Home Forums Hunting & Shooting AR and Tactical Rifles Which AR15 caliber should I choose for deer hunting?

I would guess that it's a question of demand. The wast majority of AR-15s sold are .223/5.56 1:9 16 inch CM barrels. It's a lot cheaper to feed at AR with .223 than with WSSM anything.

For those that use ARs in competition, they will not even look at WSSM. So that would only leave the AR-15 hunters.

There are dozens of AR chambered rounds that the major manufacturers don't offer. The WSSM's require a modified bolt and modified magazine and are single stack. As said above that limits them to hunters for the most part as the AR's main sales are with the tactical rounds where mags are plentiful, ammo cheap and parts interchangeable.

Hardly anyone offers the 7.62x39. The major manufacturers stick with the .223/5.56 and 6.8spc. Only a few even venture out to the Grendel and RRA and BM are about the only major manufacturers offering one of the big bores.

I'm sure if Winchester ever built one they'd offer it in wssm....

Well, since Winchester belongs to FN and FN builds the M16 and the M4... Boy does it get confusing these days.

FN doesn't build the M4, Colt has the sole contract for that one.

Unless I missed something along the way...

You are very right, my bad. Age and mileage do that to you.

There are a surprising number of bullets to chose from in 50 cal, owing possibly to the 500 Smith. Barnes makes three, Sierra a couple, Hornady at least two, Speer two or three, and then there are the specialty, copper clads, and hard cast.

Not knowing but I would guess that many or at least some of the bullets available for the 458 Socom would have to be passed over due to inadequate case capacity for any meaningful performance once seated to depth.

I've been told by Mike Milli, owner of Dtech, that the WSSM's are prefectly safe in the AR platform. Any dialing down of loads are to effect proper gas operation and not for safe pressure concerns. Even then, most loads shot in my WSSM are at or near the top of load recommendations. Factory loads in my 243 WSSM have not been an issue in the least and are accurate to very accurate, with no telltale indications of pressure on the brass. I would have to compare the bolts in my guns side by side to say for certain, but it seems to me the bolt out of my WSSM is beefier than a .223 bolt.

More and much better information would be easily obtained by contacting Mike Milli at Dtech. He is the expert on all things WSSM pertaining to the AR.

Mike Milli can make you pretty much anything WSSM...

And he does great work...

anything dealing with proper gas function, is a function of port size. Size it correctly for its use, and you won't be fiddling with reducing loads... or use an adj gas tube or weight system for what I call bandaids..

a 351 Winchester would be nice.

AR15, as well as M16 rounds are designed to kill and injure HUMANS, NOT WILD ANIMALS; do yourself and the game you hunt a favor, and go get another gun to kill game with; I have had discussions in many forums about people buying military/defense WEAPONS (GET it?) WEAPONS, to go hunt with, and it's all crap;
BUT, ammo manufacturers make the legal rounds, so where do you stop it, and why;

The reason for making a round (case,powder,bullet), is to be able to HUMANELY kill game; this caliber sucks at it;

Actually, Jeff, reducing loads, except for a grain or so is not what I meant. Mike never mentioned or indicated any need for reduced loads but rather suggested powders with a pressure curve that ran the gas system better than others. A WSSM runs about 20 grains more powder than a 223. That may add an issue too.

You don't reload, huh?

It may be ok for game up to varmints, but is not ok for killing deer or anything bigger; Many of you might think I am wrong, but you go do some serious research, and you will find that the .223
is very marginal on deer; And that means that they get shot up, and run away; I personally have killed humans with this round;
I am an avid hunter; I have always been a protestor of this round for game; It just doesn't have enough stopping power for larger animals ( a 100 lb. whitetail has more than quadruple the strength of a human); These rounds were developed to shoot people; enough said

yes, RICKYD, I reload; I reload 22-250, 270 win, and 7MM mag;I dont even shoot .223 at anything

Yep. I think you're wrong. How "serious" was your research?

our research on deer in 223 is showing that its a superb round. One can't count how many thousands of deer die DRT on the spot with that round each year.

One would be foolish to say its not a deer round. In fact stupid with the right projectiles, distances and shot placement its an easy 200 yard round.

Friend of ours took a 173BC buck with hers this year and regularly sends photos of hogs of 200 and up with her 223. Of course she shot with us in competition with her AR15 for years but now uses a Rem 700....

As far as your research if you don't shoot the 223 at anything, you have no business trying to post what it can or can't do. You can guess what it might do but thats about it....


Ricky, yeah I missed the burn rate, but even with 20 grains more powder, its like the AR10... the gas port has to be sized correctly. Its a direct system so it can't meter....Powder burn rate is always an issue, even with a 223....

that sounds like something that would come from an arkansan...
what exactly is "an M16 round"?
the M16/ AR is a platform. a weapons system.
thats like saying a remington 700 round.
The AR-15 platform has been chambered in everything from 22lr to 50 beowulf.
All readers please note that it is standard practice in the great state of AR to shoot deer from under corn feeders while sitting inside your pickup ( all the while lisnin' to da hawgs play) with nothing less than a 300 Ultamag that is perfectly zero'd from all of 25 yards.
mike, you cant gut shoot one with big enough bullet to equal a well placed and well constructed .224.

Actually, and its an aside and I dont' believe in it, but I've seen it too many times with my own eyes, you can hit em in the guts with enough.

An old gentleman here shot all his deer with a 220 swift and one of the light expanding bullets loaded hot, lets just say 4000 fps plus for sure. Shot every one of his deer in the flanks broadside and never had to trail a one.. DRT every last one of them. That HAD to be shock value.
I dont' condone and never did condone that because I thought of suffering, but lets just say his DRT deer moved less than some of my head shot DRT deer did... VERY dead. Right now.

But an aside.... and I'm not averse to a corn feeder or vehicle, heck most of my deer are meat anyway, who cares how they are shot if legal.... we've shot em off the front porch in rocking chairs...

But the right 224 bullet in the right place does wonders... probably wouldn't want to try a cape buff or such with one...

You have probably all heard the story about Roy Weatherby and a cohort who went to Africa with a 257 Wby, right after it came out, and gut shot about every variety of plainsgame they could find. Everyone of the animals died quickly. I don't remember how many were DRT, but it was a bunch. They actually used that as a selling point in soem ads and I remember seeing them, though it is hardly a defensible practice......unless you're using a 257 WBY, I guess.

That said, the last time I was down to Texas pig hunting I shot a nice little boar of about 150 lbs a bit too far back with my 460 Smith. It was on the trot through a bunch of trees, but the 260 Partition put him right down and he wasn't getting up. I did a finishing head shot when I saw he hadn't expired after I walked the 110 yards to him.

Gut shots don't always result in lost game and I believe the weapon and ammo used is the reason.