Accuracy International Picture Thread

#19,452
I decided to ask a respected peer with military service experience with the AW, asking what he thought of the need for spare parts: "Nope, and my AI AW has about 35,000 rounds on it."

I could maybe see keeping a spare firing pin around, just for good measure. But after all I've seen of how AIs are built, and the tighter tolerances that exist today verses yester year, I am impressed with the robustness and capability of any of these rifles, and cannot see the need to stock up on spare parts unless its from the user's abuse.

For the record, when I asked the Irish Military Snipers about their AI96 Arctic Warfares, they confirmed that their rifles were all original... every last part, right down to the barrel, bolt and firing pin, all from 1993. That's 31 years of use and abuse; that's 31 years of fieldcraft on these rifles as well.

All photos are from the 2024 International Sniper Competition, and showcase real world military use of the AW [Original Content].

Conclusion being, if military snipers can run their AWs in 7.62/.308 with original stainless steel 1:12 4R barrels without a single destructive failure since 1993, I'm pretty the rest of us who are running our rifles on any given Sunday for recreational or competition use are going to be just fine, right down to the original firing pin.

Enjoy the photos... they're the best high resolution and detailed photos I have of AWs in current military use.













 
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#19,453
Awesome photos

But again

Most of us buying extra bolts are doing it to utilize rifles that have LFP bolts already like early AT’s or having them converted for WSM cartridges

So not everyone soaking up the bolts are doing it because they don’t have confidence in their current ones
 
#19,454

Cool pics. It’s not hard to believe they’ve been working great that long without needing spare parts… except the barrel obviously.

Are you saying that guy put 35k rounds on one barrel? And he can still hit targets with it?
 
#19,455
There was an early Everyday Sniper episode with Frank Galli, Jacob Bynum, and George Gardner. Jacob Bynum had a .308 loner rifle that had well over the amount of rounds in which the barrel should have been pulled. I want to say the barrel had like 20-30k on it. Jacob was sending it back to George at GAP for some other work. Jacob told George, whatever you do, DO NOT pull the barrel, it is still a laser and shoots sub 1/2”. George pulled the barrel and the first 1” of the lands was missing. So it is possible.

I think if your running it slow, things can last a lot longer than you think. I had a 6.5CM barrel that I only ran around 2700 with 140’s and it is well past the point it should have been pulled.

But I have also see it go the other way with a buddies 6XC. The first 3/4” or so of the lands were missing and it just didn’t have consistent velocity due to pressures being all over the place.
 
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#19,456
So others don’t run out and buy duct tape, that tape is called gaff or gaffer tape, not duct tape. Sometimes I’ve heard it called grip tape. I think actual permanent-ish duct tape would be a nightmare to remove.

Gaff tape is made for film and photo industry needs. It’s removable, fairly tough, cloth-texture tape and tends to be high quality. Gaffers use it to tape down electrical cables, affix temporary lighting solutions, and do ad-hoc Brazilians on hairy starlets.

Terms:
Gaffers are the dudes that set up the lighting/electrical on film sets. Grips are the guys who carry and set up most everything, like a roadie.
 
#19,459
Doubt it’s an Amazon buy, but haven’t searched. It’s made by a company called SCAPA. They make all sorts of other stuff, include normal duct / duck tape.

So make sure you get cloth tape / sniper tape. It’s an MOD supplier.

You can find online military gear website and eBay.

Where are you based?
 
#19,463
I’ll put this out there for those that don’t realize that govt users of this (or any) system have a dedicated element called armorers that abide by an inspection and maintenance schedule of issued equipment. These magical cage rats are the ones who inspect and send off/replace items on the various pieces of equipment while it’s not in the hands of the issued user.

These magical cage rats also have buckets of spare parts and usually (depending on the entity) they have a direct line to a rep that has access to part allocations that the civi consumer base does not.

So if anyone thinks that a govt rifle is just as it is from the day the SN hit the agency’s books is setting themselves up for disappointment.

Everyone should worry less about what agency has which contract and worry more about ensuring they’re self sufficient if something breaks while at a match or the range. …because you don’t have the support of a cage rat or direct line to in-stock govt parts bins.

Now…here’s two bolts 69’ing on a bed of brass as two others watch on:



#CageRatsArentPeople
#EnsureYouHaveThePartsYouNeed
#Hashtag
#DontLookDirectlyIntoTheBoltFace
 
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#19,465
So right now I’m 2 for 3 on broken baseplates 😂 that’s it for broken.

Those were due to mag changes at a match over concrete.

That’s it for broken. I did fuck up and not clean my trigger in 4k+ rounds and it failed on me, but that is on my stupidity and not the rifle.

Even if I have yet to break anything critical, the point remains…it is smart to be self-reliant and keep a parts kit at the ready. Just my opinion…which is worth less than what anyone has paid for it.
 
#19,467
The best asterik to append is, "With proper use, care and maintenance..."

I did see one rifle that the lever on the bolt broke from a bad weld. But I will say, I've yet to hear, read about, see or otherwise gain any information on a bad round catastrophically damaging an AI to the point where it couldn't fire anymore... except one photo I came across with a blown AW50 barrel...



It's impressive, really... British Military AW50 in Iraq circa '05-'06 from what my notes say.
 
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#19,470
True true…but I stopped supporting that #Movement because too many people go into debt for their hobby and I cannot support the whole staying poor mindset…which is the mindset of those who go into debt for hobbies.

Whoa sorry I blacked out there for a minute.

Yea stupid poors being poor. Put this shit on your STAR card. #HeroCard
 
#19,471
I wonder if Scarpa Scapa tape is basically gaffer tape…guess there’s only one way to find out. Buy some!

I want to try this stuff. Gear Aid Camo Form. More like that physical therapy type tape that basically only sticks to itself and is stretchy. I think.


 
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#19,473
I always hated that Gear Aid tape, dudes would wrap their rifles and while it served a purpose, (concealment and covering the metal surfaces in extreme temperatures), there would be a residue that seeped through the fabric after a few days of use and feel like the sticker residue after you tried to rub it off with your fingers, and get dirty and ball up.

I believe it was the great Samual Sachs who once said "Max out all your credit cards on luxury items; after all, future you will be rich enough to pay it all off."
 
#19,475
Ah well, you saved me some grief. Def not trying to be cheap, just trying to avoid residue. I’ve already got a couple rolls of expensive gaffer tape.

I guess with today’s adhesives, if you need more stickiness than a Post-It Note, one probably will get some minor residue issues of left one for an extended period. Maybe Scarpa Scapa tape is different.
 
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#19,476
Scapa / sniper tape is different. Many make imitations. But nothing like the original / the one made for purpose.

It doesn’t leave any residue if removed. Adhesive doesn’t bleed through….in moderate climates anyway. I’ve only tested -5 to 30 deg. I haven’t been out to the sandpit (so can’t confirm about extreme temps)

The self adhesive vet tape is shit.

For the sake of £10 try it. Or try it on stuff that isn’t your rifle. Nothing ventured, nothing gained.
 
#19,480
The stuff I have is a discontinued 3M product and:


I got mine from the local pro photo store.

If I were you, look at BH Photo to ensure you get the good stuff. But it sounds like the Scapa stuff is better for our needs.
 
#19,492
Thanks for the heads up on my misspelling. Fixed my original post.

I have some of this tape. It is thinner than gaffer tape. Gaffer tape has a sticky film to the outside at times, imo, but this tape does not.

Regarding the gear aid tape, it is as you describe. You need to wrap it around itself. Good for covering optics or barrels, not good for stocks.
 
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