Home Forums Hunting & Shooting AR and Tactical Rifles AR for hunting, need advice

Pa's regs are the issue, with a 5 shot maximum capacity & certain calibers not legal in many areas(shotgun/slug only)..the advantages of the AR are eliminated, along with not having pigs that need slaughtered the uses for hunting become limited.

I think many like hunting with AR's because there are so many elected officials that don't want any of us to own one. It's kinda like sticking our finger in their eye by hunting with one being that most of these elected officials publically state that AR's are not hunting rifles.

The other thing is that we have so many Veterans out there whose lives depended on the M4-M16 platform that it's so natural for them to carry an AR into the field, much like our elders came back from WW1 and dropped their lever actions and started hunting with bolt guns. Evolution.

Dan

It sounds like you've just never held a slim and light AR. They don't have to be bulky or heavy; that's for people who don't know any better IMO. In my experience as easy to build a 5.5-6 lb AR as a more traditional hunting rifle of the same weight.

For example, the AR pictured below delivers the same ballistics as a 35 Remington in a Marlin 336. However, this AR is shorter, slimmer, and lighter than a 336, and many bolt guns too for that matter. In my opinion it carries easier, even though a 336 or 94 carries well, and at less than 6.5 lb, it's 1-1.5 lb lighter than an iron sighted 336 or many bolt guns. Of course, this AR could be any AR caliber you want without changing the weight significantly.

YMMV of course, this is just one example of many.

A 6.8 SPC wouldn't be bad that light but I wouldn't want to shoot something like that in 450 Bushmaster. Weight is your friend with that beast.

Dan

LOL yeah even that 358 Herrett jumps around more than you'd expect for an AR, but is still easier to shoot than a heavier Marlin 336 with the same ballistics. My 30 cal version or a 6.8 or 6.5 are a lot milder.

There's always brakes though if you need them, and plenty of guys shoot heavy calibers in light bolt guns too. Just because you can have a larger caliber light 450 Bushmaster doesn't mean all ARs need to be heavy.

The caliber isn't the point though; the comment was about the size and bulkiness of the gun.

I understand the first part and have considered hunting WY antelope with mine for just that reason.

The second part I understand to a degree but no one can convince me the AR's are not bulky and less handy than a svelte bolt rifle or lever gun.

My AR is .450Bushmaster. Not to worry. Shift two pins, it will be 5.56 One rifle, a wide variety of possibilities. It is the LEGO of rifles.

Colorado has a minimum .243"/6mm caliber for big game so a 223 or 5.56 isn't viable unless I go out of state. My .300 Blackout makes the cut - but barely due to the requirements for 1,000 foot-pounds energy at 100 yards. The .308 AR I'm building would a make the cut in a walk but it will definitely be heavier and bulkier ad less handy than my bolt and lever rifles.

Just my opinion but even a light AR is bulkier and less handy than my bolt and lever guns. Let me correct that to "most of my bolt and lever guns", to exclude my long, heavy-barreled target/varmint rifles.

Not trying to knock ARs and, as I mentioned in my last post, I've been thinking about hunting WY antelope with my .223/5.56 RRA - in spite of the fact I have better options in my safe. Why do it? Because I can and because so many lawmakers would take my ARs (along with all my other firearms, for that matter) if they could.

Why hunt with an AR?

I mostly hunt coyotes but I've taken a few deer with them too. Funny thing though that I'm pretty comfortable with one yet this year I've been carrying my Kimber Montana for deer and coyotes.

I did use an AR back during labor day to kill a few coyotes just to show a guy on another forum that they do indeed work. Wound up getting banned but I knew I would so it was worth it.

As to why I use one when I do, because I can and that should be all the reason I need.

Caliber is irrelevant to the size of an AR15. Yeah an AR10 is bigger, but that wasn't the original question.

I just showed you a rifle that is slimmer, shorter, and lighter than your lever gun, but "nobody can convince you"? OK... I guess that was a waste of time, no sense explaining to someone who clings to an opinion in the face of solid evidence.

The "slimmer, shorter, and lighter"you showed isn't necessarily any of those things. My Browning B92 comes in at about 5.6 pounds and is definitely slimmer than my AR15's. Even with it's 20" barrel it can't be much different in length. My .308 Ruger Scout comes in t bout 6.25 pounds with its 16.5" barrel and, as do most of my bolt and lever guns, will match the width of an AR so closely that I'm not sure which actually measures the thinnest width at the widest part.

Width and weight, though, are only part of the story. When it comes to "handiness" I'll take a well sculpted and balanced bolt or lever any day. Often I'll carry mine with my hand wrapped around the receiver. Hard to do that with an AR even with a 5-round mag.

If you find AR rifles more comfy to carry and handle, good for you. I don't.

Then why come to this section of the 'Fire, if you don't want to learn anything, and dispute everything that anyone says?

It sounds like you just came here to bitch and show everyone how much you dislike AR's.

You are right about some of us using what we want to use.

Thank God we still still have that Freedom in America.

My 20" H-bar .223 weighs in at 9 pounds with scope. I don't especially like carrying it all day in the woods, but it's not a deal breaker. While I have plenty of more enjoyable rifles to carry, I like taking this one out occasionally. Why? For the helluvit, because I like going against public/gov't opinion, because I can, and I kinda like the spiteful little beast. Will it replace my classic favorites? Not on your life- it merely adds another dimension to the hobby.

I've been tempted to get a three-point harness that'll allow carrying it across my chest. I haven't because I don't want to look like a 64 year old tactical wannabe out in the woods. Silly, I know, but we all have our quirks.

Like i said above, I use 6.8 for almost everything.
I always run a suppressor and everywhere we hunt there are hogs. So i also carry a few magazines just incase.
Ive got several light weight bolt actions but the barrels are to thin to thread and i dont hunt or shoot much without a suppressor.
If i hunt on the farm i always take my 300WM bolt action but i still keep my 6.8 with me incase i need it. If you have never had 20+ hogs walk out on you, then you will never understand.

Last march i killed 22 out of 24 of the hogs and still had 2 rounds in my 25rd magazine. The next week i killed 18 out of 25ish hogs and burnt over 40 rounds.

Where do you pick up those 25 round magazines?

That sounds like fun! No pigs up here, good for the farmers but sad for the shooters.

rockinbar, I can't speak for nonnieselman but I have a few 25 (or 27?) rd 6.8 mags; IIRC they are D&H brand from PSA for @ $10 each on sale. I like the ACS stainless mags better though, as they allow longer OAL.

PRI 25 round $37 out of stock now. Good magazines

I take it they are only 6.8 mags?

I might be a player for a 25 rounder in .223/5.56, as the 30's are just too long to be handy.

I prefer 20 rd Pmags in 5.56 for the same reason. Have a bunch of 30's but rarely use them. The 20's protrude the about same length as the grip.

You need to check your premises. The fact that I find tool ‘A’ better suited to task ‘X’ doesn’t mean I dislike tool ‘B’ and wouldn’t find ‘B’ better suited to other tasks. The fact is I LIKE AR rifles for a variety of reasons, which is why I have two, with a third being built, and have bought ARs for my daughters.

I asked why people choose to hunt with AR type rifles because I wanted to learn and I’m certainly not disputing ‘everything that anyone says’. That said, opinions are not facts and when someone gets the facts wrong or states an opinion as fact it obfuscates the truth.

Yondering posted a pic of an AR and claimed it was ‘slimmer, shorter, and lighter’ than my levergun. Well, no. My B92 lever is slimmer than any AR I’ve seen, more than a full pound lighter than Yondering’s AR and only about 1.5” longer than an AR with a 16” barrel. My .308 Ruger Scout bolt rifle is almost 7 ounces lighter than Yondering’s AR and only an inch longer. Never mind that I was talking about ‘svelte’ bolt rifles and leverguns, not necessarily just my own. A Remington Model 7 with a 20” barrel comes in at just 3” longer and almost 3 ounces lighter. Ruger Compacts come in about half an inch shorter and almost a pound lighter. Those are facts, not opinions. That I’d rather hunt big game with any of them than an AR is an opinion. As stated earlier, if hunting pigs or varmints I might prefer an AR.

There are more factors contributing to the handiness of a rifle than slimness, weight and length. Balance and ergonomics play a big role as well and they are often more important than minor differences in the others. The ‘handiness’ of a rifle is inevitably an opinion based on considering the various factors and coming to a decision based on personal priorities. Yondering thinks ARs are handier than ‘svelte bolt rifles and leverguns’. Good for him and I hope he enjoys using ARs throughout a long and happy life. But that is his opinion, not a universal fact.

Yes, thank God we still have the freedom to choose the tools we prefer.