Dumping my Surgeon XL in favor of an AIAW?

[krecon1]

Been toying around with the idea of bailing on my NIB Surgeon .338 Lapua in favor of an AIAW. Main reasons are getting rid of a rifle that needs bedding and ease of rebarreling when the barrel burns out – with the long ranges around here would happen rather quickly. I’ve read the majority of the threads on the AIAW – just wanted some input if I am making the right choice for the right reasons.

I've always gone the custom rifle route, but the bottom line is the COTS nature of the AIAW, rebarreling ease, and tried and tested durability of the system is what is selling me.

Any input is appreciated.

 

[Lazuris]

Re: Dumping my Surgeon XL in favor of an AIAW?

I'm building the same rig. What Barrel and profile did you go with?

 

[CoryT]

Re: Dumping my Surgeon XL in favor of an AIAW?

Let's look at the reasons and see if they hold up.

Bedding. Is the rifle properly bedded and shooting well now? If so, that would appear to be irrelevant. In any event, you can swap out the stock to a chassis system to eliminate bedding for far less expense and trouble than a new rifle.

Rebarrel. Swapping out a barrel is not really that much of a problem, is it? The biggest challange is simply getting the new tube from the mfg when you want it. If you look at the cost, it's not really much of a differance between the two. Granted, if you have the tools and skills you can swap out the AI on your own, so that may be a time/cost saver, but by how much? If you are having it done for you, is there any savings at all?

So, I don't see any particular reason to change, at least not for the stated objectives.

 

[Mo_Zam_Beek]

Re: Dumping my Surgeon XL in favor of an AIAW?

Dump it - someone on the 'hide needs a <span style="font-style: italic">discounted</span> NIB Surgeon XL.


Good luck

 

[TEAMSENDIT]

Re: Dumping my Surgeon XL in favor of an AIAW?

if you don't mind taking a loss it will be a fine switch, but otherwise its a silly move unless you don't like the action or stock.

surgeon actions are easy to swap barrels on because it has a integral recoil lug. with a vise and wrench you could do it in 10 minutes in your garage.

 

[9H_Cracka]

Re: Dumping my Surgeon XL in favor of an AIAW?

When we sell something, we are equally convinced that we should do so as we were convinced we should buy it in the first place. Afterwards, we are equally convinced we should have never sold it.

The barrel, bedding, bla bla bla are just noise, excuses we give ourselves at the time, relabeled "reasons", for attempting to satisfy our human condition. The human condition is defined as, "no matter what we have, we are not satisfied with it and want something else".

Face it, you NEED the AW.

 

[bm11]

Re: Dumping my Surgeon XL in favor of an AIAW?

Never owned a surgeon, but hear they are nice. I DO have an AIAW that you would have to pry out of my cold, dead hands, for what it's worth.

 

[GunGuru727]

Re: Dumping my Surgeon XL in favor of an AIAW?

Why bother, once its bedded you never have to do it again. For the tube, just send it away for a few weeks and have the barrel spun up by GAP or somthing. Otherwise your investing money in tooling and time.

 

[skinnypitt]

Re: Dumping my Surgeon XL in favor of an AIAW?

I own a scalpal and I have got to say it is the finest piece of precision equipment i have seen and the best money i ever spent. AIAW may be a good rifle but try getting the kind of service and care that the guys at surgeon put into each and every rifle from a company overseas not to mention customer service that Surgeon has. Also as someone already said, it is much cheaper and easier to either change stocks or put a new barrel on yourself. Just call the guys at Surgeon and they will talk you through how easy it is to change the barrel.

By the way this question is a little loaded since even i would tell you to sell if i had the money to purchase it.
For me.....I would never buy another custom from anyone else as long as the guys at Surgeon are still building them...PERIOD!

 

[Bacarrat]

Re: Dumping my Surgeon XL in favor of an AIAW?

If you are questioning yourself now about it, might as well do it if you could. I would do it for a totally different set of reasons though. As you are not going to rebarrel the AW without a smith doing it or have taken the AI armorers course.

 

[banks74]

Re: Dumping my Surgeon XL in favor of an AIAW?

I bought an AW and have not regretted it one bit. Surgeons are really nice though.

 

[AWP]

Re: Dumping my Surgeon XL in favor of an AIAW?

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: banks74</div><div class="ubbcode-body">I bought an AW and have not regretted it one bit. Surgeons are really nice though. </div></div>

+1

Best purchase I have ever made.

 

[JRose]

Re: Dumping my Surgeon XL in favor of an AIAW?

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: _9H</div><div class="ubbcode-body">When we sell something, we are equally convinced that we should do so as we were convinced we should buy it in the first place. Afterwards, we are equally convinced we should have never sold it.

The barrel, bedding, bla bla bla are just noise, excuses we give ourselves at the time, relabeled "reasons", for attempting to satisfy our human condition. The human condition is defined as, "no matter what we have, we are not satisfied with it and want something else".

Face it, you NEED the AW. </div></div>

ROFL..... 'Cause it's true...

 

[RTH1800]

Re: Dumping my Surgeon XL in favor of an AIAW?

Rationalazation is a funny thing. You have a NIB rifle and your concern is a worn out barrel and bedding, which should last several barrels at least. This sounds like something you should be telling your wife, not SH.

 

[krecon1]

Re: Dumping my Surgeon XL in favor of an AIAW?

Appreciate the input - I'm not in a hurry to make a decision, so I still have time on my side....

 

[JaneDoe]

Re: Dumping my Surgeon XL in favor of an AIAW?

Look at your other bolt rifles, do you shoot them well? Do they "fit" you? I have found the AI stock is not very comfortable for me and decided to keep all my bolt actions the same with HTG or A1-3 stocks and sold my AICS so they all feel the same.

I'd keep the Surgeon because you already have it and for the similarity to your other rifles.

 

[mtm87tx]

Re: Dumping my Surgeon XL in favor of an AIAW?

If the AI stock is what your after, buy one for the surgeon.

Compare the price you can sell your surgeon at to the new price of a AIAW ~6k

Thats alot of barrel changes, bedding for the difference.

Im not sure if this is your first 338 but the amount you shoot and the amount you want or plan to shoot varies alot.

i did this with my 308 and bout a SPR for barrel life thinking i would shoot a few hundred rounds a week. that never happened lol

 

[Ouch!!]

Re: Dumping my Surgeon XL in favor of an AIAW?

Do you have a friend that owns the aiaw in 338LM? If so ask him to shoot it. Then send a few down your barrel and then make your decision.

 

[i_rep]

Re: Dumping my Surgeon XL in favor of an AIAW?

You can buy an action wrench (gen 2) from Surgeon, Can have bbls made, even switch them yourself with the Surgeon just as you could with an AIAW/AIAWM/AIAE.

Not sure I understand your reasoning. Sounds like as stated above. You have an itch, so go get the scratch.

Hell I would imagine if you wanted you could buy a new bolt and then even have multiple bbls/different bolts and have something cheaper to shoot. I have not ever heard someone saying that they were going to shoot the 338LM so much that I have to get another bbl now. At 100 bucks for 20 rounds that is alot of dough to get to 5000-6000+ rounds. IMHO

We are all looking for a steal, so put a price on it and scratch your itch.

 

[BasraBoy]

Re: Dumping my Surgeon XL in favor of an AIAW?

My AW is, hands down and without exception, the best money I've ever spent on a rifle. It is everything i expected it to be and I would never part with it - a lot of guys with AW's will tell you the same. I have never regretted it for one minute.

Equally a lot of guys will tell you that they are not for everyone (the ergonomics of the stock seem to be an issue for some).

Yes, the AW does not need bedding. Yes, you can do a lot of maintenance yourself (if you have the tools - which are not cheap).

But how often, realistically are you going to do this?

If you want to use the barrel swap capability and run a number of different calibres or configurations then fair enough.

But I think this is a nice idea when buying but one that you may not use all that often?

Get behind one, try it, see if you can borrow one and live with it for a few days.

Make your own mind up.

You'll either love it or respect it but decide it is not for you.

 

[ZLBubba]

Re: Dumping my Surgeon XL in favor of an AIAW?

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Mo_Zam_Beek</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Dump it - someone on the 'hide needs a <span style="font-style: italic">discounted</span> NIB Surgeon XL.


Good luck </div></div>

^ Sell it. Might as well own what you want and not pine for something else.

 

[Adam B]

Re: Dumping my Surgeon XL in favor of an AIAW?

you will never know that you really dont need the AW until you have owned one, trust me, I went down this road with an AIAW and a DTA

 

[ChrisF]

Re: Dumping my Surgeon XL in favor of an AIAW?


Simple , buy want YOU really , really want , or you will never be happy.

As has been said here , until you actually own a AI , you can not appreciate how good they actually are , and that in most case's , you should have brought one much earlier than you did ( because you where being a cheap charile ).

I would say , IF you want 338LM , then go to the latest & best AI model , which is the new AX338 , order one today .

My Ax is a about a 4-6 weeks away , hopefully , can't wait .

Later Chris

 

[nolo263]

Re: Dumping my Surgeon XL in favor of an AIAW?

AI's kick ass! That is all I have to say.

 

[heavybarrel]

Re: Dumping my Surgeon XL in favor of an AIAW?

Is it the same tread ( AIAW VS REMINGTON actions ) ?

Thanks

 

[MinorDamage]

Re: Dumping my Surgeon XL in favor of an AIAW?

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: 250 rem</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Is it the same tread ( AIAW VS REMINGTON actions ) ?

Thanks </div></div>

No.

Josh

 

[TDECK]

Re: Dumping my Surgeon XL in favor of an AIAW?

I am very pleased with my AW but would love to own a Surgeon some day.

 

[DarinR]

Re: Dumping my Surgeon XL in favor of an AIAW?

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Adam B</div><div class="ubbcode-body">you will never know that you really dont need the AW until you have owned one, trust me, I went down this road with an AIAW and a DTA </div></div>

Yes, I bought Adam's AIAW and LOVE IT!

Darin

 

[VKC]

Re: Dumping my Surgeon XL in favor of an AIAW?

Surgeons are great rifles, I would be hesitant in selling it. Why not keep it. Save up and wait to buy an AIAW. Get and keep both would be the most ideal. I've found that most people who sell high quality rifles to get others somehow regret selling their other one. Every high quality rifle that I've kept just goes up in value over the long run.

 

[heavybarrel]

Re: Dumping my Surgeon XL in favor of an AIAW?

Ok thanks Josh .

 

[gugubica]

Re: Dumping my Surgeon XL in favor of an AIAW?

What are you going to use the rifle for?

That should be the only factor in choosing between the two. They are designed for slightly different, although overlapping, missions.

 

[Bluejazz]

Re: Dumping my Surgeon XL in favor of an AIAW?

Sounds like someone has a little fever of tinkeritis.
Take some aspirin and keep what you got.

 

[Sendero_Man]

Re: Dumping my Surgeon XL in favor of an AIAW?

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: _9H</div><div class="ubbcode-body">When we sell something, we are equally convinced that we should do so as we were convinced we should buy it in the first place. Afterwards, we are equally convinced we should have never sold it.

The barrel, bedding, bla bla bla are just noise, excuses we give ourselves at the time, relabeled "reasons", for attempting to satisfy our human condition. The human condition is defined as, "no matter what we have, we are not satisfied with it and want something else".

Face it, you NEED the AW. </div></div>

wow... best post I have ever read ! hits home too.... LOL

 

[BasraBoy]

Re: Dumping my Surgeon XL in favor of an AIAW?

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: vkc</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Surgeons are great rifles, I would be hesitant in selling it. Why not keep it. Save up and wait to buy an AIAW. Get and keep both would be the most ideal. I've found that most people who sell high quality rifles to get others somehow regret selling their other one. Every high quality rifle that I've kept just goes up in value over the long run.</div></div>

I'd agree - I kept my AW when I bought my GAP. Glad i did as they are both outstanding rifles.

If you can afford it - this would be the way to go.

 

[heavybarrel]

Re: Dumping my Surgeon XL in favor of an AIAW?

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: gugubica</div><div class="ubbcode-body">What are you going to use the rifle for?

That should be the only factor in choosing between the two. They are designed for slightly different, although overlapping, missions.</div></div>

Somebody sells a kreiger barrel for its aiaw and I wanted to know if he was compatible with my remington action .

 

[RollingThunder51]

Re: Dumping my Surgeon XL in favor of an AIAW?

..


You haven't shot it yet and your already not happy with it. You are dumping your NIB Surgeon. I own a Surgeon (Kampfeld) and I have problems, but the Surgeon isn't one of them.

My advice to you is to sell it immediately as per the reasons set out in Bacarrat's response.

"Your reasoning reminds me of an epilectic playing pachinko, as long as you've got balls left, I'll remain amused" - Marty Lesko 1967

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cLZCuDbiDag&NR=1




..

 

[desertHK]

Re: Dumping my Surgeon XL in favor of an AIAW?

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: _9H</div><div class="ubbcode-body">When we sell something, we are equally convinced that we should do so as we were convinced we should buy it in the first place. Afterwards, we are equally convinced we should have never sold it.

The barrel, bedding, bla bla bla are just noise, excuses we give ourselves at the time, relabeled "reasons", for attempting to satisfy our human condition. The human condition is defined as, "no matter what we have, we are not satisfied with it and want something else".

Face it, you NEED the AW. </div></div>

Absolutely. Keep feeding the addiction. It's worse than crack cocaine. LOL. Bottom line is we get certain gun/rifle, because that's what we want, not because we need.

 

[346ci]

Re: Dumping my Surgeon XL in favor of an AIAW?

I haven't owned either but that XL is beautiful! No way I'd sell that bad boy...

 

[johndoe]

Re: Dumping my Surgeon XL in favor of an AIAW?

Just buy the Ai. Once you have one you will wonder why you did
not get one sooner.