Hunting with an AR15

[BrocLuno]

I suspect I'd be looking at poly-tipped 55 grainers for most of the smaller critters.

For scope I'd be looking at Leupold VX-R Patrol in 1.25 ~ 4 X 20. It's $450'ish on the street. Reason I suggest this is it's a very nice scope. It's also got a motion sensing "fire dot" that will act like a Red Dot and a black etched circle and cross hair reticle. It's got a very generous eye box and pretty long relief (like 4"+) so it comes to eye very quickly.

In your posts you elude to "other use" which I'm guessing is home defense... If so this one would do double duty as Red Dot for close in work and field scope for daytime out in the woods

I'm not a Leupold fan boy by any stretch. I have shunned their others scopes for years. But this thing really grabbed my attention for versatility. It's more of a 1:1 dialed back than the numbers tend to indicate. I had no trouble running with both eyes open, and the red dot was right there when needed.

I know it's above your budget, but you might go look at one and see what I'm talking about... Even if you don't get a Leupold, you could see if this class of scope would do what you want?

American Reloading has WC 844 Military Powder, which is the same as H-335 and uses H-335 loading data for reasonable $$. It might be just what you're looking for if paper punching and hunting under 55 gr bullets ...

 

[badkarmamib]

@BrocLuno

Lots of good stuff there! From what I have seen, that Leupold is one of the best options for what I want. Yes, out of my budget for now, but, I think I will swap between my HD StrikeFire and my hunting Tasco for now. This will allow me to start budgeting for a nice scope (buy once, cry once), and that Leupold is one of the top competitors right now.

And yes, I am leaning towards + 55 grains. I have H4895 on hand, but WC844/H335 is obviously viable, and might pick some up.

 

[jmorris]

I have never shot a squirrel with a .223 (shot one when I was a kid with an 8mm Mauser) but .22 pellets seem to do the job just fine around here and depending on where you hunt may be a better choice than firing a 223 in the air. That said a 55 gn FMJ at anything over 500 fps should take out a squirrel.

Years ago I had some JHP bullets that were designed with slow twist bolt rifles in mine and would come apart from centrifugal force out of my 1:7 barrels.

 

[badkarmamib]

depending on where you hunt may be a better choice than firing a 223 in the air

For reference, and to dissuade anyone reading this article from attempting this. Where I hunt, the "tree" squirrels come down at dawn, and forage on the ground for a couple of hours, before returning to the trees. I would NEVER fire anything other than a pellet gun or birdshot into the air for the purpose of taking game.

 

[DeadEye9]

I built an AR a couple of years ago. Have plenty of 55gr FMJ and would like this rifle to start paying for itself. I just ordered dies to start loading for it. It has a non-free-floated (not worried about changing it for 1/2 MOA difference), chrome-lined, 1:7, 16" barrel. I live in VA, where large game requires .23 caliber or larger, so no interest there. So, questions:

1.) I am looking at loading 65gr. Sierra GameKings over H4895 for possible coyote hunting. Any suggestions that might be better?

2.) What would be good recommendations for groundhogs and squirrels?

3.) Just for the fun of it, would you use a Vortex StrikeFire or a Tasco 3-9X40 for the aforementioned hunting? I ask because I still want to keep the rifle available for its original purpose, and swapping tends to lead to loss of zero. I know I could get better mounts, but, for the price of doing that, I would just buy an inexpensive bolt .223 for hunting

For small game it's hard to beat the Barnes Varmint Grenade IMO. I load the 50gr behind CFE223 and it is VERY effective. There's really no tracking involved as they drop on sight, which is exactly what I want when I'm in the woods personally. They also offer a 36gr but that would be better suited to a 1:9-1:10 twist. For Yotes I think the 65 SGK is too much. I realize you have a 1:7 so that's probably why you are thinking of going heavy, but the heavy projectiles aren't ideal for thin skin small game. Something in a 50-53gr HP or tipped HP is what I would recommend. For me it's Hornady 52gr HP or 50 Vmax. Both have been proven performers from a carbine. Also Nosler ballistic tip is excellent on Coyotes and the like.

 

[DeadEye9]

For small game it's hard to beat the Barnes Varmint Grenade IMO. I load the 50gr behind CFE223 and it is VERY effective. There's really no tracking involved as they drop on sight, which is exactly what I want when I'm in the woods personally. They also offer a 36gr but that would be better suited to a 1:9-1:10 twist. For Yotes I think the 65 SGK is too much. I realize you have a 1:7 so that's probably why you are thinking of going heavy, but the heavy projectiles aren't ideal for thin skin small game. Something in a 50-53gr HP or tipped HP is what I would recommend. For me it's Hornady 52gr HP or 50 Vmax. Both have been proven performers from a carbine. Also Nosler ballistic tip is excellent on Coyotes and the like.

Also, if you WERE to want to get into deer hunting with your AR, a simple barrel swap to 25-45 Sharps is what a lot of guys I know are doing to get their AR out of the .22 Caliber category. This makes it .25 caliber, shooting 80-100gr pills around 2800fps from a carbine and uses all standard AR equipment except the barrel. (Mags, bolt, Upper/lower remains standard .223/5.56 spec) Similar to .300 BLK but in my opinion better suited to woods hunting for deer size game. Also works wonders on Spanish hog. With the right loading .223 is plenty effective on deer inside of 300yds or so, and the .25-45 extends that range a little further by carrying more down range energy. I haven't personally built one yet, they don't allow semi auto rifle hunting where I hunt, but I have a few friends that have gone this route for deer with much success. The main reasons I hear for using this type of setup for hunting as opposed to a "standard" hunting rifle have been for people to get more trigger time behind their AR, and also many military men coming home are so comfortable with the platform that it is second nature for them to operate it. Accuracy wise you would probably do better with a bolt gun, power wise you could do better with a different caliber/platform. But if you want an AR that is decently accurate, legal for large game and capable of taking said game, the .25-45 barrel isn't a bad choice.

 

[BrocLuno]

Hmmmm .... Interesting

 

[badkarmamib]

Also, if you WERE to want to get into deer hunting with your AR, a simple barrel swap to 25-45 Sharps is what a lot of guys I know are doing to get their AR out of the .22 Caliber category.

I have/had a 6.8 SPC2 upper. Had, because my oldest has laid claim to it for his AR. But, I had read some on the 25/45 (after I already had the 6.8), and I think it is a fascinating round. Before the arguing on what is better in the AR platform, I will add that there are always better rounds, but require a longer action, so the 25/45 is just one of many options, but I still find it fascinating.

 

[Berger.Fan222]

For varmints, hard to beat the 55 vmax.

For deer and other game, hard to beat a Barnes X bullet in whatever weight and design you prefer.

 

[Kaldor]

I prefer the 53gr Vmax with CFE 223. A decent 3x9 scope will be adequate

 

[mtrmn]

When you call squirrels "game" it leads me to believe you'll be eating them. They're very good. But every squirrel or any other small animal I ever shot with a .223 was obliterated to the point there was not much left to eat. If you're eliminating "varmints" then that doesn't matter so much. JMO

 

[Double Naught Spy]

When you call squirrels "game" it leads me to believe you'll be eating them. They're very good. But every squirrel or any other small animal I ever shot with a .223 was obliterated to the point there was not much left to eat. If you're eliminating "varmints" then that doesn't matter so much. JMO

I have a buddy that head shoot squirrels with a .223, for the specific reason that he is eating them and .223 is just what he shoots. Too little power or too much power, you need to choose your shot wisely.

 

[1stmarine]

But if you want an AR that is decently accurate, legal for large game and capable of taking said game, the .25-45 barrel isn't a bad choice.

I agree. Sometimes the most obvious options are often overlooked because nobody is pumping the internet marketing dollars on them.
Another two other calibers based on the 223 casing that are very easy and give a substantial power gain are the 6x45L and the 6TCU. Both run with standard bolts and magazines loaded full stack and really shine with bullets
between 85-100gr for deer and hog hunting. The reamers and dies are very popular and use the same brass and huge selection of bullets. The L is nothing but the 6x45 with a tad extra freebore to take advantage of
the modern mangazines like pmag, pri,asc that give above 2.3 coal and makes a huge difference in performance vs. the 6x45 with shorter freebore.
The nice thing about the 6mm bullets is the amazing assortment for varmint as well as hunting bullets and even long range that with the exceptional ballistic coefficients that put flatter trajectories and more momentum on
the target than any other larger caliber. But the difference with the 25 might not matter that much at the ranges people normally hunt.
For reference the 6x45L can propel 85gr speer hpbt (G1.4) at 2850fps avg. with 2.28 coal form a 19" carbine using AA2230 and loaded avobe 60kpsi using hard brass like LC nato, WCC or lapua that give the most capacity.
Other than that, the 6.8spcII is a proven deer and hog smasher with 95gr TTSX that come out screaming and hit like lightning rods and also 120gr sst all available in commercial loads although the commercial round like hornday
is not loaded to full power still outperform many other options in both trajectory, speed and momentum on the target.
We are blessed with these options that are very accurate and easy to reload and shoot.
IMO the 6x45 is easier to reload than the 223 and so inherently accurate that I am starting to believe one could piss inside a case and still get submoa results.