Review of Accuracy International AE MKII
On the GunsandHunting.com (Shooting Illustrated) website, you’ll find a well-written, in-depth review of the updated Accuracy International AE MKII rifle in .308 Winchester. (The MKII title means the rifle has a threaded barrel with brake.) The reviewer, Steve Adelmann, is a former Army sniper, so he certainly knows his tactical rifles. Adelmann praised the rifle’s ergonomics and folding stock. He also said the detachable mag system is one of the best available: “AI’s rifles also allow the magazine to be pushed straight into and dropped from the magazine well[.] The feeding and function of the five- and 10-round magazines were flawless during my evaluation, totaling 230 rounds.”
We often hear claims about tactical rifles delivering “benchrest-quality accuracy” when shot from bipod with factory ammo. We always take such reports with a grain of salt. For this article, at 100 yards, Adelmann tested two types of factory ammo, and three sets of handloaded ammo. The average accuracy of ALL the ammunition, based on five, 5-shot groups for each type, was right around one MOA (see chart).
We’re pleased Adelmann published honest results with five groups per load. Some testers will only shoot one or two 3-shot groups, which can give a false impression of the rifle’s true accuracy. Adelman writes: “The rifle still managed sub-MOA performance with the best factory ammo and handloads averaged together for all distances.”
CLICK HERE for full Accuracy Int’l AE MK II Review
Photos and Charts © 2009 National Rifle Association
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Tags: .308, Accuracy Int'l, AICS, Bipod, Chassis
Surely for the Barnes 165 gr head, the average should lie between 1.3 and 2.0. How can the average be less than the minimum?
John,
You have a good eye. We reprinted that chart as it appears in the story–not changing any values. We suspect the minimum and average for the Barnes MRX were reversed… but only the author knows for sure.
I know this rifle has a lot of features and is probably very rugged, but am I way off base for thinking that $4118 is too much to pay for 1 MOA accuracy? Maybe it would do better with really well-tuned handloads…
When you look at that 1 MOA just remember that it is for 5 shot groups, he was shooting from a bipod not a rest and he didn’t throw out called flyers.
First off- thanks for the comments on the article. I write primarily for Shooting Illustrated (as Rifle Editor as well as features and reviews like the AI article) and Precision Shooting because they’re not afraid to print less-than-stellar results. I’m a freelancer precisely because I refuse to write ad-copy and pretend it’s a review.
Secondly- the Barnes average I submitted to SI for this article (for 100 yards) was 1.6 MOA. The print edition of the magazine (November ’09) has it right. I’m not sure what happened on the electronic version but I’ll let the editor know. Thanks for pointing it out.
Lastly- I agree with the posters in both 2 and 3 above. The price is high for a 1 MOA rifle. However I only tested a small sampling of available ammunition due to time and logistic constraints. I have no doubt a good handload is out there and more to the point, after this test I laid hands on some Federal 168 gr. Gold Medal Match and it turned in steady 3/4 MOA performance at 100 yards (only distance tested). So again, there’s likely a happy factory load out there for the rifle I tested as well. I do all my testing in practical terms- prone/bipod, etc. It’s how I shot as a sniper and how I feel I get the best sense for the gun’s “shootability”. There are plenty of other folks out there firing from mechanical rests and writing about it.
Thanks
The article posted at gunsandhunting.com (soon-to-be Shootingillustrated.com) has been corrected for the Barnes 165 TSX load average at 100 yards. It can be viewed here:
http://www.gunsandhunting.com/ae%20accuracy.html
Thanks
I have an AI/AE Mark 1 with a Hensoldt (Zeiss) 4-16x56FF Scope. I use a Shark suppressor on a 24″ barrel and have aproximately 1000 rounds through it.
I started out using primarily Federal Gold Medal Match 168g with an occasional box of Black Hill 168g Match. The rifel really liked the FGMM 168g out to 600 yards, and I constistently shot 5 round groups at .5 MOA. Beyond 600 yards, on a windy day, holding sub 1 MOA groups was less predictiable. Using the once fired FGMM brass, I began handloading the following…
Sierra Match King 175g bullet
Varget 44.5 grains
CCI 200 primer
Case trimed to 2″
Overall cartridge length of 2.8″
With this load, I lose a little bit of accuracy inside 600 yards, but I make up for it between 600 yards and 1000 yards. I think my rifle perfers the 168g bullet. While not typical, I shot a 4 round group a few weeks ago that was 5.8″ at 1000 yards with the hand load listed above.
Most of my shooting is at clay pigions from the 1000 yard line at my range. On any given day I will hit pigions 20-30% of the time. It doesn’t take much wind at this distance to start pushing .308 rounds off target from 1 to 5 feet. I continue to struggle to read the conditions, and improve my hit percentage. I don’t feel that bad about it though becuase many of the guys I shoot with are active or ex military or law enforcement snipers, and they often have the same problem reading the conditions. My next rifle will be either .338 Lapua or .408 Cheytac to increase hit percentage at 1000 yards.
I shot a 5 round .192″ group at 100 yards last night with this hand load but have done .128″ at 100 yards with factory FGMM 168g.
While the rifle is not cheap, I rarely question my equipment when I miss. I can’t say that was the case with my previous rifles. I can’t understate haveing faith in your equipment. As far as the ideal load for this rifle, I believe the Sierra Match King 169g bullet is your best bet unless you’re shooting beyond 600-700 yards. Unless I am mistaken, 800 yards is the effective range of the .308 round, so I would say the system is working as designed.
I shoot at TacPro shooting center in Mingus, TX