Accuracy International Standard Rifle

[SW583]

I thought I’d share a photo of one of my Accuracy International target rifles. This one was once Malcolm Cooper's backup standard rifle for a brief period and is one of a few that wasn't returned to the AI factory. It was originally sold through Cooper's Accuracy store on Gladys Avenue in Portsmouth and later reacquired by Cooper for personal use.

These are the only things I have any particular interest in collecting and using competitively as a TR, although I have more modern AI single shot target rifles for the latter purpose. I have no other TRs now except my AIs, including a prototype and a few one-offs, and a commercially targetised Enfield No4 which I am turning into a L42 clone. I have gathered probably the most extensive amount of documentation and research on pre-sniper AI history. There aren’t many original and unbutchered AI target rifles pre-Coopermatch Series left. Having been privy to some of the early AI logs, I have gathered there were originally only around 30 for the UK market, with the vast majority going abroad. From the few I have seen on the internet, most of which have been butchered into L96A1 sniper knockoffs, I suspect fewer than 10 remain in unmodified condition in the UK. They make fine target rifles as is and are a serious piece of history, so really shouldn't be messed about with.

[Itskeith]

Wonderful and thanks for sharing.

[Pete]

I lusted after a Coopermatch I saw for sale a some years ago, but it was a good bit above my pay grade.......
I'm particularly interested in the stock shown in your photo. I've just put a "precision plinker" together using a Tikka M595 action in 223, and a stock from a Walther smallbore rifle.
The stock looks almost identical to the one on your AI. I had to modify it quite a bit to make it fit the action and me.

Pete

[SW583]

I lusted after a Coopermatch I saw for sale a some years ago, but it was a good bit above my pay grade.......
I'm particularly interested in the stock shown in your photo. I've just put a "precision plinker" together using a Tikka M595 action in 223, and a stock from a Walther smallbore rifle.
The stock looks almost identical to the one on your AI. I had to modify it quite a bit to make it fit the action and me._D812879 A.jpg

Pete

I was the previous owner of your stock

You can probably guess why I regretted letting it go to you for so cheap! Accuracy International was the UK distributor of Walther back in the day and Malcolm Cooper used Walther smallbores. The original AI prototypes were built on unfinished Walther blanks too. Mine has both AI and Walther markings. AI’s slightly beefed up versions of the Walther standard and free rifle stocks were allegedly made by Colin Moon, but I’d bet that it’s more likely the same Italian shop that originally did the Walther stocks.

[Pete]

Small world.....!! You've evidently done considerable research on these rifles. Any idea what wood it is? I'm guessing European light walnut....there's a fat dowel glued down through the grip to reduce the likelihood of a break, which is a nice touch of Walther quality. I did find the length of the grip a bit short. The 10mm extra bit on the bottom supports my little finger nicely.
I discovered this when I started to set up to drill the grip to epoxy a chunk of 8mm s/steel studding through it. Without it, I thought it likely to break if dropped.
It's extremely comfortable to hold, with or without a butt-bag.

Pete

[SW583]

Small world.....!! You've evidently done considerable research on these rifles. Any idea what wood it is? I'm guessing European light walnut....there's a fat dowel glued down through the grip to reduce the likelihood of a break, which is a nice touch of Walther quality. I did find the length of the grip a bit short. The 10mm extra bit on the bottom supports my little finger nicely.
I discovered this when I started to set up to drill the grip to epoxy a chunk of 8mm s/steel studding through it. Without it, I thought it likely to break if dropped.
It's extremely comfortable to hold, with or without a butt-bag.

Pete

I believe it is Walnut. A good source, in fact the original source, tells me the stocks were outsourced to Colin Moon in Holland. While I have no reason to not believe this, Colin Moon was based in the UK and these stocks are clearly not his handiwork. The alternative possibility is that Colin Moon had a man out in Holland who could make these.

The OEM for wooden Walther stocks is currently an Italian firm, and has been for many years now. I am currently in contact with them to determine when the subcontracting began and if they also did beefed up versions for Accuracy International.

I did notice that you had modified the grip and very nicely at that! I also found that the grips aren't particularly tall and I find my pinky finger hangs off the bottom if I don't choke up high on the grip (tennis/golf term, not sure of another way to describe it).

I particularly like the modification you have done to the cheekpiece to facilitate clearance for the bolt.

[Pete]

The cheekpiece is a work in progress at the moment. This allows the bolt to move fully rearwards, but I still have to take the cheekpiece off to insert the bolt initially.
I'm going try mounting the cheekpiece on a hinged platform so that it can be simply flipped over to insert the bolt.
Years ago, I put a Musgrave action into an Anschutz walnut stock (pic attached). This now has another Tikka M595 in 223 installed.
The cheekpiece on this is adjustable for height, and just pulls out for bolt insertion.

Pete

[SW583]

The cheekpiece is a work in progress at the moment. This allows the bolt to move fully rearwards, but I still have to take the cheekpiece off to insert the bolt initially.
I'm going try mounting the cheekpiece on a hinged platform so that it can be simply flipped over to insert the bolt.
Years ago, I put a Musgrave action into an Anschutz walnut stock (pic attached). This now has another Tikka M595 in 223 installed.
The cheekpiece on this is adjustable for height, and just pulls out for bolt insertion.
Musgrave 6BR small.jpg

Pete

A hinge would do the trick for sure. Hopefully not a door hinge!

I have only ever seen one well-designed side-ways hinging cheekpiece and it's on a rare German 300m rifle that uses Anschutz Supermatch stocks. It uses a bolt-on bracket with a hinge that allows it to hinge to the left (if it's a RH gun) and is a rather well made mechanism that is also spring loaded. I use a side-ways hinging cheekpiece for my metal stock, but it is not really its intended design - more a feature for adjustability to allow the user to get a more comfortable cheek weld.

One of the reasons I sold that Walther stock was because I saw that I would have trouble with fully opening the bolt if I put a fullbore action in it, and it was also quite dainty - two problems I did not want to deal with and ruin a nice bit of walnut with my poor woodworking skills. I do wish I'd kept the buttpad though - they are rare as spares for Walthers, but also Accuracy Internationals!