To ai or not to ai my new tikka 223 ranahan

[coyotekilla]

So I bought a new tikka ranahan .223 today cause I had to.... long story .

So its the 20" 223. I bought rifle, 20moa rail, and some 75gr bergers.

Thinking a light deer rig, probably going to use it for predator night ops as well. (Coyote, fox, coon, skunk, maybe a bobcat.)

Debating on having a smith do an ackley improvement on her. With the barrel already 20" am I gonna see much improvement?

My ruger g2 20" gets 3050 with a mild 55gr, 2850 w/ 69's. Haven't shot heavier. Spicy 50gr barnes are going 3350 I think, 32 or 33. Its a non ackley, wasn't planning on changing that 1, or my ar's.

With multiple 223's is having 1 ai a bad idea?

 

[Q_Sertorius]

I wouldn’t bother. What does it enable you to do that you can’t do with the standard chamber?

 

[RockAndSage]

Doing the AI with .223 is about like adding 2-4 inches of barrel in velocity if you handload, yet, you can still shoot factory .223/5.56 with no noticable difference in accuracy. There really doesn't seem to be any downsides.

 

[rafiki]

if you need a nudge, i’d say do it.
as another data point, i have the same gun and just clocked the 53 vmax superperformance at an avg. mv of 3,417 fps. it’s shooting the 73 bergers around 2,875 fps.

 

[West2East]

Do it, handloading you get a bit of performance. It's not going to be night and day difference, but if you're already wanting more speed out of a shorter barrel, then that's a way to do it.

 

[Kaleb]

The only downside is the upfront money. If you're wanting to play and have a few extra bucks this makes more sense to me than dropping a few hundred at a fancy restaurant. Like you I have several 223's and the AI helps keep brass separate doesn't require the trimming standard cases do(I've only trimmed once on mine but I do have a lot of formed cases) looks kinda neat get a little more velocity big deal but its there and I think its funny when the kids talk about a 223AI in front of people who don't know what it is.

I've only had improved chambers cut from new barrels though. I doubt Id bother having a factory barrel punched out unless it was pretty convenient to do so. I raise horses though so everything we do doesn't have to make sense grin.

 

[Colorado Cowboy]

For a long time I have had a AI .220 Swift. I did a lot of research on P.O. Ackley's ideas. I have his 2 books and have read them several times. His ideas have a real impact on tapered cases and shoulder design. My Swift shoots "lights out" since I developed the right load for it. I have over 2,000 rounds thru it and it stills shoots like it was new and no real signs of barrel wear or throat erosion..

 

[coyotekilla]

Will i need a new seating die, or just a sizing die?

 

[RockAndSage]

For a long time I have had a AI .220 Swift. I did a lot of research on P.O. Ackley's ideas. I have his 2 books and have read them several times. His ideas have a real impact on tapered cases and shoulder design. My Swift shoots "lights out" since I developed the right load for it. I have over 2,000 rounds thru it and it stills shoots like it was new and no real signs of barrel wear or throat erosion.. View attachment 993827View attachment 993828

Man, that thing is a rocket...

 

[Colorado Cowboy]

I just love to make prairie dogs into a red mist!

 

[bnewt3]

I would leave it be.

Does AI make critters deader?

 

[coyotekilla]

I would leave it be.

Does AI make critters deader?

No... and 223 brass isn't super valuable. I have plenty...

 

[207North]

Go for it. Very accurate.
3011FPS out of a 20” barrel with 77TMKs

 

[Nutkin13]

I wanted to go shorter on my barrel at 18", so I went the 223AI route to gain back some velocity. I'm shooting 77TMKs at an average of 2718FPS at less than .5 MOA.

 

[coyotekilla]

Go for it. Very accurate.
3011FPS out of a 20” barrel with 77TMKs

How's it group, whats your die set up?

 

[waspocrew]

I’m deciding if I want to go AI. Pulled a new Tikka 223 barrel recently and would be fun to try the AI for a little extra speed.

At the end of the day, it’s just money. Might as well have a little fun with it.

 

[207North]

Redding full length type-s bushing die. .243 bushing. Standard .223 seater. I would buy a specific AI seater if starting out. They were out of stock at the time so I tried what was on hand.


Middle group was zeroing. First way low, brought it up to the 3 shot group, then brought it to the corner of the tape. The other 4 were aiming at corners of the tape also. Groups were shot standing with a bag off a sturdy fence post.

 

[207North]

I’ll add that the bushing was chosen to match brass that is long gone. Have kept using the same bushing with a variety of brass and it still works, so I have not messed with it.

 

[Kaleb]

I would leave it be.

Does AI make critters deader?

Obviously it doesn't. Of course another 100fps isn't dramatic improvements but isn't a negative either. If you like to keep brass separate it helps. If you like to tinker with something a little different it's easy enough. It is probably not practical at all but has anyone paid extra for cerakote on stainless steel before? Not to mention paying extra for stock paint.

 

[Nutkin13]

Go for it. Very accurate.
3011FPS out of a 20” barrel with 77TMKs

That seems pretty quick compared to what I'm getting!

What powder, charge weight, and primer?