AI AT Transportation/Barrel Removal

[Crews]

I am a new AI AT owner. Rifle is amazing. If I fold the stock and take the barrel off, the whole damned thing will fit in a very small space. For instance, it'll fit in a very inconspicuous Klein 24" canvas tool bag. Of any number of nondescript backpacks and takedown cases. For those that have AI's, do you make a habit of transporting the rifle with the barrel off? A long gun case is no big deal for me most of the time, but there are times I'd like to be able to carry it in and out of hotels without raising any eyebrows, plus long gun case = steal me.

Proof is in the pudding, I'll have to spend some time at the range testing repeatability of zero taking the barrel on and off. Just curious what others have experienced before I waste my time.

 

[sjc929]

My AT was legitimately perfect in return to zero. I had a 26” 6.5x47L barrel and a 16” .308 barrel, and they both had the exact same zero setting. Every time I screwed either one of them on, the zero was perfect. I now have an AX instead, with the same .308 barrel but now a Proof carbon 6.5x47L barrel. The Proof has a 100% consistent low, slightly right shot for the first shot after screwing the barrel on. It happens every time in the same spot, and doesn’t matter about barrel temp. If I screw it off and back on, the first shot will be low right, but then the zero returns.

Both my old AT and now my AX have been extremely, almost perfectly, consistent with return to zero. I would expect you to be fine, unless you just get unlucky.

 

[Badfinger]

Do you torque your barrel to any certain value when you install it and if so how much?

 

[morganlamprecht]

simlar to SJC

i take my AT barrels off to clean them, and at one point i was swapping between 3 different caliber barrels one year, never had a zero move off of a 3/4" dot...with some barrels the first shot back on might be .1 low, but they center right back up

i wrote down the zero settings for each barrel, and ran those the entire year until i retired them

snap it on firm, hand tight...snug the screw

 

[sjc929]

@Badfinger no, just hand tight. I screw it until it hits the face of the action, back it off a little, then jerk it tight again and keep torquing for a second. I’ve been using 55 in-lb on the quickloc lately instead of 49 in-lb, but other than that nothing special.

 

[hollowoutadime]

You want one of these:

Borka PTL049K-BW: Borka 5.5 Nm/49 inch-lbs. Torque Limiter Set w/Barrel Wrench for the AT and AXMC Series of Rifles

Mile High Shooting Accessories - Distributor and Dealer of Precision Shooting Gear: Accuracy International, Spuhr, Thunder Beast, Nightforce, TAB Gear and more.

www.milehighshooting.com

Then there's this porn:

 

[Waorani]

Here's the covert case AI is using now sans the fitted foam. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000TXDF78/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Price bounces around and was $98 when I got one a year or so ago. Couldn't see $400 just for the fitted foam.

 

[trob_205]

I asked the question of whether or not people just marked the quick lock screw and receiver for a quick torque reference in the AI picture thread, and had a guy say that’s all he uses and it works great like that. Eventually I’m going to set aside a range day at 100 yards and just play with different ways and see what you can and can’t get away with.

 

[Dthomas3523]

I just do the above screw till tight, back off, then snap it in.

I have a fix it stick 49 in/lb limiter and I just hit it with that.

Zero is always pretty close. I always check zero after putting barrel on anyway. So an absolute return to zero isn’t a big deal to me.

 

[Crews]

This all sounds very encouraging for my plans, and not different from what I expected!

 

[Badfinger]

Thanks guys that is also how I mount the barrels, I was just wondering if some of you were torquing them on.

 

[Crews]

Here's the covert case AI is using now sans the fitted foam. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000TXDF78/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Price bounces around and was $98 when I got one a year or so ago. Couldn't see $400 just for the fitted foam.

The only problem I see with that is that it takes a real shorty barrel to fit. A squared plus B squared = C squared tells me I've got a pretty good chance of doing the same thing with a 24" barrel if I get this: Pelican 1555 Air

Of course, a pelican case also screams "steal me."

I think I'm going to go with the Klein canvas tool bag. I can put a piece of foam in the bottom, throw the receiver with stock folded in the bottom, and put the barrel in a Tab gear sleeve Barrel sleeve to keep the threads from getting boogered up. I don't know how it gets any more unassuming than that.

 

[Dthomas3523]

I don't know how it gets any more unassuming than that.

 

[Waorani]

The only problem I see with that is that it takes a real shorty barrel to fit. A squared plus B squared = C squared tells me I've got a pretty good chance of doing the same thing with a 24" barrel if I get this: Pelican 1555 Air

Of course, a pelican case also screams "steal me."

I think I'm going to go with the Klein canvas tool bag. I can put a piece of foam in the bottom, throw the receiver with stock folded in the bottom, and put the barrel in a Tab gear sleeve Barrel sleeve to keep the threads from getting boogered up. I don't know how it gets any more unassuming than that.

Agree, max bbl/MD length would be about 20" in the AI covert case. Mainly just pointing out that you're paying a lot for custom AI foam. Never even tried to use it. Similar to the Kleins, I've got a couple sizes of Bucket Boss tool bags that are about as "covert" as you could ask. Of course, and like the Klein, they'd get stolen too thinking there were tools in them.

 

[hollowoutadime]

re: the pelican case and bbl length. Put a thunderbeast brake (or any) on it and it gets shorter. I bought the case, just need the patience to do the foam. (Going to do hot wire and fit a 7" or 9" can in there somehow.