I already have two ARs for hunting, one in 6.5 Grendel and the other in 5.56mm. I also have two ARs that are bedside rifles in 5.56mm. All have either Jard or Geiselle triggers, and they need no trigger work. But still...a while back those LaRue MBT triggers were available at a very good price and even though I didn't need them, I bought two. They were just too good to pass up!

I should have known what would happen and I guess I have to own up to it...I don't need two more ARs but I went ahead and acquired a couple of Aero Precision stripped lowers and I have committed myself to another pair of builds. I guess this is the best time to be acquiring ARs since they've never been cheaper, and in today's political climate anything could happen in the market.

Anywho, I am trying to decide what to build before I get much further. I have no interest in the .300 Whisper/Blackout, and I don't want to do .224 Valkyrie. I thought about the .450 & .500 Beowulf and the .458 SOCOM, but I'm not sure I want an AR that recoils like a .45-70 (even though I AM kinda intrigued with the .458). I liked the idea of the .25-45 Sharps when it first appeared, but it seems to have DISappeared. Same with the .30 AR. I'm lacking inspiration and can't decide what to do.

One thing that crosses my mind is to duplicate the hunting ARs, as in building another each of the Grendel and the 5.56mm. At present I have four optics for my hunting ARs: 2 each VX-3 3.5-10x, 1 each photon XT 4.6x and 1 each Pulsar Trail XQ30. Currently I have decent QD mounts on all four of these optics to use on the two rifles. If I was to build another 5.56mm and another 6.5 Grendel, then each of the four optics might or would find a permanent home and I would dedicate one pair of rifles to night hunting and two to daytime hunting (hogs, for the most part).

So, I'd like thoughts on two main questions:

1. If I was to build another 5.56mm and Grendel which would be better suited to night hunting, the pair of 5.56mms or the pair of 6.5 Grendels? And why do you think so? I seem to have no opinion of my own on this.

2. What other cartridges might I consider? I'm open to 7.62x39 and any other practical cartridge (but I am not inclined to go with the Blackout or Valkyrie---the BO strikes me as too anemic and the Valkyrie is just a faster .22 which seems unnecessary to me). Brass availability is a definite concern and I don't want to spend $200 on a set of custom dies.

So, help me out here. Maybe I'm overlooking a fantastic and obvious choice that just hasn't occurred to me.

Don't be the darkness.

America will perish while those who should be standing guard are satisfying their lusts.