After almost two weeks my savage axis in 350 L finally arrived. I couldn't believe how dirty it was, took an hour of running patches through it to get all the carbon deposits out--couldn't get the bolt completely clean. Called savage and asked how much test ammo they run through these things nowadays--I was told one to two magazines. Looked more like 20 to 30 cartridges to me.
I also noticed Bud's dropped the price of the rifle immediately after I ordered mine by about $30. That always gives you a special feeling.
It looks like the "runt of the litter" with an 18" barrel, but it's nice to see Savage has finally stiffened the stock up so it doesn't flex with the slightest pressure. Why am I posting this here you might ask? First thing I did was use the PTG gauges to check the headspace--and sure enough the bolt would
NOT close on the 1.714 no go--whereas an AR's most likely would. That's not to say the AR is out of compliance, but I had a sneaking suspicion the tolerances would be tighter on a bolt gun.
It just so happens one of the GS on the way home from picking up the rifle had a DNZ Game Reaper one-piece mount/ring for the axis on their shelf--I always wanted to try one out--so there it is holding the loopy that had formerly resided on the 350L (soon to be 22 nosler) AR build.