It all began with shooting club members, Dave Walls and David Caig, having a go at building replicas of two of 19th century Colt pistols - from photographs.An expert on Colt revolvers told them, "If you built these just from pictures, you should be in the business of making guns."
At a local shooting event the two Daves (Caig right, Walls centre) met the future World Champion and double Olympic Gold Medalist, Malcolm Cooper. He, too was impressed with their Colt replicas and suggested they design their own rifle.
The Caig, Walls, Cooper partnership led to the formation of Accuracy International in 1978. By 1981, Caig and Walls had only just built their third prototype, but it was a rifle with the unmistakable features, including the thumbhole stock, which would prove so significant in AI's future success...
AI's first military sale was eight Precision Magazine (PM) rifles to the UK's Special Boat Service (SBS) in 1985, immediately followed by 32 more to the Special Air Service (SAS). Unlike all other sniper rifles at the time, which were modified hunting weapons, the PM was designed from scratch as a rifle exclusively for snipers.
With his reputation for accurate riflery, the UK MoD invited Malcolm Cooper to submit a competitive tender for the British Army's standard-issue sniper rifle. Up against the big boys, nobody expected AI's unconventional 7.62 PM to win. Designated L96A1 and nicknamed "Green Meanie" AI received the order for 1,212 rifles on 11th March 1985. It was time to move production out of Dave Wall's garden shed. The first rifles were delivered in 1987.
In reponse to a request from Swedish armed forces, the L96 was modified to operate reliably in cold environments and designated AW (Arctic Warfare). The modified design (AW308) resulted in an order for 1,100 rifles from Sweden in 1991. By the late 90s, the L96 had been totally superceded by the AW, which in various configurations and calibres, went on to be ordered and is still in service with 60 countries worldwide.
The late 1990s also saw the introduction of other models including the awesome AW50 anti-materiel rifle which was adopted by the UK MOD and Australian armed forces.
Designed specifically to meet the needs of US law enforcement agencies, the AE rifle was introduced in 2002. Also aimed at the US market, for civilian shooters who wanted to enhance the performance of a Remington 700 platform, the AICS (Accuracy International Chassis System) was a perfect solution.
AI was sold to an investment group in 1999. The transaction resulted in a very high debt load which ultimately led to AI being put into administration in 2005. A small group of investors including Dave Walls, David Caig and Tom Irwin, an independent US contractor, stepped in and AI's future was eventually secured.
The revived AI comprised 7 employees and 4 owners. New CNC machines and fixtures were introduced and modern manufacturing techniques and processes (Six Sigma) adopted to enhance quality and reduce cost. This fresh approach to engineering and manufacture was matched with the acquisition of new business...
In 2007, the UK MOD awarded AI a contract for 582 AW338 systems to replace the L96A1. Designated L115A3, the new rifle entered service in 2008. In Afghanistan, 2009, British sniper, CoH Craig Harrison broke the world record for the longest confirmed kill in combat with two consecutive hits at a range of 2,475 m (2,707 yds) using a L115A3 rifle system.
Building on the successes of AW and AE series rifles, AI's latest generation AX and AT models combine the accuracy, reliability and ruggedness of their predecessors with the additional benefits of improved ergonomics and greater adaptability and versatility.
Increasingly successful, AI has expanded into an additional facility, whilst investment in technology has continued apace. Having won a contract from US armed forces to supply a new Sniper Rifle Stock System (SRSS) and a further contract to supply magazines, AI is also now firmly established with a manufacturing base in the US.
Accuracy International (AI) can be said to have had its beginnings when Dave Walls and David Caig (work colleagues and shooting enthusiasts) decided to try their hand at creating working replicas of Colt 1860 Army and 1873 Single Action Army revolvers.
Their first attempt at making guns from scratch was so successful that Caig and Walls started their own company and designed their very first target rifle. This brought them into contact with Malcolm Cooper, gold medal winner at the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles and at the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul. In 1986 he was also world champion in 300 m Standard Rifle, a non-Olympic rifle discipline in which he claimed several European and World titles, as well as holding the World record for a period. Walls, Caig and Cooper were the main founders and driving force behind AI.
Since its beginnings, AI has gone through many transitions. These include; ownership by a private equity company, administration in 2005 and a subsequent buy-out led by its current management team. Against this background of business progress and regress, we have become one of the foremost suppliers of high accuracy, robust and reliable sniper rifles in the world, with customers in more than 60 countries that include many of the most prestigious and influential military and law enforcement agencies on the globe. The company has achieved this by a significant investment in facilities, machinery and people and by employing Six Sigma techniques to improve manufacturing processes.
Specification may be changed without notice
The items shown on this website are subject to the United Kingdom’s export control regime, as set out in the Export Control Act 2002 and the subsequent Export Control Order of 2008 (as amended).
This legislation requires Accuracy International to obtain the written authorisation (in the form of a Department for Business and Trade export licence) of the Secretary of State for the Department for Business and Trade before these products may be exported from the UK to any destination.
Full details of the United Kingdom’s Export controls may be found on www.gov.uk.
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