General Purpose Rifle... Bolt or AR?

[Jonoton]

'General Purpose' IMO is dependent on your scope of animal targets as well as legality in your state, and then preferences from there.

If GP for you includes dispatching a sounder of hogs if you come across one, well that points to a semi auto in 6.5g or up.
But if having such a firearm in your vehicle would jam you up, then that's a no-go.

Personally, I am more likely to need to put down a cow at rock throwing distance than an elk over yonder, and if I am going hog hunting I'll be packing up a specialized 6.5g AR15 with a thermal. My GP rifle is a short bolt action 308 with a box mag. A lot of ranchers see a Mini 14 as THE General Purpose rifle. If more power is needed, well quantity has a quality all its own.

If General Purpose to you is a rifle wigh the ability to take any game animal from coyotes to elk with one rifle, that is a mindset you have got to commit to! A 308 or 30-06, as other posters have said, would be the ticket. Commiting to that rifle and spending time and money that would otherwise be spent on another more specialized rifle will leave you more confident and capable. I need to take this advice myself, as I received it from hunters far more experienced and capable than me.

My personal pick for a 'one rifle' would be a 308 with 20" barrel and a DBM with a handful of 3rnd and 10rnd mags.

my handle little GP

 

[jimh406]

Depends on your definition of general purpose. For many of us, a bolt action is fine for general purpose. Realistically, are you really only going to own one rifle?

 

[robtattoo]

'General Purpose' IMO is dependent on your scope of animal targets as well as legality in your state, and then preferences from there.

If GP for you includes dispatching a sounder of hogs if you come across one, well that points to a semi auto in 6.5g or up.
But if having such a firearm in your vehicle would jam you up, then that's a no-go.

Personally, I am more likely to need to put down a cow at rock throwing distance than an elk over yonder, and if I am going hog hunting I'll be packing up a specialized 6.5g AR15 with a thermal. My GP rifle is a short bolt action 308 with a box mag. A lot of ranchers see a Mini 14 as THE General Purpose rifle. If more power is needed, well quantity has a quality all its own.

If General Purpose to you is a rifle wigh the ability to take any game animal from coyotes to elk with one rifle, that is a mindset you have got to commit to! A 308 or 30-06, as other posters have said, would be the ticket. Commiting to that rifle and spending time and money that would otherwise be spent on another more specialized rifle will leave you more confident and capable. I need to take this advice myself, as I received it from hunters far more experienced and capable than me.

My personal pick for a 'one rifle' would be a 308 with 20" barrel and a DBM with a handful of 3rnd and 10rnd mags.

my handle little GP
View attachment 448755

I have a really similar mindset. Short, handy .308 that I really don't mind knocking around. Backup irons in case the scope takes a bad hit & the scope itself is a really simple 1-4 LPVO
4 in the mag, 2 spares on hand. It's basically a hammer.

 

[Stinky Coyote]

Realistically, are you really only going to own one rifle?

It's possible, I mean assuming you mean centerfire rifle, guy should not include some rimfire/shotgun options.

I went this direction. One rifle guy. You can slap a 2 point sling on it for AR like defensive carry (blue force vickers a good one), you can also slap a light/laser on it for camp bear or otherwise defensive duty at same time (o-light baldr mini is good one)...just won't be as quick as an AR for follow ups but better than most bolt action set ups. It can take down for pack, spin butt stock off and on to same spot as castle nut is loctited in place on buffer tube. 6.5 Grendel running Hornady 123 eld-m factory leaves a .25 sd .5 bc bullet at 1700 fps at 500 yards, pretty efficient (essentially a 3/4 scale 308 running 168's at just under half the recoil). Easy to stay in scope and plow through 10 with only 6.5 ft/lbs recoil energy.

We big game to ~400 and 12 for 12 over 4.5 seasons, half by me, half by the kids, predator call in the winter, about the only thing it doesn't have is back up irons and an awesome blaser type qd scope mount but the laser can offset lack of irons. Stainless would be nice too I guess if was doing the designing. Almost perfect and completely versatile with no fat.

This one dials to a little over 500 or mil-dot can let us scare things as far as 620 yards. Coyotes primarily. Hate not scaring them hangers lol.

Some pretty slick little rigs posted here. Right on.

 

[SpringM1A]

All all day and twice on Sunday

 

[Jonoton]

I have a really similar mindset. Short, handy .308 that I really don't mind knocking around. Backup irons in case the scope takes a bad hit & the scope itself is a really simple 1-4 LPVO
4 in the mag, 2 spares on hand. It's basically a hammer.
View attachment 448932

Nice rifle!
I'd like to add irons and a good 1-4 or 1-6 scope on mine as well, but I am really trying to leave well enough alone lately. I do think I will be hogging out the stock to house a spare mag... there must be some of the 42oz of wood laminate in there I can do without!

 

[Braunschweiger]

Ar-10 platform will generally be quite heavy unless you are willing to spend coin for lighter weight upper/lower.handguard sets and carbon wrapped barrels. Inherently heavy by design. I've owned quite a few AR-10s.. they have their uses...but general purpose it what I'd roll.

 

[jimh406]

One rifle guy.

My point was that most people buy more than one because they want to. . I wasn't implying that everyone needs to own more than one rifle.

How are you liking the AR for everything, and did you use a different caliber before the 6.5 Grendel? I built a 6.8 SPC II while I was living in WA, but moved before I ever hunted with it. My typical shot is 250+ now and although I could probably do it with the 6.8 SPC II, I have other rifles that make that marginal shot with a 6.8 SPC II an easy shot. So far, that's what I've done.

 

[Jonoton]

Ruger just announced a -15 sized .308 AR that might be pretty nice

Edit:
Thought a photo comparison might be helpful

16" Model 7 .308, 13.5" LOP, 7.75lb as shown w/o mag. HEAVY laminated stock
18" 6.5CM. Lacks a muzzle device and optic+mount. 9.1lb as shown. Of course I have a mid weight barrel profile and a heavy stock.

But I don't think it would ever be as enjoyable to tote around the ranch for MY 'GP' use. They are just bulky and pokey

 

[Bearwhisky]

Would you rather have semi automatic or bolt action?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Fast_Hand84]

I sunk a PILE of cash into a super-light, accurate AR10 that really does everything well…POF Revolution .308 w/ Leupold Mark 6 3-18 in a Spuhr mount, Atlas bipod, etc. It’s an absolute dream to shoot.

Having owned it for a couple seasons now, it is not the gun I would take on any hunt where I need to cover a lot of ground. Despite the minimal weight, its still cumbersome in the woods and it does not pack well, or carry easily…the general shape (plus all the flat & angled surfaces) make it snag on everything.

 

[Stinky Coyote]

My point was that most people buy more than one because they want to. . I wasn't implying that everyone needs to own more than one rifle.

How are you liking the AR for everything, and did you use a different caliber before the 6.5 Grendel? I built a 6.8 SPC II while I was living in WA, but moved before I ever hunted with it.

I hear ya, mine is a bolt action, maybe just looks like an AR in that chassis and the small image but mine is a Ruger American Ranch bolt action. I love it for everything so far. We aren't allowed AR's in Canada but I did build up an ASI Ruger Ranch Mini Stainless custom in 6.8 spc II some time back also and took a doe at 220 and several coyotes with it. It was still a little too niche for a do all, first round never landed where the next 4 would go, it grouped tight after round 1. I ran 110 gr v-max in mine from recollection. The 6.5 Grendel is a level above the 6.8 in versatility due to the 123gr bullet with .5 bc and .25 sd, both are great inside say 250-300 I suppose but the Grendel adds the distance potentials of 1800 fps at 420 yards impact with enough bullet for anything I wish to shoot for big game and much better down range wind fighting performance for longer bombing coyotes etc. as well. The 6.8 falls on it's face really quick past it's shorter useable range. I have mostly hunted with .270 wsm, .270 win, and then .243, .30-06, had some others I never got blood with before sold like 7-08, 308, 7rm, 300wm...and have as much or more put on the wall or in freezer with archery gear as well. Now it's mostly gun while I threaten to dust off the bow for a late season draw sheep or archery antelope tags. So the one rifle based on minimalist no fat approach for the whole fam dam to shoot is the little Grendel in chassis. It's been a stellar cartridge and setup.

 

[Mark.c]

If you go the AR (semi-auto) route, I suggest getting a .308 AR DPMS pattern rifle. The Armilite AR-10 pattern tends to be more expensive with fewer options. AR-10 is a quality rifle however DPMS is becoming more of the norm. There is no Mil Spec for an large format AR. Stick with one manufacturer if your are going to build one.

 

[Fast_Hand84]

'General Purpose' IMO is dependent on your scope of animal targets as well as legality in your state, and then preferences from there.

If GP for you includes dispatching a sounder of hogs if you come across one, well that points to a semi auto in 6.5g or up.
But if having such a firearm in your vehicle would jam you up, then that's a no-go.

Personally, I am more likely to need to put down a cow at rock throwing distance than an elk over yonder, and if I am going hog hunting I'll be packing up a specialized 6.5g AR15 with a thermal. My GP rifle is a short bolt action 308 with a box mag. A lot of ranchers see a Mini 14 as THE General Purpose rifle. If more power is needed, well quantity has a quality all its own.

If General Purpose to you is a rifle wigh the ability to take any game animal from coyotes to elk with one rifle, that is a mindset you have got to commit to! A 308 or 30-06, as other posters have said, would be the ticket. Commiting to that rifle and spending time and money that would otherwise be spent on another more specialized rifle will leave you more confident and capable. I need to take this advice myself, as I received it from hunters far more experienced and capable than me.

My personal pick for a 'one rifle' would be a 308 with 20" barrel and a DBM with a handful of 3rnd and 10rnd mags.

my handle little GP
View attachment 448755

Man, that’s one sharp little rifle.

 

[rootacres]

Both lol

I own a Ruger Scout rifle chambered in 450 bushmaster (where I deer hunt at 450s are legal). I have to say, it's a nice lightweight, compact package. I don't have much bad to say about it. It's rugged, I don't mind taking it out in the weather, throwing it in the SXS etc. I have no plans to part ways with it. I have also hunted with an AR platform chambered in 450. It has to "cool" factor but that's about where it ended for me. It was heavy and everything on it was metal. No question if the SHF tomorrow I would be grabbing an AR platform rifle but for general purpose I like a compact bolt gun.

 

[MallardSX2]

Bolt .308

Ammo is pretty available for it and it will kill anything in CONUS IMHO.

 

[salo225]

I would throw out consider what you are comfortable on. There is no need to purchase a rifle with a specific intent if you have little to no training on it, nor intend to have much training on it. I would lean towards a setup/caliber that I am familiar with and able to have as much variety in use as I could possibly have. Just my $0.02, best of luck with your decision.

very true. I first learned how to shoot in the army using an M16 and the platform still feels most natural. whereas a bolt‘s stock still feels awkward to me. Im probably in the minority here though on that.

When you say general purpose - if you don’t anticipate using it in any home defense scenario, I’d lean toward the bolt still. Better form for hunting.

 

[ShootOkHuntWorse]

It's possible, I mean assuming you mean centerfire rifle, guy should not include some rimfire/shotgun options.

I went this direction. One rifle guy. You can slap a 2 point sling on it for AR like defensive carry (blue force vickers a good one), you can also slap a light/laser on it for camp bear or otherwise defensive duty at same time (o-light baldr mini is good one)...just won't be as quick as an AR for follow ups but better than most bolt action set ups. It can take down for pack, spin butt stock off and on to same spot as castle nut is loctited in place on buffer tube. 6.5 Grendel running Hornady 123 eld-m factory leaves a .25 sd .5 bc bullet at 1700 fps at 500 yards, pretty efficient (essentially a 3/4 scale 308 running 168's at just under half the recoil). Easy to stay in scope and plow through 10 with only 6.5 ft/lbs recoil energy.

We big game to ~400 and 12 for 12 over 4.5 seasons, half by me, half by the kids, predator call in the winter, about the only thing it doesn't have is back up irons and an awesome blaser type qd scope mount but the laser can offset lack of irons. Stainless would be nice too I guess if was doing the designing. Almost perfect and completely versatile with no fat.

This one dials to a little over 500 or mil-dot can let us scare things as far as 620 yards. Coyotes primarily. Hate not scaring them hangers lol.

Some pretty slick little rigs posted here. Right on.

Do you dial that accupoint much? How is that scope vs a credo?

 

[rfarmer2]

I just put together something similar for my truck/jeep/sxs gun. Ruger American Compact in 7mm-08 with a 18" barrel. 1.5x4 scope and threw it in a Bell and Carlson stock because I couldn't get comfortable with the short LOP. So far it's racked up 5 coyotes, 20+ hogs, and I've put a variety of ammunition threw it, basically whatever was around or on sale. I don't have enough money in it to mind scratches, and good enough with the new stock I don't hate it for being too cheap. I got tired of overthinking it and just went with a good all around bolt gun in a good, fairly easy to find cartridge.

 

[justin davis]

Bolts are better than ARs in my opinion