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7/17/20 AI update- Is it worth trading out for an AI?

What scope caps are those?

I believe they ship from the factory with these. Either way they came on the scope

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i'd prefer 1 great rifle over 3 good ones i can only shoot one at a time.
assuming you would still have backup options...
 
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i'd prefer 1 great rifle over 3 good ones i can only shoot one at a time.
assuming you would still have backup options...


I think by looking at some of these post you guys just assumed I cleaned out my entire cabinet to go only with an AI......the pic below is my current inventory that the AI will be added to. These guns are all for the same purpose, crop damage control. I’ll likely thin some out eventually as I want the AI as my primary. I also have a Win M70 coyote light in 325 WSM as my actual deer season lighter weight rifle

All in the pic except the lightweight/tripod gun (second from the bottom) get run suppressed with the TBAC Ultra 9

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For the OP There is a very nice TRG 22 .308 at my local gun shop. Nice shape. Asking 1999 with... muzzle brake (200), two mags (150 ea), bipod (not Sako), side pic rail (300), down base and hard case. Scope-ready package with all the right stuff for short$$. If you are interested, pm me. I’ll be glad to pass on shop info. Unless you have to have an AI, this will perform!

Sirhr
 
For the OP There is a very nice TRG 22 .308 at my local gun shop. Nice shape. Asking 1999 with... muzzle brake (200), two mags (150 ea), bipod (not Sako), side pic rail (300), down base and hard case. Scope-ready package with all the right stuff for short$$. If you are interested, pm me. I’ll be glad to pass on shop info. Unless you have to have an AI, this will perform!

Sirhr

Thank you sirhr, but my AIAT should be at my FFL for pickup tomorrow

Again thank you for passing that along tho
 
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You will love it.

I have more full on custom rifles than I need. They are all wonderful.

After I got my first AI I understood what every other AI owner talks about.

Congrats on your purchase. I think you will enjoy it. Keep us updated.
 
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Do these AI actions get smoother over time? Are you guys using any lube? I see videos of people shooting them and it seems effortless when cycling the bolt.
 
Doing some dry firing this morning. Will be easier with the scope mounted but so far loving the trigger. My Rock River is a 2 stage and the more I use them the bigger fan I am of them.

The bolt is very smooth. Even tested with a full mag of loaded rounds (out the window of my house of course) and still silky smooth feeding from the Double stack 10 round mag.

The mag by the way is absolutely awesome. Extremely fast loading and can load from the top of the gun if I want.

So far very happy with my purchase. I think I’m going to pass on the spuhr mount tho, which I do have one already and no issues with. I’m seeing lots of cracked mounts come up lately. I’m instead going to go with badger steel rings to better “bulletproof” the system.

The rifle came with the original stock with the pistol grip but I’m really liking the thumb hole and love the old school legacy look. The stock does have a thumb test which I see myself using vs the actual thumb hole portion of the chassis.

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Do these AI actions get smoother over time? Are you guys using any lube? I see videos of people shooting them and it seems effortless when cycling the bolt.

Yes they do. I was suprised when I first cycled a brand new one how chunky it felt. Smoothed out over time a hundred rounds or so. Interesting if you put the safety to "middle safe" (whatever that's called) and take the force off of the firing pin it's like a lizard on ice.

I think there is something to the cylcling and ergonomics that make it better when it's being shot than fondled that I've noticed. My first pistol was a Walther PPQ which felt great in my hands at the counter. But not as great when I shot it after awhile. Then got a G19, which felt not as good to the touch, but great when actually shooting. AI AT is the same relationship for me anyway.
 
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Yes they do. I was suprised when I first cycled a brand new one how chunky it felt. Smoothed out over time a hundred rounds or so. Interesting if you put the safety to "middle safe" (whatever that's called) and take the force off of the firing pin it's like a lizard on ice.

I think there is something to the cylcling and ergonomics that make it better when it's being shot than fondled that I've noticed. My first pistol was a Walther PPQ which felt great in my hands at the counter. But not as great when I shot it after awhile. Then got a G19, which felt not as good to the touch, but great when actually shooting. AI AT is the same relationship for me anyway.
I spoke with AI yesterday asking about this and he told me they break in at about 1k rounds and get better over time. He mentioned his old AI has over 50k rounds through it and said you would be amazed as to how smooth it is. Also told me they are designed to be ran without lube.

He stated that you can apply lube if desired but it will slowdown the break in process. Recommended Break Through by Battle Born for lube.
 
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Doing some dry firing this morning. Will be easier with the scope mounted but so far loving the trigger. My Rock River is a 2 stage and the more I use them the bigger fan I am of them.

The bolt is very smooth. Even tested with a full mag of loaded rounds (out the window of my house of course) and still silky smooth feeding from the Double stack 10 round mag.

The mag by the way is absolutely awesome. Extremely fast loading and can load from the top of the gun if I want.

So far very happy with my purchase. I think I’m going to pass on the spuhr mount tho, which I do have one already and no issues with. I’m seeing lots of cracked mounts come up lately. I’m instead going to go with badger steel rings to better “bulletproof” the system.

The rifle came with the original stock with the pistol grip but I’m really liking the thumb hole and love the old school legacy look. The stock does have a thumb test which I see myself using vs the actual thumb hole portion of the chassis.

View attachment 7265810
Nice setup! I wish you'd put the painted pistol grip and buttstock back on though, it always bugged me that @malsa82 ran the mismatched green and amazing camo haha

You've also got one of the first spigot mounts and thumb rests I made!

What I wanted to say was, don't worry about the Spuhr mounts. I think the tales of them cracking are WAY overblown, and IIRC were from the 1st gen design. I can't think of anyone personally or that I've seen on social media mention them cracking. They are pricey, yes, but I like the ones I've had over the years.

Cheers,

Sam
 
Nice setup! I wish you'd put the painted pistol grip and buttstock back on though, it always bugged me that @malsa82 ran the mismatched green and amazing camo haha

You've also got one of the first spigot mounts and thumb rests I made!

What I wanted to say was, don't worry about the Spuhr mounts. I think the tales of them cracking are WAY overblown, and IIRC were from the 1st gen design. I can't think of anyone personally or that I've seen on social media mention them cracking. They are pricey, yes, but I like the ones I've had over the years.

Cheers,

Sam

Nice work on the additions to the AI! I’ll be honest tho I really like the feel of the rifle with the current stock. I do have the other parts and can switch out for flavor of the month tho if I want to ??
 
So I’m looking at rings currently. Actually waiting to find a good deal on used ones. But want to ask you guys what your opinions are for this scope/ring combo. What would you choose based on your experience. I googled a lot in regards to this but just wondering what you guys think.

ARC M10
Badger
NF
Spuhr
Seekins/Vortex PMR
 
So I’m looking at rings currently. Actually waiting to find a good deal on used ones. But want to ask you guys what your opinions are for this scope/ring combo. What would you choose based on your experience. I googled a lot in regards to this but just wondering what you guys think.

ARC M10
Badger
NF
Spuhr
Seekins/Vortex PMR
Well after owning a set of spuhr high rings and now a mount from them, I’d go spuhr for everything. Aesthetically pleasing and left no marks on my scope. Plus mounting options for other random things if ever needed.
 
I've had 3 different spuhr mounts. They were great but I fell in love with the 1 bolt on the ARC rings. Now that's all I run. Very easy in mounting and adjusting.
 
Nice setup! I wish you'd put the painted pistol grip and buttstock back on though, it always bugged me that @malsa82 ran the mismatched green and amazing camo haha

You've also got one of the first spigot mounts and thumb rests I made!

What I wanted to say was, don't worry about the Spuhr mounts. I think the tales of them cracking are WAY overblown, and IIRC were from the 1st gen design. I can't think of anyone personally or that I've seen on social media mention them cracking. They are pricey, yes, but I like the ones I've had over the years.

Cheers,

Sam

I also want to add the reason the thumb hole stock feels so good when I’m behind this is because of the awesome thumb rest.....so.....technically speaking.....your to blame for the mismatched pieces ?

If I was using a wrap around grip the pistol grip stock would probably feel better
 
I've had 3 different spuhr mounts. They were great but I fell in love with the 1 bolt on the ARC rings. Now that's all I run. Very easy in mounting and adjusting.

I never heard about these until I started researching and like what I’m seeing. Which is actually what caused me to post the question above

I’m watching the px for several different options. But thought we may as well discuss your guy’s preference while I wait.

I do own Leupold MK4, Spuhr, badger, NF ultralight rings already. And haven’t had an issue to date with any of them. So it’s more of a pick one and role with it as they are all great options. Then the ARC and Seekins came up and I start to wonder what I may be missing out on lol
 
I've had 3 different spuhr mounts. They were great but I fell in love with the 1 bolt on the ARC rings. Now that's all I run. Very easy in mounting and adjusting.

The ARC's are the best designed ring out there, IMO.

I would only go Spuhr if you need the capability to mount a bunch of gizmos to your rings, like NV equipment. Otherwise, ARC.
 
Lol
Maybe almost never according to recent threads.

It was tempting but I wasn't going to say it ?

In defense of Spuhr, between them and their dealers, they take care of their customers. If you do have any issues with Spuhr, it will be handled appropriately and quickly. I wouldn't be afraid to buy a Spuhr if I felt that I needed the features.
 
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It was tempting but I wasn't going to say it ?

In defense of Spuhr, between them and their dealers, they take care of their customers. If you do have any issues with Spuhr, it will be handled appropriately and quickly. I wouldn't be afraid to buy a Spuhr if I felt that I needed the features.
That’s certainly going to happen.


I don’t need to hang a bunch Of stuff off my scope mount so it’s M-10’s for me from now on.
 
I never heard about these until I started researching and like what I’m seeing. Which is actually what caused me to post the question above

I’m watching the px for several different options. But thought we may as well discuss your guy’s preference while I wait.

I do own Leupold MK4, Spuhr, badger, NF ultralight rings already. And haven’t had an issue to date with any of them. So it’s more of a pick one and role with it as they are all great options. Then the ARC and Seekins came up and I start to wonder what I may be missing out on lol

Go with the Spuhr separate rings!! I love them and that’s what was on that rifle for years...
 

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Lol, you're not goin to go wrong either direction u go with those 2
 
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I’ll admit I like to try different stuff as well so this may be a chance to try the ARC. If I can come across a used pair at a decent price I wouldn’t be out anything if I wanted to sell for something else. Or just go spuhr
 
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I run a spuhr because I wanted to add additional 20moa declination to my scope to get the full usable adjustment out of my optic. It’s an earlier model that I picked up used on the PX. I’m not concerned about potential cracking.

I like the idea of a one piece mount where the bores that the scope rides in are machined at the same time in the same piece of material. I’m not sure that it really matters though.

I don’t believe ARC offers a one piece mount with 20moa at 1.4-1.5 height and RRS was out of stock. That made spuhr the easy choice.

I also prefer my rings/mount to be aluminum.
 
After a bunch of reading I decided to go spuhr 4001. Seems the issues with cracking were mostly 1st gen mounts. And those who had issues were taken care of very well. I’ve had the 4001 and now a 4006 with no issues with either.

This way if I ever want to add things to the mount etc I already have the correct mount to do so. As stated this is a rifle I plan to have for a long time so I’m doing it justice and going spuhr.

Found one in the PX that’s the updated beefed up version so I went with that.

Will share some pics when I get it together and once I’m able to get it in the field. Still 2 ft of snow here yet

This is the last piece of the AI puzzle. Thank you to everyone for their opinions and helping me locate the items and information I needed to make this happen. This is a awesome site filled with great guys ready to help

AIAT
Nightforce ATACR 4-16X42 F1
Spuhr 4001
Atlas Cal Gen 2
TBAC Ultra 9
 
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@hafejd30 how are you liking the AT? I’ve been watching this thread and the picture thread, and at first I was gonna go a budget route with a Bighorn Origin build or find a FN SPR, but for some reason I’m attracted to the AT in 308. It would take me a little while longer to save for it, and want to make sure all my ducks are in a row.
 
@hafejd30 how are you liking the AT? I’ve been watching this thread and the picture thread, and at first I was gonna go a budget route with a Bighorn Origin build or find a FN SPR, but for some reason I’m attracted to the AT in 308. It would take me a little while longer to save for it, and want to make sure all my ducks are in a row.

I would love to have a great report for you but truth is I live in the UP of Michigan and haven’t been able to shoot it yet. Another week of warmer temps and we’ll melt enough snow to get some testing done.

I can tell you the bolt is smooth as glass and the barrel quickloc system is awesome. Had I bought one years ago I would have several less rifles and more $$ in my pocket just starting with the AI.

This rifle has awesome potential and I’m looking forward to getting behind it in the coming weeks
 
I would love to have a great report for you but truth is I live in the UP of Michigan and haven’t been able to shoot it yet. Another week of warmer temps and we’ll melt enough snow to get some testing done.

I can tell you the bolt is smooth as glass and the barrel quickloc system is awesome. Had I bought one years ago I would have several less rifles and more $$ in my pocket just starting with the AI.

This rifle has awesome potential and I’m looking forward to getting behind it in the coming weeks
Much appreciated and be sure to update. I’m gonna try to get behind one myself somehow and see how I like it. That would be the biggest selling point to me.
 
Much appreciated and be sure to update. I’m gonna try to get behind one myself somehow and see how I like it. That would be the biggest selling point to me.

I always hear to get behind before you buy. I bought without trying as I don’t know anyone remotely close that owns an AI. I can tell you after dry firing and just laying behind the gun that this chassis in this configuration fits me very well
 
I always hear to get behind before you buy. I bought without trying as I don’t know anyone remotely close that owns an AI. I can tell you after dry firing and just laying behind the gun that this chassis in this configuration fits me very well
I’ve always liked traditional stocks (owned and sold a few Manners), never been behind a chassis, so that’s the one thing I’m worried about with that much coin going into it.
 
I’ve always liked traditional stocks (owned and sold a few Manners), never been behind a chassis, so that’s the one thing I’m worried about with that much coin going into it.

I’ve owned everything from HS/Mcmillian/Manners stocks to MDT/Cadex/Ashbury/XLR chassis. I can honestly shoot just about any of them just as well as the next. I’m 6’3” 265 so the chassis with the longer LOP have fit me better than the manners and HS stocks. I’ve migrated more into the chassis in the past several years.

That said I’d say the AI in this configuration feels more like a stock than a chassis. Also have the original AT skins for the stock and just looking at them they would definitely have the feel of a chassis.

I already have a preference to using the thumb rest vs wrapping the thumb hole grip

By chassis in this I’m referring to those listed above with ergo/hogue/Magpul grips
 
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I’ve owned everything from HS/Mcmillian/Manners stocks to MDT/Cadex/Ashbury/XLR chassis. I can honestly shoot just about any of them just as well as the next. I’m 6’3” 265 so the chassis with the longer LOP have fit me better than the manners and HS stocks. I’ve migrated more into the chassis in the past several years.

That said I’d say the AI in this configuration feels more like a stock than a chassis. Also have the original AT skins for the stock and just looking at them they would definitely have the feel of a chassis.

I already have a preference to using the thumb rest vs wrapping the thumb hole grip

By chassis in this I’m referring to those listed above with ergo/hogue/Magpul grips
Exactly what I was looking for. I’m about the same height/weight you are, so a longer LOP is a huge benefit.

I’m pretty much sold on snagging one of these at some point, even if it means I gotta sell a kidney or worse.
 
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The finished product

Thank you again to all who helped guide me in this thread

View attachment 7273845View attachment 7273846View attachment 7273848

Question.... I took possession of my AT in late November from EuroOptic… the factory packaging came with two spacers for the butt pad installed, and two additional ones plus bolts... the length of pull was about 1/2 inch short of what I prefer.... however in trying to add one of the additional spacers I discovered that the bolts supplied were not long enough to assemble the fix... I see you have that additional spacer added... can you tell me where you got the bolts? I had contacted the AI people via email and never heard back
 
Question.... I took possession of my AT in late November from EuroOptic… the factory packaging came with two spacers for the butt pad installed, and two additional ones plus bolts... the length of pull was about 1/2 inch short of what I prefer.... however in trying to add one of the additional spacers I discovered that the bolts supplied were not long enough to assemble the fix... I see you have that additional spacer added... can you tell me where you got the bolts? I had contacted the AI people via email and never heard back

This is how it came when I bough it but you could ask @malsa82 I bought it from him

Otherwise contact Mile High they could probably help you out