Best hunting round for an AR-15 platform?

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Taurkon

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The wife and I were discussing a new hunting rifle last night and it got me thinking about hunting with 'black rifles'. We may have a few that were not on the OIC but the FRT was changed after May 1st. These are rifles that we could quick-swap uppers depending on the use case.

So, if I were to build an upper, is there a big game round (moose or elk) that would work well out to ~ 250 - 300 yards?
 
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Why would you bother telling us that you're going to use a potentially prohibited rifle for hunting? Just leave that part out. People's willingness to incriminate themselves always confuses me...

And not really. The AR-15 platform is very limited in maximum cartridge length and bolt strength (For the bigger calibers). You'd be MUCH better served with an AR-10 size rifle for moose or elk at 300 yards.
 
Note: I haven't hunted anything yet but this is my thinking for when I do get into it.

For elk I would suggest the AR-10 size platform (e.g. MRA Maverick instead of the Renegade), in .308 Win or 6.5 Creedmoor which are more than adequate at 300 yards. If you're hell-bound for a cartridge that would work in a AR-15 style platform I'd stick to shorter ranges (inside of 250 yards) and go with .450 Bushmaster or .458 SOCOM, perhaps even 6.5 Grendel or .350 Legend at shorter distances than that.
 
Scotty454 said:
Why would you bother telling us that you're going to use a potentially prohibited rifle for hunting? Just leave that part out. People's willingness to incriminate themselves always confuses me...

And not really. The AR-15 platform is very limited in maximum cartridge length and bolt strength (For the bigger calibers). You'd be MUCH better served with an AR-10 size rifle for moose or elk at 300 yards.
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In no way have I incriminated myself and as a reminder, the FRT is NOT LAW and I am willing to test the law and pay for my legal expenses out of pocket, so let's just stay on topic thanks.
 
Taurkon said:
In no way have I incriminated myself and as a reminder, the FRT is NOT LAW and I am willing to test the law and pay for my legal expenses out of pocket, so let's just stay on topic thanks.
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Yeah that's fine guy, fill your boots. But why ####ing advertise it here, is all I'm saying. RCMP read these forums, we know this. Willing to, and WANT to, are two different things. Seems like you want to.

And I was on topic. You're trying to hunt a moose at 300 yards with a dulled down intermediate cartridge. That's hilarious. Don't.
 
Scotty454 said:
Yeah that's fine guy, fill your boots. But why ####ing advertise it here, is all I'm saying. RCMP read these forums, we know this. Willing to, and WANT to, are two different things. Seems like you want to.

And I was on topic. You're trying to hunt a moose at 300 yards with a dulled down intermediate cartridge. That's hilarious. Don't.
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Ok, then let's leave it at 'thanks for the advice' and go look up 'incriminate' AND re-read my post where in no way did I incriminate myself. I've no desire to side track this discussion any further and the only reason for background was to point out swappable uppers rather than investing in a dedicated hunting rifle.
 
Taurkon said:
Ok, then let's leave it at 'thanks for the advice' and go look up 'incriminate' AND re-read my post where in no way did I incriminate myself. I've no desire to side track this discussion any further and the only reason for background was to point out swappable uppers rather than investing in a dedicated hunting rifle.
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You realize you'll spend more on an upper and parts than a hunting rifle will cost right?
 
Taurkon said:
The 6.5 Grendel was one of the cartridges that came to mind too. Yes, a bigger gun would be preferable but my Stag-10 is currently not an option. :(
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You can certainly hunt with the stag this year, and for a month of next spring season as well..

Don’t ask me how I know.
 
Taurkon said:
Good point, but I do own a bare upper already, and have a now prohibited AR-15 I can strip for some of the parts.
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If your main goal is a moose and elk hunting rifle, I'd be looking to buy a used 3006 or 300 magnum and call it a day. You can get a used hunting rifle, complete with scope for well under $1000 - I've seen plenty of rifles with scopes for $600-700 on the EE.
 
Taurkon said:
The wife and I were discussing a new hunting rifle last night and it got me thinking about hunting with 'black rifles'. We may have a few that were not on the OIC but the FRT was changed after May 1st. These are rifles that we could quick-swap uppers depending on the use case.

So, if I were to build an upper, is there a big game round (moose or elk) that would work well out to ~ 250 - 300 yards?
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Ok so the main issue that you will come across here is that most medium power caliber (7.62x51 etc) uppers require an AR10 style lower.

BUT! there is I believe one US manufacturer that has been able to get around this. I believe InRange TV has an excellent review of this that would be worth checking as that would get you a 7.62x51/.308 Winchester upper on an AR15 lower.

7.62x51/.308 Winchester is unquestionably the best calibre for Moose & Elk because it is far more affordable to practice with, is very versatile (with many different ammo types and reloading components) and has a lower recoil than other options. It is literally true that a .300 Winchester Magnum will kill a Moose/Elk faster when shot at the same range in the same place as a .308 Winchester however the cost and brutality of shooting 300 Win Mag means you are much less likely to practice with it as much as is needed.

Now assuming that we are not able to put a new upper on an AR15 lower receiver or use an AR10, or use something registered as prohibited by FRT I would lean towards a Tavor 7

If not able to buy something like that then I would speak to Kodiak Defence & Wolverine Supplies about a 6.5 Grendel upper for their WK180C & WS-MCR rifles.

6.5 Grendel will provide you only 12.2% less energy than 6.5x55 Swedish which is well recognised as a highly effective hunting calibre for North American big game. It will fit in regular STANAG magazines, has a good BC and good penetration characteristics.

Just my two pence
 
Bratwurst said:
Ok so the main issue that you will come across here is that most medium power caliber (7.62x51 etc) uppers require an AR10 style lower.

BUT! there is I believe one US manufacturer that has been able to get around this. I believe InRange TV has an excellent review of this that would be worth checking as that would get you a 7.62x51/.308 Winchester upper on an AR15 lower.

7.62x51/.308 Winchester is unquestionably the best calibre for Moose & Elk because it is far more affordable to practice with, is very versatile (with many different ammo types and reloading components) and has a lower recoil than other options. It is literally true that a .300 Winchester Magnum will kill a Moose/Elk faster when shot at the same range in the same place as a .308 Winchester however the cost and brutality of shooting 300 Win Mag means you are much less likely to practice with it as much as is needed.

Now assuming that we are not able to put a new upper on an AR15 lower receiver or use an AR10, or use something registered as prohibited by FRT I would lean towards a Tavor 7

If not able to buy something like that then I would speak to Kodiak Defence & Wolverine Supplies about a 6.5 Grendel upper for their WK180C & WS-MCR rifles.

6.5 Grendel will provide you only 12.2% less energy than 6.5x55 Swedish which is well recognised as a highly effective hunting calibre for North American big game. It will fit in regular STANAG magazines, has a good BC and good penetration characteristics.

Just my two pence
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Brutality of shooting 300mag? Lol

Yeah, it recoils more, but most people can learn to shoot one just fine.
 
Bratwurst said:
Ok so the main issue that you will come across here is that most medium power caliber (7.62x51 etc) uppers require an AR10 style lower.

BUT! there is I believe one US manufacturer that has been able to get around this. I believe InRange TV has an excellent review of this that would be worth checking as that would get you a 7.62x51/.308 Winchester upper on an AR15 lower.

7.62x51/.308 Winchester is unquestionably the best calibre for Moose & Elk because it is far more affordable to practice with, is very versatile (with many different ammo types and reloading components) and has a lower recoil than other options. It is literally true that a .300 Winchester Magnum will kill a Moose/Elk faster when shot at the same range in the same place as a .308 Winchester however the cost and brutality of shooting 300 Win Mag means you are much less likely to practice with it as much as is needed.

Now assuming that we are not able to put a new upper on an AR15 lower receiver or use an AR10, or use something registered as prohibited by FRT I would lean towards a Tavor 7

If not able to buy something like that then I would speak to Kodiak Defence & Wolverine Supplies about a 6.5 Grendel upper for their WK180C & WS-MCR rifles.

6.5 Grendel will provide you only 12.2% less energy than 6.5x55 Swedish which is well recognised as a highly effective hunting calibre for North American big game. It will fit in regular STANAG magazines, has a good BC and good penetration characteristics.

Just my two pence
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Thanks for the informative information. The rifles I have are ATRS Modern Sporter and Sterling TSR (MS knock-off), so they would not accept the mating of 7.62x541 upper but that info will be passed along to my brother in law who resides in the US. The Tavor 7 is a rifle I've been looking at, but very difficult to come by and based on reviews, its intended use is as a battle rifle and ranged accuracy suffers after 100 yards. This is only based on a few reviews.

Which brings me to the 6.5 Grendel that I'd looked into. This seems like it may be the most powerful cartridge you can fire from a standard black rifle that has been built for the typical .225 /5.56 round and definitely is an option. As Suther mentions, it may be more cost effective to just buy a dedicated hunting rifle, but i'm more or less dismissing economics while there is a part of me that wants to demonstrate that a black rifle our feds would label 'assault style rifle' can indeed be used for not only deer, but other game as well. And to expand further, a modern sporting rifle can be light (< 7 lbs), adaptable to different people (both my wife and I), and effective for hunting (even if it is only deer).
 
Suther said:
Brutality of shooting 300mag? Lol

Yeah, it recoils more, but most people can learn to shoot one just fine.
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I can put several hundred rounds of 308 Win down range without a bruise and far more affordably. You can learn to shoot a 50 cal, that doesn't mean it is comfortable or enjoyble.

People train more when things are more affordable, comfortable and enjoyable.
 
Bratwurst said:
I can put several hundred rounds of 308 Win down range without a bruise and far more affordably. You can learn to shoot a 50 cal, that doesn't mean it is comfortable or enjoyble.

People train more when things are more affordable, comfortable and enjoyable.
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Sure. But thats the joy of owning multiple guns - you don't have to shoot the 300 mag hundreds of times to get proficient if you've got other guns to shoot.
 
Suther said:
Sure. But thats the joy of owning multiple guns - you don't have to shoot the 300 mag hundreds of times to get proficient if you've got other guns to shoot.
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Well, that's not really true. You get used to triggers and the manual of arms. Something as small as switching to a nice aftermarket trigger in my personal AR reduced my proficiency with my issued C7. Training on a different platform has very little cross over once you get beyond the some training is better than none learning curve.
 
30 AR is probably the best possible option, but sourcing a bolt and barrel extension is unfun.

6.8 spc is the best factory ammo available option after the 30 AR.

There are a variety of wildcats in the 6mm and up size that are viable if you will handload a wildcat.

6.5 grendel is good too.

450bm/458 socom/50 Beowulf are shorter range possibilities.

Also depends on your risk tolerance for having magazines which may also get extra attention, particularly with the 458 socom and 50 beo.
 
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