Accuracy International

Accuracy International Ltd.
Limited company
Founded 1978
Founder Malcolm Cooper, Sarah Cooper, Martin Kay, Dave Walls, Dave Caig
Headquarters Portsmouth, Hampshire, United Kingdom
Key people
 Dave Walls, Tom Irwin
Products Anti-materiel rifles, Sniper rifles
Owner Dave Walls, Tom Irwin, Paul Bagshaw
Website http://accuracyinternational.com
Accuracy International rifles

AI Arctic Warfare
AI AW Police
AI AW Magnum
AI AW50 (.50 BMG)
AI AX50 (.50 BMG)
AI AS50 (Semi-auto .50 BMG)
Australian AW50F
Swedish Psg 90

Accuracy International is a specialist and world renowned British firearms manufacturer based in Portsmouth, Hampshire, England, and best known for producing the Accuracy International Arctic Warfare series of precision sniper rifles. The company was established in 1978 by British Olympic shooting gold medallist Malcolm Cooper, MBE (1947–2001), Sarah Cooper, Martin Kay, and the designers of the weapons, Dave Walls and Dave Caig. All were highly skilled international or national target shooters. Accuracy International's high-accuracy sniper rifles are in use with many military units and police departments around the world.

Accuracy International went into liquidation in 2005, and was bought by a British consortium including the original design team of Dave Walls and Dave Caig.

Management

The company is currently (2014) equally owned by two directors, Dave Walls and Tom Irwin along with Paul Bagshaw. Dave Caig remains in the business as a consultant.[1]

Production

The Accuracy International rifle system has gained success, due in part to the design considerations put into the overall rifle. The rifles are hand-built. The AWSM (Arctic Warfare Super Magnum) held the world record for the longest confirmed combat kill up until May 2017.[2]

The rifle stock design is designed for good ergonomics. The comfort in holding the rifle and the reduced recoil aids accuracy.

The barrel is interchangeable with other calibres; this can be done in the field in about 15 minutes. With the barrel clamped in a barrel vice, the barrel is removed from the action, and another one screwed into the action and tightened in place with a torque wrench. Newer versions of Accuracy International rifles including the AX, AT (Accuracy Tactical), and AXMC (AX Multi-Calibre) feature a switch-barrel system that allow the user to change out the barrel with only the use of a 4mm hex wrench, allowing field barrel changes in under a minute.

The inherent accuracy of the rifle is due to the action being bolted with four screws and permanently bonded with epoxy material to an aluminium receiver, to which all major rifle components are in turn attached. As it keeps the action from moving away from zero (determined by the alignment of the scope to the rifle bore rather than the alignment of the action to the stock) the accuracy of the rifle is very high. Adding a folding stock handle, this sniper rifle can be used for both HALO insertions and walking deployments of sniper forces.

Due to the success of the chassis system in Accuracy International-manufactured rifles, Accuracy International has developed the AICS (Accuracy International Chassis System) for several popular varieties of barreled rifle actions, including the Savage M10 and Remington 700 short and long actions, both of which have long histories and good reputations for accuracy and precision in stock, out-of-the box form.

Accuracy International introduced their new AS50 .50 BMG calibre semi-automatic rifle at the 2005 SHOT Show in Las Vegas and their new AX Series at the 2010 Shot Show in Las Vegas.

The UK government announced in March 2008 the award of an £11 million contract to produce rifles for the British Army.[3]

Distribution

Accuracy International's distribution in United States is managed by the American division of AI, Accuracy International USA. There are only two distributors of Accuracy International in the United States, Eurooptic and Mile High Shooting.

Magazine types

Different Accuracy International rifle models come with a variety of proprietary magazines.[4]

Model Caliber Stacking and feeding
AICS (short action) .223
.308		 Double stack, single feed
AICS (long action) .300 Win Mag Single stack, single feed
.338 Lapua Mag Single stack, single feed
AX AICS .308 Double stack, single feed
.300 Win Mag Single stack, single feed
.338 Lapua Mag Single stack, single feed
AE MkI (pre 2009) .308 Single stack, single feed
AE MkII/ MkIII .308 Double stack, single feed
AX rifle .308 Double stack, staggered feed
.300 Win Mag Double stack, staggered feed
.338 Lapua Mag Double stack, staggered feed
AW rifle .308 Double stack, staggered feed
.300 Win Mag Single stack, single feed
.338 Lapua Mag Single stack, single feed
AW50, AX50 .50 BMG Single stack, single feed

AICS style

The most notable type is the "AICS-style" (especially the short action version) which has gained wide acceptance as a standard for bolt action rifles.[5] The AICS magazine was originally manufactured for the Accuracy International Chassis System, but can now be found on several production rifles, like for instance the Ruger Gunsite Scout,[6] Ruger Precision Rifle[7] and some new production models by Remington (Model 700 PCR,[8] 700 Tactical Chassis[9] 700 Magpul,[10] and 700 Magpul Enhanced[11]). AICS style magazines can also be found on many custom rifles, and aftermarket conversion kits (known as "bottom-metals") are available for several different rifle models and are made by several different manufacturers.[12][13] Many conversion kits require fitting by a gunsmith.

In addition to Accuracy International, there are now many aftermarket manufacturers offering AICS style magazines, like for instance Magpul,[14] and Modular Driven Technologies (MDT).[15]

See also

References

  1. ↑ "No place for second best". Accuracy International. Archived from the original on 2013-06-03. Retrieved 2013-06-03.
  2. ↑ Jennings, Christian. "Long range killer: Behind the scenes of Accuracy International". Wired. WIred. Retrieved 10 October 2018.
  3. ↑ Meade, Geoff (2008-03-07). "British Rifle Can Hit Target A Mile Away". Sky News. Archived from the original on 2012-09-27. Retrieved 2013-06-03.
  4. ↑ Accuracy International Magazines and compability - Vertebrae helpdesk
  5. ↑ AICS Magazines - RifleMags.co.uk "The Accuracy International Chassis System (AICS) magazine format has become a standard detachable magazine pattern for military format sniper rifles"
  6. ↑ Top 10 Detachable Box Magazine Platforms
  7. ↑ New Ruger AI Style Magazines For Precision Rifle And Gunsite Scout - The Firearm BlogThe Firearm Blog
  8. ↑ Testing Remington's New Affordable Chassis Rifle - The R700 PCR - GunsAmerica Digest "the PCR uses the AICS mag footprint and there are lots of aftermarket mag options."
  9. ↑ Shooting Illustrated | Remington Model 700 Tactical Chassis "a single-column/single-position five-shot Accuracy International magazine is retained by an ambidextrous catch"
  10. ↑ Remington Model 700 MAGPUL review – rifleshooter.com "This is the first [Remington] production model M700 to use an AICS magazine"
  11. ↑ Remington's new Precision Chassis Rifle - The Model 700 PCR - The Firearm BlogThe Firearm Blog
  12. ↑ Add a detachable magazine to your Remington 700 by installing Surgeon bottom metal – rifleshooter.com
  13. ↑ Bottom Metals – Accurate-Mag
  14. ↑ Magpul PMAG 5 7.62 First Look - AccuracyTech
  15. ↑ MDT Polymer and Metal Magazines – Modular Driven Technologies LP. "MDT's magazine are AICS compatible to fit our MDT chassis systems and many more"
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