AI AE vs AW

[jmar]

I have a AW and was thinking about selling it and buying an AE. I could get about 4 grand for the AW and AEs seem to go for 1,500-2,000 so it would give me a lot of room to buy a few things I could use. You see I'm just starting out my long range shooting journey and I thought getting an AW would be a good turn key beginner rifle with some collector value. I really love the thing, I've only shot it once so far but it got a 3 shot group that could be covered with a dime at 50 yards. That was just during sighting in, I was going to take it to 100 but needed to leave the range. As a beginner with no training it really blew my mind a gun could be that accurate. But I wonder if right now I would be better off using the money for other things.

I was attracted to the AW because I am probably more of a collector than a shooter, but now that it is summer I want to get out more this year and change that. Money is tight and for the type of shooting I want to do I could really use some of the basics still like a spotting scope, range finder, backpack, weather meter, sandbags, shooting mat, hell I don't even have a cleaning kit or a good pair of safety glasses and muffs yet. The AE while not having the value the AW has it still has the overall iconic look of the AW and I really like the ergos on it.

And that kind of leads into if I should sell it for an AE. The AW platform I know alot about now having owned one and researching it online. The AE not so much, the one I'd be getting is the older styled with the fixed stock due to the price. I'm just worried I might get a stinker when the gun I have right now shoots jagged holes. From what I understand the AW actually is bonded to the chassis and it just has skins, the AE is like a Remington style receiver with a footprint that fits into the stock. Is this true? If so how do the things shoot? And any other things I should know about before I make my decision?

 

[Dthomas3523]

Honest question:

Do you have the budget to keep the $4k rifle and get the other things you need? Training, gear, etc?

If yes, roll with it as you seem to like it, which makes a big deal mentally.

If not, you’ll need to decide if you can keep the rifle and save up within an acceptable amount of time to get the other things you want/need.

Also, at 50yds, don’t get shocked with ragged holes and don’t let that be your sole thing holding you to a rifle.

 

[MOUNTIC]

The AE and AW can shoot just as good as one another. They both can hammer so I wouldn't worry about that. Seeing you already have the rifle, I would keep it. Penny pinch other places. Eat PBJ / Ramen for a few months. Don't drink alcohol, or eat out at restaurants. You would be amazed how much more money you will have cutting just those out. Make your entertainment working out instead of other things that cost money. If you actually just go bare bones for a few months, you will have the difference.

You most likely won't get what you want selling your rifle, and then the one you find to purchase will be more then you thought and the gap will be a lot less. Plus shipping cost is upwards of 100 bucks. Finding a case and box to ship it in. Your 175 in shipping it out all said and done. FFL transfer cost too... Stuff adds up.

You could learn how to range and read wind without instruments if you don't have those tools. Assuming you have a scope with reticle to do that.. Today's instruments handicap people from actually learning it first.

If your shooting somewhere with known distances then you can still enjoy your setup now without spending the cash. Sounds like you have an awesome rifle, and if you sell it, you may regret it. Any buddies of yours have a spotter to borrow? If your only shooting at somewhat close distance just use your scope. Big difference in spotting at 100 for holes vs 1000+. Shooting bags are cheap and don't need anything expensive. I used a 10 dollar cheap blanket as a shooting mat for as long as I can remember. Backpack or range bag, you could get a good one second hand on the PX or even eBay. Cleaning supplies are cheap. A one piece CF rod and bore guide are probably the biggest necessities there.

Keep it. Look for deals on the exchange. You don't need the latest and greatest to get started. Cut back on other stuff instead of dumping the gun and looking for another.

All my opinion of course.

 

[Bradu]

Is your AW a folder? Also, I haven't seen that many AE's sell that cheap. There have been a few but not a lot. The last deal I saw was a mk 3 folder for 2300, some may say it wasn't a deal but it lasted all of about 1 hour before it sold.

 

[powdahound76]

Saw 2 AE yesterday (LE trade ins) at MHSA for $1500.

My safe is already overflowing and no room for another so it didnt come home with me......

Also had rings on it. Looked like Leupold MK 4 rings.

Call em on Monday if you need one.

 

[C-grunt]

I'd keep the AW. Half of what you listed isn't a need. I ran a yoga mat as a shooting mat for a long time. You can get milsurp backpacks and rucks online for cheap. Cleaning supplies aren't that expensive. Learn to range targets using your reticle. Shooting bags can be had fairly cheap.

Save up and buy the equipment over time.

 

[MACHTECH]

ran a yoga mat as a shooting mat for a long time

That's hilarious! My wife uses my cole-tac shooting mat as her yoga mat all the time.

 

[m1match]

I too would keep the AW, I have one myself and other than the quick change barrel system on current models, the AW is everything I could want in a precision rifle. It will always have collector value because it IS the sniper rifle adopted by the Brits, Swedes, and Aussies as well as others that I can't remember. The AE, while an excellent rifle, doesn't have collector value in my opinion. Before buying a bunch of stuff, I'd find a local club with an active precision rifle group and start showing up for matches to shoot and talk to people. I'm pretty sure people will share their experience freely and even let you try out their gear. At our club, for matches we let people borrow our mats, bags, rangefinders, and spotting scopes so a new shooter will not be lacking. That way you can save for the equipment you need and by talking to and trying out others equipment you will be able to make a more educated decision about what works for you.

 

[W54/XM-388]

I have a AW and was thinking about selling it and buying an AE. I could get about 4 grand for the AW and AEs seem to go for 1,500-2,000 so it would give me a lot of room to buy a few things I could use. You see I'm just starting out my long range shooting journey and I thought getting an AW would be a good turn key beginner rifle with some collector value. I really love the thing, I've only shot it once so far but it got a 3 shot group that could be covered with a dime at 50 yards. That was just during sighting in, I was going to take it to 100 but needed to leave the range. As a beginner with no training it really blew my mind a gun could be that accurate. But I wonder if right now I would be better off using the money for other things.

I was attracted to the AW because I am probably more of a collector than a shooter, but now that it is summer I want to get out more this year and change that. Money is tight and for the type of shooting I want to do I could really use some of the basics still like a spotting scope, range finder, backpack, weather meter, sandbags, shooting mat, hell I don't even have a cleaning kit or a good pair of safety glasses and muffs yet. The AE while not having the value the AW has it still has the overall iconic look of the AW and I really like the ergos on it.

And that kind of leads into if I should sell it for an AE. The AW platform I know alot about now having owned one and researching it online. The AE not so much, the one I'd be getting is the older styled with the fixed stock due to the price. I'm just worried I might get a stinker when the gun I have right now shoots jagged holes. From what I understand the AW actually is bonded to the chassis and it just has skins, the AE is like a Remington style receiver with a footprint that fits into the stock. Is this true? If so how do the things shoot? And any other things I should know about before I make my decision?

While in the end you will do whatever you want, I'd suggest that you will be making a serious mistake selling your AW and trading down to an AE so you can get some other random gear that you think you need.

While the AE will shoot fine (assuming a decent not shot out barrel which in the $1500 bin is probably NOT a given) the feeding and loading is significantly superior with the AW model, the shorter double stack magazine system and the ability to load through the ejection port are really useful features that when you start putting the rifle to work hard, you come to appreciate dearly.

The best thing about the folding stock is it makes cleaning your rifle so much easier. Flip to the side, pull the bolt, insert bore guide start cleaning. None of this pulling off the cheek piece BS.

Spotting Scope -- Live without it, you'll be just fine
Range finder --- skip it if money is that dear to you, you'll learn even more without it
Backpack -- Why? Do you have some plan to hike your rifle up the mountain anytime soon at distances that a good sling isn't enough?
Sandbags -- If you are that tight on money, grab some old socks, and dump some filler in them.
Shooting mat-- Any old blanket will do, a moving blanket even better, you could probably get one near free used.
Cleaning kit---- Get a decent cleaning rod, a brush or two, patch holder, can of Kroil and can of butches bore shine and live with it.
Shooting glasses -- Pick some up for under $20, and some muffs and earplugs for under $20 and be done.

Accessories are fine, but don't make it all about them, most of what you think you need, you don't actually need to do well.
Good rifle, good scope, decent ammo that your rifle likes. Stick with that and worry about the rest later.

If your AW has an original long English barrel on it, then try shooting the 155gr Lapua Scenar factory loads, at 100 yards you could probably just about stack the bullets into the same hole if you could hold the rifle still enough.

 

[Supersubes]

The AE’s are round receivers that bolt to the chassis, which use nearly identical skins. The action internals are virtually identical. Bolts vary a bit through the three versions, with the mk3 being identical. I’ve owned a mk2 and 3, and they shoot fine. The Aw uses of course the AW magazines, which cannot be used in the Ae. One of the best features of any rifle made by anybody, is the AW magazine imo.


You’ve come this far, and in time you’ll get all the supplementary stuff you think you need, but don’t hock the AW for an AE. That’s just silly imo.


Edit: w54 juuuuuust beat me to it! What he said^

 

[Steel head]

Don’t sell the AW!

 

[lennyo3034]

Are people actually paying 4K for a used AW? That’s in the AT range with quick change barrels.

 

[CuTm]

Don’t sell the AW ever. Get buried with it when the day comes actually.

 

[Bradu]

Are people actually paying 4K for a used AW? That’s in the AT range with quick change barrels.

I personally would rather have an aw vs the at. Quick change is not something I am worried about.

 

[MACHTECH]

jmar, please make up your mind already! I can't keep checking the px for this thing to pop up for sale every half hour. Lol. ?.

In all sincerity, I'd keep it too if I were you. They're too hard to replace once you let them go!

 

[jmar]

Thanks for the advice everyone you are all really making me 2nd guess selling it. I live in Montana, a place where you would expect there to be plenty of ranges to shoot but I actually am having a hard time finding a range that goes past 600 yards. The state is very large and sparsely populated. The only one I found is a 3 and half hour round trip so I just thought it would be better to go shooting on public land near by and bring my own targets, which is kind of why I wanted things like a mat and range finder. I did know you could range using your optic, which mine is a SWFA SS. That being said as a beginner I was worried about the difficulty of it all. But it is definitely something I will look into more.

A question about the AE, since it bolts into a stock like a traditional rifle what is the quality of the AI AE stock? Does it have aluminum bedding or is it all polymer? Does it feel rigid and solid like the AW does? When I got my AW I originally did not care if it was a folder or not, but now that I have experience with the folder I do love it. So that would be something I would miss. I know the AE is not really a collectors rifle, but I am okay with that as my goal is to get out shooting. And with a $1500 rifle you are less worried about damaging it and shooting it which to me is kind of what attracted me to it in the first place. But I do know I would regret selling my AW, you could probably count on your fingers how many AW pattern guns come up for sale each year. There is certainly a lot to think about, something I may do is keep the AW and save up for an AE as well. Then I can compare them and see firsthand the quality of the AE and which I want to resell. And as for the AW hitting the exchange, unfortunately I already gave a member here first dibs if I ever do actually sell it. In fact he has been asking me for months to sell it to him.

 

[Supersubes]

Thanks for the advice everyone you are all really making me 2nd guess selling it. I live in Montana, a place where you would expect there to be plenty of ranges to shoot but I actually am having a hard time finding a range that goes past 600 yards. The state is very large and sparsely populated. The only one I found is a 3 and half hour round trip so I just thought it would be better to go shooting on public land near by and bring my own targets, which is kind of why I wanted things like a mat and range finder. I did know you could range using your optic, which mine is a SWFA SS. That being said as a beginner I was worried about the difficulty of it all. But it is definitely something I will look into more.

A question about the AE, since it bolts into a stock like a traditional rifle what is the quality of the AI AE stock? Does it have aluminum bedding or is it all polymer? Does it feel rigid and solid like the AW does? When I got my AW I originally did not care if it was a folder or not, but now that I have experience with the folder I do love it. So that would be something I would miss. I know the AE is not really a collectors rifle, but I am okay with that as my goal is to get out shooting. And with a $1500 rifle you are less worried about damaging it and shooting it which to me is kind of what attracted me to it in the first place. But I do know I would regret selling my AW, you could probably count on your fingers how many AW pattern guns come up for sale each year. There is certainly a lot to think about, something I may do is keep the AW and save up for an AE as well. Then I can compare them and see firsthand the quality of the AE and which I want to resell. And as for the AW hitting the exchange, unfortunately I already gave a member here first dibs if I ever do actually sell it. In fact he has been asking me for months to sell it to him.

Imagine if you unbolted your aw receiver, and Inletted the chassis to accommodate a round action. That’s an AE, nothing more. If you were on the gun, looking through the scope and running it, you wouldn’t notice. The AW feeds a little easier, but that’s it.


Still not sure why you’re entertaining this. Lay on a tarp, use a sand filled sock for a rear bag, GPS range targets with your iphone or use the reticle. Fuck public ranges, people go to those because that’s all they got. Finding land to bang your own steel at long range is absolutely preferable to me.

 

[C-grunt]

Look up how to range targets with your scope. Its really not that hard. I keep the math formula saved on my phone.

Like Supersubes said, you can range targets using a map measurement app on your phone.

When I shoot out in the wild I always range my target first then see what the GPS says. It works pretty well actually.

 

[b6graham]

Ballistics ARC is good for this. Built right in with charts etc and their data has matches mine with the least amount of truing

 

[yej0001]

I sold my AW folder and am still kicking myself. The reason I sold it was that I already bought an AT at the time, but I just cannot get that AW out of my mind after 2 years.

 

[BLKWLFK9]

If u sell the AW, you're an idiot. DONT get rid of the AW. Do what everyone is saying. Buy the little shit a little at a time.

 

[jmar]

Unfortunately after making this thread I had the opportunity to get one of my dream guns so I had to put my AW up for sale. Hopefully down the road I can find another AW or AWM as it is also one of my favorite guns. In the meantime if I have anything left after paying off the gun I just bought I have a lead on an AE folder that would fill the AI gap in my collection til then.

 

[Rant Durden]

Seems like you're ruminating instead of shooting. The funny thing is, most guys (me included) would sell all their shit to get a better rifle, like an AE, so we could "shoot better." You've bought once and cried once. Use the most valuable thing you have, time. Shoot the hell out of it and then if you still want to sell, come right here and lots of folks will be waiting to get a dream gun. If you are more interested in collecting, sell it, get a Garand and shoot that. You'll never loose a penny.

 

[Prophet78]

What is the dream gun?

 

[BLKWLFK9]

^hopefully an AIAX

 

[Prophet78]

He hasn’t sold his AW yet. He also made claims of financial issues.