My new Savage AXIS II 6mm ARC

[Ray R]

My new Savage AXIS II 6mm ARC just arrived. 

I'm waiting for my scope base to get here. I selected a 0 MOA base because I couldn't find a 20 MOA base in stock at a reasonable price. Once it gets here, I'll be mounting my Bushnell 4500 Elite 8-32*44 scope on it, until I get the rifle broken in and can decide the longest distance that I will be shooting at and what scope & reticle I really want to put on it. One-thousand-yard ranges are not common here (I live in High Point, NC).

I was taken by surprise when I found my cleaning rod was too fat for this little round. I had to really look hard to find a 6mm rod, jag and brush. And I thought sourcing gear for my .32 caliber handguns was hard - LOL

I'm going to clean and lubricate this rifle tomorrow. I use Butch's Bore shine as a cleaner and have developed an affinity for gun grease in my handguns. My lubrication guideline is: "if it slides, grease it and if it rotates, oil it". My only other current rifle is an Enfield #4 Mk I. It is very accurate; sub-MOA rifle with a South African barrel with commercial 174 grain military ammo at 100 yards. The rifle ws made in 1947 and the barrel was installed as part of an FTR done by the British military in 1958. Thats OK because I was made in 1946 - LOL

I will be shooting the Savage at 100 yards to start with.

I will be adding a bi-pod and be shooting from a bench rest to begin with. My only benchrest experience was with a custom 6mm BR at a friend's 100-yard range. It had a fixed 36 power weaver scope, a 2-ounce trigger and custom ammunition. My groups started at 3/4" and ended at 1/4". Up to that time, I thought a 2" or 3" group at 100 yards was pretty good.

That day I learned the joy of shooting a really accurate rifle and the value of a light trigger on a low recoiling rifle and a high-power scope. Being able to see the target through that scope eclipsed using peep sights. Now that I'm older and have had some eye problems, I really value a clear, high-powered scope and a good cheek rest.

I am going to add an inexpensive adjustable cheek rest to the current Savage stock if I find I need one. I will be getting a low set of scope rings that have inserts which can give me up to 30 MOA if I find I need it. 
The rings on my Enfield were high along with my scope mount being high. I needed room to clear the rifles wooden stock room to be able to load that rifle from the top.

I plan to eventually upgrade over time in steps with the first step being a longer barrel and the last step being the fitting of this rifle into an Oryx stock. I have 3 boxes of Hornady ammo coming in with the boat tailed hollow point ammunition. I'll use those cases for reloading until I can buy some from Hornady.

I'm looking at reloading dies. In the past, my Lee dies have served me well, but I am thinking of getting some dies with a built-in calibrated adjustment for bullet seating.

I hope these cases stay more concentric then my .303 British proved to be. 

I have seen some photos of benchrest rifles using a small tripod the size of most bipods but have not been able to find a manufacturer. I am also going to need to get a chronograph that is range friendly. I feel the Lab Radar is a little out of my price range for now and will probably try that unit that mounts onto the rifles barrel. Once I get real velocity measurements to verify what my QuickLoad program estimates, I'll be more comfortable with my loads.

I realize there is a lot of gear I haven't thought of yet, so I am open to suggestions.

I'm sold on the 6mm for accuracy and availability of a wide range of bullet sizes & shapes. 

For what it's worth, I personally like the idea of the Military looking at getting this round to enable continued use of M16's as a service rifle. I feel it is a cost- effective measure and a real performance enhancement. We are getting back to the effective range of our WWI & WW II rifles, and we do need that range. My Drill Instructor at MCRD San Diego said so! - LOL

I also think this will make getting ammunition a little easier in the future.

[Newmexican]

Ray, welcome to the ARC. I also have an Axis II, and mounted it in a Boyd's thumbhole stock. I am not wild about the stock, but will work with it. I stole the Athlon Argos 6-24 off it to work on accuracy with my CZ .22 LR, so need to find a substitute. I have kind of put the ARC in suspended animation until the brass situation improves -- too darned spendy shooting factory stuff for this caballero. I'm sure the brass situation will ease sooner than later.
Good on you for running an Enfield #4. With the early adjustable sight and a good barrel, they are a pleasure to shoot.

[Ray R]

My biggest surprise was that my rifle cleaning rod was too fat for the 6mm barrel. Finding brushes, a new rod and jags was not easy. I was surprised at how dirty the barrel was.

I found the Savage easy to disassemble. I used some grease on the front & rear lugs of the bolt. I couldn't easily access all of the receiver's bolt channel, so I relied on the bolt to carry the grease to those locations in the receiver I could not clearly get to. The bolt now rotates much more smoothly than it did when I first operated the bolt. I intend to pull the bolt, clean it and then re-grease it with a much lighter grease coating now that the receiver is greased to my satisfaction.

I had read about how difficult it was to get the bolt out. What a bunch of hooey. You just pull the trigger back, then pull down the bolt release and keep it down. At that point I release the trigger and pull out the bolt. I feel the folks that point out this operation as difficult are just looking for something to complain about.

I just received my Weaver scope base, and it came with 6-48 screws. My rifle needs 8-40 screws. My stock of mounting screws had some 8-40 screws, but their heads were too wide for the cutout in the scope base. Talk about being frustrated.

I will use the Elite 4500 32 power scope currently on my #4 Enfield #4 MK I. I will look at getting one of those inexpensive (less than $300.00) scopes with up to 24 power as a replacement for the Enfield, since I won't be shooting it much past 100 yards.

My next immediate expense will be a set of dies and some other specialized equipment for neck turning and case measurement tools to augment my concentricity meter.

I intend to start shooting next week, after I get my scope mounted. I just picked up three boxes of 105 grain Hornady Black 6mm ARC ammo today.

I guess it's time to order some of those 105 grain BTHB Hornady bullets so I'm in a position to do some relaoding.

[CZ527 Guy]

Welcome aboard Ray. Hope you like the 6mm Arc as much as I do. Glad to hear you are a reloader as IMHO that is where the 6mm Arc really shines.

Guessing your shooting range is limited in distance, as you do not expect much shooting past 100 yards?

[Ray R]

Range report:

After breaking in my rifle (it took less than 15 rounds to my surprise), I realized my plan for what I was going to do to accurize it is not going to be as elaborate nor as expensive as I thought.

I started at 25 yards to get on paper, cleaning after every round using Hornady's 105 grain ammunition. The final 3 shot group was 0.33". Not too bad.

Then I went to 50 yards and after re-sighting to get near the center of the target I shot a 3-round group that was .336". Now that was more promising.

At this point I decided I was going to find a 6mm bore snake to clean the barrel. You have to be an expert shot just to get the cleaning rod lined up with the bore to start a cleaning pass (ha-ha).

I am now tired and running low on ammo. I had 3 shots left to take (I felt I needed to hold back 5 rounds from this batch to compare to other boxes of ammo after I get used to the rifle). I was shooting today using a folded towel for a cheek riser and it kept falling off.

My last 3 shots at 100 yards were a 0.808" group, less than 1-MOA from my inexpensive little Savage AXIS II rifle. I guess I won't need that new barrel I was planning to get. They formed an equilateral triangle and I realized that I was "chasing the bull" and that the rifle was probably more accurate than that.

On my next visit to the range a week later my first 100-yard group was a 0.420" group in the form of a vertical slanted line with two shots overlapping each other. Then I played with some Hornady 108 grain ammo. I had dropped the towel I was using as a cheek rest and had trouble getting it refolded and getting comfortable with it. I had a flyer and a 1.4" group. I then went back to the 105-grain ammo and had a 0.650" group.

It looks like I may have a sub 1/2-MOA Rifle.

I'm elated.

I set my reloading dies up and cleaned, trimmed and hand primed my fired cases. I'm waiting to get my rifle back from the gunsmith with the new, inexpensive riser installed. Then I'll check the bore to see how far to set my bullet seating die. I intend to leave .002" leade space for my first batch of reloads.

I will experiment with both neck sizing and full-length sizing to see if one offers better accuracy than the other. I have seen credible reports supporting each method. A lot of long-range shooters prefer full length sizing for accuracy while other shooters prefer neck sizing only for case life.

I can tell you that the little 6mm ARC case by Hornady seems to use much thicker brass than my .303 British cases from several manufacturers. Of course, their objective back then was to make a good round for just one-shot use, so that may have been a factor.

The big .303 B case weighs in at ~160 grains and the Hornady 6mm ARC case weighs in at ~ 118 grains.

My new goal is to now spend as little money as possible to make this little shooter comfortable for me to shoot accurately. My only future modification will be to add a heavy rubber barrel tuner and see if it makes any difference in my group size. They only cost about $10, so it may be worth the effort.

[grayfox]

I was going to tell you about the kydex ("Matthew's") adjustable cheek risers you can get from either Amazon or direct from his website, there's one that fits the axis stock, but sounds like you have that covered for now. After doing a couple I can measure and drill the 2 holes pretty well, using some 1/4" graph paper overlayed on the stock to mark starting points.
Scope rails, the EGW usually comes in 0 or 20 moa for an axis, it's a pic rail not weaver and comes with both sizes of screw so you can make it work, again Amazon has them as well as other places. Outer impact is another brand but double check on screw size.
I'm using the hornady dies and they work well, currently dialing in some 107 Smk and 95 Bergers.
I echo your feelings about being able to see with a larger scope.
Brass, personally I wouldn't wait for plain brass to show up, use Ammoseek for the least expensive 6Arc ammo, whether 108 or 105's. They both shoot pretty well and they are just about the same (obviously a bit more) as the hornady price in those 50-pc pkgs. You can also trim down/neck size some unfired 6.5 Grendel cases to get more brass, there's a thread on that somewhere, I did a few cases just to try it out and it's pretty straightforward, the only boring part is the first trim back to ~1.485... I got one of those drill-attached trimmers to avoid my manual rcbs trim tool for that step. unfired worked better than 1x but they both will work. Didn't need to anneal as the unfired comes form the factory annealed...
Little tripods, I've seen those I think they're magpul maybe? Get a rock jr or a rock (rcbs) for that front rest, your 1000 yard shots will thank you.
And o-btw save your back by using a little aluminum 2-wheel dolly cart like dbest 01527 Bigger Trolley Dolly, 16x14x40 and put the range bag etc onto it. This way that rock shooting rest doesn't "weigh" that much lol! Everyone that sees it at the range says why didn't I think of that...

Note that the seating length of a 105 BT (hornady now, just sayin) to avoid the lands is much shorter than the vld-style 108 or 107's. Having an oal measuring tool helps you there with the 6 Arc with the 6Arc modified case. A 105 hornady hpbt seats around 2.200 whereas the 107-108 vld's can go 2.260-2.275 and still fit in the mag and your chamber. Each chamber is different.
Anyway welcome to the 6Arc world!

[Ray R]

Thanks for the information.

I happened to see the Mathews cheek rest after I ordered another brand. I ordered the Mathews cheek rest anyway. I compared the two and the cheaper cheek rest looks like it will do the job. The Mathews cheek rest can be set much higher, and I need that height on my Enfield #4 MK I because the scope mount is high and so are its scope mounting rings. I hope the gunsmith can install it on my Enfield's wooden stock.

For this next year I will be restricting myself the Hornady BTHP 105 grain 6mm bullet.

I ended up with an EGW 20 moa scope rail getting mounted on my rifle. My first rail just didn't fit very well.

I am going to get one of the tripod front rests; I'm just trying to decide which one to get. I will use it with a soft "Rabit ear" v-type bag along with a similar rear bag sitting on a soft rectangular rear bag. Once I become consistent shooting this rifle at 100 yards, I'll try to find some nearby ranges that have longer distances available and see what I can do. I do shoot from a seated and more upright position. I find it more comfortable, and the recoil doesn't seem to justify using a prone position. I'm old and not as flexible as I used to be. - LOL

I will be getting a new rifle scope this April as a birthday present. I would like to know what scopes and power ranges others 6mm ARC shooters are using. Going to full power (32x) on my scope makes getting my cheek weld position extremely critical to just be able to see out of the scope. I'm considering the 4-20+ power scopes with 50mm lenses and 1" tubes so I can still use my current rings and installation. I'm looking in the $300.00 price range.

I'll then reinstall my old scope back on the Enfield, where it came from.

[grayfox]

I don't do prone either, same reasons.
In that scope price range, try the vortex DB tactical-Moa, 4-16x44 (FFP), but it is a 30 mm tube, they are best for those distances/light anyways. Rings are still reasonable.
Or vortex 6-18x44 (2d FP), 30mm also; I have both in Moa's.
When I did my first long range class a bit ago I had a 4-16x44 viper vortex and at 1000 it was a bit small but doable, for my next 1000 run I'll be sitting with a 6-24 or the 6-18, I've ranged both of them here at the house (some bldgs 1200 yd away) out in the country and they both seem gtg for me.
Vortexes are my choice in most everything now. can't beat the warranty or the CS.

[Ray R]

I don't do prone either, same reasons.
In that scope price range, try the vortex DB tactical-Moa, 4-16x44 (FFP), but it is a 30 mm tube, they are best for those distances/light anyways. Rings are still reasonable.
Or vortex 6-18x44 (2d FP), 30mm also; I have both in Moa's.
When I did my first long range class a bit ago I had a 4-16x44 viper vortex and at 1000 it was a bit small but doable, for my next 1000 run I'll be sitting with a 6-24 or the 6-18, I've ranged both of them here at the house (some bldgs 1200 yd away) out in the country and they both seem gtg for me.
Vortexes are my choice in most everything now.  can't beat the warranty or the CS.

I bit the bullet and ordered a RITON X1 Conquer 6-24*50 riflescope.

I love the reticle with the area the vertical and horizontal alignment axis being empty, except for a very small dot. I also like the simplicity of setting the adjustment knobs to zero after I zero it in at 100 yards.

I should be getting it installed in about two weeks, along with the new cheek rest. The weather should be a little better by then. - LOL

[762nato]

Just picked an Axis 11 in Arc finding right around moa with reloads and a little bigger than moa with factory. Has a Viper 4 16 on it. Had good results with a 80 gr TTSX which is my intended hunting bullet. Have some 105 gr Bergers kicking around going to try them next. Arc should be an excellent round for whitetails no long shots in the bush in my area. And the odd varmint and coyote I get a chance to dust.
Waiting on a chassis for a .243 build so the axis is not going to see much serious target shooting 30" finish Bartlien 1 in 7 straight 1.25" for the whole length, no taper. More a fan of 6.5 mm for long range work....