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Why AI?

I used to have an AW bought in 2010 and initially the bolt lift was a little rough. I took 1000 grit sandpaper for metal and smoothed up the cocking cams on the bolt. Just a few passes, not enough to affect the heat treatment of the surface and it both lightened and smoothed up the bolt tremendously.
I hear a Dremel works even better 😀

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Why buy a Ferrari when a Corolla will get you there? Cause it looks way better.
The British "Car" magazine used to have a very short review of all cars in the last two pages. This is what they had on Toyota Corolla:
- The good: Reliable
- The bad: Reliable
- Sum up: Proof that 50 million people can be wrong
 
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It’s not a PRS rifle, they said….
In the right hands it can be competitive…
AI AW in 6.5 Creedmoor,
Raton, NM, 2022
 

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Sako TRG M10 is one choice.
For sure not as sexy as AI, but everything on around on the action, it is.
Not even close to popularity in the US, but think it is as good as AI if you compare it these two.
In EU there are countries like Estonia, and Finland that has chosen Sako TRG M10 in to a new sniper rifle system, and Canada too.
And i dont think it is difficult to a propper gun smith to do a change barrel for this rifle.
Trigger is by far one the best 2-stage trigger i have pulled.
Take a look one of these too.
And Sweden is in the list of users, too.

TRG M10…cool, nice rifle, I have one in .338LM. At a cost of $11k+ and further refinement, it turns into a $13k rig. You can buy 2 AI AX or 3 PRS rifles. When Beretta bought Sako, all prices went up.
Also Sako does not wish to sell barrel extensions, so a factory barrel needs to be sacrificed to make what you want…
 
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Mr. #374 says you are a liar.
The top ten scores for every serious nrl/prs match in the country this year state that AI isn't a prs rifle. That is undeniable cold hard data. Winners in those disciplines don't shoot AI. Maybe they haven't had the life changing moment of experiencing the joy of running the AT action(think bright light, angels, harps playing) to let them know they been messing up running an impact or fuzion all this time! I mean Matt Alwine wins with a fn factory savage......not an ai. Those guys will win with anything, cuz they're at that level, none choose AI. Get off the high horse AI God complex, it's a fn brick house rough and crude but reliable action that performs, it has crap table manners, isn't glamorous, but if does work and has for a long time. The rifle systems as a whole do a lot well, but is it any better equal value custom components put together by a good smith? No it comes up short other than a quick change barrel setup.
 
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The top ten scores for every serious nrl/prs match in the country this year state that AI isn't a prs rifle. That is undeniable cold hard data. Winners in those disciplines don't shoot AI. Maybe they haven't had the life changing moment of experiencing the joy of running the AT action(think bright light, angels, harps playing) to let them know they been messing up running an impact or fuzion all this time! I mean Matt Alwine wins with a fn factory savage......not an ai. Those guys will win with anything, cuz they're at that level, none choose AI. Get off the high horse AI God complex, it's a fn brick house rough and crude but reliable action that performs, it has crap table manners, isn't glamorous, but if does work and has for a long time. The rifle systems as a whole do a lot well, but is it any better equal value custom components put together by a good smith? No it comes up short other than a quick change barrel setup.
Did any of us say it's the end all be all of gamer guns? Nope. I really think you missed the point of the whole thread. The AI was never originally designed to compete in PRS/NRL. Nothing wrong with that. It has been repeated in this thread at least 5-6 times already. Get over yourself. Yeah we get it, you like to shoot PRS/NRL. The AI didn't fit your needs. Guess what, not everyone here cares about that retarded ass "sport". This is almost as bad as me saying that you never see top shooter in F-Class or Benchrest shooting a AI. It's garbage. We all buy different things for different reasons.
 
AI is not a racehorse, it’s a draft horse built for work, reliable in its environments. If I have to run a bolt that fast I’ll miss faster with a gas gun…
 
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The AIs are one of the rifles are easily configurable to whatever you want it to do. And the parts are readily available for pretty much any configuration you want to go with. It's the jack of all trades, master of none. And if you don't like it, it's easy enough to sell. Try to do that with most custom rifles. Most people have to part them out to get them to sell or just take a huge lost on them.

I just bang steel at distance. Don't care about hunting, and don't care to be a retard and shoot PRS. I have had and still do own customs, but I still take at least one of the AIs with me everytime I go to the range.
I agree with most of this, except the part I put in bold. They can be a jack of all trades, but they are without doubt masters of the one thing they were designed to do - be a top-tier military combat sniper weapon system. There may be equals in this role, but none better.

You have to decide for yourself if this type of system can be adapted to your intended personal use, or if something else might fit your needs better. There are so many possibilities that obviously no single weapon is going to be the best choice for all, especially AIs, because there was only one design criteria for them. That said, people have obviously done well with them in lots of pursuits, even if not tip-top finishers. One obvious example is the Nightforce ELR Challenge, where they have won several. I guess the simplest answer to the OP is that the closer your style of shooting resembles that of its design-intent (precision long range/ELR shooting in any condition you can imagine), the more it will rise to the top as the best choice. The farther away you get from that, then the opposite is true.

(disclaimer: My experience and comments are based off AXMCs and AXSRs, plus the reputations and history of the legacy rifles. I don't have any experience with the AT-X, and am not including them here.)
 
Because brand-loyal people will still waste a shitload of money on them for a status symbol, and because they believe they're magical, even though there are MUCH cheaper and better options out there.

And all the haters will be incoming shortly to flame me for expressing my own personal opinion because it made them butthurt.
You could say that about pretty much any high end shooting related product. Optics comes to mind.
 
Why buy an AI?

Serious question. They look cool, and I kinda want one just to play with, but what purpose do they serve, they don't seem like a good fit for prs (I've shot probably 7 matches, so I'm no authority on this), but I've only ever seen one or two, and never in the hands of a pro shooter. The barrel profiles are too lightweight I think without adding a pile of weight. They seem too heavy, long and bulky for any hunting setup other than sitting in a fixed position. Seems like a great fit for military/LE sniper duties, but that's a small group. So, what am I missing? Are you fellas buying $6k+ rifles just to bang steel? Someone tell me what I'm missing. Thanks fellas.
Why?
1) Because they are safe like a Volvo.
2) Because they are tan like a Volvo.
3) Because they look like a Volvo.

Squared and boxy.

Eight out of ten Volvo owners surveyed prefer AI.
 

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I'd be thrilled to finish 67th.

Just keep at it man. It’ll come with time and practice. Just depends how competitive you want to get and how much effort you want to put into it
Ditto what Covertnoob5 said. I've seen a lot of military guys come out and really struggle at first. It just takes a little time to "unlearn" what's been beat into your head and muscle memory, and approach the shot/engagement from a different perspective.

Another Army sniper made a comment to me at SHC 2015 (his first PRS style match) that always stuck in my memory. He said:

"As a sniper, we stack every advantage we can in our favor by choosing the time, position and location of the shot. This game is kicking my ass because you literally have no control over anything, but taking the shot that's presented to you. This is a totally different approach than what I was taught."

This type of tactical long range shooting is just a different way (and some would say, more modern) to approach engaging long range targets under stress. Keep at it, and it'll all come together...

For those that like to make the statement "I'm not into playing a game, so I could care less about PRS and bolt lift", I would caution that kind of mindset as well. Is PRS/NRL a game? Absolutely. Has it become riddled with contrived stage CoFs? Absolutely. And to be clear, I agree as well.

But....Let's not throw out the baby with the bathwater. PRS/NRL style matches have pushed the art of tactical long range shooting decades farther than it would have advanced otherwise. Were we to continue to follow the ingrained dogma of military and LE TTP's for long range shooting, we'd all still be shooting Rem 700's in .308. Instead, today we have better cartridges, better stocks/chassis (remember when chassis were the "new" craze?), more adjustability, and shit, just the sheer number of options available would have beena wet dream 20 years ago. It has changed that much...all due to this "stupid, contrived, game".

AI's have always been (up until the AT-X) geared for duty weapons of LE and military shooters. Even now, that is their primary market. But even AI has had to up their game based on what the competitive community has been doing, based on experimenting and "gaming" the matches.

Is the gaming annoying as hell? Hell yes. I see it every month at our local club matches. But it has also been a forcing function of sorts, constantly pushing the boundaries on the "state of the possible".

I think the main reason most people who own AI's today, own them because of their ruggedness and reliability. Yes, that gap has closed as well...but there is still a gap. In harsh, austere conditions (IMHO) there is still nothing as robust or reliable as an AI. It's literally part of it's DNA. That being said, it's DNA does not include PRS. It is a useable system, and is competitive, but it just isn't a made-for-task PRS rifle.

That being said, I'll still take an AI over a custom. I'm past being able to compete at a competitive level. Age, injuries and disabilities have set that ship to sail. But, the one thing I still value, like most military people who have had to put trust in the gear they have when put in harm's way, is rugged reliability and very good accuracy. And that (I believe) is why so many here own them.

And yes, I own two, along with a bunch of custom and factory rifles. <shrug> They all have a place in my safe, and a task/role that they excel at.
 
I'd be thrilled to finish 67th.

Dry fire. A lot. (with your step ladder for different heights )

Shoot more matches. I learn something at every one. try and squad with good shooters so you can learn.

The online training here is also very helpful.

Private instruction / classes are also helpful
 
I’ve shot more PRS matches this year with my ATX than my custom match rifle. I won’t win using either so I just use what I enjoy.

I’ve shot most matches in Tac Class, some using a 6BR in Open and even a .260 Rem for a hunter match where I ditched all the weigtts. It’s flexible and little effort to make the changes.

If you ask me to turn up and be serious, I would use my custom but the AI is just enjoyable to shoot and breaks down super small.
 

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Here's another "Why AI?". The check riser mechanism broke on my AT-X Monday and Tuesday. I called Mile High and had a brief conversation, and they directed me to AINA. I called Tim at AI and had a FedEx label minutes afterward. I was notified that they had fixed the part and would ship it today. I've got an event on Sunday I wanted to use my rifle at, so I asked if they could find out how much express shipping would be, and the reply was that they were shipping it overnight delivery.

That kind of service is why I AI.
 
Here's another "Why AI?". The check riser mechanism broke on my AT-X Monday and Tuesday. I called Mile High and had a brief conversation, and they directed me to AINA. I called Tim at AI and had a FedEx label minutes afterward. I was notified that they had fixed the part and would ship it today. I've got an event on Sunday I wanted to use my rifle at, so I asked if they could find out how much express shipping would be, and the reply was that they were shipping it overnight delivery.

That kind of service is why I AI.
Awesome service, but how did you break the cheek riser?
 
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@4O6shootist using PRS / NRL for your basis is flawed logic. It’s a game. More or less Benchrest / F Class than tactical in todays matches. But if you are using this logic; Jorge Ortiz, Rhett Walters, Jonathan Roberts, and Ryan Castle have all won PRS/NRL matches with AIs. I am sure I am forgetting a few. Don’t forget the granddaddy of them all Jacob Bynum.

No team in the sport can hang with Sean Murphy and Greg Hamilton. Real World Sniper, Guardian, Sniper’s Unknown, Competition Dynamics, etc. Guess what Sean runs? An AI ATX. What do you see more teams running at USASOC? In real life / field matches you see more AI’s. There is a reason for that.

I can’t tell you how many times I have seen, from people who compete in the AG cup, failure to feed, failure to fire, or failure to eject. Throw into the mix all the other average Joe’s at a match and it’s concerning / laughable. I have never once had a failure to feed, eject, or fire from an AI.

I run an AI for reliability. Never had to cover it up during downpours, never had to worry about dirt getting in the action and junking it up, never had to worry about the mags getting dirty or where my rounds sit in the mag, etc. it just flat out runs.

People who run AI’s are more concerned with the rifleman mentality than games.
 
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