AI AE Mk II and Vortex Razor Rifle Scope

We have been slacking off lately on updating the Blog. We have taken deliver of an Accuracy International AE (Accuracy Enforcement) MkII rifle chambered in 7.62x51mm (.308win). We are going to be doing a full evaluation article with numerous types of ammunition. This rifle will also be my primary competition and duty rifle for the remainder of this year and for 2011. So far I have 55 rounds  through the tube on our first firing day. I have to say this is an excellent rifle. Out of five, five shot groups the largest was just over 3/4" and the smallest was almost 1/4" at 100 yards. Much of this was due to me not being "in the game" and trying to get used to the platform. I have not owned an AI system before and my trigger time on them has been limited.

Our AE MkII features a 20" barrel with screw on muzzle break, picatinny rail and side folding stock. The AE MkII improves on previous AE's by accepting AICS magazines. Accuracy International offers both five and ten round magazines. The five round magazines fit flush with the bottom of the stock. The AICS magazines are the most popular precision rifle magazines in use in the US. They are used in the Marine Corps M40A3 and A5 Sniper Rifles as well as many other custom bolt action rifles.

A world class sniper rifle is useless without top end optics to direct it's fire. To that end Vortex Optics has provided us with a new Razor 5-20x50mm rifle scope. The Razor is a first focal plane mil reticle with 0.1 mRad click turrets. The Razor's reticle is illuminated and features a "Horus like" Christmas Tree extending from the bottom. At first I was  concerned that this would be too busy, but the execution is excellent. It's fine enough that you can forget about it if you wish, but when you really need to hold and track it's there for assistance. I would have loved to have this reticle earlier this year when I was on a stage engaging 200 yard fixed and 600 yard moving targets. The Razor also features a zero stop that is easy to adjust. We have not completed any tracking tests yet, so the accuracy of the turrets is unknown at this point.

We are looking forward to some more trigger time on this system and will be reporting back soon.