Criterion .223 A.I. Savage Prefit - Anyone Have Experience with This?

I'm looking at converting my Savage .223 to a .223 A.I. in 1 in 7 twist at 26". I want to run 80 grain Berger VLD's. Can anyone recommend the Criterion .223 A.I. barrel and how is the headspace to run 80 grain Berger VLD's?

 

I would give Jim at Northland a call. He will be more than glad to tell you everything you need to know about the combo.

 

I expect my RemAge .223 AI 1:8 to show up from Northland ~end of Nov. . . I'm already prepping brass.

 

I have a cbi remage barrel in 223ai 1 in 9 twist. Shoot sierra tmk 69 gr. Sub quarter inch 5 round groups at 100 yds.

 

I have an 26" 8tw in .223AI. With the 80 gr. A-Max at 3050 fps MV it is a 450 yard chuck killer. I limit myself to 200 yards for Whitetail but to there it kills them decidedly. Let the flack begin..

 

Don't know the throat length you are looking for but Criterion has been a good ptoduct from what I have seen. I have not personally owend one... yet.

You don't need that much twist and it could cause you problems. I shoot a 223AI with a 7 twist Rock Creek and 75ELDs in my back up/trainer rifle. I had the blank already purchased for a different build and things changed so I used it. I have not had a bullet failure yet but if I was going to do it over and buy the blank that would have been a 7.5 - 8 twist. I would guess you will be fine with 7 but I just want to save you any future frustration.

 

I have my Criterion 223AI barrel on order. It's a 1-8 at 26" and was ordered at NSS. The reamer they have is 0.0618" I believe, and from what I've read is pretty good for everything up to the 75 gr class of bullets. Once you're at that point, finding a reamer with a little more freebore might be beneficial so you're not sacrificing case capacity.

I'd say, if you're looking to shoot much more 75-80 gr and above with this barrel, go with something over the standard CBI 0.0618" freebore. I plan to shoot a lot of 60 TMKs, 68 BTHPs, and some 75 ELDs so figured the standard would work well for me.

Here is a thread you might want to look at. Some other good info can be found on Snipers Hide about the 223AI Freebore.

http://forum.accurateshooter.com/threads/223ai-freebore-question.3789675/