223 AI

[Sykes]

Considering building a .22 cal rifle to shoot coyotes with that is as fur friendly as possible and at the same time put them down on the spot. I know bullet selection has a lot to do with this. The last few years I've been using a 22-250 with excellent results but want try something new. The 22 creedmoor was at the top of my list but my oldest boy is getting to the point he really likes to shoot so the short barrel life of the 22 creedmoor is a consideration and I'm not so sure it's in the fur friendly zone.

So a 223 AI has caught my attention. My question is how short of a barrel can I go and still get enough performance? I'd like to do an 18" barrel and run my suppresor. I mainly shoot coyotes off dead cows at night with a light or early mornings sneaking around catching them coming and going to the dead pile. Out to 400 yards is all I'm asking out of this build, I have a 6 creedmoor for the further shots if needed.

I plan to put the BA into a manners CS2 with a mini chassi. Will there be any issue running a 223 AI in an AICS magazine?

Thanks in advance for the input

 

[Hoser]

I am using the plastic Accuracy International mags for my 223 Ackley built around a Terminus action.

I also use normal AR mags for my 18 and 20 inch 223 Ackley AR-15 uppers. 223 Ackley in an AR isnt supposed to work, but it does.

I have shot a lot of coyotes over the years with my 223 Ackleys. I like it because it suppresses well when you are using 25-26 gns of powder.

I dont save pelts anymore, but when I was interested in saving them I used the Hornady 55 FMJ or a 40gn Ballistic Tip or Blitzking. Normally I didnt have any exit wounds. But when the 40s made it out, there was no stitching up that hide. 55s made small exit woulds unless you hit a large bone, even then it was easy to fix.

 

[Dai Bando]

Accurate Mag 5 rd mags run sweet in the 223AI and are easily modified for long COAL.

7 twist it so you can play with 75 and 88 gr ELD's.

 

[Moose]

I'm also using 5 rd Accurate mags with 75 gr amax in my 223AI and they work great.The barrel on mine is 20 inches and a handy little rifle.

 

[Subhunter2]

Out of all the various calibers and wildcats ive ran over the years, the 223 AI has , and continues to be one of the best all around cartridges you could ask for, alot of us ran them in Matches with the heavies, 75-82gr, then for hunting the AI gives you some extra speed with hardly any recoil. Some of the others like 22 creed will flat smoke a yote! But i alway seem to find the 223ai getting more range and field time than any other barrel... lol its way more fun to shoot! Ive dropped pigs out to 825 with one and have seen alot of deer shot with them here in texas, but for yotes it works great with the 68-75 grainers. Fireform loads are great for hunting also, one of the easiest rounds to reload for, pretty much 75-80 grainer with 25.2-26 gr of either 8208 or 4895 gives bad ass results!
my current ai barrel is 20” proof shooting 80 vld’s at 2965 with a non-pressured load of 25.4gr of 8208
Most of the longer 223ai’s ive had were 24” and i got 3030 with 80’s and a 22” broughton barrel that was stupid accurate with 80’s going 3010 with 25.6 gr of 8208,
Sorry for long read, but its hard to go wrong with the 223 ai, and if your lazy as hell, you can always just shoot factory 223 ammo out of it! Best of luck and keep us posted, heres a pic of a yote last month that caught a 75eldm at about 100yds from the 223ai, it is bad news on yotes!!!

 

[Sykes]

Hey @Moose and @Subhunter2 , wanna sell you rifle?? Just kidding, those are some nice rifles, right along the lines of what I'd like to build.

 

[Dai Bando]

Sweet rifle!

Specs?

 

[Subhunter2]

Tl3
20” proof 223ai .060 fb
Manners mcs ta
Leupy 3-18

 

[Subhunter2]

To answer your mag question, the accurate mags with plastic internal sleeve work the best, for longer oal bullets , pull the plastic sleeve out and take a dremel router bit to open up the top area were the two pieces join, doesn't have to be much relief, most of the 223 bullets tips just need some room in the mag,

 

[diggler1833]

An 18" barrel would be plenty for a 223AI...allowing you to get somewhere in the same velocity ballpark as a 22-24" standard .223.

It was definitely the rage here on the 'Hide 10-12 years ago, and for good reason. Back then the magical bullet for it was the 75gr AMAX.

I started my journey towards one back then with an SPS Tactical. Turns out my factory tube shot 1/2 MOA with a 69gr handload right out of the gate, so I never messed with the AI (I was extremely lucky).

 

[Subhunter2]

It was definitely the rage here on the 'Hide 10-12 years ago, and for good reason. Back then the magical bullet for it was the 75gr AMAX.

Lol!!
I jumped on that bandwagon back then, 233ai worked ok in matches till you realized you were fighting wind all day 2-4 tenths more than the 6mm’s, still a fun little case, that powder column gives you just enough speed to make the short barrels and heavy 223 bullets work.

 

[Mordamer]

.223 AI is one of my all time favorite cartridges. It is incredibly efficient.

For your desired use I would pick a Sierra 69 TMK or a Hornady 75 ELD. You should achieve about 2,850 FPS in an 18" barrel which is plenty. The reason I suggest the the 69 TMK is because you only want to go out to 400 yards. The heavier bullets with higher BC aren't necessary and to get propper terminal performance you'll need the extra velocity. The TMK expands much better than the ELD, but they both work. The TMK has a much larger ballistic tip.

 

[Mordamer]

Also, in my experience the .223 AI actually works better in the polymer AI mags than the regular .223. The slightly wider case body helps the cases not to pop through the mag lips.

 

[Subhunter2]

on the 69 TMK, and also 52 vmax

 

[Subhunter2]

52 vmax fire form load , bullet goes in and doesnt come out... DRT