Silence Meets Thermals in this Modern Game-Getter Rifle Build

Hunting is as old as humankind; it is hardwired. In ages past, hunting was necessary for survival. Our forebears stalked mastodons and sundry ungulates with stone-tipped spears simply to live. We’ve obviously come a long way since then.

Modern life is unrecognizable from what it was a mere 20 years ago. The trappings of the Information Age have transformed our world. Along the way, the same technology that put smart phones in all of our pockets has also revolutionized the timeless, ancient experience of stalking prey, and that’s exemplified by this hunting rifle build. 

In the Savage Axis 2 Pro rifle, we see the full force of modern industrial prowess brought to bear to create an accurate, reliable, and effective bolt-action hunting rifle at a shockingly low price.

SilencerCo’s indestructible Scythe STM sound suppressor makes the shooting experience reliably safer and much more enjoyable, and the Pulsar Thermion 2 LRF XL60 riflescope lets you bag game or deal with nuisance varmints as far as the cartridge will reach in both daylight and in total darkness using “heat vision” that was science fiction not so long ago. It’s undeniable — such components have fundamentally transformed the primal experience of hunting.

• Rifle: Savage Axis 2 Pro 
• Caliber: .308
• Suppressor: SilencerCo Scythe STM
• Optic: Pulsar Thermion 2 LRF XL60 thermal riflescope

I grew up hunting with my Dad in the Mississippi Delta. On my first outing for deer, I was maybe 5 years old, and too small for my own gun, but the trappings of the thing made me feel like a grownup; that and the fact my Dad was and is the coolest guy who ever lived. Quality time with him is what made me the man I am today.

I still remember, more than a half century later, that it was butt cold. Our deer stand was fairly palatial and bodged together out of a bunch of old wooden doors and a box of nails to form an elevated box. My Dad brought a sleeping bag that he stretched out on the floor for me. I didn't necessarily get much out of the hunting experience, but we were together. That was what mattered. I was sawing logs in short order.

Dad woke me gently and quietly; I was conscious in an instant. The little eight-point was perhaps 80 yards away and moving slowly toward us. It seemed my heart might explode.

Dad packed a Herter's 7mm Magnum bolt gun: a gorgeous thing with a deep salt blue finish and walnut stock. I rested my chin on the wooden railing, completely fixated on the little buck. Dad laid his big rifle next to me on the rail. When the moment was perfect, he squeezed the trigger.

The report from that enormous handheld howitzer nearly blew me out of the deer stand. No kidding, it scared me witless. All my interest in the deer and the hunt was gone and I thought the phone was ringing for a week afterwards. With five years of life experience, that report was the loudest thing I could have ever imagined. It was a year before I could bring myself to go hunting again. Nowadays, we can do so much better. 

The Savage Axis 2 Pro features a rugged all-weather finish with a synthetic, ergonomically-optimized stock that doesn't much care if it’s hot, cold, wet, dry, or freezing. Available in a dozen different game-getting chamberings, the Axis 2 Pro is the classic hunting rifle for the Information Age. Thanks to an economy of scale and modern manufacturing techniques. The Axis 2 Pro offers literally everything you might need in a hunting firearm at a wicked low price — legit, you can find them NIB on GunBroker for less than $500, and the factory MSRP is $599. 

The trigger guard and safety switch are polymer, but your grandchildren’s kids will not be wearing anything out. In addition to all of that, this gun also shoots delightfully straight. You could certainly dump more cash on a bolt-action hunting rifle, but you could also just put your money in a tidy pile and set fire to it. 

Sound suppressors are becoming de rigueur in the forty-two American states still populated by free peoples. The SilencerCo Scythe STM modular suppressor is an indestructible rifle-caliber can that is tough enough to complement the Axis 2 Pro host. Long barrels, short barrels, precise bolt guns, or serious rock and roll, the stainless steel Scythe STM doesn’t seem much inconvenienced. It’s rated for everything up to .300 RUM at any rate of fire. 

The Scythe STM is a ruggedized version of SilencerCo’s earlier Scythe-Ti. This lightweight titanium suppressor was optimized for hunting applications, and this newer can offers the same capabilities in an indestructible package. Threading a Scythe STM onto the muzzle of the Savage rifle tames the chaos of the rifle crack and preserves your hearing, while also allowing a hunter to remain stealthy, respect their neighbors, and avoid traumatizing any nearby 5-year-olds.

The Pulsar Thermion 2 LRF XL60 riflescope brings military-grade thermal capabilities to a rifle near you. This thing is legitimately amazing. Featuring 2.5 - 20x magnification and a magnificent field of view, the XL60 will provide accurate targeting data beyond 3,000 yards. It also includes a built-in laser rangefinder. Nothing warm-blooded can hide from this thermal sight — day or night.

The optic offers eight color palettes to optimize the display for various hunting conditions. White Hot, Black Hot, Red Hot, Rainbow, Sepia, Violet, Red Monochrome, and Ultramarine are all on the menu. The scope has a dual rechargeable battery system and is recoil rated up to .375 H&H.

Put these three components together, and you have a rugged meat-harvesting rifle that will reach out and touch stuff day or night while remaining surprisingly pleasant to shoot. Roll your own subsonic rounds, and the rig is legit movie-grade quiet. This rifle is reliably lethal as far out as you’re comfortable shooting, and it won’t offend the kids’ sensibilities. 

There are obviously lots of well-reasoned rules and laws about taking game animals at night, however, the same thermal capabilities that dispel the darkness work just fine in the daytime, allowing you to clearly see your target through all kinds of weather and vegetation. Additionally, if your quarry includes nocturnal nuisance animals like pigs or coyotes, this thing is pure unfiltered death in the wee hours.

Check out the performance chart below; this rig shoots way better than I do. The action is smooth and reliable, the SilencerCo can banishes all of the muzzle chaos, and the Pulsar Thermion thermal sight is like having hunting superpowers. And everything is at least as weather-resistant as I am.

To be honest, I get to do this a lot. Writing about guns and then claiming it is work to the IRS is a pretty sweet hustle. However, this was different. The Savage Axis 2 rifle offers an epic amount of performance at a really impressive price point. 

The Scythe STM is the one .30-caliber can that you can shoot until the sun burns out. It has an MSRP of $939, but this is as good as it gets. Mix and match mounts, and you can run this suppressor on anything that will fit through the bore.

Now, the Thermion XL60 will set you back a cool $7,199.97. Yeah, there’s that. However, the capabilities that thing brings to the table are so awesome, they are tough to convey in words. Taken in total, this is indeed the state of the art.

Type: Bolt-Action
Caliber: .308 Win
Barrel: 20 inches
Overall Length: 47.4 inches
Total Weight (as tested): 10.3 pounds
Finish: Cerakote
Stock: Forest SP camo
Sights: Thermal
MSRP: $599(rifle), $939(suppressor), $7,199.97(thermal scope)

Group Size is the best four of five rounds fired from the bipod at 100 yards. Velocity is the average of five rounds measured by a Garmin Xero C1 chronograph.