Aia 7.62x39

[enfield303t]

Short of being able to hit a egg at a distance greater than 300 yards this will probably be the last post I do on the AIA 7.62X39.

Today at the range the gun performed better than what could be expected. Shooting the Russian surplus ammo it easily hit the clays we hung at 200 yards consistently.

I have always been interested in rifles by AIA and was concerned about a article that was written on the poor quality etc and the writer had never handled or fired any gun produced by AIA. In regard to fit, finish and build quality I think it would even pass Peter Laidlers critical eye.

After hundreds of rounds I find the rifle worked perfectly and had no mechanical problems whatsoever. Accuracy is very good and like all rifles takes a few rounds downrange to foul the barrel before it shoots to its capabilities. I consider being able to hit a 41/4 inch target at 200 yards with Russian milsurp is more than acceptable.

It is heavy, well constructed and the line by anyone that it would fail under testing is total hogwash. I like anyone on here can make any firearm fail with next to no effort. It is realitively expensive but considering the economics of scale it is NOT overpriced.

I have two friends that the AIA M10 MkIV and have shot one of these guns. The owner of that gun is a qualified millwright and he agrees the gun is well made, reliable and very accurate. I remember discussing the chances of failure and IIRC he laughed. Now this man is a shooter and a true firearms enthusiast who has rebuilt countless firearms over the years with great success. I respect his opinion and I know most on this site also respect him.


The other rifle is owned by a friend and that one I have never fired. Like the one I did fire it is in .308 and I expect it to be even more accurate as it has a very heavy barrel and I believe it is the same mini-gun barrel that was used on the B2.

I will do a report on the accuracy of that gun when I can convice the owner to spend a few days at the range.

Bottom line AIA built great guns and there are still a few in Canada. IIRC you can still purchase a M10 B1 or the M10 No4 MkIV. I don't believe they would make a good gun for any military as they are just too heavy. I do think from a fixed position they are capable of reaching out a great distance and preventing the Zombies from stealing your brain.

I have found a B2 .308 that may be offered for sale. This one according to the owner is a real tack driver and since I want it I am not going to say who owns it at this time however he is a highly respected member of this site. B2's are scarcer than rocking horse poop as only 250 + or - were built and I think it is less seeing as some 10 No4 MkIV's may have the same barrel.

[Bruce_in_Oz]

Mini-gun barrels were used on the B2. This introduced a few interesing design changes:

The breech thread is smaller in diameter than the other models. The front-sight base thread is likewise different.

The interesting thing about the mini-gun barrels is that the specs call for progressive depth rifling. The lands are supposed to be "taller" at the muzzle than at the breech. The barrels are fully crrome-lined, including the chamber. Interestingly, most of the mini-gun barrels that I have seen were made by Harrington and Richardson and the lads there got very creative with the whole "taper bore" thing. The bore is quite distinctly stepped at about 4 inch intervals. Imagine the tooling required to mass-produce a smoothly tapered hole, and then try to cut rifling grooves. By the looks of things, H & R made a barrel with very tall lands from end to end, and then reamed the bore out in steps. before chroming. Early SMLE barrels were lapped to a taper, but I would suggest that practice would be impractical even in the late 1960s.

The exterior diameter at the muzzle is quite small for what is essentially a 1000 RPM machine-gun barrel.

[newcastle]

Would love the chance to own one of these. I communicated with one guy in canada about it but the importation costs were the same as the rifle cost. Gotta love government regulations and taxes,

[enfield303t]

Bruce the No 4 MkIV does have a heavy barrel and I will check in the next day or two seeing if it is a H&R and if it is stepped. Your information should allow us to see if it is a mini-gun barrel. It has been machined to look like a regular barrel from the end of the nose cap.

I do know the retailer told my friend when he bought it there were only 10 IIRC imported into Canada. My friend did loan it to someone to try and he returned it saying it was extremelly accurate. If it proves to be as stated I will do some serious arm twisting to own it.

Have you seen any Heavy Barrelled AIA No 4's in your travels?

This is the same gun that Newcastle is refering to, it is unfortunate the import costs were so outrageous but maybe in the long run worth it.

I have done target shooting with a No 4 Lee Enfield at 900 yards and bet the AIA might be good for at least 1000 yards.

[Bruce_in_Oz]

The AIA No4 Mk4 has a 25.5" barrel that is a bit heavier in profile than the original No4. Last I heard, the rifling was 1:12" RH and similar in form to the L1A1. Very early ones had 1:10 twist.

The B2 beasties with the Mini-gun barrels were a very limited run using vintage, but new in the wrap, mini-gun barrels that had the cage bearing rings machined off and threaded for breech and front-sight. Of course, they were in 7.62 x 51 NATO.

There was also an "L42" emulator made in tiny quantities.

The "A" series was in 7.62 x 39 and the "C" series was supposed to be in 5.56 x 45 (.223Rem) but was stillborn.

[enfield303t]

Thanks Bruce, the No4 I shot appears to have a barrel like any other No4 however IIRC the other one has a extremely heavy barrel in comparison and the last couple of inches has been machined smaller to look like any regular No4.

I might end up calling the importer that sold this one to my friend and ask him what it was classified as. It to me appears to be a true variant of the No 4 MkIV and as I mentioned the retailer said he only got 10 of them. I do remember the owner relating that when he called he was told they had 10 special ones with much heavier barrels from the others he had available. He bought the "special" one thinking it might be more accurate.

I will also see if there are any different markings on the gun.

Thanks for all your information.