AX 308 MC or AX Magnum MC?

[JohnMWoo]

Hello all,

Trying to decide which to buy into. The 308MC or the Magnum MC? I posted before that I had put a purchase down for and AIAX in 6.5CM, but was able to change to the new 2014 model.

Any reason not to go with the Magnum MC?

Thanks!

Respectfully,
J Woo

 

[sct4a]

Since you can down step the long action the MC looks like every reason to go for that instead.

 

[Wyfox]

If they offer a short mag bolt I'm doing the 308MC, I want the weight savings.

 

[redneckbmxer24]

The magnum uses a larger tennon so you won't just be able to order a AI 6.5 creed barrel unless AI starts making them. That would be the only downside I can see for your purposes.

Unless you think you need/want a magnum, I'd buy a short action.

 

[poison123]

If they offer a short mag bolt I'm doing the 308MC, I want the weight savings.

Pretty sure they've said thats not going to happen.

 

[Brasscow]

The magnum uses a larger tennon so you won't just be able to order a AI 6.5 creed barrel unless AI starts making them. That would be the only downside I can see for your purposes.

Unless you think you need/want a magnum, I'd buy a short action.

If the tenon on the magnum is the same as the AX338 (30mm thead, 1.4" diameter shoulder) he could order an in stock blank with a 1.35" breech and have a smith familiar with the action do the work for him. Shouldn't be but a couple weeks and .05" wouldnt hurt a thing.

 

[redneckbmxer24]

If the tenon on the magnum is the same as the AX338 (30mm thead, 1.4" diameter shoulder) he could order an in stock blank with a 1.35" breech and have a smith familiar with the action do the work for him. Shouldn't be but a couple weeks and .05" wouldnt hurt a thing.

Not as many smiths spin up barrels for the magnum action as do for the short action. Good luck finding one of those smiths that will do it in under 4-6 months.

I'd much rather have the option of calling mile high and having a barrel on the way the same day.

If he doesn't need or want a magnum then there is no benefit to buying the magnum rifle, it's just added weight, costs, and pain of getting non 308 barrels.

 

[Brasscow]

Not as many smiths spin up barrels for the magnum action as do for the short action. Good luck finding one of those smiths that will do it in under 4-6 months.

I'd much rather have the option of calling mile high and having a barrel on the way the same day.

If he doesn't need or want a magnum then there is no benefit to buying the magnum rifle, it's just added weight, costs, and pain of getting non 308 barrels.

Im not trying to be argumentative, just to provide the poster with more info. I agree that there is no way I'd get the magnum with the intention of shooting a short action cartridge through it.

Good luck finding a smith? I can pick up the phone to a well known smith and have one within a month for sure and thats waiting for the barrel and my reamer to get to him and for the combo to get back to me. I wont disclose who... Thats part of why he can have me one so fast. I definitely prefer to not mention that especially considering all of the morons out there now that will be wanting this done. Tooley is four months, GA is probably the same. There are others, though. Just not my job to disclose who - especially after he had my action as a prototype to be able to tool up for this. I like my lead times short with my smith.

 

[redneckbmxer24]

So first you make it seem any smith who you call can have you a barrel in a couple week, now it's your guy who you won't disclose can do it for your in a month.

How does this help the OP? Most likely he's going to call GAP, Tooley, SAC etc who likely have magnum blueprints and wait for months. So your arguement is just plain retarded.

 

[JohnMWoo]

I should probably clarify a bit what my intent is.

My thought is that while at this time I only shoot 308 or 6.5 CM in a precision rifle platform. However, should the bug bite me in the future, it may be nice to have the option of shooting 300 Win Mag or 338 Lapua. However, if there are signficiant disadvantages to shooting a short action cartridge in a long action, then I'll still with a short action.

Respectfully,
J Woo

 

[Brasscow]

So first you make it seem any smith who you call can have you a barrel in a couple week, now it's your guy who you won't disclose can do it for your in a month.

How does this help the OP? Most likely he's going to call GAP, Tooley, SAC etc who likely have magnum blueprints and wait for months. So your arguement is just plain retarded.

Its ok to admit you didnt know it was as simple as calling around. Now you know.

 

[Defusion]

Keep in mind that it doesn't seem like you'll be able to purchase a 308 long action, but will need to start with a 300wm or 338, then buy the 308 kit.

Disadvantages of the long action: bit more weight, longer action (so bit slower with bolt manipulations, even with 308), probably more expensive barrels.

 

[poison123]

Keep in mind that it doesn't seem like you'll be able to purchase a 308 long action, but will need to start with a 300wm or 338, then buy the 308 kit.

Disadvantages of the long action: bit more weight, longer action (so bit slower with bolt manipulations, even with 308), probably more expensive barrels.

Wrong on at least 2 things. My psr with 338barrel weighed the same as my ax with 6cm barrel. Same barrel length.

Mile high quoted me a standard price for a 260rem barrel for my psr. So barrels are not any more expensive. And you talking in tenths of a second for the bolt racking difference.

 

[Defusion]

Sweet! Didn't expect the same price in barrels.

But regarding weight, didn't the AX308MC also lose some weight compared to the old short action AX?
I'm not sure, but certainly expected the long action to be (slightly) heavier. It just seems so obvious to me.

But even so, a bit more weight wouldn't bother me personally, and bolt manipulation difference is indeed negligible IMO.
Definitely the long action for me, but it's still something the TS might want to think about.

 

[Mute]

If you even have the inkling of going to a .338 or .300, no reason not to go with the longer action MC. I've personally found that I prefer to just have another rifle rather than swapping calibers so I'd personally get one of each (long and short action MC) and at most keep SA cartridges in one rifle and LA cartridges in the other. But that's just my personal preference.

 

[Roddd]

I think the LA AXMC will save people a small fortune in the long run. A couple bolt heads, different mags and different barrels still equals one scope and one gun. Not that changing barrels on the old guns is difficult with a barrel vise, but turning a screw and unscrewing a barrel is about as easy and as fast as it gets. I rarely have the opportunity to shoot past one mile, so buying a dedicated 338 LM wouldn't make much sense for me. But buying the LA AXMC, I could justify it because all I'm doing is buying a barrel. I'd shoot SA calibers for the most part, but swap the barrel/bolt when I head out to BLM land. I think the LA is the way to go.

 

[JohnMWoo]

Thanks for your advice everyone. I put my order into Mile High for the AX308MC. I would have gone for the AX Magnum MC as people were indicating, but the cost difference was prohibitive for me. The people at Mile High were great, and let me switch my original order from the old AIAX to the AX308MC since they had not yet shipped the AIAX out to my dealer yet. Just lucky in being patient I guess.

Respectfully,
John W

 

[MH434]

I'm a bit fond of the 6.5x55, so is it a possiblity to have that on the long action AXMC? Sorry, i'm a bit noob when it comes to the technical aspects of firearms

 

[Defusion]

Not with the 308 bolt. The swede has a slightly bigger rim. Doubt it with the magnum bolt.
If you dare, you might be able to enlarge the 308 boltface a bit.

 

[MH434]

So basicly i have only the 300wm and 338 lapua to choose as a long range cartridge?

 

[Defusion]

Thats whats being offered right now, but everything with the same boltface should be possible, IF you can feed them somehow.

Short action magnums will work with the 300wm bolt, but not sure on feeding from magazines (might have to modify them).
Short actions based on the 308 (like the 260rem) will work. This should be pretty close to the swede performance wise.
really long magnums like the 300rum will probably work with 338 magazines and the 300wm bolt

30-06 and similar 6,5mm based versions of it will probably also work with the 308 bolt, but might need some mods to the magazines.

Other magnums based on the 300wm, like the .264 win mag will work.

There's even some based on the 338 lapua, like the 300 lapua magnum. But with such a large case, I wouldn't want to go smaller than 338.

The swede is a bit of a snowflake cartridge, as (afaik) it's not based on any other popular case, and uses a different rim diameter (.480") than most cartridges. With many actions/bolts, it will actually fit the .308 (.473") bolt. Not so with the AI (unless they made the new ones bigger, which I doubt).

 

[MH434]

Thanks alot for much good information!
I think i'll go with the 338 lapua, the 308 really starts to suffer after 600meters or so.
The 300wm is a quite good choice, but i think it will kill the barrel before the 338 LM

 

[JohnMWoo]

Thanks alot for much good information!
I think i'll go with the 338 lapua, the 308 really starts to suffer after 600meters or so.
The 300wm is a quite good choice, but i think it will kill the barrel before the 338 LM

MH434 - 600 meters seems a bit short. Can you let me know your reasoning on this?

Respectfully,
John W

 

[MH434]

MH434 - 600 meters seems a bit short. Can you let me know your reasoning on this?

Respectfully,
John W

I've seen 308's out to 1000meters, but those have long barrels and shot with good ammo. Imo after 600 meters there is far better options out there than 308. Here in scandinavia most people use the 6.5x55 which is much better!

 

[redneckbmxer24]

308 falls off after 600 yards? What a load of shit. I've shot 308's out to a mile. With the right bullet and a standard barrel (22-24") they have no problem getting consistent hits out to 1200 yards or so.

If you've seen a 308 suffer after 600 yards it was the indian not the arrow.

 

[308sniper147]

308 falls off after 600 yards? What a load of shit. I've shot 308's out to a mile. With the right bullet and a standard barrel (22-24") they have no problem getting consistent hits out to 1200 yards or so.

If you've seen a 308 suffer after 600 yards it was the indian not the arrow.

At a mile did you lay the target on the ground facing toward the sky, and let that .30 cal bullet come in like a mortar from the heavens? Lol

 

[Redmanss]

308 falls off after 600 yards? What a load of shit. I've shot 308's out to a mile. With the right bullet and a standard barrel (22-24") they have no problem getting consistent hits out to 1200 yards or so.

If you've seen a 308 suffer after 600 yards it was the indian not the arrow.

Take your .308 out when you have a DA of -2000ft and let me know how well it's doing. We had one cold (~20*F) and windy March morning at Quantico when I was in SSAC where we seriously suffered with M118LR past 700yds, causing an entire class worth of seasoned snipers to be all over the place except on target. MH434 is from Scandinavia, I'm sure they see the cold there quite a bit.

The .308 is more a fair weather round. Put it in the cold and it comes up lame when you try to stretch its legs. I've shot .22lr out to 600yds, doesn't mean it is smart or practical...

 

[MH434]

Take your .308 out when you have a DA of -2000ft and let me know how well it's doing. We had one cold (~20*F) and windy March morning at Quantico when I was in SSAC where we seriously suffered with M118LR past 700yds, causing an entire class worth of seasoned snipers to be all over the place except on target. MH434 is from Scandinavia, I'm sure they see the cold there quite a bit.

The .308 is more a fair weather round. Put it in the cold and it comes up lame when you try to stretch its legs. I've shot .22lr out to 600yds, doesn't mean it is smart or practical...

I think redmanss got that right. You can get out to 1000meters with the 308, but basicly you're out of range for that cartridge.

 

[farmerbrown]

I think redmanss got that right. You can get out to 1000meters with the 308, but basicly you're out of range for that cartridge.

Certainly for a tactical rifle, have to agree.

I have engaged torso sized targets at 1150 meters with a 308W, but it was completely ideal conditions:

- 7000' up in a mountain pass
- not a breath of wind
- no light variability

We knew we were on the ragged edge here and more good fortune than skill. But of course, this would be relatively straight forward with a .338 even under poor conditions.

So can do it, but if I was asked to get a rifle for a shot over 800-900 meters, you'd reach for something besides the 308W.

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD

 

[sib1948]

Get a DTA and be done!!! I have 2 with the DTA 338LM barrel conversions and simply ordered the new AI AXMC 308 with 243 & 260 barrels.

 

[Defuzer]

didn't see it mentioned for one of the posters in this thread. you can find US Made 6.5x55 swede brass with a .473 head. euro made brass still goes with the 480.