Hunting AR Upper question

[xdmdude]

I have seen a few 50 BMG uppers that would fit an ar lower and we'll definitely take care of bambi. Otherwise I have beenlooking into an upper for the same purpose and have narrowed it down to 6.8 or 300 blackout. 6.8 for performance and 300 for convenience. Hell maybe I'll get both. Good luck.

 

[Robert1955]

I have seen a few 50 BMG uppers that would fit an ar lower

Yummmmmmm a bolt action 50BMG AR might kick a little - hehe

 

[thai]

The 6.8 and 6.5 are almost identical. With the 6.5 Grendel having a better ballistic coeff but few commercial load so hand loading is a must and will give you more options, while the 6.8 Spc is getting more popular and there are more commercial loads for it.

Regarding the mention of head shot by Speed, I would suggest using soft points (also the law) and aim for heart and lungs. 223/5.56 should still give you an inch or more exit wound and that will leave plenty of blood to follow. My broadheads have a cutting diameter of only .75" and the blood trail is excellent. The rifle will do all sorts of damage especially if you hit a rib. I believe there is even a Nosler partition commercial load for it.

For hunting I think the most important factor is the bullet. Make sure you use bonded hunting bullets or Nosler partitions. They will most always exit unless you hit a shoulder going in and a shoulder going out. Maryland only rule regarding caliber is that the projectile is a soft point and it does at least 700ft/lbs energy. So for deer a 5.56 is fine. For wild hogs I would limit my calibers to at least 6mm or better and premium bullets. Preferably a 6.5!

 

[stu929]

1200ft/lb minimum for rifle 700 may be for a pistol.

 

[Klunatic]

Did you take photos of entry/exit? Recover the bullet? What kind of speeds are you getting with the 130gr with lil gun? 16" barrel?

I wasn't able to receiver the bullet as it exited and kept on going. I didn't take a picture at the time but I believe I have the ribs still in the freezer. If I do I will take a pic and post.

I am getting around 2,200 ft/sec.

 

[fidelity]

1200ft/lb minimum for rifle 700 may be for a pistol.

Yes, absolutely correct. 700 ft/lbs energy is the pistol minimum for deer in MD, with at least a 6-inch barrel, and 1200 ft/lbs for a rifle cartridge, which is the upper end of commercially available 223/5.56 rounds out of a 16-inch barrel.

6.8SPC does seem like a great AR hunting option given bullet size, energy, effective range, etc, and the fact that one can get upper kits for it from PSA is just icing.

 

[Robert1955]

6.8SPC does seem like a great AR hunting option given bullet size, energy, effective range, etc, and the fact that one can get upper kits for it from PSA is just icing.

Ding, Ding. Yes that is what made it my original hunting choice. Will the normal AR triggers work or do I need something different?

 

[stu929]

For a 6.8 you need upper bolt and mags thats it. Everything else is the same.

 

[jimbobborg]

I'd get the 6.8 upper from Bison Armory over PSA, but I may be biased.

 

[Klunatic]

Did you take photos of entry/exit? Recover the bullet? What kind of speeds are you getting with the 130gr with lil gun? 16" barrel?

Found them, sort of! Here are pic's of the entrance wound. The round went through about 2" of hide and fat before it hit the upper neck. It looks like it was fully expanded at this point and punched a thumb sized hole through the rib cage just below the spine. It continued down through the hog and exited through the lower rib cage where it made a 4" hole. I don't have the other rib cage, one of the other guys on the trip took those home.

Entrance wound in neck:
Inside Rib Cage:


Here are pics of some of the hogs we shot, mine is the smaller of the two. The larger hog is pushing 250 lbs. The big guy standing alone in the middle is 6'3" and pushing 380 lbs.

 

[MDcompetition]

Unlike all of the other ammo listed, the 7.62 x 39 was developed for an entirely different weapon. What you stated about the "light primer strikes' is not an AR problem, it is a problem with the ammunition itself being used in platform that it was not designed for.

 

[BenL]

Found them, sort of! Here are pic's of the entrance wound. The round went through about 2" of hide and fat before it hit the upper neck. It looks like it was fully expanded at this point and punched a thumb sized hole through the rib cage just below the spine. It continued down through the hog and exited through the lower rib cage where it made a 4" hole. I don't have the other rib cage, one of the other guys on the trip took those home.

Entrance wound in neck: View attachment 109275
Inside Rib Cage: View attachment 109276
View attachment 109279

Here are pics of some of the hogs we shot, mine is the smaller of the two. The larger hog is pushing 250 lbs. The big guy standing alone in the middle is 6'3" and pushing 380 lbs.
View attachment 109278
View attachment 109277

That's good to know. Thanks for posting.

 

[azmp1]

I got me an lr308 last year specifically for hunting whitetail, been hunting with my Remington 700 until now and always thought that .308 rem is the best round for deer. In any case lr308 did fine dropped two deer on our hunting trip to western md, but I will say this, lr308/ar10 is one big heavy rifle.
Now buddy of mine hunts whitetail with a regular .223 ar15, drops deer with it all the time, but IMO is a bit too small of a round, you definitely need a nice clean shot, but his ar15 is about twice lighter than my lr308, definitely made me a bit envious while hiking through snow for several miles lol.
So I'm planning to build me a 7.62x39 ar15 and use that for hunting, I think this round is just fine for a whitetail. I hunted red deer (which is similar in size to elk) back in Ukraine with both ak and saiga and they did just fine.
The reliability question is there so if that build turn out to be unreliable then I will do either 300bo or 6.8. But I just love the fact that I can shoot both an ar and my ak's and sks's with the same very inexpensive round.
The bottom line, I would recommend ar15 for hunting to anyone with a good round of choice (larger then .223), you just cant beat the lightness of that rifle.


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[azmp1]

Unlike all of the other ammo listed, the 7.62 x 39 was developed for an entirely different weapon. What you stated about the "light primer strikes' is not an AR problem, it is a problem with the ammunition itself being used in platform that it was not designed for.

I completely agree, neither it was made for that platform nor in mind for any four legged animal, but it still does the job just fine


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[Forest]

... and light primer strikes on surplus ammunition. My son had to switch up ammunition when he first bought 7.62x39 AR. It was ammunition sensitive.

That's an easy fix to either the firing pin or the bolt - you're choice. That, or get a better brand of 7.62x39 bolt.

 

[Forest]

Ding, Ding. Yes that is what made it my original hunting choice. Will the normal AR triggers work or do I need something different?

Standard triggers work just fine.

 

[Forest]

Unlike all of the other ammo listed, the 7.62 x 39 was developed for an entirely different weapon. What you stated about the "light primer strikes' is not an AR problem, it is a problem with the ammunition itself being used in platform that it was not designed for.

No it's a problem of some companies not doing the engineering when they put out a 7.62x39 upper and just machined out the face on a 5.56 bolt instead of putting the effort in and discovering that 7.62x39 weapons have more firing pin protrusion than 5.56 weapons.

It's an easy thing to fix, but some companies want to go the half-ass route.

 

[BenL]

No it's a problem of some companies not doing the engineering when they put out a 7.62x39 upper and just machined out the face on a 5.56 bolt instead of putting the effort in and discovering that 7.62x39 weapons have more firing pin protrusion than 5.56 weapons.

It's an easy thing to fix, but some companies want to go the half-ass route.

The shape of the round can be problematic, as well. The 7.62x39 magazine requires more curve than typical AR calibers, and can cause feeding issues when they try to "straighten" the mag.

 

[armed ferret]

Unlike all of the other ammo listed, the 7.62 x 39 was developed for an entirely different weapon. What you stated about the "light primer strikes' is not an AR problem, it is a problem with the ammunition itself being used in platform that it was not designed for.

Then why are there bolt-action rifles that have no problem firing 7.62x39, if it's "not designed" for them?

Maybe think about what you're posting before you start typing. Unless you enjoy being entertaining for us.

 

[Overboost44]

I use nothing but PRI mags as they were recommended to me by SSA while customing the upper I got and building the lower.

Photoracer, who is SSA? I know you are a better shot than I, but I trust your judgement. What barrel do you have? I have a billet lower that will become a 6.8, and I have been researching the upper and barrel.