Hunting with 223/556 Part 2

[sarduy]

After careful and much appreciated advice from you guys, it was determined that while 100% doable a 11.5 barrel and 223/556 is not optimal for hunting deer. Therefore I have decided to go with one of the following. And who better than you guys who has way more experience than me hunting deer.

Here are the options

Option 1 18"

Option 2 20"

Option 3 20"

 

[Show Me]

There's no disadvantage to a 16 inch if your hunting under 125 with a 53 or 55 gr TSX. Been there.

 

[R Reed]

Personally Im a big fan of the 18in, but any of those should work well, its personal preference, which ever one you like best. I would just make sure you have a 1:8 or 1:7 twist.

 

[12Bravo20]

18" barrels seem to be the sweet spot. Next thing is to decide what type of optic you are going to use.

I would not bother getting any upper with a fixed front sight if you plan on running a scope. A front sight won't cause any problems if you use a red dot optic.

 

[Walkalong]

20", a little more FPS which never hurt, and it's still short.

 

[JmacD]

I’d personally go with option three.

That said, a spear is perfectly legal in my state… I’d love to try it…

 

[Grayrock]

If you are shopping- OPTION 3. If you already have them then it is the one that is most accurate. Shot placement is key when using small bullets.

 

[jmr40]

If I were buying a new upper anyway, I'd go with one in 6.5 Grendel. Otherwise, I'd probably just use what I have. A Grendel upper will cost the same and 6.5 Grendel ammo is readily available and reasonably priced. The only extra expense is for a couple of magazines.

The extra speed you get from a longer 223 barrel will certainly help. But it's still a 223. The 6.5Grendel takes the AR to another level. At 200-300 yards it compares closely to what a 270 does at 400-500 yards. People have been killing deer and elk with a 270 at 400-500 yards for 100 years now.

Regardless of which cartridge, any barrel length between 16" to 20" is fine. I think 18" is a good compromise and would be my 1st pick. But if I ran across a deal on either a 16" or 20", I could live with either.

I'm no longer a fan of the traditional uppers with irons. I'm not going to use them, and they are just in the way.

 

[someguy2800]

The only bullet I have taken large game with in a 5.56 is the 77 grain Tipped Match king. With that bullet going from a 18" to 20" will gain about 50 fps. That bullet would also slow 50 fps in just 25 yards. So 2 inches of extra barrel length will buy you 25 extra yards of terminal effectiveness. For me and how I hunt this would be pretty much meaningless so I would just do a 16" or 18" because I like them better.

I chose option 1 only because I like the handguard on that one better.

 

[marksman13]

An 18” barrel is plenty for 99% of deer hunting situations and it’s still short, light and handy. Whatever you do, don’t buy an upper specifically for hunting with a front sight post. It will definitely get in the way with a red dot and will be annoying with a traditional LPVO.

 

[FL-NC]

When I hunt with a AR, I use a gun with a 16" barrel. Shot placement is always king (with an appropriate bullet for the task). Besides good marksmanship fundamentals, this is determined by the rifle to be able to group with the chosen round, which is determined mostly by barrel twist and the individual "quirks" of that specific rifle.

 

[Varminterror]

18-20” won’t matter - the balance for an 18” middy is quite different than a 20” rifle gas, but the gap is pretty small. I use 20” for my dedicated hunting AR in 223/5.56, but 18” for a matched upper in 6.8 SPC.

20” “classic” A3 isn’t the right tool for hunting. The sight tower won’t bring any advantage and will only serve to darken your optic. Equally, the clamshell handguard does bad things for a field rifle. Hard pass on the A3 for hunting.

 

[d2wing]

18 Inch. I have hunted deer with 16 and 20 inch, for me the 16 is better because it is lighter and more maneuverable. An 18 inch is a good compromise. I do have a lightweight 20 inch upper but I have not used it yet. But when I used the AR for hunting, I had badly damaged shoulders so weight was important. The 20 inch does give you a bit more accuracy and velocity in my case anyway. If you pick you shots and aim carefully, a .223 with hunting bullets will do the job on big deer.

 

[s4s4u]

N.O.T.A.

 

[Laphroaig]

I got my first AR deer this year, a mature doe. 16" w/ 60 gr. Partitions at 2630 avg., 50 yd. shot. I got her through the lungs behind the shoulder. Blood was sparse but she only ran 40 yds. I'd pretty much expect similar with most cartridges except maybe a little more blood with some. Almost zero meat damage so a good result all in all. I'm going to put as little more zip in the next batch that I load though.

I have hunted deer with 16 and 20 inch, for me the 16 is better because it is lighter and more maneuverable.

Me too. The 16 is so light and handy to carry it just feels right. Plus my other AR's are 20" Hbars that weigh a ton.

 

[InTheSwamp]

20" because that's what I own. Would love an 18" as well.

 

[sarduy]

Alright. It's settled. I went ahead and pulled the trigger on a 18" "sort of" here's the thing...

I realized that i have an upped and matching rail I decided to go ahead and the a 18" barrel, most 18" have the rifle length gas port and my rail is only 12" for mid length. I didn't want to expose the gas block like on a Mk12 in a hunting rifle (I do like the look for a future build).

I searched for a 18" with a mid length gas system to fit the rail and to my surprise DiamondBack makes one 99% of what I had in mind and I think this is in fact better. I have used their rifles and barrels before and the accuracy was great in both the AR10 and AR15.

This is what I bought

Caliber: 223 Wylde (best of both worlds?)
Gas System: MidLength
Length: 18"
Contour Profile: Medium
Twist: 1:7 (I wanted 1:8 but realized that 1:7 is better for heavier bullets like 77gr TMK)
Material: 4150 CMV
Coating: Black Nitride
Thread: 1/2 x 28
Rifling: Button Rifled 5R (I herd it's better for velocity and accuracy. Anyone care to elaborate?)
M4 Feed Ramps

 

[sarduy]

Update: I was doing some research and came to find out that this barrel is a OEM barrel for the Remington R15. The longer journal length also check out for the Remington longer gas block.

On a side note, please please tell me they aren't shooting this rifle with a scope backwards ...

Bullet Point Profiles: Remington R15 VTR Predator Rifle

Get an Instant Quote on this gun by clicking this link: http://www.galleryofguns.com/genie/default.aspx?item=60001-rem&utm_source=YOUTUBE&utm_medium=caption&...

youtu.be

 

[Varminterror]

On a side note, please please tell me they aren't shooting this rifle with a scope backwards ...

100% backwards. Looks like an old Leupold Mark 4 CQ/T, or clone thereof.

I always thought the Remington marketing was interesting - the Predator VTR was just a paintjob on the Bushmaster Predator, which itself was just a grip without a palm shelf and a shorter, faster twist, fluted barrel on the Bushmaster Varmint Special which was over a decade already older than the VTR or Predator. But Remington made up a bunch of nonsense about the "innovation" and "new design," of a an AR15 with an A3 upper on an A2 stock and a float tube... stuff we'd been doing for a long, long time before the VTR...

 

[Hunter 08]

With .223/5.56 you're already behind the 8 ball, 20" (opt 3) would be my first choice. Velocity is everything with it, especially for hunting.

Reason I'd choose number 3, is because I like having options for the top rail and the A4 upper from option 2 is kind of meh to me.

 

[sarduy]

And... for those of you camo loving people... it's going to be Burn Bronze

I know I know... there's always a spray can

 

[sarduy]

18" barrels seem to be the sweet spot. Next thing is to decide what type of optic you are going to use.

I would not bother getting any upper with a fixed front sight if you plan on running a scope. A front sight won't cause any problems if you use a red dot optic.

The optic most likely is going to be what I have at hand right now. A 1-6x24mm Sig Sauer LPVO. The other is a red dot, I can do good groups with a reddot at 100 yards but I won't risk it for hunting if I can bring the 1-6x

 

[sarduy]

20", a little more FPS which never hurt, and it's still short.

I'm not sure if the 5R Rifling will help with a bit of FPS. I herd is a tiny bit faster than regular.

 

[sarduy]

N.O.T.A.

?

 

[ms6852]

I prefer the 20", I have the RRA 20" heavy barrel for varmints, and have been successful both times I used it using a 75gr BTHP at around 127 yards and the other about 211 yards right behind the ear. I only load and use 75 grainers on my AR.