I'm far from an AR fan, but a neighbor brought a newe R-15 over to use my cleaning stuff on and to tinker with, and tinker it was, since neither of us knew squat about AR's LOL
Anyway,,, from what I saw, the r-15 was a nice, well made, handy little rifle that I'd pick way before the Axiom. Nothing wrong with Howa's, but that Axiom's a beast.
Nothing wrong with the 223 either IMO, but I would choose a soft point or even a match HP before the V-Max. If ya just gotta shoot a plastic tipped bullet (which most guys do these days), Nosler BT's probably a better choice.
Here's a pic of 22cal V-Max and BT's that I sectioned.
As crappy as the pic is, it's still pretty obvious that the BT is better constructed, with a thicker jacket and heavier base.
The V-Max is a great bullet for colony varmints, which is what it was designed for, but is a bit to fragile for bigger game IMO.
Get that R-15 and some Bt's, or even better 55gr Sierra GK's and you'll be fine out to 300, (although you should be able to call em in allot closer than that
).
Luck
Charlie