AR for hunting

[GONIF]

Get a $1250.00 Armalite AR10 .308 carbine from Buds , the .308 is by far the best all around caliber for hunting . You will always be able to get ammo anywhere at a fair price . A 150 grain .308 is great for deer .

[tgace]

The .223 is definitely up to it IF the hunter is. Like archery or handguns, there are shots you will not take, that someone with a "brush busting load" might take. I've let deer walk . . . cause I don't shoot at walking deer with the .223. That's the trade-off.

Ya know, thats an excellent point. Different weapons come with different limitations. Does that really mean that one weapon or caliber is necessarily "better" than another? Pistol hunting isn't really frowned upon, but hunting with .223 is?

[ccoker]

Get a $1250.00 Armalite AR10 .308 carbine from Buds , the .308 is by far the best all around caliber for hunting . You will always be able to get ammo anywhere at a fair price . A 150 grain .308 is great for deer .

I love the 308 round, but the AR10 is a much bigger/heavier gun than and AR15 and the 6.8 will do every bit as well unless you are wanting to be hunting out past 350-400 yards all the time..

If I am hunting where the shots are expected to be under 300, I usually grab my 6.8, if out stalk hunting I put on an Aimpoint T1, if hunting hogs into the night I put on a 3-9 Accupoint, or if I expect longer shots than a 100..

If I am hunting from a blind and I know that there is potential for 300+ yard shots I grab the 308 bolt

Having killed deer and hogs with both, I can assure you, they can't tell the difference!

[fastpat]

Pistol hunting isn't really frowned upon, but hunting with .223 is?

With the exception of experts, hunting deer via pistol hunting is definitely frowned upon.

A study of pistol energies compared to rifle energies reveals much.

[GONIF]

No beef with a 6.8 or 6.5 ,but unless you reload the .308 is the ticket . The AR 10 carbine is not all that heavy with a 5 round mag .Me I only hunt deer with bolt guns or lever guns . My marlin 1895 4570 is my favorite . We have large Mule deer in northern Arizona ,and the 4570 causes almost no meat damage just a fast instant kill . You should see what a 243 can do to destroy the meat . I would not hunt deer with a 223 ,but that's just me . I do not want to have to chase a wounded animal all over hell and back .At my age (59) I got lazy .

[HES]

Get a $1250.00 Armalite AR10 .308 carbine from Buds , the .308 is by far the best all around caliber for hunting . You will always be able to get ammo anywhere at a fair price . A 150 grain .308 is great for deer .

That though seriously ran through my mind, but again I am weighing that against the terrain and distances I will be shooting in Florida and maybe Georgia. If I were to head out west for hunting (probably about the same time that I won the lottery), then I would use it as an excuse to buy one

I do appreciate and understand your position, but more and more I am being convinced to go the 6.8 route for my needs

Oh and Suwannee Tim, I own a small architectural measuring / surveying firm.

[ccoker]

you will be happy with an ARP, I have had 2 of his uppers

[tgace]

I really don't mean to argue that .223 is ideal for deer (Whitetail where I live) and I personally havent killed a deer with it. Only Boar. But someone once said to me:

The 223 will kill deer. A good hunter can kill deer with the 223. A frantic careless hunter will maim a deer with a 223. The 223 is not a marginal cartridge for deer. It's a bad caliber choice for marginal shot placement. (or less than ideal angles=my addition)

If you can wait for good shots & possibly pass on a deer because conditions weren't "right" it will be a suficient choice if you just wanted to kill a deer with 223. The are better choices out there for quartering shots/bad angles when that one comes along you don't want to pass.

I'd go with a partitioned bullet no less than 60 gr personally, but I have no reason to believe that one of those in the heart/lung zone wouldn't do the job.

I may just take one someday to add to my "bagged with .223" album.

[Suwannee Tim]

Except for bean fields and other unusual applications the great majority of shots taken in the South East are are close range. Nevertheless, long shots are occasionally taken and the larger calibers are better. I have killed deer with a 44 magnum revolver, never lost one. I always made it a point to keep the range reasonable and get a good shot.

[Don Decker]

I agree with TGACE you mention hunting with a 223 or a 7.62x39 and everyone says thats to small but yet the 30 herret out of a 10 inch barrel contender was all the rage and look at all the other pistol rounds used to hunt big game with that have less power the anything in a ar. It is all about shot placement I good hit with a small bullet is alot better then hitting a animal in the a$$ with a big round.