Savage Arms Axis II XP Compact Matte Black 6.5mm Creedmoor Bolt Action Rifle - Blue/Black, 20" Barrel, 4+1 Rounds, Synthetic, Black matte Stock

I purchased this rifle for my 11 year old son. He was able to take his first buck down at 120 yards with this rifle. The recoil is minimal and very easy to use. This would be a great starter rifle or a veteran hunter who just wants a weapon with a lighter recoil.

Overall I'm quite pleased with this rifle/scope combo. One exception (see Bolt/Savage Tech support below). I cleaned and lubed the gun, adjusted the trigger to the lightest pull (easy to do), took it to the indoor range and popped off maybe 10 rounds of cheap ammo just to get a feel for the gun and to zero the scope. It was "close" from the factory and it adjusted easily to my satisfaction. Decided to get a quick and dirty estimate of what the accuracy was so I shot another 8 rounds, all of which were grouped about 3/4" --- again, I wasn't trying to be precise nor patient, and I know a couple of the flyers were my fault.
The gun: no gripes other than a problem with the BOLT (again, SEE BELOW). The stock feels plasticky; well, it's polymer, and I didn't buy this gun to pass around for other people to admire a fine wood stock.
The scope: Bushnell. clear, crisp, bright, easy to focus and adjust/zero. Didn't try a box test on it, however. The eyepiece was a little too close to my eyeglasses for comfort given the (admittedly relatively mild) recoil. Adjusted it forward in the rings as far as I could, but that wasn't much. The scope mounts on two short rail segments, one in front of, one behind, the breech, and there was simply no way to move the rings themselves further forward to get more eyepiece/eyeglass room. Have ordered a long one-piece rail that supposedly fits the Axis to replace what came from the factory and I think I can move the scope forward another 1/2-3/4 inch to get the clearance I want and still have good eye relief.
The BOLT & SAVAGE TECH SUPPORT: When I went to my FFL to check out the gun before I signed for it I could not get the bolt in. Looked at the instructions, still no luck, then I guessed (correctly) what the problem was: a spring-loaded button-like part of the bold called the cocking piece (controls forward movement of firing pin depending on whether bolt is open or closed) was out of place. I fixed it at home (surprisingly found NO YouTube videos on this!), then called Savage tech support phone number just to see if they'd heard of this before. After waiting and waiting for what seemed like the ONE person handling the phone, I explained what I found and did. "Oh, yeah, sometimes they come from the factory like that." I think that's total BS because if they tried putting the bolt in before the gun left they factory they wouldn't be able to do it without moving the cocking piece into the right place. The guy then said "sometimes that part moves around during shipment." ABSOLUTE TOTAL BS: I had to put the bolt into a vise (padded jaws, of course) and use a piece of 2x2 wood and all my weight to push the cocking piece into the right place. The spring on it is stiff enough to support an F-150!!! No way in hell that piece could move on its own. Once I did that quick fix the bolt went in just fine and I had no further problems at all.
In summary, I'm pleased with the gun so far, especially considering what I paid for it (and the rebate).