783 vs axis action for budget build?

J

jdk81

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Pros and cons of each? I imagine there may be more aftermarket for the Axis? I've heard good and bad things of each, and I enjoy the accutrigger so that would be a plus of the savage.

Has anyone here done builds on each and have a strong preference?

EDIT: I am building a 20 Practical, so I am need of just an action to re-barrel.
 
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I owned a 783 and it was an "ok" rifle. Trigger was like the accutrigger and could be adjusted decently but I sold it to a friend as there was really zero aftermarket support for it at the time. Just had it long enough to shoot one coyote and then got rid of it haha
 
FWIW, I and another range member have rebarreled around four Axis rifles. Neither of us hunt anymore, so we shoot a lot of paper from benchrest and have been happy with our builds on an Axis action. Only thing I don't like is while you can feed a single round thru the ejection port, its kinda awkward to do.....so feed most of my rounds from its magazine. Neither of us own a 783, but imagine with its similar design ejection port, would have same problem.

Barrel removal on Axis and removal of barrel nut from barrel to reuse, might not be really easy. Both of us encountered a fair number of very tiny metal beads stuck in the threads that were a pain to deal with. Understand the beads were from metal prep for finish put on Axis barreled action. While freeing the barrel away from receiver took a few extra whacks, wasn't that hard to do....problem arose when trying to back off the barrel nut....darn beads in threads really held it tight. I made a mental note to have a new barrel nut handy if I ever rebarreled another Axis. My buddy basically agreed with me on this.
 
I agree with Yote...neither of the listed rifles would be my pick.The Ruger American is a damned good rifle, that happens to be cheap. The others are cheap rifles that happen to be OK.
 
Originally Posted By: Yotehntr96Ruger American is better quality than either option listed IMO and $350 for the rifle in dang near any caliber you want

Before I did that, I'd look for a good used Rem 700 and put a RemAge barrel on it. More aftermarket and a better action as a whole. Seems silly to pay that for a American when he wants to tear it apart.
 
Originally Posted By: pahntr760Originally Posted By: Yotehntr96Ruger American is better quality than either option listed IMO and $350 for the rifle in dang near any caliber you want

Before I did that, I'd look for a good used Rem 700 and put a RemAge barrel on it. More aftermarket and a better action as a whole. Seems silly to pay that for a American when he wants to tear it apart.

For the same price Walmart asks for a RA, you can get and R700 ADL package there. By the time you sell off the barrel, stock, scope and other stuff, the action is about $200. I have bought several Remington 700s there just for this purpose.
 
Im a 700 fan, but for a new rifle, Im not sure I would buy one over an American. I didnt see where the OP was planning on rebarreling, etc...just a "budget build."
 
Originally Posted By: liliysdadIm a 700 fan, but for a new rifle, Im not sure I would buy one over an American. I didnt see where the OP was planning on rebarreling, etc...just a "budget build."

oops, forgot to specify that I am building a 20 Practical, so I just need an action.

THANKS FOR THE REPLIES!!
 
Thats good info...

I have always built off of the 700 action, for sheer simplicity. For something like a 20 Practical, a Model 7 action might be just the ticket.

I am still a fan of the American action, and as time progresses, I foresee the aftermarket becoming huge for these guns. I like them much better than anything Savage puts out. The Ruger Precision Rifle uses the American action, and I see that MDT is cataloging their LSS chassis for the American...might be just the ticket for a build.
 
Wouldn't it be nice if Savage would just sell their Axis II actions. Or they could sell and action and barrel set...ready to assemble for those who like to tinker.
 
Here's my dog in this fight. Not a fan of the Ruger so thats out from the git go. A Savage Axis on sale will run about $300 after you pay Uncle Sam. A Model 7 action only will run in the $300-$350 range and as nice as the are, parts are extremely hard to find and pricey. A Remington 700 scope package at Wally World is $377 plus tax and parts are everywhere. If it not in stock, they will order it for you for the same price. Not much meat on the bone selling Axis parts and Model 7 parts are hard to get. Go with the 700, sell your left overs and have a good solid rifle. JMO
 
Mode 7 parts are not difficult to get..at all. There may not be as many options, but stocks, bottom metal, scope bases, triggers, etc...easily found.
 
Originally Posted By: liliysdadMode 7 parts are not difficult to get..at all. There may not be as many options, but stocks, bottom metal, scope bases, triggers, etc...easily found.

Not to argue but it took me forever to find a trigger guard for my Model 7. I finally found one in SS from Mid-Way and it was pricey. PT&G gets a stiff price for theirs too! Everywhere I looked was Out Of Stock. Another member spent a lot of time trying to locate one also. Maybe it was just bad timing on my part.
 
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Originally Posted By: jdk81Pros and cons of each? I imagine there may be more aftermarket for the Axis? I've heard good and bad things of each, and I enjoy the accutrigger so that would be a plus of the savage.

Has anyone here done builds on each and have a strong preference?

EDIT: I am building a 20 Practical, so I am need of just an action to re-barrel.

I own 6 savage rifles and 2 of them are custom rebarrels from a stevens 200 short action in 6x45 and the other in a stevens 200 long action in 338-06. Savage actions are the way go if your on a budget build for a 20prac. Plenty of parts and accessories to find that are readily available vs the 783 which will most likely be hard to find parts for, considering its fairly new to the market. If your looking for a good shooting barrel for your "budget build" in 20 prac I highly recommend Apache Gun Works http://apachegunworks.com/index.html. Great guy to deal with and his prices are much easier on the wallet than a Krieger or Brux barrel for your build.
 
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