AR15 for training and hunting

[Frank Dux]

Hello,

New member here and glad I found this place. Lots and of great info and has really opened my eyes to some myths I used to buy into.

I’ve always wanted to use my AR for hunting but have never felt comfortable with it due to belief that it wasn’t an ethical round for medium game at more than 100yds. Reason I want to use it is that I’d prefer to train with one rifle for most uses and my typical hunting ranges are under 200yds.

Fast forward to current and I’m reading about how good the 77gr TMK is on medium game. I’m still curious about the effective range? Will be using the 77 TMK and/or 73 ELD-M.

 

[Bubblehide]

Read the thread "223 for bear, deer, elk and moose "

 

[redneckbmxer24]

There’s a lot of loads that will work fine for big game to 200 yards. 77TMK is one. Federal Fusion, and the LE 55gr SGK and SP loads, Speer gold dot, Barnes TSX and TTSX. Can’t go wrong with any of them. Between your two choices I would take the TMK, I’ve had too many issues with Hornady bullets to trust them anymore.

I’m a big fan of the Federal LE 55gr SGK load. I’d limit shots on deer sized game to 300 yards with it though.

 

[Frank Dux]

Hey no fair, that’s 163 pages! That post was one I read some of and got me interested. Read a lot of the match bullets for hunting post too. If I remember correctly I think someone said up to 300yds, which would be perfect, but just wanting to clarify.

 

[jaredg]

I believe somewhere in that post that Form stated that if he was tasked with eliminating a population of grizzlies he would use an AR with 77TMKs. That should give you an idea of whether or not you can hunt with an AR.

Not a direct quote, just a summary. If I quoted the wrong person or got it out of context, let me know. Should easily be good to 2-300 yds with 16" and 77TMK

 

[NCoutdoorsman90]

If you want a AR style rifle, then why don’t you bump up to the AR10 in 308?

 

[SloppyJ]

Bump to the AR10 and go with 6.5 or .308... problem solved.

 

[Desk Jockey]

Welcome. A lot depends on what you are hunting. For coyote or groundhog the 223 is plenty. Deer at 200-300 yards, it can work with the right bullet and a clean shot. Beyond that it is marginal IMO. Some of the more hard hitting AR calibers probably help a bit, 300 BLK, 450, but those get expensive to shoot often and their ballistics have their own limits. keep in mind that hunting semi autos isn’t legal everywhere and you may need a limited 3 or 5 round magazine.

As others have said, stepping up to an AR10 in 308 or something solves nearly all those issues and still retains a lot of the ARs charms.

At the end of the day it is a compromise of sorts. A 223 is never going to be as effective as most popular deer cartridges and it gets really marginal on anything bigger than deer. You are also going to end up with a scope on your AR that may be less well suited for other types of shooting.

 

[Frank Dux]

Thought about getting Ruger SFAR since it’s an AR15 sized 308, but then ammo’s expensive again and I’m having to swap optics from gun to gun and re-zeroing.

I have a 6.5 and 308 bolt gun for longer range stuff.

Think ing about a mid powered optic with offset red dot on this build. Maybe an Accupoint or Credo 3-9 or 2.5-10 or 2.5-15.

 

[GunsAreFun]

Slap on a 6.5 Grendel upper and your good for deer, ethically, out to 300 at least as far as the round is concerned. The rifle, scope, and shooter abilities are the limiting factor at that distance.

If you can spend a bit more (have to buy a new lower) and are ok with a couple extra pounds, AR-10/LR-308s are pretty reasonable today in Creedmoor and 308.

 

[PredatorSlayer]

New Ruger SFAR looks tough to beat right now.

 

[Veloci_Wrench]

You should read the famous .223 thread, and so should everyone else who hasn’t. Go read that thread. Look at the overwhelming data, and walk away knowing that you can kill deer up to 450 yards with the 77 TMK. It’s proven quite well from that thread that energy has little to do with the wounding characteristics of a particular projectile. The actual range will depend on impact velocity, minimum 1800 fps. In a gas gun, muzzle velocity will be lower than the same barrel-length bolt gun for obvious reasons. Even in a SBR AR, you have a 350 yard deer gun.

 

[BryanL]

In addition to the .223 for bear, deer, etc. thread, add in the match bullets for hunting thread. You’ll want the impact velocity to be 1800 fps or so. Sierra TMK is the ideal (77 or 69gr), but federal fusion/Speer gold dot 75gr or 62gr work as do the Hornady ELD-M. Those two threads Have lots of data points from people who have actually shot all kinds of animals at various distances with .223 and AR-15s.

It certainly made me a believer! Next thread is Forms scope reviews and evaluations.

 

[Frank Dux]

I guess most people are reloading the 77tmk? Seems like Black Hills is the only place to get it and of course seems hard to find anywhere.

 

[Veloci_Wrench]

I guess most people are reloading the 77tmk? Seems like Black Hills is the only place to get it and of course seems hard to find anywhere.

If you look hard enough, there are some other places loading it. They are all out of stock, but many have a restock alert, like Unknown Munitions. Also, someone on GunBroker has the Federal-loaded Law Enforcement TMKs. They are blue-tipped, but same bullet. I have some, but haven’t shot it yet. Hopefully it’s a little hot since it’s loaded for gas-guns, and they say 2700+ fps on the box.

Next option is 73 ELD-M, which PSA has last I looked.

 

[Titan_Bow]

There are some really good cartridges that fit in the AR-15 platform. 6.8SPC, 6.5 Grendel, 6mmARC to name a few of the more popular ones you can find factory ammo for. Take further step into wildcatting, and there are some real boundary pushing cartridges for this platform.
I’m just finishing up a 6mmARC build that is going to be more of a long range target setup, but I’ll still take it on some antelope and deer hunts. My son has shot a bunch of stuff with a 6.8SPC and that little cartridge really does well for whitetails, mulies, and antelope.
I carried around an M4 for my rich uncle for a few years and while 5.56 /223 is capable of killing game well; One, my state and several others have caliber restrictions, and Two, there is a reason the US military helped develop rounds like the 6ARC, 6.8SPC, etc. and that is to offer more stopping power in the AR-15 platform.


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[Frank Dux]

So I’ve been doing the usual over analyzation of every possible aspect of my AR build and somehow I’m having a hard time finding some recommendations on match grade .223 Wylde barrels. Mainly thinking 16”, but maybe 18”. 223 Wylde chamber, 1/7 or 1/8. Feel like 18” and 1/7 kind of sticks me with a little less versatility though. So probably 16” and 1/8.

Anyway, Criterion is on my list but I need some more places to look. Who makes the list of quality match grade AR barrel manufacturers?

 

[justinspicher]

I have had good luck with Ballistic Advantage barrels. I went with several lengths, but always the same twist. Several months ago I built an 18” 1:7 556 nato upper and it shot extremely well.

 

[Veloci_Wrench]

So I’ve been doing the usual over analyzation of every possible aspect of my AR build and somehow I’m having a hard time finding some recommendations on match grade .223 Wylde barrels. Mainly thinking 16”, but maybe 18”. 223 Wylde chamber, 1/7 or 1/8. Feel like 18” and 1/7 kind of sticks me with a little less versatility though. So probably 16” and 1/8.

Anyway, Criterion is on my list but I need some more places to look. Who makes the list of quality match grade AR barrel manufacturers

Check out Faxon, Ballistic Advantage and Roscoe. Also, go 1/7, it’s best for heavier bullets. 16” or 18” is your choice, but I would do 16 in an AR for compactness.

 

[cod0396]

I believe somewhere in that post that Form stated that if he was tasked with eliminating a population of grizzlies he would use an AR with 77TMKs. That should give you an idea of whether or not you can hunt with an AR.

Not a direct quote, just a summary. If I quoted the wrong person or got it out of context, let me know. Should easily be good to 2-300 yds with 16" and 77TMK

TMK out of a 16" will be good out to 400ish yards, assuming 2700fps muzzle velocity.