Best caliber for hunting that works with AR platform

[Hunter007]

 

Been thinking of getting a AR but in something with more power  then 223 for hunting 

Noticed they make  many different barrels/ calibers   that work with the AR platform . Besides .223 

Do they work good  .

Which one of them would be best for big game hunting 

458 Socom ? 

anybody here mess around with the different barrels / calibers  you can use with them .

Do  they work right . Does accuracy or reliability suffer ? 

[Jdubs]

Which game, deer?  I had a rifle set up in 6.8 SPC II before stoopid un-SAFE Act was passed.  That round will drop deer and hogs no problem.  Recoil was barely more noticable than a 5.56mm.

[Jeremy K]

Hard to not go with the .308

[Hunter007]

12 minutes ago, Jdubs said:

Which game, deer?  I had a rifle set up in 6.8 SPC II before stoopid un-SAFE Act was passed.  That round will drop deer and hogs no problem.  Recoil was barely more noticable than a 5.56mm.

Yea, deer  

That is another thing if I play around with that trying to figure  out what is safe act  legal I guess  i need a fixed mag lower first ? 

 

[Uncle Nicky]

.308, or 7.62 if you get an AK.

[Jdubs]

17 minutes ago, Storm914 said:

Yea, deer  

That is another thing if I play around with that trying to figure  out what is safe act  legal I guess  i need a fixed mag lower first ? 

 

If you're starting from scratch, then you could easily go featureless using a Thornsden stock and capped barrel. 

[turkeyfeathers]

Big woods means big walking. An AR isn’t the lightest gun in the world. My .02  that is if you intend to hunt big woods 

Edited May 21, 2018 by turkeyfeathers

[DDT]

6.5 Grendel.= Bang, Flop Easy to 250/300 yds. Hold dead on.

50 Beowulf =BANG FLOP

150 Yds hold dead on.

[helmut in the bush]

I've heard the 6.5 Grendel is a good round also

[grampy]

In an AR platform for deer, hard to beat 308, for all around performance. And easy to find ammo, with a bunch of choices for bullet weight.

[Jeremy K]

I would highly recommend trying out that thordson stock ,I absolutely hated it . 

[WNYBuckHunter]

Just go with the AR Mag-loc and keep the pistol grip and any other features youd want.

Caliber wise, if you go 308, 7mm-08, 260 Rem, you are building an AR10. Not that that is a bad thing, but components will run you a little more.

If you want to stick with an AR15, 6.8 SPC, 6.5 Grendel, 458 SOCOM, 50 Beowulf or 450 Bushmaster would all fit the bill.

[dbHunterNY]

11 minutes ago, WNYBuckHunter said:

Just go with the AR Mag-loc and keep the pistol grip and any other features youd want.

Caliber wise, if you go 308, 7mm-08, 260 Rem, you are building an AR10. Not that that is a bad thing, but components will run you a little more.

If you want to stick with an AR15, 6.8 SPC, 6.5 Grendel, 458 SOCOM, 50 Beowulf or 450 Bushmaster would all fit the bill.

what do you use for a mag with the 458? not just a 10 rd 5.56 with a few 458 rounds in it?

[WNYBuckHunter]

3 minutes ago, dbHunterNY said:

what do you use for a mag with the 458? not just a 10 rd 5.56 with a few 458 rounds in it?

Yep, you can only fit half the number of rounds in it

[dbHunterNY]

3 minutes ago, WNYBuckHunter said:

Yep, you can only fit half the number of rounds in it

if you got one labeled 458 socom with an actual 458 socom follower do you think that'd fly or be considered a high cap 5.56 mag? never thought much of it until toying with the idea of getting an ar

[WNYBuckHunter]

3 minutes ago, dbHunterNY said:

if you got one labeled 458 socom with an actual 458 socom follower do you think that'd fly or be considered a high cap 5.56 mag? never thought much of it until toying with the idea of getting an ar

Im not really sure honestly. Would be a good question to email the NYSP or your local DA about.

[dbHunterNY]

1 hour ago, WNYBuckHunter said:

Im not really sure honestly. Would be a good question to email the NYSP or your local DA about.

i doubt i'd get anything from the NYSP call-in contacts worth a damn.  i would ask LEO friends of mine including a trooper. i could ask the DA but he's got enough crap to deal with right now, all because our Governor and Schneiderman the sex crazed women beater were fishing for him.  i'm not in any hurry to get one, though i probably should be.

[Marion]

i doubt i'd get anything from the NYSP call-in contacts worth a damn.  i would ask LEO friends of mine including a trooper. i could ask the DA but he's got enough crap to deal with right now, all because our Governor and Schneiderman the sex crazed women beater were fishing for him.  i'm not in any hurry to get one, though i probably should be.

Keep us posted what you learn. I'd love to get actual 10 rounders for my .458

You Can't Beat My Meat!!!

[Jdubs]

No one with a 300 Blackout?

[stubborn1VT]

My buddy built an AR in 300 Blackout for his son.  He likes it well enough, but it's a glorified 30-30 as far as I can tell.  Not a long range caliber IMO.  

[G-Man]

308 would be the one to get. 

[G-Man]

6 minutes ago, stubborn1VT said:

My buddy built an AR in 300 Blackout for his son.  He likes it well enough, but it's a glorified 30-30 as far as I can tell.  Not a long range caliber IMO.  

How far do you need to shoot..200 yards is far enough. The gun will out perform the shooter 99% of the time. 30-30 has killed more deer than can be counted..

[stubborn1VT]

37 minutes ago, G-Man said:

How far do you need to shoot..200 yards is far enough. The gun will out perform the shooter 99% of the time. 30-30 has killed more deer than can be counted..

Touchy?  If I want a 30-30, I will buy a 30-30.  400 yards is enough for me.  You do know that numbers go up really high, so the deer killed with a 30-30 can be counted, right? The OP asked for the best caliber for the AR platform.  The Blackout isn't it.  If you want to limit yourself to 200 yards that's fine, but I think I'll shoot as far as I damn well please.  

[Pygmy]

59 minutes ago, G-Man said:

How far do you need to shoot..200 yards is far enough. The gun will out perform the shooter 99% of the time. 30-30 has killed more deer than can be counted..

You have made it clear previously that you consider  people who shoot at long ranges "shooters"  rather than "hunters"...

I have no problem that being your opinion...Of course, you know what they say about OPINIONS..Hehehe..

I will accept being a shooter rather than a hunter in your OPINION...

The area that many of the deer that I hunt  appear in my murder plot is 225 yards from my stand...I can shoot up to 330 yards from that stand..  When I was hunting in Pa, I hunted a spot that often offered shots at 300-400 yards...I killed a few deer at those ranges and thought that it was pretty cool, and I have shot my share  at close range in the woods over the last  50 + years...

Now with the hunting I have done out  west, in Alaska, and in northern Canada, often 200 yards is no where near far enough...

 

[Lawdwaz]

11 hours ago, Storm914 said:

 

Been thinking of getting a AR but in something with more power  then 223 for hunting 

Noticed they make  many different barrels/ calibers   that work with the AR platform . Besides .223 

Do they work good  .

Which one of them would be best for big game hunting 

458 Socom ? 

anybody here mess around with the different barrels / calibers  you can use with them .

Do  they work right . Does accuracy or reliability suffer ? 

Are those your words in bold or is that copy/paste from another site?

Edited May 22, 2018 by Lawdwaz