Something a little different: .223AI

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Chuck R.

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Anybody have experience with the .223AI???

I'm thinking about having a rifle (Rem M7 in .223) re-barreled this winter, possibly in .223AI. I've currently got 2 .223 bolt guns and 4 AR15s in .223 (3 Wylde's and a 5.56 Nato).

The M7 has the factory 20" barrel, HS Precision stock, Timney trigger and Leupold VX 3HD 3.5-10X with CDS. I'll probably stretch the barrel to 22", but stay with a light sporter contour (Bartlein 1:8). This should keep the weight to around 7.5Lbs all up as it will remain my "walking varminter" and practice rifle.

My thoughts are:

I've got a a lot of .223 brass
The .223AI should give me about 100FPS faster
Normal AI brass benefits apply
I practice with this rifle quite a bit, so fireforming won't be a big deal

Anybody have one? Experiences??

My other .223 bolt gun is a Rem 700 XCR "Compact Tactical", so I'm not looking for another heavy varmint/precision setup.
 
He might be along in a bit to confirm.

For minimal work you can get an additional 200-400 fps boost. Max 223 loads are good starting loads for the 223 Ackley.

I have been shooting the 223 AI in a bolt gun for many years with Varget and Sierra 80s.

In my gas guns, I am using Varget and Sierra 69 TMKs. And yes, the ackley runs perfect in an AR. Works great on coyotes when I am trying to be quiet.

https://www.glocktalk.com/threads/what-is-this-cartridge.1793048/page-2#post-27877488

An AR in 223 Ackley makes a nice spacegun. Someone around here (Colorado) was shooting one and doing quite well. I had one for a while and it proved to be 100% reliable and could easily get a 200-300 fps over a standard 223. I hit 3100 with the Sierra 77s and an 18 inch barrel using Ramshot TAC.

https://www.thehighroad.org/index.p...acegun-for-nra-highpower.240240/#post-2928642
 
I shot a couple of 223AI ARs for several years prairie dogging. I wanted something a little faster than 223 without the recoil of a 22-250.
Mine were slow twist for light bullets. 40 gr. at 3800 gets there fast. Reduced need for trimming is another benefit of Ackley cases. Plus, accuracy is excellent when fireforming, so no wasted rounds.
I eventually replaced them with .20 Practical - 32 gr. at 3950.
 
I am considering having my Remington 700 SPS Varmint rechambered to .223 A.I. With the 26” heavy barrel, I figure it could also be shortened slightly to clean up the throat as well. Not sure what it would cost or who would do the job. Any ideas?
 
I have six varieties.

Might I encourage you to go with "Super Duece" - 222 Magnum AI? (use the 223 AI reamer with 204 Ruger brass necked up to 22 caliber). Obviously, you can use 222 Magnum brass, but expensive and hard to find.

.....a little more powder capacity as well. :)
 
I have six varieties.

Might I encourage you to go with "Super Duece" - 222 Magnum AI? (use the 223 AI reamer with 204 Ruger brass necked up to 22 caliber). Obviously, you can use 222 Magnum brass, but expensive and hard to find.

.....a little more powder capacity as well. :)

I hear ya, and generally agree that "more is better", but I'm sitting on 1000's of .223/5.56 once fired brass....
 
Everybody who shoots factory ammo in his Improved chamber for competitive score or game hunting, please raise your hand. Plinking for fire forming does not count.

I’ve “flexed” factory vs formed reloads for many years with various AI’s, but especially 223/5.56. Super cheap to grab up some bulk ammo, go enjoy a range day in private pasture and not worry about losing empties, but still have the capability of running a higher performance reload when desired. There were several years in which Gander Mountain in town offered 40rnd boxes of Rem/UMC JHP’s at their 20rnd box pricing, and I bought thousands and thousands of rounds during that time at ~17¢/round. I mentioned the mismark to the store GM once, and he said they only had a sku for the 20rnd box, and the company only ordered 20rnd boxes, but Rem was sending the 40’s in lieu of 20’s at the same cost - so they ignored it and passed the benefit onto us consumers. It shot well enough for many activities, but then left me with a large batch of brass which were essentially free - WITHOUT the ambiguity and uncertainty of range pickup or “once fired” brass, and at a lower cost.

I’ve also gone deer and hog hunting with 7-08 and 300wm factory ammo, as opposed to even bothering with load development for a hunting bullet rather than the LRT loads I had developed. Ain’t that hard to find a load which does the job.

Same reason I prefer the 6 ARC now over my former wildcat 243LBC, or prefer 6 creed over my former 243win and 243AI - factory ammo is available to do what I want to do if I ever need it.
 
Everybody who shoots factory ammo in his Improved chamber for competitive score or game hunting, please raise your hand. Plinking for fire forming does not count.

I fire form my 6BR into 6BRA while shooting F Class matches. Scored a 592 the last time I did it (that equates to 52 out of 60 shots inside a 1 MOA circle at 600 yards)
 
Years ago 1995, Varmint Hunter Magazine had article about 223AI on Rem action with 271/2" barrel,1/14 twist barrel. 40gr @ max 3925fps,50gr @ 3701fpps and 55gr @3559fps.

I shot one for couple years. Now shooting 222AI great PD rifle.
 
What was the negative?

Nothing objective. Just a matter of my paradigm in recent years: 1) When I shoot an AR-15 these days to reach long or hit hard, it’s not a 22 caliber at all 2) When I reach for a 223/5.56 AR, it’s because I’m either pleasure plinking or practicing other skills, where raw performance is less critical, and 3) I hate losing fireformed brass when hunting, and I hate digging through grass just for 223/5.56 brass.

Love it in a stickshift though - the next barrel in my wife’s Savage will be an AI, I just won’t bother with it in a gasser any more.
 
I got a 223AI contender 14” barrel but haven’t played around with it yet. Haven’t had a chance. I have been busy moving, changing jobs, raising 3 kids… I will get around to it soon. I hope.
 
Anybody have experience with the .223AI?
I have a Rem700, glass bedded in a Boyds heavy varmint stock, now wearing a Criterion Pre-Fit (via Northland Shooters) in .223AI, standard throat, 24", 1:8, standard Palma. I like it a lot!

Notes:
- Feeding is a bit klunky (it IS still a Remington shove-feed) from one side of the magazine, and worse the shorter the bullets are seated. I've overcome this rather conveniently by shooting 69gr+ as I intended. Feeding with stubby little 40gr is pretty difficult.
- Since I was fooling, I also:
- had the bolt bushed and pin turned to 0.060", greatly improving resistance to cratering
- had the face trued, since Remington couldn't bother to get the head soldered on straight
- had to fix the primary extraction timing (again, Remington) after the face true-up, but did that myself.​
- So far I've been using Lee's .223 Collet Neck Die for sizing, and the brass is stable enough that I haven't had to setup the Redding Body or Bushing dies.
- I had my Redding .223 Competition Seater reamed to .223AI.
- You will be needing to model, extrapolate, and work up data for many of the well-suited powders, so this is not a cartridge for the slavish recipe-bound pansy. Have your QuickLoad handy.
- You will likely want to anneal. It's probably not strictly necessary, but good to have.
- If you fireform with insufficient pressure you will occasionally collapse cases inward for insufficient pressure. Fear not, increase the charge.
- My fireforming loads are every bit as accurate as loads in formed brass, but you will need to re-work the charge for the larger initial volume.
- Lake City brass is, as usual, the kitten's whiskers. Very consistent, and heads are hard as nails with nice snug pockets.
 
I thought any .243LBC could shoot factory .243 Win, no? I was considering it for a next upper before all things went North on price and South on availability.

Um...? Not sure if sarcasm?

243LBC is a 6 Grendel, way too short for 243win, and too skinny.

243AI can shoot 243win factory ammo.
 
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