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I experienced no issues with general use, but had a few things I ran into that I didn’t really like. The mag on the Remington 783 is better, and the 783’s retention mechanism is better too. Not a very good idea, mine broke and I’ve seen lots of threads online where others have too. It also has plastic catches on the rear of the mag that hold the metal body. Throwing the mag into the magwell isn’t a slam dunk, and you can hear a click, but not have it in all the way. The feed lips on the center feed mags also let you “snap in” rounds from the top very easily, so loading isn’t all that bad. Loading and unloading the center feed Savage magazines isn’t quite as fast as their older open double stack design, but it isn’t too far off either. From images of the Remington 783, it looks to do the same thing. Again, this is one of the costs of making a sub $300 rifle and if you dislike plastic catches, you’ll have to move up to a more expensive model.
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Savage’s center feed magazines are fine, but I wasn’t a huge fan of the plastic magazine catch at the front. The Savage Axis XP magazine is a combination of a metal body and feed lips and a plastic bottom with built in magazine catch. While I haven’t laid my hands on a Remington 783, the trigger will undoubtedly be better than the one on an Axis.
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Remington calls it their “Crossfire” trigger system. It’s using what looks like Marlin’s Pro-fire trigger system, itself heavily inspired by Savage’s Accutrigger. Most of Savage’s competitors are on-par here except the Remington 783. If you’re mechanically handy, you could do your own trigger job for a lot less. With tune-able sear engagement, I was able to eliminate the ugly creep in the standard trigger and get a great feeling trigger for about $80. In any case, I decided to mount a Rifle Basix SAV-1 trigger in my Stainless Axis. I’d really love if Savage used their Accutrigger in this rifle, but then I guess there’d be no reason to buy one of their more expensive rifles. You could cut the trigger spring to get rid of a bit of the weight, but you’d still have that creep built in. Out of the 4 models I’ve fired, all have had a bit more trigger creep than I’d care to have, and all were a touch heavy. I don’t hate the Savage Axis trigger, but I certainly don’t love it. Savage Axis Trigger Rifle Basix left, Savage right If you’re interested in seeing what accessories are available, checkout my post on Savage Axis accessories. I personally see the 770 as a bit of an experiment, and the 783 as the only real competition to the Axis, so I’ve added comments throughout this review on how the Remington 783 compares with the Savage Axis. It competes slightly with the similarly priced Stevens 200 and Savage 11/111 Hunter XP, and more directly with the Remington 770 and new Remington 783. And while the Savage Axis had nearly no competition in this category when launched, it now has a few. Compared with a lever action rifle, which would cost more and certainly be less accurate, or a complex semi-auto, or a very limited single shot, the inexpensive bolt action rifles seem like the obvious choice. Modern machining methods combined with designs that are made to those capabilities have resulted in a whole slew of accurate, dependable, cheap rifles. Whew, isn’t that a mouthful? Put simply, these rifles are designed for beginner hunters or those who need an inexpensive backup rifle. The Market: Inexpensive, standard caliber, synthetic stock, bolt action rifles **Update: Check out my review on the Axis II** Savage Axis Video Review If you get an Axis 1 instead of an Axis 2, get an M*Carbo spring kit! Brownells also has some Savage Axis parts. At around $400 in Canada, and $350 in the US, they’re a very inexpensive rifle. The Savage Axis XP makes for a great beginner or backup hunting rifle, but is quickly seeing competition catching up. It’s also a departure from the previous strategy of using the Stevens name as a “fighting brand” that sells the most discounted goods and is slightly disassociated with the main brand. Previously called the Savage Edge, the Axis is a modernization of the Savage 110 bolt action rifle in order to reduce costs while maintaining the generally excellent accuracy that Savage rifles are known for. The Savage Axis is a relatively new entrant into the bargain rifle category.