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Looking for an AR rifle for deer hunting under 90-100 yards. AR-15 is my choice but I'm not sure about which is right rifle and which would be perfect calibre scope for perfect magnification. So can I have some suggestions with lists of right firearms with scopes my budget is $2500.
Make sure there are no caliber restrictions in your State.
Like Sancho said, pay attention to caliber and magazine restrictions in your state. Also, how big are your typical deer? Many places in the South rarely see deer over 150 lbs, while some midwest states have Whitetails that bust 250-300 lbs at times.
I have a friend who lives in MT, and he bought a complete BCM lower receiver and upgraded the trigger to a Geissele SSA. He has three different upper receivers, a 5.56 caliber for varmint and predator hunting, a 6.X (actually, I'm not sure which specific 6.5 or 6.8 after thinking about it) he uses for when he hunts Eastern MT and plains for antelope and mule deer, and a .458 SOCOM when he hears into the timber for elk. The 6.5 would be fine for elk, but he feels better with the .458 due a fair population of grizzlies where he hunts.
I think he runs a Vortex Viper 1-4 on the .458, not sure what on the others, but he has a dedicated scope mounted on each upper receiver, and he claims they hold zero pretty reliably. I think he runs Burris PEPR mounts IIRC.
Some good advice here already. Sounds like you’re looking for a complete build. I agree your location is really important in determining what restrictions you have but I daresay equally important in making sure that you can make clean ethical kills at the range you are shooting from.
- what is the terrain like? Clear cut or wooded? Brush or hilly?
- what does the average deer dress out at?
Have you hunted with .223 before? I have long before I owned an AR, but it was never my first choice for deer hunting. In East Texas our deer had better foraging and plus the terrain is often heavily wooded. A 223/5.56 was not optimal in that type of terrain and our deer were more healthy, which required a heavier round for clean kills plus shots that wouldn’t be so easily deflected. However if you are located near me in Central Texas where we grow midget deer, 5.56 may be sufficient. Personally I’d rather err on the side of bigger is better, so I would recommend bumping up in caliber. You can buy a good .308 for less than $2K (or have someone build you one) and you’d have a much bigger chance of dropping with one clean shot than you would with 5.56. .308 is a very common round and there are ammo manufacturers that produce .308 ammo for .60-.75/round that is plenty accurate at the distance you mentioned.
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Have you considered the 6.8 Spc?