Accuracy International AE MkII
Caliber: .308 Win (7.62x51mm)
A good friend of mine, Chuck from Mile High Shooting Accessories in Colorado, brought down an Accuracy International AE Mk II rifle chambered in .308 loaded up with a slew of AI accessories for me to review. We put the gun through it's paces and in an unfamiliar environment to discern what makes this gun and package worth the money.
The Specs
Accuracy International AE MkII
The Specs
Accuracy International AE MkII
Barrel: 20" 1:12 Twist 4-Groove Heavy Barrel (Threaded)
Action: Accuracy International Round Receiver
Stock: Folding Accuracy International Chassis System (AICS) in Dark Earth
Weight: 12 lbs. Naked - ~18 lbs. as Tested
Options: AI Tactical Muzzle Brake, AI Scope Mount, AI 10-Round Magazine, Harris Bipod, AI Butt Spike, and AI Night Vision Mount
Price: ~$3300 Base - As Tested ... Alot.
Schmidt & Bender PMII
Magnification: 5x to 25x
Reticle: PF4
Objective Diameter: 56mm
Tube Diameter: 34mm
Focal Plane: First
Adjustments: 1/4 MOA - Click Type
Mount: AI 28 MOA Picatinny Mount
The Schmidt & Bender is quite possibly the clearest day scope on the planet. There is a marked difference between it and my Nightforce during the day, but my 2nd focal Nightforce ruled the night in light transmission and clarity over the 1st focal big tube Schmidt. If you aren't used to quality optics ... look through a Schmidt & Bender during the day at high magnification at a distant target. If you don't look like this: ... then you are lacking chromosomes.
Schmidt & Bender's reticle was pretty easy to use. I'm used to a Nightforce MLR so it was pretty linear to learn. I would have preferred the MLR personally, especially with the very windy weather.
Fast turrets and easy to read placement on the adjustments. The feel of the Schmidt & Bender was better than my Nightforce in the adjustments, but I would argue that both are incredibly positive.
The side mounted parallax on the Schmidt & Bender actually had distances marked on it that corresponded well to the view through the scope. A much easier to use system than Leupold and Nightforce.
The bolt uses a three lug design with a massive external extractor claw. This gives the gun really positive extraction, and in the event of a sticky case the large engagement will prevent the case head getting ripped off, leaving the case stuck in the chamber and the gun inoperable until you hammer it out from the front.
The difference in machining quality and engineering design is really apparent looking at the two of these side by side. My bolt is out of a "Mil-Spec" 700 5R model which uses the best action they sell in the 700 line-up, yet next to the AI it looks like a cheaply made econo-bolt.
Close-up of the extractor engaging a case.
Pictured is the AI bolt next to my Remington's bolt. Notice the difference in length and girth; the black AI is definitely bigger than the white Remington.
Another difference is that the two position safety is mounted to the bolt to arrest the firing pin on the AI. The Remington uses a different method that interfaces with the trigger group; which has brought up a point of contention in the past year or so regarding their system's inherent safety.
The AI was equipped with their optional "tactical" suppressor-ready muzzle brake. The brake itself wasn't very aggressive compared to say a TRG brake. The prone signature was pretty low, recoil was dampened appreciably, and the noise wasn't that bad. A friend even commented on how quiet it seemed for a braked 20" .308. It seemed to feed alot of the noise and muzzle wash forwards rather outwards towards the sides. Even when I was spotting the brake didn't bother me. I was expecting alot of noise and alot of concussion out of this rifle.
The AI came with the optional rail package. There were two side picatinny rails and a mid-length rail for mounting night vision optics. I lacked a PVS-14 to test with the gun during this trial, maybe next time.
First Impression
The rifle is not your traditional idea of a precision rifle, it's a purpose built tool for usage as a sniping platform, and is far from the perverted benchrest rifle doctrine with "ruggedized sporting rifles". The difference is how the controls are placed, how the gun is delivered, and it's features. It simply does not feel like a Remington 700, Savage 10, or even a Sig 3000 or Sako TRG ... it feels like a different platform all together; an AI.
Taking the AI Hunting
So what do you do with a $7000 rifle package that is built as a law enforcement sniping platform? You go shoot pigs!
Quite honestly, few people would dare carry around a 18# rifle to go hunting, but I don't care ... I can be cranky, whiny, and bitch about everything when I'm old and senile. That being said, after about 100 yards of carrying this boat anchor I was beginning to think that getting a day laborer as a gun bearer wouldn't be a bad idea. Perhaps I should go ahead and fill out my AARP card now.
However, this lends towards one of the better features of the gun: the folding stock.
Folded, the gun is very manageable, and ideally sized to be slid into a rifle bearing pack. A-ha! Remember what I said about the gun being a sniper rifle, not a "ruggedized sporting rifle"? When you're carrying a bunch of stuff around and moving through the brush, who wants to sling a rifle and have it catch everything to the right, left, up, and down of you? Fold it, stuff it into your rifle bag, toss on the bag, and start humpin'.
I set up the rifle, got situated, and waited. About an hour and a half later here comes two big sows, one pushing 300+ and the other around 250, just crashing through the brush. They move in right towards me and start moving towards some corn. Alas, the only option I had was to grab the AI, swing around, and hope to make a pot shot at 15 yards on a running pig, or ... pick up my suppressed Glock and try to take a 300 lb. angry pig that's 15 yards away with a handgun in near nightfall conditions. I chose not to get mauled that night.
To 500 and Beyond!
On day two I took the rifle out to the local rifle range. They have steel situated between 250, 500, 750, and 1000 yards. The gun was in it's environment with this kind of a setting and proved to be a very viable option for the long-range game.
With a 100 yard zero it took two shots to get a hit at 500 yards with my first shot hitting a 1/4 mil left. The winds were beating the crap out of me, and as anyone that shoots long range knows ... reading wind is everything.
From there we pushed it out to 1000 yards, skipping the 750 yard steel. I wanted to push the rifle out to where it would really shine. Once we got the dope situated the wind proved to be the deciding factor in how reliable of a hit count we were going to get. Initially I had some mirage to read off of, but that went away later in the day, I was getting clouds rolling in and out, and at the muzzle the wind was going from a gentle breeze to 15 MPH gusts, at 500 yards there was a full value 8 - 15 MPH wind, and at about 800 yards to 1000 yards was a turbulent eddy of air thanks to the berm layout. Challenging but fun, and by the end of the day I had peppered that 1000 steel with about a dozen hits.
The weather threw us another curveball when a cold front came through and instantly (within 10 seconds) dropped the temperature a solid 20 degrees, and shifted the 15 MPH right to left wind, to a permanent 8 MPH left to right wind. It felt like someone just turned on the A/C (probably George Bush and his weather machine).
At 500 yards the AI was like playing a video game ... you simply couldn't miss. Put the crosshairs on the target, squeeze, and receive "ding". Here's a video of the gun at 500 yards:
Final Impression
I still hold that the gun isn't a hopped up Remington, nor is it similar in feel or purpose to the competitors like Sig's SSG3000 or Sako's TRG22. It's a purposed rifle that feels at home in the prone.
The bolt is quite different than what I was used to. It takes some getting used to as the meat of the bolt is mounted further out. The action gets angry if it is dirty and dry, and sometimes sticks the feeding. I learned that it does not tolerate slow working, it likes to be ran hard and fast. A little bit of lube made the action feel world class again. It's not as smooth as a Sako, but it is fast and feels like a precision fit.
The trigger is a military trigger ... it's not a benchrest / target trigger. It's a two stage with about a 3.5# total break. The first stage is smooth and the feel is very good when you get to the second stage. A little more pressure and the gun fires. There's a very finite control that you get with a good 2-stage that you don't get with a light 1-stage, and I have come to prefer the 2-stage. AI says the 2-stage is there to prevent accidental discharge via dropping the gun (sear engagement) which makes sense also, but you can have sufficient sear engagement with a 1-stage also.
The gun is stupid accurate ... I know most people will say "but my Savage / Remington will shoot 1/4 MOA at 200 yards" ... but your Savage and Remington won't do it with the repeatability of this Accuracy International. On any given day and with the three different types of ammo we fed it this gun was ready to rock. I was told once, "If you can't shoot 1/2 MOA with this gun you suck", in reference to a TRG22 and I have to agree that the AE is right there along with that sentiment.
The more I shot the AE the more I learned about why it's not just a hopped up sporting rifle. It's in a class above just like the TRG and others like it. I have a new found respect for the AI guns simply because their face value just doesn't put it into perspective what you are getting. It's like looking at a Ferrari ... versus driving the Ferrari. You realize that it's not just a car, it's an experience ... a really, really fun experience.
A huge thanks again to Chuck and the guys and gals from Mile High Shooting for letting me play with this fine bolt gun. It was ALOT of fun.
