Tag Archives: gun factory tour

The Magic Behind the Axis II rifle

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Founded by Arthur William Savage in 1894– a polymath who also built some of the earliest race cars and invented radial tires– the company’s bread and butter for a century was Mr. Savage’s Model 99 hammerless rotary-magazine lever gun.

With over a million made in dozens of variants, the Model 99 was put to pasture in 1997 and likely is never coming back, fully transitioning to the bolt-action Model 10/110, which had been introduced in 1958.

Savage factory tour
Savage has been in business for over 130 years and in that time has produced a staggering variety of firearms. 
Savage factory tour
Besides its iconic Model 95/99 lever guns and Model 10/110 bolt guns, made Mosin 91s for the Tsar in the Great War (under Stevens-Westinghouse), Enfield .303s for the British, shotguns to train Army Air Corps gunners how to shoot down Messerschmitts,  in WWII, and even M2 “Ma Deuce” .50 cals.

Then, in 2010, Savage, building on over half a century of experience with the 110 series (as well as production of the Enfield .303 rifle during World War II), introduced the well-built yet affordable Axis series rifle. Using detachable box magazines and a smooth-operating bolt with an introductory price of around $300, the Axis was a hit.

By 2014, the improved Axis II line, with the inclusion of Savage’s AccuTrigger system, hit the market and has delivered a reputation as an accurate rifle that is accessible to a wide range of hunters and sports shooters. Upgrades in ergonomics and feature sets have seen the line expand over the years, and the rifle is now made in over a dozen calibers and variants.

While not every Savage rifle is an Axis II– the company catalogs more than 240 rifles– it is a heavyweight when it comes to production numbers. Savage is the people’s champ when it comes to rifle production. Its flagship plant in Westfield delivered 639,591 rifles of all types to the market in 2023, making it the most prolific rifle factory in the country. For reference, the runner-up was Ruger’s North Carolina plant with a comparatively paltry 321,160 rifles. To put those numbers into perspective, Savage these days is besting the century-long run of the old Model 99 every two years.

And they are doing it while keeping the craftsmen in the game and retaining accuracy and reliability.

I recently visited the Savage factory and had a chance to see how the Axis II was produced.

25-minute video after the jump to my column at Guns.com.

So I saw how a Python is born…

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When you think of Colt revolvers, the Python immediately comes to mind, and we hit the road to get the behind-the-scenes access to see just how these iconic American wheel guns are made.

Launched in 1955, the .357 Magnum six-shooter stood out with its advanced features, which surpassed many standard models of the time. Featuring a full underlug with a shrouded ejector rod, ventilated rib barrel, and adjustable sights, Pythons are distinctive and quickly identified at even a glance.

We’ve seen hundreds of Pythons over the years and have loved every last one of them. (All photos: Chris Eger/Guns.com)
There is just something electric about seeing the iconic “PYTHON” on the barrel. 

Over its original half-century run, the “I-frame” Python saw several variants with barrel lengths of 2.5, 3, 4, 6, and 8 inches, a few caliber experiments, and some specialty guns. The revolvers were produced in a range of finishes, including electroless nickel, referred to as “Colt Guard” by the company, stainless, polished nickel, Royal Colt Guard, an “Ultimate Bright” stainless, blued, and Colt Royal Blue, among others.

No matter the finish or barrel length, they are always appealing. A work of art crafted in steel. 

We were there at the SHOT Show in 2020 when the new Python was introduced. The event marked the debut of the updated generation of these premium revolvers for the 21st century.

The modern Python carries with it the legacy of the aristocratic revolver, whose name has become a household word.  

Now, with the new model in production for half a decade, we had to take a trip to New England to see how today’s Python is born.

More in my column at Guns.com. 

Visiting the largest (and oldest) after-market trigger maker in the country

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If you’ve never tried an aftermarket trigger in your favorite rifle, shotgun, or handgun, you’re missing out on one of the best upgrades you can make to your favorite firearm.

Since Harry Truman was in office, Timney Triggers has been producing easy-to-install, single-stage triggers for shooting enthusiasts. At first, the company focused on bolt action rifles, but it currently offers more than 170 models of triggers for all types of rifles, shotguns, and handguns. The company employs 65 employees in their home in Phoenix, Arizona. Today, Timney is the oldest and largest trigger company in the country.

Timney Triggers has been building the world’s finest triggers since 1946 and they recently opened their doors to me and my crew from Guns.com for a factory tour.

How a small family business became a household name

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While in Georgia a couple of months ago, I paid a visit to the Trulock Tool Company and found out they were about a lot more than just shotgun chokes.

As a choke is the last part of the barrel and is relied on to pattern the shot, precision is key to every aspect of its design and production.

George Trulock, the family paterfamilias and founder of the company, was a full-time police officer for the small Grady county town of Cairo– his birthplace– and part-time gunsmith who specialized in large-framed wheelguns, with special attention to big Smith & Wesson N frames. Having to craft his own tools to get the job done, he hit on the idea that other folks may have been having similar issues and started to manufacture specialized pistol smith tools such as frame wrenches and crane straighteners.

If you have an old copy of just about any gun magazine from the late 1970s and early 1980s, you can find his ads under the gunsmithing sections.

Soon, George pivoted from wheel guns to making his shotgun chokes of an innovative type that could be retrofitted into the common cylinder-bore shotgun barrels of the time, without the user having access to a machine shop to make it happen. With demand for these new Tru-Choke style choke tubes being heavy, to say the least, he took the plunge in 1982, hung up his badge, and started clocking in as Employee No. 1 at the newly formed Trulock Firearms, which later morphed into the company that continues his name today.

And, with Mr. George now passed, the company is still innovating, now in the hands of his sons, who are very much still in the “family business.”

More in my column at Guns.com.