happen but, the Axis has its limitations. I had an Axis in .308 with an EGW rail, Brownells USA rings and Votex Viper scope. The trigger was holding it back. A Rifle Basix trigger helped get the group size down the most because the stock Axis trigger sucks. I want to think of a better word, but I can't. It was a fine hunting rifle out to 350 yards. But it would open up quite a bit after that. You may be able to acquire one of the new (Boyds I think) stocks in laminate and bed it. But the entire design is a hunting rifle/truck gun at a reasonable price. I think Savage delivered in that goal. I think the limitations of the gun are about 500 yards. There are just too many variables with the design, long action, poor trigger, noodle stock. You may be able to make a first round hit, but by round three, impact will shift due to barrel heat etc.

Have fun with it. Replace the trigger. See what the rifle will do to 500 yards, it might surprise you. I also think the .270 is limited for bullet weights. In that there is far more round developement with the .260, .308 and other short action rounds.

My suggestion is since you aready own it. Replace the trigger with a Rifle Basix. Shoot it a while. Work out your yardage and see where it goes. As an entry gun, it isn't bad, but I do not believe it is a repeatable distance rifle at 800+ yards. I think you will have a lot of fun getting to 500 yards and grow from there.

Good luck, thank you for your service.
 
People have shot that far with economy hunting rifles but the caliber and optics will be your limiting factor. Unless you load the bergers there's basically no factory ammo that's going to perform at that distance. The scope will also hold it back because banners are known to tracking issues, its a zero it and hope it stays there scope. It also lacks turrets.

For future reference, if you are unsure, it's always a good idea to research before the purchase.
 
Frank - Hello - since value is part of the deal, one option is to work on the trigger pull weight yourself. There are a lot of posts on the web regarding either clipping a coil or two off of the trigger spring, or replacing the trigger spring, and getting the trigger weight down to about 3 lbs. Just put 'savage axis trigger spring' in a search engine, and read up on what others have done.