Savage Axis .223

After working on the plastic factory stock of the Savage Axis .223 by aluminum bracing the forestock and epoxy bedding the action area, the stock just was not showing good bullet groups. Improving the strength and reducing vibration should have helped. Maybe it was just a bad stock with way too much flex in it. So I ended up putting a Boyds gun stock on it. A pepper colored Prairie Hunter CNC machined laminated wood stock. I am pleased with the results. The rifle is capable of one inch groups at 100 yards or MOA (Minute Of Angle) with factory ammo. Probably even better with handloads.

In the first clip of me shooting from the sitting position, this was after I had been shooting for quite a while in the prone position from the Benchmaster rifle rest. I had my left arm in the wrong position while shooting and the left arm had fallen asleep and gone numb so it was difficult shooting at that time as my left arm did not want to support the rifle. Since my left arm range of motion is limited now I suspect I pulled or strained a back or arm muscle. Even with the left arm injury and unsteady movement I was still able to hit and ring the 100 yard steel target downrange. I had tried to film striking the AR500 steel target but I think the camera had shut down at that point from a depleted battery. You might hear some far away talking on the target impact footage as Ed the RO (Range Officer) was telling me in the rifle pavilion to take that fourth shot and finish that one inch four shot group. I am not affiliated with Boyds Gunstocks, Savage Arms, Benchmaster, or any of the ammo mentioned. Nor am I endorsing any of them.

The two problems I mentioned was really just one problem and that was the extractor weakly extracting spent cases and rounds from the chamber. It does extract but sometimes cases and rounds do not clear the action. So the extractor is releasing the rim of the case while it is clearing the chamber so that the ejector cannot kick the case clear of the action. The extractor should hold the rim of the case until the ejector ejects it. The second problem actually after inspecting primers was a few bad primers since the primers had been struck solidly by the firing pin. So it was the cheap Federal bulk pack ammo, not light strikes by the rifle as I initially thought.

Please shoot safely and thanks again for watching.