After months of stalking polite and persistent inquiries from Farago and myself, the good people at Accuracy International have finally made it official: they’re going to trust us with one of their OMFG-accurate precision rifles in the near future, along with a worthy optic from the likes of Zeiss, Nightforce or Schmidt & Bender.
In addition to being the semi-official sniper rifle of the Counterstrike and Call Of Duty video game franchises, Accuracy International’s Arctic Warfare series is the official sniper rifle of the British Army. A Brit sharpshooter used one in .338 Lapua to snuff a pair of Taliban fighters at a confirmed distance of 1.54 miles.
My palms are already getting sweaty just thinking about the new AX 308 rifle. I’ve been told to expect one-hole groups at 100 yards and 1/4 to 1/2 MOA accuracy out to 300 yards and beyond. I’ll shoot the hell out of it, but don’t expect any ruggedness testing: this scoped rifle costs nearly as much as a new small car, and most of us would have to take out a second mortgage to buy it.
Joe Grine and I will shoot it primarily at 300 and 600 yards; anything closer will be a waste of this rifle’s abilities. As always, TTAG will call it like we see it, even if it means losing our seat on the gravy train. Watch this space.
Chris, you dog you. Have fun and try not to think about us. Sniff.
Excited. Been contemplating a move up from my Rem. 700 w/ Leupold Mk.4 and K-31 to something more serious. Dangerous time for me to be reading about expensive glass and expensive rifles!