AR-15 hunters

[miles2253]

I’m looking to build a NON-5.56 general purpose AR15 rifle that I can also hunt deer & coyote with. I’m trying to keep barrel length as short as legally possible without completely neutering the cartridge capability. Possible shot range is 20-300 yards and I hunt tree stands and blinds. So far I’m considering 7.62x39, 6.5 Grendel, & 6mm ARC. Big bores like 450 Bushmaster aren’t an option as my daughters may use it as well. Are there any other calibers I should be looking at? What caliber and barrel length are you guys using?

 

[El Conquistador]

I have 3 grandkids using 300 blackout with 16 inch barrels. This caliber is very accurate and they have taken deer with them. The grandkids started hunting with these guns when they were small because of the light recoil, they are still using them as teenagers because they like the guns.

 

[rooster]

300 BO or 350 legend ftw.

Personally I have a 350 legend and the deer I took last year made me a huge believer. Idc what the numbers show the terminal ballistics of the 350 are hands down far and above calibers far above it’s weight class.

It was a 75 yard single lung shot that upon impact because a double lung with a slight nick to the heart. Dropped her dead in her tracks. It was the cleanest harvest I’ve ever seen outside of a 12 ga Hornady slug. Rounds are relatively inexpensive and readily available.

 

[tcecil88]

I love the .350 Legend, and highly recommend it. Ammo cost and availability are nice and you can typically buy the ammo at WalMart, unlike other AR calibers. 200 yards would be easy, but dunno about 300 yards and terminal effects, strictly because I have no experience in that matter.
I built mine with a 16" AR Stoner barrel and it shoots into about 1 1/2" @ 100 yards with Winchester Deer Season XP. I imagine a Faxon barrel would be a little more accurate, but for what I want, mine is plenty accurate. Deer and Hogs on public land were the main idea behind this rifle and I was able to hunt with it last year, but did not get a deer.
I also have a couple .300 BLK's that I could deer hunt with as well, but I just like the .350 better for hunting. The .300 BLK has proven to be effective for deer and the choice of ammo is much better than in .350, but is not available at WalMart.

 

[Cavman]

I love the .350 Legend, and highly recommend it. Ammo cost and availability are nice and you can typically buy the ammo at WalMart, unlike other AR calibers. 200 yards would be easy, but dunno about 300 yards and terminal effects, strictly because I have no experience in that matter.
I built mine with a 16" AR Stoner barrel and it shoots into about 1 1/2" @ 100 yards with Winchester Deer Season XP. I imagine a Faxon barrel would be a little more accurate, but for what I want, mine is plenty accurate. Deer and Hogs on public land were the main idea behind this rifle and I was able to hunt with it last year, but did not get a deer.
I also have a couple .300 BLK's that I could deer hunt with as well, but I just like the .350 better for hunting. The .300 BLK has proven to be effective for deer and the choice of ammo is much better than in .350, but is not available at WalMart.

This.. I hunt with a 300blk. But I built it years before 350 legend. Recoil would be less for 300blk butike he said ammo available and price and distance ya can shoot are better

 

[Rookie]

I believe @roscott has a 6.5 grendel pistol that he's used on deer and hogs.

 

[Mark-DuCo]

I will be using a 6.5 Grendel for deer this year. I have a 20" barrel with a suppressor on the end, but you don't lose much going to a 16" barrel. It is plenty good on deer and hogs out to 350 yards.

The 350 legend is a great cartridge under 200 yards, but it starts dropping pretty quick at longer ranges. I chose the Grendel for this reason, a flatter trajectory is more forgiving if you guess the range of the animal wrong.

 

[dak109]

Guess I’m the odd man out. I went to a 6.8 SPC a few years ago. Great cartridge, if you reload and can find brass. Built for shorter barrels so it gives up nothing in 16” tubes.
I set mine up with a maximum point blank range of 250 yards. Hold the crosshairs on the back for deer at 300.

 

[CheeseheadHoosier]

I hunt with an AR in 6.5 Grendel. Perfect round for medium game like deer and hogs.

 

[DadSmith]

Upto 300yds 7.62x39mm will have plenty of power and accuracy. It's also much cheaper to shoot than any other out there.
6.5 Grendel is right there too. IMO much more accurate. However the ammunition is very pricey right now.
I just built a 7.62x39mm AR because of the cost of the Grendel. It shoots good with cheap Russian 125gr SP. I'd have no problem shooting deer out to 300yds with it. Although my hunting area is lucky to get 75yd shoot since it's heavily wooded area.

 

[BigRed]

Why not an AR10 in .308 or 7.62x51?

 

[yetti462]

6.5 Grendel or 6x45.

 

[miles2253]

Why not an AR10 in .308 or 7.62x51?

I want to stay with the AR15 platform. I want a short & light weight rifle

 

[two70]

If you don't reload, the .350 is the obvious choice. Ammo is widely available and relatively inexpensive. If you reload, you have a lot of choices but IMO, the quality hunting bullet selection for the 6.8 is better than the other options. Almost all of the .277 bullets in the appropriate weight range for the 6.8 are designed for hunting. Most of the other caliber options just co-opt bullets of the appropriate weight, many of which are either target or varmint bullets not really that suitable for hunting. If you're serious about shooting to 300 yards, the 7.62x39 and .300 BO should fall to the bottom of your list and the .350 is borderline, IMO.

 

[tcecil88]

If you have alot of private land to hunt on, a bottleneck cartridge AR will work great, unless you use an AR pistol. I hunt predominately public land, so I use the .350 Legend.

 

[miles2253]

Upto 300yds 7.62x39mm will have plenty of power and accuracy. It's also much cheaper to shoot than any other out there.
6.5 Grendel is right there too. IMO much more accurate. However the ammunition is very pricey right now.
I just built a 7.62x39mm AR because of the cost of the Grendel. It shoots good with cheap Russian 125gr SP. I'd have no problem shooting deer out to 300yds with it. Although my hunting area is lucky to get 75yd shoot since it's heavily wooded area.

What length barrel do you have? Have you had any issues with light primer strikes?

 

[randyb]

I have the 6.5, 300 and 350, The .350 for Indiana woods is a heck of a good choice. Mine is exceptionally accurate as well and ammo much easier to find.

 

[DadSmith]

What length barrel do you have? Have you had any issues with light primer strikes?

Grendel has a 20" and the 7.62x39mm a 16.1"
I've not had any problems with it. Russia or brass case boxer primed ammunition.

 

[JD1966]

I’m looking to build a NON-5.56 general purpose AR15 rifle that I can also hunt deer & coyote with. I’m trying to keep barrel length as short as legally possible without completely neutering the cartridge capability. Possible shot range is 20-300 yards and I hunt tree stands and blinds. So far I’m considering 7.62x39, 6.5 Grendel, & 6mm ARC. Big bores like 450 Bushmaster aren’t an option as my daughters may use it as well. Are there any other calibers I should be looking at? What caliber and barrel length are you guys using?

I didn't think hunting with hp rifle was legal in Indiana except for nuisance critters.

 

[ditcherman]

I didn't think hunting with hp rifle was legal in Indiana except for nuisance critters.

deer-hunting-questions-and-answers

.243 and up, among a few other rules. 2017 change.