A long winded spiel but please bare with me! I have had 3 PM’s asking me to report back on how I find the axion 2 so hopefully this answers those questions.
I have been waiting a while to get a Axion 2, the Axion Key XM 30 was my first toe dip into the waters of owning a thermal spotter. After trying a few friends thermal spotters and scopes over the years I finally admitted it wasn’t “cheating” and gave in.
The Axion key was fantastic from the start - great bit of kit and compact with just what you need for a simple thermal spotter. I have said many times before you can spot roe deer in fields up to 1000yards away.
My requirements recently changed with more need for rabbit control in large plantations and I was finding the use of a pard 008 LRF was a good but you needed the thermal to spot the rabbits, and then I would try and range them with the pard although this sometimes led to a bit of back and fourth trying to locate the bunny in the pard after spotting it in the thermal. This was the decision to get the Axion 2 as it has a LRF built in.
I placed an order however the units were not arriving for a month, however I had committed to selling my Axion Key…in steps Colin (@remmy700) I contacted Colin to see if I could rent a thermal from him for a while, and I explained I had placed an order for an Axiom 2…within the space of a 20 minute phone call he had beaten the price I had been given for my Axion 2 where I placed an order and had arranged for a free loan of an Axion XM30S for me until my Axion 2 arrived - I cancelled my original order and placed one with Colin!
I did not know Colin outwith the shooting side previous to buying a pard from him - so I have no reason to need to over praise - he has simply been fantastic and a great help with multiple things recently, from helping get a Pard008 for me, to giving second opinions on a rifle issue I had recently where he came to my house and was there until after 10pm measuring parts and checking options.
I then needed a specific 17 HMR rifle for bunny control, I called round various suppliers and shops from gun trader and some scoffed and said “minimum 6 months to get one of those”….there were two places in England that could supply but the unusual need to send my FAC down to them put me off.
I contacted Colin, he made a few calls and within a day he had a new rifle heading this way and matched the price from the other two shops.
Last night Colin was in the area (on his weekend off) and he offered to take the new Axion 2 so I could collect it closer to my home, again - top service and help!
I spent a few hours out bunny bashing with the Axion 2 last night and it’s fantastic! So much easier to spot, range target and then grab the rifle and shoot - much less faffing around! The picture is great and to my eyes seems way better than the Axion key (which was really good anyway) not sure what the specific specs are but it seems like a great unit on first impressions.
It’s a little bit bigger which is a negative and the magnification is 2, 4 or 8 whereas the key was 2.5 times mag so took a little bit of getting used to.
The video recording feature is great and I’m sure when I read the manual I will find other useful features!
Finally - just a huge thanks to Colin at Grampian Guns - get in touch with him for all your shooting needs as he’s a genuinely nice guy with a love of the sport and he shoots so knows his onions! He has jumped through numerous hoops to help me out when I needed it and I fully intend to ensure I recommend Grampian Guns at every opportunity!
I will report back again after RTFM and playing with the Axion 2 some more in a few months.
Why did they call it Axion and not Axiom?? Was this a typo that stuck??
Regards,
Gixer
I have been waiting a while to get a Axion 2, the Axion Key XM 30 was my first toe dip into the waters of owning a thermal spotter. After trying a few friends thermal spotters and scopes over the years I finally admitted it wasn’t “cheating” and gave in.
The Axion key was fantastic from the start - great bit of kit and compact with just what you need for a simple thermal spotter. I have said many times before you can spot roe deer in fields up to 1000yards away.
My requirements recently changed with more need for rabbit control in large plantations and I was finding the use of a pard 008 LRF was a good but you needed the thermal to spot the rabbits, and then I would try and range them with the pard although this sometimes led to a bit of back and fourth trying to locate the bunny in the pard after spotting it in the thermal. This was the decision to get the Axion 2 as it has a LRF built in.
I placed an order however the units were not arriving for a month, however I had committed to selling my Axion Key…in steps Colin (@remmy700) I contacted Colin to see if I could rent a thermal from him for a while, and I explained I had placed an order for an Axiom 2…within the space of a 20 minute phone call he had beaten the price I had been given for my Axion 2 where I placed an order and had arranged for a free loan of an Axion XM30S for me until my Axion 2 arrived - I cancelled my original order and placed one with Colin!
I did not know Colin outwith the shooting side previous to buying a pard from him - so I have no reason to need to over praise - he has simply been fantastic and a great help with multiple things recently, from helping get a Pard008 for me, to giving second opinions on a rifle issue I had recently where he came to my house and was there until after 10pm measuring parts and checking options.
I then needed a specific 17 HMR rifle for bunny control, I called round various suppliers and shops from gun trader and some scoffed and said “minimum 6 months to get one of those”….there were two places in England that could supply but the unusual need to send my FAC down to them put me off.
I contacted Colin, he made a few calls and within a day he had a new rifle heading this way and matched the price from the other two shops.
Last night Colin was in the area (on his weekend off) and he offered to take the new Axion 2 so I could collect it closer to my home, again - top service and help!
I spent a few hours out bunny bashing with the Axion 2 last night and it’s fantastic! So much easier to spot, range target and then grab the rifle and shoot - much less faffing around! The picture is great and to my eyes seems way better than the Axion key (which was really good anyway) not sure what the specific specs are but it seems like a great unit on first impressions.
It’s a little bit bigger which is a negative and the magnification is 2, 4 or 8 whereas the key was 2.5 times mag so took a little bit of getting used to.
The video recording feature is great and I’m sure when I read the manual I will find other useful features!
Finally - just a huge thanks to Colin at Grampian Guns - get in touch with him for all your shooting needs as he’s a genuinely nice guy with a love of the sport and he shoots so knows his onions! He has jumped through numerous hoops to help me out when I needed it and I fully intend to ensure I recommend Grampian Guns at every opportunity!
I will report back again after RTFM and playing with the Axion 2 some more in a few months.
Why did they call it Axion and not Axiom?? Was this a typo that stuck??
Regards,
Gixer
