Intro.
I bought the rifle new and it is a 2012 manufactured AW that to date has logged 2500 rounds of .308 Win. The action, barrel and bolt body of the AW are the same as the AT and AX rifles currently available (only minor differences exist). Having shot and used this rifle over a three year period I now have enough time behind it to give it an honest review.
Under the hood.
What makes AI’s different?
Accuracy International was originally founded by target shooters and they have a unique action compared to other rifles. They have also been around since the 80’s and have a well deserved reputation for making bomb proof rifles. Below the surface all of AI’s short action rifles are very much the same. The barrel and bolt body have not changed in the new lineup and the receivers only have minor differences. The dovetail rails are now gone on the new models and they come in picatinny rail only.
The receiver is a large wide square block with a flat bottom and a full width recoil lug that is permanently bonded (glued and screwed) to an aluminum chassis. This employs epoxy and four action screws (two at front and two at rear of receiver). The barrel threads into the receiver a full 1.5 inches on AW, AT and AX rifles.
They use a breech ring that houses the locking lug recesses and a separate bolt head in the design (both are pinned). This allows for quick refurbishment of the rifle at the armorer level, just replace the bolt head and breech ring and it is good to go for another round of service. The new AT and AX now use a 6 lug bolt head compared to the AW’s 3 lug. AI bolt lugs and breech rings are made of a very hard steel and are very well heat treated. The 20mm bolt body with handle is one piece and cycles like it is on roller bearings. It is a smooth running action.
The breech ring is the reason you can change your own barrels in 10 minutes using the action wrench without having to worry about head space. You should still verify with a go and no-go gauge after you swap barrels/calibers. On the new AT and AX rifles this is now done in 5 minutes with only an allen key.
Accuracy
These rifles cost a lot of money, just how well can they really shoot?
The barrel this rifle came with is a Lothar Walther stainless medium palma 1:12 rate of twist. This is the same barrel that comes on the AT and AX rifles. To demonstrate the rifles accuracy I decided not to bench it on sandbags but rather shoot it how it will be used in the field or at a match, from the bipod in the prone.
I wanted to shoot two 10 round groups on the same paper. It is my belief that a 10 round group is a good test of accuracy. There are far too many quarter moa rifles in gun magazines where the author cherry picked his best 3 shot groups and discarded the rest. I made that yellow target specifically for this review, 20 rounds, two groups, the results get posted. This put a lot of pressure on me not to screw it up and after shooting a dot drill to shake out the cobwebs I was ready.
To say I was happy when the last round was fired is an understatement. It has taken me three years of practice to shoot off 10 rounds without pulling a shot.
Looking at the groupings the rifle shot true through all 20 rounds, nothing wandered as it heated up and the amount of deviation was nearly the same in both groupings (.749" and .725").
AI guarantees one moa accuracy with factory ammunition. In this test, using hand loads, I managed to produce two three quarter inch 10 round groups from the bipod. I am extremely happy with that result.
Accuracy claims are always interesting as they rarely specify how many rounds per grouping that actually entails (3 rounds?, 5 rounds?). Obviously the smaller the number of rounds fired the tighter that group will be as there is less chance for error. To me 3 round groups demonstrate very little and many shooters do not take them seriously.
Likes and dislikes.
The ground spike: While it works to support the rifle in position to observe an objective for hours on end, it is in my opinion completely useless for target shooting. It gets in the way when using a rear bag and it periodically starts to unscrew which is annoying. If I were to spec this rifle over again, I would omit the ground spike.
Stock hinge: It locks up like a bank vault, zero play.
Sling attachment point behind grip: It’s annoying and can get in the way of your shooting hand position. Thankfully this feature has been eliminated on the new AT model.
Trigger reach: While the trigger itself is fantastic for a two stage, if you have large hands you will wish you could move the trigger further forward to place your trigger finger in a better position. This has been addressed on the new AT model which allows the trigger to be moved forward or backward.
The stock: Some people hate AI thumbhole stocks and some like them. I like the thumbhole and have never had a problem with it. It works by forcing you to adopt a good position and gives you solid control of the rifle. The new AT now comes standard with pistol grip stocksides (thumbhole version optional).
The magazine: I love these double stack magazines, they are so much better than anything else I’ve used before. They are very fast to load, feed reliably, hold 10 rounds (11 actually) and do not hang way down below the rifle. They can also be loaded or topped up through the ejection port while the magazine is in the rifle, try that with a single stack mag. AW mags also have a more generous COAL capacity than AICS mags and will handle a COAL of 2.980"
The Parker Hale Bipod: I had to get used to it but once I got the hang of loading it properly, I really enjoyed using it. It detaches with the push of a button, the legs deploy very quickly and it attaches just under the barrel keeping the center of gravity low. It will cause wear on the stock spigot but who cares. The spigot block is replaceable. It really does need the rubber booties installed on the feet to get good grip, otherwise it just slides forward.
Bolt mounted safety: The 3 position bolt mounted safety on AI rifles is superb, that thing is never going off accidently. The bolt also has a cocked firing pin indicator which protrudes through the rear of the bolt shroud. This visually shows the shooter or range officer that the rifle is cocked. The safety lever functions are as follows: Rear- Safety on, bolt locked. Middle - Safety on bolt unlocked. Forward - Safety off.
Weight: This thing weighs 14.3 lbs empty, no scope, no bipod. I am a bigger man (6'1” 225 lbs) and have no problem humping it around the rifle range all day but I would not want to hump it around in the field day in day out that is for sure. I do have a biathlon sling for it which makes carrying it much more comfortable.
Target butt: This was a Gucci feature that I’m glad I splurged on. The push button LOP and check height adjustment is the bomb, I really hope they start offering it on the new AT. It lets you quickly adjust LOP during a match, stage depending and is great to quickly fit the rifle for a different shooter.
Wrap up: If I were to do it all over again I would buy the same rifle but without the ground spike. The biggest plus to owning a rifle like an AI is not only do you get accuracy (there are plenty of accurate rifles out there) but you get extreme reliability in all conditions from a system designed and built for brute strength from the ground up. This rifle will function and hold zero even if exposed to abuse. There is absolutely no need to worry if it gets knocked over as far as the rifle is concerned.
I am very happy with it overall. Once the .308 barrel is toast (whenever that might be) I will make the switch to .260 Rem with the re-barrel.
I bought the rifle new and it is a 2012 manufactured AW that to date has logged 2500 rounds of .308 Win. The action, barrel and bolt body of the AW are the same as the AT and AX rifles currently available (only minor differences exist). Having shot and used this rifle over a three year period I now have enough time behind it to give it an honest review.
Under the hood.
What makes AI’s different?
Accuracy International was originally founded by target shooters and they have a unique action compared to other rifles. They have also been around since the 80’s and have a well deserved reputation for making bomb proof rifles. Below the surface all of AI’s short action rifles are very much the same. The barrel and bolt body have not changed in the new lineup and the receivers only have minor differences. The dovetail rails are now gone on the new models and they come in picatinny rail only.
The receiver is a large wide square block with a flat bottom and a full width recoil lug that is permanently bonded (glued and screwed) to an aluminum chassis. This employs epoxy and four action screws (two at front and two at rear of receiver). The barrel threads into the receiver a full 1.5 inches on AW, AT and AX rifles.
They use a breech ring that houses the locking lug recesses and a separate bolt head in the design (both are pinned). This allows for quick refurbishment of the rifle at the armorer level, just replace the bolt head and breech ring and it is good to go for another round of service. The new AT and AX now use a 6 lug bolt head compared to the AW’s 3 lug. AI bolt lugs and breech rings are made of a very hard steel and are very well heat treated. The 20mm bolt body with handle is one piece and cycles like it is on roller bearings. It is a smooth running action.
The breech ring is the reason you can change your own barrels in 10 minutes using the action wrench without having to worry about head space. You should still verify with a go and no-go gauge after you swap barrels/calibers. On the new AT and AX rifles this is now done in 5 minutes with only an allen key.
Accuracy
These rifles cost a lot of money, just how well can they really shoot?
The barrel this rifle came with is a Lothar Walther stainless medium palma 1:12 rate of twist. This is the same barrel that comes on the AT and AX rifles. To demonstrate the rifles accuracy I decided not to bench it on sandbags but rather shoot it how it will be used in the field or at a match, from the bipod in the prone.
I wanted to shoot two 10 round groups on the same paper. It is my belief that a 10 round group is a good test of accuracy. There are far too many quarter moa rifles in gun magazines where the author cherry picked his best 3 shot groups and discarded the rest. I made that yellow target specifically for this review, 20 rounds, two groups, the results get posted. This put a lot of pressure on me not to screw it up and after shooting a dot drill to shake out the cobwebs I was ready.
To say I was happy when the last round was fired is an understatement. It has taken me three years of practice to shoot off 10 rounds without pulling a shot.
Looking at the groupings the rifle shot true through all 20 rounds, nothing wandered as it heated up and the amount of deviation was nearly the same in both groupings (.749" and .725").
AI guarantees one moa accuracy with factory ammunition. In this test, using hand loads, I managed to produce two three quarter inch 10 round groups from the bipod. I am extremely happy with that result.
Accuracy claims are always interesting as they rarely specify how many rounds per grouping that actually entails (3 rounds?, 5 rounds?). Obviously the smaller the number of rounds fired the tighter that group will be as there is less chance for error. To me 3 round groups demonstrate very little and many shooters do not take them seriously.
Likes and dislikes.
The ground spike: While it works to support the rifle in position to observe an objective for hours on end, it is in my opinion completely useless for target shooting. It gets in the way when using a rear bag and it periodically starts to unscrew which is annoying. If I were to spec this rifle over again, I would omit the ground spike.
Stock hinge: It locks up like a bank vault, zero play.
Sling attachment point behind grip: It’s annoying and can get in the way of your shooting hand position. Thankfully this feature has been eliminated on the new AT model.
Trigger reach: While the trigger itself is fantastic for a two stage, if you have large hands you will wish you could move the trigger further forward to place your trigger finger in a better position. This has been addressed on the new AT model which allows the trigger to be moved forward or backward.
The stock: Some people hate AI thumbhole stocks and some like them. I like the thumbhole and have never had a problem with it. It works by forcing you to adopt a good position and gives you solid control of the rifle. The new AT now comes standard with pistol grip stocksides (thumbhole version optional).
The magazine: I love these double stack magazines, they are so much better than anything else I’ve used before. They are very fast to load, feed reliably, hold 10 rounds (11 actually) and do not hang way down below the rifle. They can also be loaded or topped up through the ejection port while the magazine is in the rifle, try that with a single stack mag. AW mags also have a more generous COAL capacity than AICS mags and will handle a COAL of 2.980"
The Parker Hale Bipod: I had to get used to it but once I got the hang of loading it properly, I really enjoyed using it. It detaches with the push of a button, the legs deploy very quickly and it attaches just under the barrel keeping the center of gravity low. It will cause wear on the stock spigot but who cares. The spigot block is replaceable. It really does need the rubber booties installed on the feet to get good grip, otherwise it just slides forward.
Bolt mounted safety: The 3 position bolt mounted safety on AI rifles is superb, that thing is never going off accidently. The bolt also has a cocked firing pin indicator which protrudes through the rear of the bolt shroud. This visually shows the shooter or range officer that the rifle is cocked. The safety lever functions are as follows: Rear- Safety on, bolt locked. Middle - Safety on bolt unlocked. Forward - Safety off.
Weight: This thing weighs 14.3 lbs empty, no scope, no bipod. I am a bigger man (6'1” 225 lbs) and have no problem humping it around the rifle range all day but I would not want to hump it around in the field day in day out that is for sure. I do have a biathlon sling for it which makes carrying it much more comfortable.
Target butt: This was a Gucci feature that I’m glad I splurged on. The push button LOP and check height adjustment is the bomb, I really hope they start offering it on the new AT. It lets you quickly adjust LOP during a match, stage depending and is great to quickly fit the rifle for a different shooter.
Wrap up: If I were to do it all over again I would buy the same rifle but without the ground spike. The biggest plus to owning a rifle like an AI is not only do you get accuracy (there are plenty of accurate rifles out there) but you get extreme reliability in all conditions from a system designed and built for brute strength from the ground up. This rifle will function and hold zero even if exposed to abuse. There is absolutely no need to worry if it gets knocked over as far as the rifle is concerned.
I am very happy with it overall. Once the .308 barrel is toast (whenever that might be) I will make the switch to .260 Rem with the re-barrel.
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