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

[Indiana6547]

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?

 

[Mark W]

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.

 

[edwardware]

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

 

[6xcshooter]

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.

 

[MrMajestic]

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..

 

[linebaugh]

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.

 

[IowaGeologist]

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 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/