For those who don't know, I am a huge Accuracy International fan. I started with an AIAW, absolutely loved it, and had to have an AIAX as soon as it came out. I ended up being one of the first people to get one in North America, taking delivery in February of last year. It was everything the AW was, plus a bit more comfortable with a bit easier method of attaching bipods, plus came with the quick adjust cheek, butt, and buttspike. Because it was the release model, it came with all the options.
From there I shot it as much as I could. Later in 2011 I ordered a Bartlein 28" Tubb contour 7.7 twist .243 barrel from GAP. The barrel made the rifle an absolute laser, shooting flat and with very little wind drift, and I shot this 5 shot group at 507 yards with it measuring just over 1/4 moa:
It was heaven, but the barrel was just plain too LONG. It made the rifle unweildly for anything but prone, the rifle had to be folded to even fit in the Eagle bag, and the nature of .243 made me conscious about my rate of fire.
Then I found a great deal on a 22 inch Bartlein 1 in 8 twist AINA AI barrel (thanks Desertmonkey!) It got the length of the rifle down from the 28" .243, but with much better ballistics than the 18.5" .308. The recoil is minimal, and this barrel is crazy accurate. Looks nice on the rifle too:
Today I shot the smallest group I have ever shot with the rifle. I know, I know, group shooting is not the most tactical, but in my defense I only got this barrel a few weeks back and am still developing a load for it. This group was 42.0 grains of H4350 under a Berger 140 grain Hybrid, .010" off the lands (Lapua brass.) It is the only 5 shot group I have ever shot that is sub 1/8 moa.
The above load shoots 2700 fps with an extreme spread of 24 fps. I have a very promising load with 43.0 grains of RL-17 that shoots 2810 fps with low teen ES, but it shoots about half moa or so. The above load consistently shoots in the .3's or better.
For what it's worth, the action has 3480 rounds through it as of today. I have the original unfired .308 barrel, and the 18.5" UK AW barrel that I had cut down and now has 5128 rounds on it. It still averages around .5 moa. I also still have the GAP .243 barrel with 546 rounds on it now. Overall, while extremely expensive, I feel that the consistent accuracy and reliability combined with a switch barrel system makes this platform worth it for those who can afford it. I couldn't be more pleased and if I could only own one rifle this would be it.
From there I shot it as much as I could. Later in 2011 I ordered a Bartlein 28" Tubb contour 7.7 twist .243 barrel from GAP. The barrel made the rifle an absolute laser, shooting flat and with very little wind drift, and I shot this 5 shot group at 507 yards with it measuring just over 1/4 moa:
It was heaven, but the barrel was just plain too LONG. It made the rifle unweildly for anything but prone, the rifle had to be folded to even fit in the Eagle bag, and the nature of .243 made me conscious about my rate of fire.
Then I found a great deal on a 22 inch Bartlein 1 in 8 twist AINA AI barrel (thanks Desertmonkey!) It got the length of the rifle down from the 28" .243, but with much better ballistics than the 18.5" .308. The recoil is minimal, and this barrel is crazy accurate. Looks nice on the rifle too:
Today I shot the smallest group I have ever shot with the rifle. I know, I know, group shooting is not the most tactical, but in my defense I only got this barrel a few weeks back and am still developing a load for it. This group was 42.0 grains of H4350 under a Berger 140 grain Hybrid, .010" off the lands (Lapua brass.) It is the only 5 shot group I have ever shot that is sub 1/8 moa.
The above load shoots 2700 fps with an extreme spread of 24 fps. I have a very promising load with 43.0 grains of RL-17 that shoots 2810 fps with low teen ES, but it shoots about half moa or so. The above load consistently shoots in the .3's or better.
For what it's worth, the action has 3480 rounds through it as of today. I have the original unfired .308 barrel, and the 18.5" UK AW barrel that I had cut down and now has 5128 rounds on it. It still averages around .5 moa. I also still have the GAP .243 barrel with 546 rounds on it now. Overall, while extremely expensive, I feel that the consistent accuracy and reliability combined with a switch barrel system makes this platform worth it for those who can afford it. I couldn't be more pleased and if I could only own one rifle this would be it.
