My next AR upper - caliber choice for deer hunting

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WardenWolf

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I have a Radical Firearms FGS-12 rifle in 5.56. It's a budget AR, although you wouldn't know it by how it looks and performs; just a damn good gun. However, 5.56 is not legal for deer hunting in Virginia (.225 diameter minimum). As a result, I'm trying to figure out what I want to do for my next upper.

The obvious choices are 6.8 SPC, 7.62x39, .300 Blackout, .458 SOCOM, and .50 Beowulf. I was leaning towards either 7.62x39 or .300 Blackout (basically the same round in terms of performance), but I was in a gun store the other day and a guy was looking for better .300 Blackout ammo, saying he was not happy with its performance on Virginia deer (poor penetration with expanding ammo). FMJ is legal to hunt with in Virginia (and no magazine size limit), but I still consider that a bit unethical.

So, I've ruled out 7.62x39 and .300 Blackout. 6.8 SPC has a good reputation for accuracy, and some people say it's a great deer caliber, but the absolute knockdown power of .458 SOCOM or .50 Beowulf is appealing. Both are near .45-70 in power, a proven caliber that's capable of handling everything in North America and the Big Five in Africa. 6.5 Grendel is on the table as well.

So, I'm rather split. I can't really see myself shooting at over 150 yards. I'd appreciate any advice or personal experience anyone might have.

Thanks in advance.
 
"Knockdown power" is a misnomer. I have never seen a deer knocked over by the shot that kills it.

That being said, my father and I both went with 6.8 for our deer rifles. Better trajectory to 150 over Blackout, but not by much (see: negligible) with supersonics. A friend took everything I had seen, and went with Blackout. I do believe the Blackout offers more in versatility, with the bullet weights, and wouldn't hesitate to use one within 150-175 yards. I use 6.8 90 grain Gold Dots, after seeing multiple reviews on them. I only started late last year, so have not taken anything with it yet, but feel confident in my choice. I also would look at Blackout in a 125 grain bonded soft point. If a .243 can do what it is capable of, then Blackout, while slower, should suffice.

The thumper rounds have a rainbow trajectory, meaning perfect ranging is the only way to hunt ethically, IMHO.
 
http://www.glovesandclover.com/ar15/458socom/dpx-flight2.gif

4" from 100-150 yards. Some people may be okay with that, but with my horrible range estimation, I prefer calibers that have 2" or less drop over that distance. Just my personal preference, as I have no stands when I hunt, I pick the place that looks good at 4AM, based on what I saw the evening before, and have no known ranges to work with. That is simply my perspective.
 
If I were assembling an AR-15 for Deer hunting I would go either 6.5 Grendel or .25-45 Sharps. I would lean toward the Grendel.
 
I went with 6.8spc and am happy with it. A few guys I hunt with went 6.8 after I bought mine.

If you end up going this route watch Palmetto State Armory. They have great deals on 6.8 ammo at times.
 
I'm pretty much sold on 6.8SPC as the best choice when both exterior ballistics and depth/breadth of industry support are measured.
 
rbernie said:
I'm pretty much sold on 6.8SPC as the best choice when both exterior ballistics and depth/breadth of industry support are measured.
Click to expand...

I agree with this. In a vacuum I'd probably choose 6x45, but if you want a turnkey solution 6.8 SPC is ideal for what OP wants. 6.5 Grendel is the worst possible choice, because it gives you the opportunity to break bolts or extractors (you get to choose which, goody!) for no conceivable benefit at the ranges OP is discussing.
 
First of all I will probably never hunt deer or elk with an AR. I love AR's and have too many of them. I have loaded .308 diameter hunting bullets for my 7.62 39 ar's with no loss in accuracy. That gives you an unlimited choice of hunting bullets if you reload. Barnes makes .311 bullets which would do great in the x 39 round. I keep wanting a 6.8 but when I look at the ballistic advantage inside of 250 yds, it just is not enough to bother in my opinion. Good luck to the OP with your choice.
 
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I would agree that the 6.8SPC II would be a good choice. I bought my upper from Palmetto for $300.00 w/o BCG or charging handle. It proved to be very accurate with the 110 gr. Hornady V-Max over a charge of H335 and is very easy on the shoulder.

My buddy has the 458 SOCOM and to be honest, I am not impressed. Factory fodder is $3.00 a shot and velocity is low, under 2000fps with 300 gr. bullets.
I am not saying that it doesn't hit hard, it's just something which holds no interest for me.
He is not impressed with it either, it's up for sale.
 
I took a smaller doe last year with my 6.8 shooting 120 gr Hornady SST and it was a through shot at 50 yards. Decent sized exit hole - good expansion - and it dropped after running another 25 yards.
 
Out of those I'd go with 6.8 SPC.

5 or 6 years ago I bought a Stag Arms 20" inch AR in 6.8 SPC and used it for a couple doe and a whole bunch of hogs. Past couple years I haven't managed to get out much compared to how I was and a buddy kept asking about it here and there (and I have other rifles for when I do get out there) so I sold it to him. He added a suppressor and he and one of his daughters have still been killing deer and hogs with it.

(I kinda want it back. Have a PTR-91 that'll work just as well though)

6.8 SPC is way more available than when I first bought it and you no longer have to order ammo off the net or reload for it. Right now it's the most common out of the calibers you listed.

Also never needed a second round for anything I shot.
 
WardenWolf said:
Thanks. I might go with this upper, based on my positive experience with my existing rifle from them: http://www.radicalfirearms.com/product-p/cfu16-6.8spciihbar-15fhr.htm
Click to expand...
If you don't mind an hbar that upper should be good. I find hbars to be front heavy and prefer a lighter profile barrel. Look at ARPerformance, Ironworks Tactical and Bison Armory. Have heard good things about all of them, but they might be more than you want to spend. I have a Stag government profile 16 inch upper and am happy with it.
 
Gtscotty, I don't like fixed front sights, and they're particularly poorly-suited to a rifle you plan to scope. It would require the scope have a rather high riser to clear it. Given that the vast majority of 6.8 SPC rifles wind up with a scope on top, it seems to me that this is a very poorly thought out design. Not to mention the fact that I'd still have to buy a bolt assembly and charging handle, which would cost around $180 or so most likely. When you consider it all, it's really a bad deal.
 
My first hand experience with AR 15s & whitetails is limited to .223.
Won't go into the merits of that, other than to say it can work very well.

Of all the uppers you mentioned my nod would easily go to the 6.8 SPC.
That is until I came to the <150 yard part, then I'd want a .458 Socom.

I held off buying an Ohio legal deer rifle for nearly two years waiting for the straight walled .458 socom to be added to legal list. Gave up & got a .45/70.

After a fair amount of studying load data for that, yep that socom is at least in the ball park of .45/70 with a lot of loads.

The only reason I said that over the Beowulf is the tremendous bullet selection of medium velocity .458s widely available.
 
When mounting a scope 3X or higher, the front sight practically disappears from view. JSE Surplus is another good company that carries more 6.8 options than PSA, as well as having customizable uppers. And I have spent far more money at PSA than JSE Surplus, so I am not trolling...
 
I agree that the front sight disappears at about 3x. I have a 1.5-4x scope on a 6920, and once to dial the mag up to about 3x, the front sight post disappears.

I would go with 6.8spc or 6.5 grendel. I went with the grendel. I live out west and use it for coyotes, javelina, etc. I wouldn't hesitate to use it on a deer, but energy and bullet type used would determine effective range.

I've fired hundreds of rounds out of my 6.5 grendel with no problems.
 
I use a 6.5 Grendel now and like it a lot. I previously had a .50 Beowulf and to be honest it was just no fun to shoot, but it would sure kill pigs and deer.
 
I've seen black bears in Maine put down with the 300 B-O. 125 grains at around 300 fps. Whatever you do, understand that any caliber for the AR besides 5.56 is going to be expensive. You will have an expensive rifle that will cost a bunch to shoot. Why not just use 5.56 or just get a more conventional bolt action rifle? Most dedicated deer rifles don't get very high round counts, regardless of type or caliber- they are hibernating most of the year.
 
I currently own 2 6.8 SPC rifles. They are both suppressed and scoped. One has a Bison Armory barrel that is specifically designed for the 200 grain Woodleigh bullet for handloading at subsonic levels, but it also handles the 120 grain Hornady SST very well with 5-shot 1" groups being fairly standard. I used this rifle to take a doe at 50 yards (lased) through the neck and she dropped where she stood.

The other one I own is a SBR with a 12.5" barrel and the primary use is home defense with 90 grain TNT handloads being what are used in it. When my son is old enough and strong enough to hold and shoot it, it will likely be the first deer rifle he uses. It has an ARPerformance barrel and is extremely accurate as well.

The 6.8 hits hard, is easy on the shoulder and quite common now. It seems everything non-.223 or 5.56 is compared against it and for good reason. It's an excellent round that is more than capable of taking medium sized game out to 300 yards without beating up the shooter or shooting rainbow trajectories. There is also a good variety of ammo available to do the work you want done. Good luck on your selection.
 
I have an Armalite AR-10 that I hunt with. .308 is available everywhere in just about any flavor you want, is fairly flat shooting with good range, and can easily take many types of North American game. I suppose the only negative is the weight of the rifle, but the right sling or rifle backpack will distribute the weight comfortably


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