223ai?

Joel

Joel

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Has anyone here ever hunted/shot a 223AI? If so what were your impressions of it?

Considering you can still shoot 223 Rem in it accurately anyway and use a Lee collet sizer until you need to bump the shoulders back, looks like a pretty cool tool to have in the box. And an extra 100-150 fps especially with heavier bullets sounds like fun.

Or are there drawbacks that make it not so worthwhile? Can think of the magazine length being a problem, especially in a Tikka T3x regular factory mags but we do have alternatives on the market now...
 
The only plus I see is brass life, and that can be important if you are using gucci brass, not so much if you are just recycling Hornady. Federsal etc. The velocity gains are not so impressive that I personally want to bother with almost any AI or wildcat cartridge in this era.
 
Gatehouse said:
The only plus I see is brass life, and that can be important if you are using gucci brass, not so much if you are just recycling Hornady. Federsal etc. The velocity gains are not so impressive that I personally want to bother with almost any AI or wildcat cartridge in this era.
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How much of a bother is it, besides just picking up a die set?

Only ever had a 280AI from the improved family, and briefly. Don't know much about their care and feeding lol. Although, I see what you mean about the velocity gain not being major considering what you spend to get there especially.
 
Joel said:
How much of a bother is it, besides just picking up a die set?

Only ever had a 280AI from the improved family, and briefly. Don't know much about their care and feeding lol. Although, I see what you mean about the velocity gain not being major considering what you spend to get there especially.
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Only bother would be fire forming brass. Not the end of the world. Like Gate said, this day and age not really worth it to me either. I even prefer my regular 280rem over my 280AI
 
Joel said:
Has anyone here ever hunted/shot a 223AI? If so what were your impressions of it?

Considering you can still shoot 223 Rem in it accurately anyway and use a Lee collet sizer until you need to bump the shoulders back, looks like a pretty cool tool to have in the box. And an extra 100-150 fps especially with heavier bullets sounds like fun.

Or are there drawbacks that make it not so worthwhile? Can think of the magazine length being a problem, especially in a Tikka T3x regular factory mags but we do have alternatives on the market now...
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I've had two of them, a 788 with a 9 twist, and a 700 with a 12 twist. The 788 was modified to a single shot so mag length wasn't an issue. Wonderfully accurate like most 788's. The 700 was good too, but not as accurate, and needed lighter bullets. With extended mags and faster barrels these days, I think it would be a great choice, on a par with the 222 Rem Mag, which I think is a great cartridge. The 223 AI would give you longer case life, less trimming, higher velocity, and lots of cheap brass. Maybe it's time to build another. - dan
 
Yeah? Right on. Happy to hear from both sides.

Stopped at Cabelas on the way back to work and the real world and a 223 Rem followed me home. As I looked at it a while ago, was giving some serious thought to having it reamed to 223AI but maybe I'll just put that money into optics or ammo.

Dan, those 788s sure sound like they shoot. Sounds like it is definitely time to build another :p

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Just a comment on reaming a factory rifle to an AI. It is good practice to set the barrel back slightly. A factory round should just chamber - should be able to feel the round as the bolt closes. Not a crush fit. A regular GO gauge can be used as a NO GO when reaming an AI chamber. The bolt should not close completely on the GO. If the AI reamer is just run in until the original chamber is cleaned up in all probability headspace will be excessive and this will complicate first firing. An advantage of an AI chamber over a wildcat is that factory ammunition can be safely and effectively used.
 
Joel said:
Has anyone here ever hunted/shot a 223AI? If so what were your impressions of it?

Considering you can still shoot 223 Rem in it accurately anyway and use a Lee collet sizer until you need to bump the shoulders back, looks like a pretty cool tool to have in the box. And an extra 100-150 fps especially with heavier bullets sounds like fun.

Or are there drawbacks that make it not so worthwhile? Can think of the magazine length being a problem, especially in a Tikka T3x regular factory mags but we do have alternatives on the market now...
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BRNO284 Mitch builds them . Send him a PM . RJ
 
tiriaq said:
Just a comment on reaming a factory rifle to an AI. It is good practice to set the barrel back slightly. A factory round should just chamber - should be able to feel the round as the bolt closes. Not a crush fit. A regular GO gauge can be used as a NO GO when reaming an AI chamber. The bolt should not close completely on the GO. If the AI reamer is just run in until the original chamber is cleaned up in all probability headspace will be excessive and this will complicate first firing. An advantage of an AI chamber over a wildcat is that factory ammunition can be safely and effectively used.
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Thanks Tiriaq, I intend to talk with the smith about just that and ask how they do it...IF I go ahead with it. Will make sure to mention this, ask how they do it etc.

Remington Jim said:
BRNO284 Mitch builds them . Send him a PM . RJ
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Thanks Jim!

Buckmastr said:
Dies can be expensive. The plain 223 is so good it cannot be improved upon.
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They sure seem pricy, on top of having the work done. But in the meanwhile at least a Lee 223 Rem collet die works for neck sizing.

Appreciate all the opinions here, pro and con. Thanks for sharing.
 
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What is the magazine length in the Tikka? Sometimes, in order to fit a magazine, the long VLD bullets must be seated deep, thereby reducing powder capacity. It the longer bullets can be seated out and still fit the magazine, then the larger powder capacity of the AI case could be put to good use.
 
tiriaq said:
What is the magazine length in the Tikka? Sometimes, in order to fit a magazine, the long VLD bullets must be seated deep, thereby reducing powder capacity. It the longer bullets can be seated out and still fit the magazine, then the larger powder capacity of the AI case could be put to good use.
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I think a regular T3 Lite mag is a pretty tight fit. Not sure you can go past 2.260"

But with an aftermarket setup like a Mag3D or maybe the Mountain Tactical, perhaps longer? Have to do some homework there.

In the meanwhile at least the original mag will always function with regular 223 Rem
 
Joel said:
How much of a bother is it, besides just picking up a die set?

Only ever had a 280AI from the improved family, and briefly. Don't know much about their care and feeding lol. Although, I see what you mean about the velocity gain not being major considering what you spend to get there especially.
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The bother is getting it properly rechambered, getting $$$ dies and fire forming all the brass you want to use.

If you are using Gucci brass I would still rather just use a regular .223 and anneal the brass to extend life.

If you are using standard brass, .223 brass is almost free.

I have about 15 or 16 .223/5.56 rifles. Some of them are just range blasters so no real need for special treatment of the brass but a couple are "good" rifles so their brass gets treated well. But I don't see the need to AI any of the "good" rifles as it's just one more thing to deal with, the ballistics aren't really improved much and I don't see why you would go down that road unless it's an itch you need to scratch.

For me, it's a solid no. Others may feel the opposite, and that's fine too. Often it depends on volume of shooting. A guy that loads and shoots 1000 rounds or less a year of .223 may not mind the extra process involved in a AI version. That's not me :)
 
Gatehouse said:
The bother is getting it properly rechambered, getting $$$ dies and fire forming all the brass you want to use.

If you are using Gucci brass I would still rather just use a regular .223 and anneal the brass to extend life.

If you are using standard brass, .223 brass is almost free.

I have about 15 or 16 .223/5.56 rifles. Some of them are just range blasters so no real need for special treatment of the brass but a couple are "good" rifles so their brass gets treated well. But I don't see the need to AI any of the "good" rifles as it's just one more thing to deal with, the ballistics aren't really improved much and I don't see why you would go down that road unless it's an itch you need to scratch.

For me, it's a solid no. Others may feel the opposite, and that's fine too. Often it depends on volume of shooting. A guy that loads and shoots 1000 rounds or less a year of .223 may not mind the extra process involved in a AI version. That's not me :)
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Gatehouse, man, I might be missing something but "fireforming brass" sounds to me just like "shooting". Can think of worse things to do than shoot a bunch of .223 I'd probably be reloading anyway.

But, I'm taking note of what you say too. It really is putting money/time/effort into something that only you can decide the gain of.

40gr at 3800 fps and 77gr at 31000 fps sound pretty cool, even if I don't get to really stretch a rifle's legs much... but I hear you on the downsides too.
 
Buckmastr said:
You can get 3800 with 40’s from a plain Jane 223 Rem, 23” barrel hand loading.
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Ah, yeah I see what you mean...was a bit low on that one. Looking at gunwriters talking about just under 4,000.

Nosler's 24" barrel data for the vanilla 223 Rem is getting close to 3900 with a 24" barrel. 3800 should be no prob alright.
 
Joel said:
Gatehouse, man, I might be missing something but "fireforming brass" sounds to me just like "shooting". Can think of worse things to do than shoot a bunch of .223 I'd probably be reloading anyway.

But, I'm taking note of what you say too. It really is putting money/time/effort into something that only you can decide the gain of.

40gr at 3800 fps and 77gr at 31000 fps sound pretty cool, even if I don't get to really stretch a rifle's legs much... but I hear you on the downsides too.
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Yup, fireforming is just shooting, so fun. But instead of fireforming you could be working up a load in a regular .223.

A proper rechamber and dies will add up pretty close to a decent scope in price, which is another consideration.
 
Gatehouse said:
Yup, fireforming is just shooting, so fun. But instead of fireforming you could be working up a load in a regular .223.

A proper rechamber and dies will add up pretty close to a decent scope in price, which is another consideration.
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That it is. Something to weigh in the balance for sure.

Is there a downside to shooting a lot of 223 Rem in them?
 
If you like your Tikka 223 sporter, consider a 222 Rem heavy barrel. Thats the real sweet spot in a the 22cal centerfire space.
 
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