A few days ago I received a set of AICS 2.0 Viperskins. I constantly hear folks gripe about the AI thumb-hole and the AX felt pretty good to me. I don't have much of an issue with the thumbhole. I seem to be able to run the rifle just fine, but the forend could definitely use some ergonomic improvement. Overall the AICS based rifles (AICS,AE,AW) just feel blocky on the forend and it doesn't really compliment the way the tail end of the rifle feels.
I slit open the package and pulled out the skins to look them over. There are five pieces for the 2.0 package. Four are skin sections and one is a rubberized grip backstrap. Victor Company also included two of their rail sections to mount to the forend.
I pulled the FDE skins off the AE MkII and lined up the Viperskins. Of course there was a "slight" problem. I don't have an AICS. I have an AE MkII. The main difference is that the AICS has a square cut around the bolt handle. The AE and AW do not. I knew this going into it. I also knew that you could mount up AICS skins on a AE or AW, but not the other way around.
I turned my attention to the screw package. As soon as I opened it, I knew that it was time for the directions. AI skins are pretty straight forward. All the bolts are the same length and can go anywhere in the chassis. The Viperskins are a little more curvy. This requires several different length screws. Of course you will quickly realize you got it wrong when you have a screw that either protrudes through the other side, or is too short to catch. In either case, looking at the simple instruction sheet that comes with the skins will speed up the assembly process.
Once you have the skins installed you have the option of either mounting a rail to the forend via the three threaded inserts, or capping them with the included short screws.
Once everything was snugged down with the included hex keys, it was time to marvel at the ergonomic improvement. I shouldered the rifle and could definitely tell a difference. The forend is rounder and if you grip the rifle closer to the magazine, there are palm swells there. The pistol grip portion of the skins give more of a AR feel to the rifle. There are clearance cuts on either side of the tang to better allow your thumb to reach the safety on the 700. This also works well on the AE.
I have not gotten to live fire the AE with the skins attached yet, but I am looking forward to seeing how well it works with a rear bag.
The fit and finish of the Viperskins is top notch. There were very few gaps where the skins come together. You can see on the tang area, there isn't any gap at all and the fit is very close to the hinge. The only thing I can nit-pick at is that there is a little "creaking" when handling the rifle by the pistol grip. I am going to pull the backstrap off and see if maybe I just didn't get the grip screw tight enough.
I will update as I get some time on them.
The photos were quick and dirty. I will get some studio shots later as I get close to the actual review article.
I slit open the package and pulled out the skins to look them over. There are five pieces for the 2.0 package. Four are skin sections and one is a rubberized grip backstrap. Victor Company also included two of their rail sections to mount to the forend.
I pulled the FDE skins off the AE MkII and lined up the Viperskins. Of course there was a "slight" problem. I don't have an AICS. I have an AE MkII. The main difference is that the AICS has a square cut around the bolt handle. The AE and AW do not. I knew this going into it. I also knew that you could mount up AICS skins on a AE or AW, but not the other way around.
I turned my attention to the screw package. As soon as I opened it, I knew that it was time for the directions. AI skins are pretty straight forward. All the bolts are the same length and can go anywhere in the chassis. The Viperskins are a little more curvy. This requires several different length screws. Of course you will quickly realize you got it wrong when you have a screw that either protrudes through the other side, or is too short to catch. In either case, looking at the simple instruction sheet that comes with the skins will speed up the assembly process.
Once you have the skins installed you have the option of either mounting a rail to the forend via the three threaded inserts, or capping them with the included short screws.
Once everything was snugged down with the included hex keys, it was time to marvel at the ergonomic improvement. I shouldered the rifle and could definitely tell a difference. The forend is rounder and if you grip the rifle closer to the magazine, there are palm swells there. The pistol grip portion of the skins give more of a AR feel to the rifle. There are clearance cuts on either side of the tang to better allow your thumb to reach the safety on the 700. This also works well on the AE.
I have not gotten to live fire the AE with the skins attached yet, but I am looking forward to seeing how well it works with a rear bag.
The fit and finish of the Viperskins is top notch. There were very few gaps where the skins come together. You can see on the tang area, there isn't any gap at all and the fit is very close to the hinge. The only thing I can nit-pick at is that there is a little "creaking" when handling the rifle by the pistol grip. I am going to pull the backstrap off and see if maybe I just didn't get the grip screw tight enough.
I will update as I get some time on them.
The photos were quick and dirty. I will get some studio shots later as I get close to the actual review article.
