AI AWM .300

[QuietShootr]

Yeah. I'm tired of ****ing around with Remingtons that don't shoot.

My wife's going to kill me.

Anyone have one, and have some impressions they care to share?

[pointblank4445]

GO FOR IT!!!!

I dumped my 700 w/ AICS and went straight for an Arctic Warfare (.308). No buyers remorse......I LOVE my AI. It is incredibly accurate and near indestructible compared to a Remy. If .300WM is your cup of tea, do it. You won't regret it.

If your wife jumps you for it, explain to her their ability to retain value (something that can't be said for most other toys).

Here is an excellent read on why the AI is superior:
http://www.snipershide.com/forum/ubb...1826042&page=1

If you choose to get one and want to buy new (there have been some fair deals on Gunbroker for 300wm in the past few months), I highly recommend Stacey Blankenship (former rep for AINA) who now is the rep out at Mile High Shooting. A great guy and he will get you 100% squared away.

[orkan]

They have their place. A light and portable system it is not. No matter which direction you go, that rifle will weigh between 15 and 19lbs.

As a reloader, I don't much care for belted cases, which pushed me to the 338LM over the 300WM.

I much prefer the DTA over the AI's, simply because I shoot suppressed, and that package gets too unwieldy. They are fun to lay down and shoot with though. Positional? Not so much. Especially when a 2lb suppressor is hanging off the end of that 26" barrel.

[Belmont31R]

Never owned one but have shot them and done my fair of reading on them from SMA's.



The AI action is the epitamy of a mix of combat ruggedness and accuracy. Maybe not the most accurate but its a tank of an action that simply works, and will keep working where others fail.



As far as the 300WM I have a few buddies who shoot them, and have seen them rung out to 1k. The 300WM is not the ideal case being belted but its something Id be willing to overlook. I think the magnum 300's and 338s work really well in long shooting situations where a 308 gas gun is ideal for urban to 800/1k. The magnums can stretch shots out to 1200-1500 where a semi auto's speed isn't near as significant.


338 is the better LR round but comes at a cost where you either have your ammo paid for or reload. For a civie its really a niche rich guys gun or a guy who's willing to dump lots of money into something for personal gratification. 300WM still works, not much loss in the LR department, and factory ammo is WAY cheaper.


Look up some of the Zak Smith AI articles. Its a tough initial investment but one Id love to make one day, and whats really cool about the system is you can send your gun to a company like GAP, they measure your gun, and can make barrels from there on out without having to send the gun back. Its leaps and bounds a better overall system than the 700 just gotta pay for it.

[pointblank4445]

The AI action is the epitamy of a mix of combat ruggedness and accuracy. Maybe not the most accurate but its a tank of an action that simply works, and will keep working where others fail.

.

In the precision game, no it's not the "most accurate". That said, 1/2 MOA isn't hard to do with this platform. Some shooters have produced better yet, but consistency is uncertain. If you look around, even GAP is hard pressed to guarantee anything less than 3/8". I'm will gladly give you that 1/8" for what you get in return.

Unless you are married to 300WM, I would look into .260 or .243 if you reload. These are offerings now available by AINA. Pricing doesn't have to kill you. I ordered an AW in .308, fixed stock, dovetail base, 24" plain barrel, and I was still well under $5k with the mount and 2 extra mags included. Last I checked, George's guns at GAP start at high 3's, low 4's (base) for some models.

If you are willing to do a short action, get the AE. The MKIII version that is now replacing the MKII is using the AW bolt with 3 pos safety now making the only difference the receiver and it's attachment to the chassis.

[orkan]

Unless you are married to 300WM, I would look into .260 or .243 if you reload.

Wow. I'd take a look at some ballistic charts sometime if I were you.

Neither of those cartridges come close to the down range performance of the 300WM.

[CC556]

Wow. I'd take a look at some ballistic charts sometime if I were you.

Neither of those cartridges come close to the down range performance of the 300WM.

While you can certainly push the .300WM to the limit and sling the heavy bullets as fast as possible and beat out the external ballistics of a .260 or .243 you're going to take a lot more recoil, barrel heat, barrel wear (especially compared to the .260) and lower capacity magazines to do it.

Unless you're needing terminal performance at long range I'd be hard pressed to come up with reasons that the .300WM is an overall better choice than .260 or .243 for long range shooting.

[QuietShootr]

While you can certainly push the .300WM to the limit and sling the heavy bullets as fast as possible and beat out the external ballistics of a .260 or .243 you're going to take a lot more recoil, barrel heat, barrel wear (especially compared to the .260) and lower capacity magazines to do it.

Unless you're needing terminal performance at long range I'd be hard pressed to come up with reasons that the .300WM is an overall better choice than .260 or .243 for long range shooting.

My .300 load is a 220 SMK at 2850. I don't think the .243 is going to quite make it to 1400.

[CC556]

My .300 load is a 220 SMK at 2850. I don't think the .243 is going to quite make it to 1400.

Quite the contrary. Take your 220SMK load @ 2850 and plug it into JBM, then take something like a 115 DTAC @ 3000 fps (which is no problem for a .243 to do) and see what the numbers look like at 1400 yards. Hell, I'll save you some time; the 115 actually has less drop, though it does drift a little more in the wind compared to the .300WM. If you want to push the 115 DTAC to the limit of what it can do in a .243 Win and send them around 3100fps you'll see that it beats the drop numbers of the .300WM by an even greater margin, and just barely loses out in wind drift. As for the .260 at 1400 yards, sending a 142SMK @ 2850 gives a little more drop than the .300WM, and a hair more wind drift too, but none of the drawbacks of the .300WM.

Now, if most of your shooting really is out at 1400 yards, I'd suggest you skip .300WM and go for something a little better suited to the task. Assuming the majority of your shooting isn't at 1400 yards, I stand by my position that a .243 or .260 is a better choice due to the significantly lessened recoil, barrel heat, barrel wear, and the increased magazine capacity.

You haven't mentioned a need for terminal effects at extended range, so speaking just from the standpoint of someone who shoots a fair amount of long range, and as many competitions as I can it would be foolish to overlook the benefits of the smaller bullets. I'm seeing fewer and fewer big magnums at matches and more and more 6-7mm stuff slinging lighter bullets faster. After a day of shooting the guys with the guns that hardly recoil seem a lot more focused than the guys who have been shooting the big magnums.

[pointblank4445]

Wow. I'd take a look at some ballistic charts sometime if I were you.

Neither of those cartridges come close to the down range performance of the 300WM.

The OP never advised on how far he is shooting. Even the long-range gurus state that shooting past 1k is not a regular occurrence.

The .260, .243, .308 and many others can easily make it to 1k and beyond (in capable hands). I was merely providing insight to what (little) information was given. I see no point in loading for a 300wm or .338LM if you're rarely going past 600y.

You may wish to brush up on what some of the 6mm, 6.5mm, and 7mm chamberings can do for those in the know.