223 AI long range build

[stuff]

Got access to a 1100 yard range. I'll be building a 223 Ackeley Improved with .169 free bore, same as the PT&G ISSF reamer commonly used for F-T/R. I'm hoping to get 2900fps with the Berger 90gr VLD and 3050fps with 80gr ELD-M and 80.5gr Fullbore. Most of my parts are in the mail and on their way to Long Rifles Inc.

Parts list:
-Surgeon 591(used to be attached to a 16" 223R barrel)
-Bartlein Rem. Varmint .224 7 twist 5r barrel (24"-28" ?? not sure yet)
-Mcree Precision stock (it's really heavy and I'll have to single load because of the 223 AI magazine's COAL restrictions, 2.55") I'm thinking about getting a HS Precision stock and dropping in a Wyatts 223 mag system with a 2.85" COAL, just not sure it will work smoothly with the Ackeley Improved shoulder.
-Nightforce F1 3x15x50 H-59

I'll probably end up going with a 26" barrel length, that way she'll still fit in my rifle case.

I still have a few weeks to make changes, any suggestions?

Thanks

 

[BoilerUP]

Just for reference...

My 223AI is 22", 1:7, with 0.061" freebore...definitely on the short end for the 90gr VLD.

24.9gr Varget in Lapua loaded to a short 2.49" COAL brass gets me 2750fps with the 90gr VLD; 24.9gr 8208XBR under an 80gr Amax gets me 2950fps.

Without regard to the Wyatt magazine system and single-shot F/TR freebore...I think you could get 90s to 2900 with a 26" barrel having an AICS-pattern mag friendly freebore.

 

[jsthntn247]

I have a .200-.210 freebore on my f/tr rifle with a COAL of around 2.760 touching the lands. I'm shooting the 90 Bergers at 2850 with Varget or 4895 in a 32" barrel. It takes 25.3gr of Varget or 24gr of 4895 to get there and I'm getting 4 shots before my primer pockets are toast. The Wyatt mag idea is a good one and would let you get to 2900 with lower pressure than I'm shooting at 2850 b/c of your extra case capacity. However, what good is it if it won't feed? If that's a known issue, I would opt for a shorter freebore and AICS pattern mags at 2.550 and go with the 90 Sierra's and keep them in the 2750 to 2800fps range where you could have good brass life and still make it to 1100 easily. The Sierra is allot easier to get to shoot well also.

 

[Seandradamus]

I did a .100 Freebore, 23" barrel It shoots 80 Vld,JLK,or ELDs
at 3080 in lapua brass on 8 reloads
This Barrel is 100 Fps Faster than my last

 

[bkw1911]

I wouldn't change up the whole build to revolve around overly long loaded 90gr loads. The advantage over the 80gr is not enough in my opinion, to go to an HS stock and a potentially unreliable mag system. Run the numbers and make your choice I guess. I think your Mcree shooting 80s loaded at 2.5~" in an AICS or Accurate mag at 3-3050fps would get the job done. My 75gr Eld's at 3050fps from a 21" barrel get the job done, so you'd be even better off than me.

 

[stuff]

Without regard to the Wyatt magazine system and single-shot F/TR freebore...I think you could get 90s to 2900 with a 26" barrel having an AICS-pattern mag friendly freebore.

A 90/80gr AICS friendly freebore, somewhere in the neighborhood of .090"-.130"?

 

[BoilerUP]

I'd go with 0.080"(ish) personally.

 

[stuff]

The Wyatt mag idea is a good one and would let you get to 2900 with lower pressure than I'm shooting at 2850 b/c of your extra case capacity. However, what good is it if it won't feed? If that's a known issue, I would opt for a shorter freebore and AICS pattern mags at 2.550

I totally agree, if the Wyatts doesn't feed what good is it? I have never heard that the Wyatts system had issues feeding the 223Rem, but will it feed the Ackeley?
The mags do have metal feed lips, in theory they could be bent and played with to make it feed right. It's risky to try and find out, failure means only single loading. It might be worth it.

 

[stuff]

I did a .100 Freebore, 23" barrel It shoots 80 Vld,JLK,or ELDs
at 3080 in lapua brass on 8 reloads
This Barrel is 100 Fps Faster than my last

What is your COAL?
Are you using AICS mags?

Thanks

 

[1slow01z71]

Im shooting 75gr amaxs at 3040 from a 22" with a standard 223 and .120 freebore. I dont see the point in an AI personally. Ran it out to 1360 with no problems and a good weather day.

 

[Geno C.]

This is a 80vld .010" off the lands in a .100" free bore. Accurate mag.

 

[NLS7162]

My 223AI is one of my absolute favorite rifles to shoot. It was built by LRI on a 700 action with a 20" bartlein 1:7.7 twist. Freebore was set at .075" and my OAL with the 80gr eld-m is right at 2.500". I am getting 2951fps average (magnettospeed) with the 80gr eld-m and varget. With 8208xbr I was able to get them over 3000fps but I stuck with varget because I have a ton of it on hand.

The only snag i ran into was when I initially tried to neck size only and had some feeding issues. I switched to a full length sizer and have zero issues now. I have just over 2100 rounds through it to date.

 

[stuff]

Im shooting 75gr amaxs at 3040 from a 22" with a standard 223 and .120 freebore. I dont see the point in an AI personally. Ran it out to 1360 with no problems and a good weather day.

That is really moving for a straight 223. Are you using an AICS mag? What's your COAL?

 

[stuff]

This is a 80vld .010" off the lands in a .100" free bore. Accurate mag.

That looks really pretty.
Did you have to modify it to work with that bullet and freebore combination?

 

[Geno C.]

I used a round file to put the notch in the front. It can go even farther out if needed. I didn't measure he max I could get, just stopped when I was comfortable the load was gonna work in the mag.

 

[1slow01z71]

That is really moving for a straight 223. Are you using an AICS mag? What's your COAL?

Accurate mag with the plastic insert filed out in the front to allow a 2.46 col. Actually gotten it to over 3100 with XBR but I dont like to run it on the ragged edge and best accuracy was at 3040. My smith is running the same setup with the same speed. Both are bartleins.

 

[knockemdown]

Got a .223AI as a deal on a barreled action, and it has become my favorite shooter!
I'm getting a 75Amax to 3015fps (26" 1:7.7 Bart) from TAC while fireforming brass to AI. It's been shooting so good that I just keep forming brass for it, although I did ladder up some Varget with formed cases:

25.6 & 25.8 shot just as tight, just need to chrono them and see where they're at. I'll defer to a lower charge if it'll keep brass alive longer.


75Amax @ 2.450 from a 5rd Accurate mag (note the filed out front, same as Geno):

P.S. Champions Choice has 75Amax for dirt cheap, just grabbed a couple thousand for this rifle. 223AI is very economical to shoot, wish I'd done one sooner...

 

[stuff]

I needed to make up a dummy round for LRI but was going back and forth over COAL and AICS vs Wyatts mags. I just got the 80ELD-m in the mail and started playing with them.

ELD-M vs A-MAX

 

[stuff]

I decided to go with a 2.620" COAL. This puts the end of the boat tail just out of the case body.

 

[stuff]

Then I modified one of my AICS mags for the longer COAL.

 

[stuff]

No issues yet, cycles without a problem. Hopefully it will stay that way after they transform to Ackeley Improved.
The 90s will still be a little cramped. I'm hoping the 80s will get the job done, "1100 yards", and I won't need to play with the 90s.

 

[stuff]

I sent an email off to Wyatt's Outdoors and asked how the 223 AI feeds with their 223 Rem magazine. Kevin Wyatt very kindly responded below.


They should feed fine through the 4 round mag. It's a crap shoot if using the 10 round mag. I honestly haven't tried one in the high cap mag.

Kevin

From: Me
Sent: Friday, June 02, 2017 9:18 AM
To: KEVIN WYATT
Subject: Enquiry from WYATT'S OUTDOOR, INC.

Hi,

Will the 223 Ackeley Improved feed reliably through your 223Rem magazine?
I'm interested in running the long Berger 90gr VLD bullets at a COAL of 2.650"-2.700" in the 223AI. Just wondering if the sharp shoulder would make complications, maybe altering the feed lips would smooth things out? I'll be using a Surgeon action with an HS Precision stock.

Thanks

 

[HairyDemon]

I had a 223AI and used the MDT polymer mags and they worked great, I think COAL was 2.55". I used it as a training rifle, if I had it to do all over again I never would have gone AI but I didnt have any intentions of shooting to 1100, I did make hits at 1000 with 80 amax. One of the funnest rifles I ever had, and supressed made it 10x more fun.

https://mdttac.com/magazines-polymer.html

 

[stuff]

I modified one of my AICS mags to give me a 2.620" COAL. We'll see how it works when I get my barreled action back from LRI. With my Mcree Precision G7, stock pack, bipod, and Nightforce scope I'll be running a 13lb. 223ai. That may be a little heavy for running around in the back yard with.

As for going with the Ackeley, I'm really hoping to utilize every FPS I can get out of that little case and the 27" barrel. I also hate trimming brass.

I'm now looking at a Manners MCS-T or EH1 carbon fiber stocks with a Wyatts mag to cut 3.5lbs. off the rifle. It would be nice to keep it just under 10lbs. for walking around.

 

[stuff]

Just got my 223AI from LRI yesterday.

 

[stuff]

[No message]

 

[flatland1]

Sorry to be so late to the party - my 223AI reamer is marked as having .068" freebore. That just happened to be the perfect combination for use with Berger 90VLDs out of poly AI 10rd mags, with the 90s seated out nearly as long as possible in those mags. I got hits on 1300 & 1400yd targets in the first match I shot with the rifle (trued M700/Krieger 1-7tw sendero in a McM A5). That rifle shot a couple of 5" 5-shot groups at 1000yds for me. Looking back on chrono data, I was getting 2860fps with the 90s using Alliant PP2000MR. Can get slightly more velocity & very good accuracy out of Viht N550, but it may be harder on throats.

Sold that rifle to finance another 223AI built on a Bighorn TL2-SA, with another Krieger 1-7tw sendero in a Manners T4A - haven't shot many 90s through it yet, but fireforming with Hornady 75 AMax/2000MR gives a little over 2900fps & decent accuracy. In my eyes, it's a beautiful rifle, and lots of fun to shoot, but it's like any other 223 - hits on steel are a lot harder for your spotter to call, compared to those out of almost any cartridge shooting a bigger bullet. Aside from that, the Bighorn action works perfectly with IMI or Lapua brass, but doesn't eject worth a hoot with R-P brass. Need to try some WW brass through it to see how it works...

 

[flatland1]

Photo of my Bighorns - from a 6.5x55AI on a TL2-LA at top down to the 223AI at the bottom.

 

[stuff]

Very nice rifles. What is the barrel length on your 223AI?

 

[flatland1]

They're all 26" bbls. Chamberings - from top down: 6.5x55AI, 6.5x47, 6XC, 6 Dasher, 223AI.