Keep Impact + Foundation or get an AI???

[xanderzuk]

Hey y’all, a little more than a year ago I got bit by the precision/bolt action bug pretty hard. I met up with a couple of guys from the Hide at a PRS match at Cresson (RIP) and shot a match borrowing one of their guns. It was the most fun of any match type I’ve ever shot, and the people were amazing. Unfortunately, the gun I borrowed was an Impact action, in a Foundation stock, with a Tangent Theta scope, and you can’t go backwards so I dropped the coin and built the same thing in 6mm Creedmoor (with their help and guidance - awesome dudes).

Once they helped me get it setup, I went shooting with them around Thanksgiving last year and that was the last time the trigger was pulled. Owning a business, having 2 year old and another on the way, I’m spread pretty thin and getting the time to travel somewhere from central Dallas that has the distance to use this laser beam can be challenging.

Here’s my question: I feel that the utility of my current setup is fairly one dimensional. The rifle weighs as much as a truck axle (but boy is it a sweet shooter). I’m wondering if I switched to something like an Accuracy International, which has a quick change barrel system, I could put a shorty .308 barrel on and shoot some under 1000 nearby (and hunt), then throw the 6mm on and shoot a match, and have more utility and greater shooting frequency.

My fear is two fold:
1) the AI just doesn’t feel as sweet as the Foundation setup since it’s a chassis system, and it’s lighter. The Foundation really does dampen shock and vibration, but I’ve never shot an AI, so I can’t make the comparison.
2) I could be kidding myself and ultimately I don’t have the time to shoot regardless of setup/utility, and now I’ve sunken further cost into this endeavor. I know it’s hard for someone else to answer on this point, but feel free to share your thoughts/experience.

I’ve thought about switching to a Proof carbon barrel to lighten my current 28” M24 Bartlein, likely making it more wieldy, but I still wouldn’t have the utility of a quick change barrel.

Thoughts?

 

[TEUFEL820]

I miss shooting at Triple C also. I had the same dilemma with my rifle build. My latest build is on a Zeus action for the versatility it offers with quick barrel changes. I can shoot my 6 Creed for PRS matches and switch my barrel on the fly for hunting when needed. Foundations are great stocks but in my opinion not very modular. I'm currently using an MPA chassis and can easily strip all the weights for a lighter hunting setup. I've haven't been shooting as often due to primer and bullet shortages. There are some of us that shoot at a new venue located in Decatur if you're interested I can give you the info. They hold club matches once a month.

 

[xanderzuk]

I miss shooting at Triple C also. I had the same dilemma with my rifle build. My latest build is on a Zeus action for the versatility it offers with quick barrel changes. I can shoot my 6 Creed for PRS matches and switch my barrel on the fly for hunting when needed. Foundations are great stocks but in my opinion not very modular. I'm currently using an MPA chassis and can easily strip all the weights for a lighter hunting setup. I've haven't been shooting as often due to primer and bullet shortages. There are some of us that shoot at a new venue located in Decatur if you're interested I can give you the info. They hold club matches once a month.

Hey, thanks for sharing. Yes, I would like to know more about the new venue. Feel free to PM me.

 

[Hawk in WY]

If money is no object and you love this sport, by all means buy the AI. They are great rifles. I happily own more than one AI and Foundation stocked rifles.

Then buy the dedicated hunting rifle you will need because the AI is really heavy for hunting and you really need a long action for the caliber you want to shoot. Then buy a training rifle you will need and several others that you really need to own.

On the other hand the Foundation stock is only four pounds if I recall correctly. Your rifle is heavy because the 28 inch M24 barrel really is a truck axel. A shorter carbon fiber barrel will fix that.

If you like the Foundation stock and don’t see yourself owning many more than two rifles in future, I recommend buying a barrel vise, an action wrench for your Impact action, and a big torque wrench and change your own prefit barrels. Takes no more than ten minutes including applying anti sieze. There is no need to buy an AI just for the barrel change.

Good luck.

 

[Eric32]

Be patient and get a AT-X, it will be light enough and heavy for all the things you wanna do its 13ish pounds no mag.
Or you can buy a carbon barrel and a prs truck axel and swap whenever.

 

[tnc]

Buy a carbon barrel for the impact and a barrel vice. Swap them at your leisure.

 

[Greg Langelius *]

Thinking..., thinking...; about thinking...

You can't go back? Nope, you can go anywhere you want. When I read that statement, it comes across as shooters being dependent on equipment for their prowess, when I see it exactly the other way. Without skills, it matters nearly not at all what one's shooting. As long as the firearm's in proper working order, it's the shooter that earns the score.

I think that's a key concept when engaging in an arms race; and I think the competitive ranks are squarely in the middle of one. Folks can think and follow that thinking to whatever useful end they choose, but the arms race mentality makes the competition progressively less affordable. While we may joke about 'the poors', it's they who support the builders, and without them, the gear would cost even more, and maybe not be made at all.

I also believe it's not 'the poors' who are causing the arms product shortages; it's simple economics where too much money chases too small a supply; and 'the poors' don't have the kind of disposable cash that supports the current prices.

AI? I think it's a totally excellent implement for the completion of a very limited task. Competition at said task is limited to a very small group. I think we may have a handful or three of such among us; and I also think that what the AI's cost is irrelevant. They don't buy their guns, their employers do. If you're buying one, you're helping the industry, but the rifle was designed for what may be a different purpose.

Greg

 

[Eric32]

All around its a great system, the ability to swap barrels and weights and NVG add ons make it a system that is adaptable to the task at hand.

 

[sleeplz]

Bro…. Get both. 2 kids so you have to plan their future hobbies and test the best of the best.

 

[kthomas]

If you like the Impact + Foundation, then keep that and build a dedicated hunting rifle.

To save some money, build a rifle off of an Origin or Tikka T3. Use a short, lighter contour barrel in the cartridge you want. Drop in a KRG Bravo, top it with a lighter scope of your choice and budget.

 

[Hobo Hilton]

You injected this into your thought process:
Owning a business, having 2 year old and another on the way, I’m spread pretty thin and getting the time to travel somewhere from central Dallas that has the distance to use this laser beam can be challenging.

You need to figure out where your priorities are.

Forty years ago, I was you... Priorities will allow guns to remain in the gun safe and collect dust until the children are "out of the house" and on their own....

JMHO

 

[Bb214]

You’ll be fine with whichever rifle you decide to go with. I currently have a impact/foundation/TT setup, however I sold my AI to get it. I don’t feel as if I’m at any disadvantage having done this. I loved my AI and I’ll have another when I’m able to. I use my impact with a 6cm barrel for dog hunting and put my dasher barrel on for match shooting.

 

[kthomas]

You’ll be fine with whichever rifle you decide to go with. I currently have a impact/foundation/TT setup, however I sold my AI to get it. I don’t feel as if I’m at any disadvantage having done this. I loved my AI and I’ll have another when I’m able to. I use my impact with a 6cm barrel for dog hunting and put my dasher barrel on for match shooting.

AI's certainly aren't the end-all, be-all.

Great rifles for the roles they are designed for, a robust "one size fits most" battle rifle. Great quality, great reliability and precision.

However, with the quality of actions and components today, you can build a rifle specifically tailored to you and your body, and the type of shooting you do. AI's don't fit everybody, nor are they optimal for all types of shooting.

Lots of options these days, and all depends on what the end user wants to achieve.

 

[Part Timer]

Hey y’all, a little more than a year ago I got bit by the precision/bolt action bug pretty hard. I met up with a couple of guys from the Hide at a PRS match at Cresson (RIP) and shot a match borrowing one of their guns. It was the most fun of any match type I’ve ever shot, and the people were amazing. Unfortunately, the gun I borrowed was an Impact action, in a Foundation stock, with a Tangent Theta scope, and you can’t go backwards so I dropped the coin and built the same thing in 6mm Creedmoor (with their help and guidance - awesome dudes).

Once they helped me get it setup, I went shooting with them around Thanksgiving last year and that was the last time the trigger was pulled. Owning a business, having 2 year old and another on the way, I’m spread pretty thin and getting the time to travel somewhere from central Dallas that has the distance to use this laser beam can be challenging.

Here’s my question: I feel that the utility of my current setup is fairly one dimensional. The rifle weighs as much as a truck axle (but boy is it a sweet shooter). I’m wondering if I switched to something like an Accuracy International, which has a quick change barrel system, I could put a shorty .308 barrel on and shoot some under 1000 nearby (and hunt), then throw the 6mm on and shoot a match, and have more utility and greater shooting frequency.

My fear is two fold:
1) the AI just doesn’t feel as sweet as the Foundation setup since it’s a chassis system, and it’s lighter. The Foundation really does dampen shock and vibration, but I’ve never shot an AI, so I can’t make the comparison.
2) I could be kidding myself and ultimately I don’t have the time to shoot regardless of setup/utility, and now I’ve sunken further cost into this endeavor. I know it’s hard for someone else to answer on this point, but feel free to share your thoughts/experience.

I’ve thought about switching to a Proof carbon barrel to lighten my current 28” M24 Bartlein, likely making it more wieldy, but I still wouldn’t have the utility of a quick change barrel.

Thoughts?

Coincidentally, I am in the process of doing this very thing, albeit under different circumstances. I'm not sure I can rationalize it for you enough to make a decision, but maybe my train of thought on the whole thing might shed some light on it for you.

I had a couple of customs, a .300NM and an Impact set up similar to yours, that I figured I could streamline into one set up like an AI so that all my shooting could be done from the same rifle and optic. I ended up selling both and going with an AXSR (Ax Mk3 for us up North) so that I could take advantage of the ability to shoot everything from LM/NM size cartridges to the .308-based cartridges.

Maybe it's a cop-out, but I can see some benefit to only using the one rifle/optic set up and swapping barrels/bolts, as needed. I'm sure with the release of the AXSR and AT-X, there will be a few AXMC's floating around that would fill the same role and you'd maybe even save a few bucks on, if you felt so inclined.

Food for thought, anyway.

 

[Mormegil87]

I owned several AXs and an AXMC and they were good rifles, really liked them. But I wanted to support smaller more home grown companies like Impact and Foundation. So I took the leap and switched in 2018. Other than the "cool" factor, I don't miss my AIs at all. My Impacts have been just as reliable and in the case of one AX, more so. I found that the quick change barrel wasn't needed for my purposes. If I need to pull a barrel for cleaning or replacement, I can do it in 2 or 3 minutes versus 30 seconds on the AI but I rarely need to pull them. The downside to an AI is that if you don't like something about it, you're kind of stuck with it, there's a pretty finite amount of tweaking you can do.

5 years ago, I would have said buy the AI all day, every day; simply from a reliability standpoint. But custom actions have come a long way in that time. Trigger failures were the main issue that I saw and they have been substantially mitigated with the popularity of the sealed triggers that's have come to market.

 

[Steel head]

AI's certainly aren't the end-all, be-all.

Great rifles for the roles they are designed for, a robust "one size fits most" battle rifle. Great quality, great reliability and precision.

However, with the quality of actions and components today, you can build a rifle specifically tailored to you and your body, and the type of shooting you do. AI's don't fit everybody, nor are they optimal for all types of shooting.

Lots of options these days, and all depends on what the end user wants to achieve.

 

[Stevo86]

Keep the impact. If you want something lighter, buy a proof or Bartlien carbon fiber and possibly a lighter stock for hunting. U can just switch them around to suite the need. Lots cheaper then buying an AI. Which is fairly heavy btw.

 

[Sheldon N]

I’ve thought about switching to a Proof carbon barrel to lighten my current 28” M24 Bartlein, likely making it more wieldy, but I still wouldn’t have the utility of a quick change barrel.

I think this is your best option. Shorty 308 or 6.5 creed barrel as your do-all gun that you might shoot more often, and keep the heavy 6 Creed barrel for if you do another match. Barrel vise and action wrench are easy, and you can just buy an Impact proof prefit barrel off the shelf. It would still be a "quick change", just 10 minutes at home vs 2 minutes on the range.

If you wanted to go one step further, you could add a Foundation Revelation stock for something lighter that still has that Foundation "dead" recoil. Of go all the way carbon fiber barrel and carbon fiber stock.

IMO I love the variety of options you can create by swapping barrels and stocks, which makes sense since you've already got an excellent scope/action/trigger to build around.

 

[TheOtherAndrew]

Be patient and get a AT-X, it will be light enough and heavy for all the things you wanna do its 13ish pounds no mag.
Or you can buy a carbon barrel and a prs truck axel and swap whenever.

Still waiting!

 

[xanderzuk]

 

[Shoots 700's]

Looks like you stayed with what you had. Not a bad choice.

 

[BuLLet]

Save your penny's and get both....

Sweet looking rig too!