The best that never was (ar-15 edition)

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horsemen61

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Howdy everyone so


I got to thinking today about some of the AR 15 cartridges that never took off such as the .25-45 sharps and the .30 Remington AR

That led me to this question

What do you think is the best cartridge that was designed for the AR -15 that just never made it?

for me I’d have to say the
.30 Remington AR I wanted it to catch on it just never did mainly Big Greens fault*

*yes I know you had to have proprietary parts for the .30 rem AR
 
I am with you @horsemen61, I really like 30 Remington AR and am excited to hunt this year with what I have coined the scrap-bin rifle as most of the parts for this gun are were saved from a scrap bin, well used, or a few old-new stock parts I scrounged up to build it. I am shooting some early production ammo I got a deal on. It's only shooting ~1.5 MOA (5-shot) at 100 yards with this ammo but that is going to be plenty for where I hunt.

VuCzkhCl.jpg

Not sure the R-15 30 RAR would have made it even if Remington has supported it properly due to the excessive number of proprietary parts in it. None the less it an interesting (and cute) cartridge and it would have been interesting to have seen what other firearms would have been chambered for it, if it had made it. I would also love to try pushing 450 Bushmaster over SAAMI pressure using a 30 RAR upper and barrel extension. Might have to try that if I shoot this barrel out.

The jury is still out on 350 Legend so this may or may not apply to the premise of your thread but I also hope 350 Legend makes it. If I ever get around to building another AR the 350 Legend has a larger appeal to me, especially if I get a suppressor that would be compatible with it.
 
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Truth is, I have no clue why so many have "made it". With 2 or 3 being released every week and me only owning 223, 6.5 Grendel, and 450 Bushmaster, I tend to think all the rest are flops.
 
troy fairweather said:
Does the 30ar count isn't it a modified upper.
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Heavily modified. The upper and barrel nut is unique, using a unique barrel extension and bolt (a lug pattern very similar to a DPMS AR-10 but it use a standard bolt carrier), even the charging handle is unique. It also has a very funky magazine that only feeds from the left side, though I have found some 450 Bushmaster magazines can be tweak to work with it.

But the highly propitiatory 30 RAR upper will work with an unmodified AR-15 carbine or rifle configured lower. I would argue that means in should count but YMMV.

How much can we modify the upper and still have it count? Lot of cartridges require unique bolts and nearly as many require unique magazines.
 
I've only known one guy that owned one. He also owned a .242wssm oly. I never got to shoot either personally

The 300oly would clock a 150 at 2950 from his 24" tube (according to what I was told), but was limited to 150/165 gr bullets due to length. I'd be interested to see what it could do with some of the newer powders available now, as this was circa 2007/8 I think.

Also from what I can remember the magazines were finicky, and I his opinion of the rifle itself wasn't supper high.
 
LoonWulf said:
I've only known one guy that owned one. He also owned a .242wssm oly. I never got to shoot either personally

The 300oly would clock a 150 at 2950 from his 24" tube (according to what I was told), but was limited to 150/165 gr bullets due to length. I'd be interested to see what it could do with some of the newer powders available now, as this was circa 2007/8 I think.
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That's pretty good for for an AR-15. 30RAR can only do about 2500 fps with a 150 gr and mine, due to rounds through the barrel or the age of the ammo, is only getting about 2400 fps with a 22-inch barrel.
 
LoonWulf said:
Major difference between the 15 and 10 is the frame size, soooo fair game? I'd add the .300oly to that mix also.
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never heard of that one thank you for the learning experience


Now how to define this category I guess the best way is it has to fit a standard ar 15 lower and Magwell meaning no single shots no bolt action uppers if it can’t fit say 2.26’ inches I don’t think we can count it
 
mcb said:
That's pretty good for for an AR-15. 30RAR can only do about 2500 fps with a 150 gr and mine, due to rounds through the barrel or the age of the ammo, is only getting about 2400 fps with a 22-inch barrel.
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I think the 30RAR is the more practical round, and had a better chance of large scale success. Too bad it didn't make it, cause it would have been a really neat case to mess with.
 
6.8 SPC

I’m pretty content with: 556, 300BLK, 7.62x39, 6.8 SPC and 450 BM

Don’t see any others that do anything for me, in the standard AR15 upper lower receiver.
 
20 practical. Faster, flatter version of the 223. Simple to make, but never really took off. 204ruger could be lumped in there as well although it was a bit hotter and requires a bigger bolt face, the smaller bores just never got off the ground. Shame. The 20 practical is listed as a contender barrel by the big guys in the barrel business so I will scratch that itch eventually with EAB or MGM barrels.
 
LoonWulf said:
Hehehe.....i had untill you mentioned the Valk.

Again another round I'm interested in the case from, but not the parent. I think a 6mm/22 noslers would be pretty bloody neat, but only really as a rebarrel option for .380 faced bolt guns.
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Ya I'd like 6mm/22 nosler with a short throat and slow twist for the 55-75 6mms
 
WestKentucky said:
204ruger could be lumped in there as well although it was a bit hotter and requires a bigger bolt face
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204 is based on the .222 rem mag, so uses the same bolt face as the practical or the 223. It's longer tho.
I have a pile of 204 rugers converted to 6x47Rem

I'd have liked to try the Practical, it seemed like a really neat round for fast and flat from a light weight ar
 
LoonWulf said:
204 is based on the .222 rem mag, so uses the same bolt face as the practical or the 223. It's longer tho.
I have a pile of 204 rugers converted to 6x47Rem

I'd have liked to try the Practical, it seemed like a really neat round for fast and flat from a light weight ar
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I thought it was ever so slightly larger. Now I have more things to consider when I get a 20 caliber. I think I will stick with the practical though. 20” practical barrel on Contender g1 frame with a nice thumb hole stock and a flat bottomed forend with a spot to attach a bipod. Yes I have thought a lot about this. No I don’t have the funds.
 
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