IS IT POSSIBLE TO HUNT BIG GAMES USING AN AR 15?

[Sid Post]

Why is it unethical to shoot a deer with a 5.56?

A lot of people can't put the bullet where it needs to go reliably.

[jsbhike]

Glad you have the same results. Most people automatically think you are shooting deer at 400 yards. I stick with 100 yards or less and almost all the ones i shot are well under 35 yards. Hard to get a long shot in thick woods.

Same here in wooded areas. I can say with laser range finder verification that an unobstructed/safe/ethical shot in woods to 75 yards is extremely rare with half that distance(or less) being the norm.

Even hunting the edge of fields with line of sight to a bit over 200 yards, all but my last 2(135 yards/.223 Barnes 62gr TSX & 173 yards/Hornady .308 150gr btsp) have been under 50 yards.

[jsbhike]

A lot of people can't put the bullet where it needs to go reliably.

I sort of stick to that while also realizing enough oomph at a given range to expand and exit really is enough and exceeding that threshold doesn't bring a lot to the table in terms of not getting a good hit.

While I realize it isn't 1:1 shooting a live deer, I have shot a busted up deer shoulder with 55gr ball and got to see the fragmentation plus penetration exhibited in gel testing. I really think a heart/lung hit with M193 ball at 75 yards with a 16"(more or less range depending on barrel length) would be an ethical(albeit illegal in most places) shot and any .223 bullet that doesn't perform like/isn't constructed like a stereotypical varmint bullet just increases the effect on deer.

[Sid Post]

I sort of stick to that while also realizing enough oomph at a given range to expand and exit really is enough and exceeding that threshold doesn't bring a lot to the table in terms of not getting a good hit.

While I realize it isn't 1:1 shooting a live deer, I have shot a busted up deer shoulder with 55gr ball and got to see the fragmentation plus penetration exhibited in gel testing. I really think a heart/lung hit with M193 ball at 75 yards with a 16"(more or less range depending on barrel length) would be an ethical(albeit illegal in most places) shot and any .223 bullet that doesn't perform like/isn't constructed like a stereotypical varmint bullet just increases the effect on deer.

Relying on M193 fragmentation to kill a deer ethically isn't a good thing. Will they die, probably. Will they die quickly, probably not. Can they kill, certainly!

With modern bullet options ethically killing cleanly, why anyone would hunt deer today with M193 is a real mystery. Sure Winchester White Box is cheap but, NATO spec pressure 5.56 with modern bullet technology are a WHOLE LOT BETTER.

And yes, 100% energy transfer with a lesser caliber might be better than 50% transfer with a faster larger caliber. What this overlooks is the SHOCK WAVE from compression as the bullet passes through. It will also leave a blood trail if it isn't a BANG FLOP shot.

[robbins290]

Why would anyone use M193 for deer? you are asking for poor results.

[jsbhike]

I intended More emphasis/focus on limited distance for M193 working.

Definitely didn't mean to give the impression I thought it preferable in general or would work out to several hundred yards, but I do think it would work within shorter ranges typically encountered while hunting. That goes with simultaneously recognizing certain distances where it might work, but might not(where the ethical part would be lost), then beyond that range where it wouldn't do much of anything towards quickly killing the deer. Once again, not saying it is a first choice by any means, but in a pinch(which is a circumstance that probably would over ride fair chase notions anyway) and under certain conditions/distances I think it would work.

Similar goes for buckshot which is verboten in my state, but (from things I have picked up online) some locales allow it for deer or even mandate it as the only load for deer. Definitely wouldn't be my first pick, but inside a given distance(determined by a particular shotgun's pattern) I have No doubt it would put a deer on the ground fast. Outside that distance it goes from iffy(and not ethical) to increasing range proving to be being totally useless for a clean kill.

[Red the Monkey]

A 223 is gods plenty for deer, caribou and black bear. You might be stretching it a little bit on elk, brown bear, and moose.
If you use a high-quality bullet such as sierra 69gr TMK. You will be just fine.

[1168]

A 223 is gods plenty for deer, caribou and black bear. You might be stretching it a little bit on elk, brown bear, and moose.
If you use a high-quality bullet such as sierra 69gr TMK. You will be just fine.

69TMK?

[ST911]

A 223 is gods plenty for deer, caribou and black bear. You might be stretching it a little bit on elk, brown bear, and moose.
If you use a high-quality bullet such as sierra 69gr TMK. You will be just fine.

This is poor advice and should be disregarded.

[WillBrink]

Mostly big game hunters prefer center fires like Ruger American Rifle, Winchester renegade etc. Why AR 15 is not in big game hunting lists. Is there any ideas like how to build a gun to make it for big game hunting?

A bullet is a bullet, so the Q should be is bullet X that The AR platform can be found in X caliber good for big game. By big game, are we talking elephants here? Many hunt with ARs chambered in .308 which can handle just about anything CONUS but for a few animals far as I know. I'd assume there's few ARs chambered in bullets for legit big game like what's found in Africa, but not my lane really.