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AR-15 for hunting
- Thread starter squatchie666
- Start date
First of all, that is majorly wrong!!! the 5.56 MM round was designed to kill the human animal (up to 250 lbs) "humanely". The Geneva and Hague conventions frown on rounds that are designed to cause needless suffering. any round that was specifically designed to wound is in direct violation of the International Laws of Land Warfare (G&H Conventions). One of the reasons that .mil uses FMJ rounds is that there is less chance of tip damage reducing accuracy and causing an injurious non lethal hit as well as fragmentary damage in case of a non vital hit.
Now, back to the original question. Depending on the size of the animal. I would not recommend it for elk or moose. However, the smaller members of the deer family (white tail, antelope etc...) can be legally and humanely hunted with an AR. I would recommend a 60+ grain round but consider the rifling on your particular barrel when choosing the round. Heavier rounds like the 77Gr prefer faster twists like the 1 in 7 while the lighter rounds prefer a slower 1 in 9 twist rate. A 1 in 8 will give you moderate accuracy across the board but you will want to try to find what weight round your particular rifle likes best. Find various "range" rounds in different weights and then spend the duckets on hunting rounds in that weight category. No matter what round (or caliber) you use, shot placement is ALWAYS important. Even if you hit with a 30+ caliber round, if you gut shoot bambi, it will needlessly suffer. Head or neck shots are fine, but remember your own personal limits and that you are only half as good in the real world as you are on the range.
Now, back to the original question. Depending on the size of the animal. I would not recommend it for elk or moose. However, the smaller members of the deer family (white tail, antelope etc...) can be legally and humanely hunted with an AR. I would recommend a 60+ grain round but consider the rifling on your particular barrel when choosing the round. Heavier rounds like the 77Gr prefer faster twists like the 1 in 7 while the lighter rounds prefer a slower 1 in 9 twist rate. A 1 in 8 will give you moderate accuracy across the board but you will want to try to find what weight round your particular rifle likes best. Find various "range" rounds in different weights and then spend the duckets on hunting rounds in that weight category. No matter what round (or caliber) you use, shot placement is ALWAYS important. Even if you hit with a 30+ caliber round, if you gut shoot bambi, it will needlessly suffer. Head or neck shots are fine, but remember your own personal limits and that you are only half as good in the real world as you are on the range.
Check post above. If the round can kill a human up to 250 lbs (The weight specified for development of the round) and is used by armies all over the world to do that with an non frangible round, I do believe that a round in that caliber designed for hunting will do the job most effectively. You don't need a cannon to kill animals under 200 pounds humanely.
you're missing the point. this is about making a consious decision to hunt with a .223. the decision to use a larger caliber is just as easy. why go that small when you dont have to? yes, you can kill a deer with a .223, but should you? IMO no, and if I saw someone doing it, I would seriously question their ethical values, and the respect they have for the animal they're hunting.
Personally, I wouldnt go with anything less than a .270. If you want to use an AR platform (which I totally understand, I've thought about it myself), I'd go with an AR-10 in .308
Personally, I wouldnt go with anything less than a .270. If you want to use an AR platform (which I totally understand, I've thought about it myself), I'd go with an AR-10 in .308
No need for the overly expensive AR10 platform. You could go with a 6.5 grendel or a 6.8 SPC and stick with the 15. My point is that it has a lot to do with the size of the target animal. Antelope are quite small. White tail are small compared to muleys. Either of these would be a quick clean kill with the 5.56/223 round. Any animal that averages over 200 pounds, I would recommend against any body shots and go only for head shots when well within range and capability. I prefer a .308 fudd gun for bambi myself, but do know of quite a few people that use the AR15 for hunting the smaller deer, hogs and the smaller varieties of bear. Most of the deer varieties are large in the region, but I am from TN and most are of the smaller white tail. 150 Pounds is a good sized animal and very easily and humanely dropped with a 5.56/223.
