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AI AXSR Vs Barrett MRAD

AI AXSR Vs Barrett MRAD

  • AI AXSR

    Votes: 53 73.6%
  • Barrett MRAD

    Votes: 19 26.4%

  • Total voters
    72

Sure Shot 45

Sergeant of the Hide
Full Member
Minuteman
  • Jan 13, 2020
    216
    83
    I bought my first bolt gun about a year ago. The AI AT .308 20in folding stock, which I absolutely love. Still on the hunt for green skins/thumbhole set...

    Now I'm in the market for a heavy caliber rifle, was thinking .338LM but with the cost of ammo now .300WM seems more practical.

    Sadly I missed the boat on the AIMCs that were heavily discounted...

    Now looking at either the AXSR or MRAD. I've never had my hands on either, would love to hear from you folks who have. There's a huge price difference between the two, price quotes I have are about +3k on the AI. is the AXSR really that much better, worth the extra 3k? Am I going to be happy living with the MRAD if I'm used to the AI AT quality?

    Thanks in advance folks!
     
    Lots of subjective questions that only you can really answer. Given the chuck of change you’d be shelling out, I’d try to get my hands on an MRAD if at all possible.

    I went through the same decision (well for me it was AXMC vs MRAD) last year and I went with the AXMC. Have zero regrets.

    One of the factors in my decision was familiarity with the system as I had an AXSA previous. Another was the ease of barrel changes as well as number of barrel / cartridge options out there for the AI over the MRAD at the time.
     
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    I am an AXMC owner and I love it but I also got a great deal on it too. I think what you need to ask yourself is how many rounds are you going to fire per year through it? What kind or range do you have to shoot it on? Costs to shoot?

    For me, I have my own private range that can go out to a mile and I reload. So I went ahead and spent the money and topped it with a ZCO MPCT3 with a AI match trigger upgrade and the big atlas bipod for it. All the people I take to the range fall in love with it.

    If it is not going to be shot a whole lot, then maybe the Barrett is a better choice for you. They make a good gun too.

    I guess I'm being more of a financial advisor in hindsight.
     
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    Both are top notch I had an AXMC and MRAD,
    I liked the MRAD better, sold the MC.
    I think the SR fixes most of my gripes about MC.
    If money didn’t matter, I really don’t know which I would have, probably both, lol.

    One difference that doesn’t get brought up very often is the chassis styles

    mrad is really more like a tube gun ( action inside chassis vs the AI is the conventional action on top of chassis.

    There are several other threads about this as well, just hit the search.
     
    I’ve been searching a ton in the past couple months. I, like you, own a AIAT. It’s currently running a 20” 308 barrel. Mine has a combo of camo/green AI thumb hole skins

    I’ve been on a quest for the perfect magnum platform. Finally decided on a used AXMC. Which I purchased recently with 338 bolt/mag and am in the process of acquiring the optic. Have already purchased the 300 bolt/mag etc for it so I can run everything from 300 WM/PRC to 338 LM.

    I’ll use the AT for the short action cartridges so that wasn’t a concern to me
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    I owned an AI super magnum in 300 win. I consider that, quite possibly, the smoothest action (rifle) and well built that I ever owned. Having said that, I currently own a Barrett MRAD in 338 LM, with caliber conversions in 300 win and 6.5 cm. I am happy with it. If safe space was unlimited I would also own an AXMC; but I would shoot and enjoy both.
     
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    The DTA is another I researched a ton. But still went AI in the end

    Once you run an AI with its silky smooth action, double stack mags and just all around awesome design it’s really hard to get behind anything else.

    I honestly wish I’d had just gone with the AI years ago an saved the whole Remington/savage era.

    Top tier guns, be it AI, barret, Sako or DTA have a decent price tag on them. But they end up being cheaper in the long run. Especially when your working with quick change barrel/bolt kits
     
    I have a MRAD with barrel kits in 6.5-CM, 300-WM, 300-PRC, 308-Win, and 338-LM. Every barrel shoots reliable sub-MOA and I've got barrel changes down to sub-5-minutes. I wish I could go back in time, make this my first rifle, and save the money I spent on BA rifles before my MRAD.
     
    Add my 2-c. I have come to love the MRAD when the Mk22 was selected. The MRAD was designed from the ground up to be a barrel swap gun. The AIMX does a great job, as does the Cadex Kraken. I find the MRAD to be the most friendly for barrel swaps, as the need for additional hardware is minimal. There is no real bolt change needed.

    In my view, ask yourself: are you looking for a great rifle, and want the ability sometime in the future to change out a barrel, or do you really want a rifle with frequent swaps. If you are actually going to the range and test firing with inexpensive .308 ammo, and will swap to a larger caliber, the MRAD is your gun. If you want a rifle with a specific barrel and you might want to occasionally shoot out 1,800 yards, then look closely at the AI and the Cadex. AI has more customer experience with their platform, but that does not make it better than Cadex. AI uses their barrels and Cadex uses Bartlein blanks, so this becomes a very personal choice.
     
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    One thing that might be a big decision is whether you want to wait a year + for the MRAD folder. Bud of mine and others here on SH have stated such. He also said that Hinterland is no longer taking orders for the MRAD due to the long wait. Barrel conversions are also hard to get a hold of.
    He went with the MRAD and loves it. Use the money that you save over AI for ammo. That's if you want to bear the wait.
     
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    I've had an AX, AXMC, MRAD and now an AT LE. I liked the MRAD a lot but I had mine prior to the switch barrel calibers release. I waited for the caliber swaps and got tired of waiting and sold it prematurely only for the caliber swaps to come out less than a year later lol. Shooting only 338 can get pricey. The AXMC was nice but I rarely used the magnum calibers so it went on down the road in short order. I should have never sold my original AX but at the time I was more interested in having multiple SR-25's than I was in having a quality bolt gun, live and learn.

    For the money the MRAD is hard to beat but if you're already familiar with the AI chassis/operations I'd have a hard time not recommending the AI. Even as difficult as it can be to find AI stuff in my experience it's even more difficult to find stuff for the Barrett and obviously the aftermarket is much smaller for the platform as well. At the end of the day it's your money and if that's your number one concern it would be hard to ignore the MRAD, it's just a shame that it lacks the folding stock like the original 338 version.
     
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    I was able to acquire the MRAD foldable, FDE in 6.5 last week. It also has the new mlock fore end. Very happy.
     
    It's the best thing Barrett ever designed but I personally don't like the feel of the MRAD/Mk22 and I don't shoot mine as well as other rifles but I've also only got about 300 rounds through it.