Why you don’t own an AR 15

[Geezy Rider]

I carried a M-16 for four years and after I got out, I had no desire to own a AR-15.
Then, some ignorant politician said “No one hunts with a AR-15”. Well me being the contrary type, I went out and bought a Colt AR.
I’ve killed a lot of pigs and deer with that 5.56 and I love the multiple follow up shots afforded on those big Sounders.
Never would have thought that I’d want one but now that I’m hunting with one, I have enjoyed it. Highly versatile and adaptable platform that can meet almost any need.
I ordered a 6.5 Grendel upper that will be my new hunting rifle.

[Rutersville]

I get that brother. But Im not steady enough to shoot a deer in the neck. Always been a behind the shoulder guy. Does a 300 blow the deer up?

Ballistically the 300 blackout is a light weight 30-30.

IMO - Beyond 100 yards, it does not meet the energy requirements to ensure ethical (minimal suffering) kills on whitetail.


For hill country hunting I would recommend a .243 Win, .257 Roberts, 25-06 Rem, or 7mm-08.

[muzzlebrake]

The original M16 that I carried in Vietnam was a much different gun than what is sold today in the AR platform. Those original rifles had 1 in 14 twist barrels shooting a 62 gr fmjbt 5.56mm bullet that was designed to be an unstable projectile that would tumble at the first impact with anything even a blade of grass. The purpose was to inflict as much wound damage as possible on soft tissue with the tumbling effect and they did do that fairly well. It often took more than one round to put an enemy down and keep him there. Most of us Nam vets hated the M16 and wished we still had M14's to carry for more lethal fire power. The only advantage the M16 ever had was we were able to carry more ammo because of the weight,
Modern AR barrels are mostly 1 in 7, 1 in 8 and 1in 9 twist rifling and will fire heavier bullets that will remain stable out to subsonic speed and giving them a lot longer range. All that said they are not very good at penetration on tough hide and bone of large animals.
I'm sooner or later going to change my AR to 6.8 Rem SPC for more stopping power. I've already shot enough hogs and had them run off with the .223 to prove to myself that this is not a good tough game caliber no matter what anybody says. Anybody with half a brain knows you can't always ear hole a pig which is the only sure way to kill them with a .223/5.56.

[RiverRat1]

I only used a bolt 243 or 270 for years and years. About 10 years ago I bought my first AR. The bolt guns stay in the safe now. Ammo is cheaper for .223 It has little/no recoil. Ladies and young children enjoy shooting them.

I just have one sighted in at exactly 30 yards to get my meat deer (head shots) Hasn't failed yet but have to be patient. Have my AR in .308 sighted in further out for fun or shots on bigger hogs.
My night hunting rig with IR almost never fails. It takes down hogs no problem. Just use a good bullet.

[Tex21]

I use mine as a truck gun. When checking cows or fences it goes between the passenger seat and console. Killed many of pigs and yotes that way.

[Hoggslayer]

I don't own one because they are evil. I'd never have such a weapon that could just snap, and fly off the handle uncontrollably.

[Jack12]

I get that brother. But Im not steady enough to shoot a deer in the neck. Always been a behind the shoulder guy. Does a 300 blow the deer up?

Not any more than a 308. It’s a good 100 yard round.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

[44mAG]

Regarding my firearms, I have always been a very functional guy. Guns aren't cheap, so I have made sure over the years that every gun/caliber I have will be used routinely and not just sit in the safe. I am also not a big fan of just going out and shooting off rounds just to do it and annoy the neighbors. Because of this, I have never owned an AR. That was until a few months ago. The way this country is going, the functional purpose of a high-round, semi-auto rifle is getting closer to a real possibility. After getting it in my hands, it may end up being the rifle I start my young daughters out shooting due to the collapsable stock.

[TXHUNT3R]

Mine is used by my son, he shoots it well and has low recoil.

I personally grab it for pigs around the house. I never saw a need until a really good deal came up and I had some extra cash. I like it now for defense should SHTF, I won't sell it, I actually will buy another one for myself in 6.5.

[tdwinklr]

to each his own but I don't see the point of having one just to waste valuable ammo now days. My small and medium caliber bolt-guns do everything I need.

[Throwin Darts]

I own ARs for pigs!

[okrattler]

I like them because they **** Liberals off.

[jer_james]

I own ARs for pigs!

Same for me - they are fun and easy to play around with.

[glpoe1]

In 68' I qualified with the M14 and shot exert (100 & 200m), in 69' I qualified with the M16 (100 & 200m) and shot expert with it as well all open peep sight. I liked the M16 but I really loved the M14. I own a Stag Arms M15 and let my grandson shoot deer and pigs with it with no issues. Now that ammo is an issue I am not inclined to shoot it very often.
I also take it fishing with me and sure hope my leaky boat doesn't sink and it get lost forever in the murkey deep!!!

[RifleBowPistol]

I did not want anything to do with them for many years. When I was a teenager, I used to watch multiple people bring ARs or M16s to the range. Almost everyone of them spent their whole time on the range, trying to clear a jambed gun. There was a sheriff's deputy who used to go out to the range with his M16 and try and shoot it. I watched that gun jamb up all the time. He never was able to run a full mag through that gun without it jambing. That was back in the 80s, back when the only M16s or ARs you ever saw were Colt. Then in the 90s, we bought two ARs, never had a single problem with either gun jambing, but the best I could do accuracy wise was about 4" groups at 100 yards. The 4" groups were done with a scope, mounted on top of a A2 receiver, on the carry handle. The other gun, without the scope, I could only get 6" groups at 100 yards. The ammo we were using was good factory loaded 5.56 ammo, I think Winchester ammo, possibly some UMC. Again, both rifles were 100% Colt. I am pretty sure the guns I used to see back in the 80s that jambed up all the time, were magazine problems, but back then I did not know that. Just got old watching guys trying to get jambed rounds out of their ARs, every time they showed up at the range. At the time we had a H&K 91, that we ran thousands of rounds through, it never once had any malfunction of any form. On a bench with a scope, I could fire at a rate of about one round a second, at 100 yards and keep all 20 rounds in a group, about 1 1/2" wide by about 2" tall. If I slowed down and took my time, I could shoot under an 1" all day long with factory ammo. Back then, seeing the results of all of the guys who insisted on owning ARs, just baffled me, as to why they stuck with them. Other than it was the US battle rifle since the mid to late 60s.







But then around 2003 I bought a Bushmaster M4 carbine, with the A3 receiver, flat top gun, with the removeable carry handle. I have never had a malfunction with that gun. When I first got the gun, I bought about 1500 rounds of Silver Bear ammo, then another 1500 rounds of Wolf ammo. Never had a malfunction with either, but the variation in muzzle blast and noise from shot to shot, really made me wonder how they measured the powder they were putting in those rounds. Some shots seemed like they hardly had any powder, other rounds seemed stuffed with some magnum powder, because of the huge muzzle blast I would get. Accuracy was about like what we got back in the 90s, at first. When I was using the open sights and that cheap communist ammo, I was getting 3" to 4" groups. But obviously the ammo was junk, so what would the gun do, if I ran good ammo through it. So I bought good American ammo and shot that stuff. The gun got down to 2" and even as small as 1 1/2" groups, but that was the best the gun would ever do, with factory ammo.

Knowing the 5.56s have the throats cut deep. I decided to try loading some ammo, to try and get better accuracy. I figured out if I did get the bullet closer to the lands, the accuracy quickly went under 1" at 100 yards. So I searched for a bullet that had a different ogive, to try and get the bullet closer to the lands, while still being able to fit in the mags. I found a 52 gr. Speer hollow point, it has a large hollow point, so the nose is flat, that allows the bullet to be seated farther out of the case and still fit in the mag, then the ogive puts the bullet closer to the lands. The bullet has been my main bullet for that gun ever since. The gun will shoot 1/4" groups with about any powder that works in a 223. I have used at least five different powders with that bullet over the years, still get 1/4" groups from the gun, but I have the bullet leaving the 16" barrel a lot faster now days.

That gun for many years now, has been my go to rife for around the house. I have killed a lot of coyotes with it over the years, possums, coons, one buck and one pig. It is about the best ranch rifle/truck gun, you could possibly have. I call it my utility gun, it's been used for just about everything. Definitely not my first choice for a deer gun, but it works, if you know the limitations of the 223 ammo I use and stay within those limitations. It's a great coyote gun, I have killed coyotes out to 400 yards with it. Some day, I would like to build a 223 Wylde with a 24" barrel, but I also plan on building a 24" barreled 224 Valkyrie. The 224, I plan on definitely building, but I may also do the 223 Wylde, it would make a great prairie dog and coyote gun, if I ever get on a place where there are a lot of both.

So as a result of that gun, I have put together a AR in a wildcat caliber, called the 270 AR. It comes very close to duplicating the old factory 270 Win. ballistics, but will fit in a common AR size mag. Then I put a 458 SOCOM together, love that gun also. So far out of my three ARs, no malfunctions, once I got the magazine problems corrected. The 458 SOCOM gave me the most trouble feeding, but only took a couple days to get it corrected. I modified a mag and it has worked great ever since.

The 270 AR will produce 3/8" groups at 100 yards, it is a serious critter killer. I have killed two mule deer with it, a few hogs and a turkey. The damage, has always been impressive. The 458 SOCOM will shoot around 1" at 100, maybe a bit less, probably more like 3/4" groups. So far I have only fired it at one animal. I shot one pig in the head around 250 yards. The bullet went all the way through that pig and hit a second pig. The pigs were all walking straight towards me, when I shot. I should have waited, till they were closer, but I was not sure they were going to keep coming my way. I should have had the 270 AR that morning, I had been shooting pigs at 70 yards from that blind and figured the 458 would be a good choice, so I took it the last morning, then the only shot I got was well over 100 yards. They came out around 350 yards out, I watched them for a while, then finally decided, they likely were not coming any closer and shot. The 458 worked great at that range, I did a good job of guessing the bullet drop, never having fired that gun that far.

After hunting only with a AR for numerous years, I really got to missing having a great shooting bolt action, which is what I primarily used for 25 years, before I bought the Bushmaster. So I have started buying and working on bolt guns again, and single shots. I love my Contenders and either Browning or Winchester 1885s. That will be one of my next builds. I really miss having a nice 1885. Then I will build a XP100 some day, that is the gun, I have wanted for many years. Basically I like all types of rifles and pistols. I am definitely not a AR fanatic, or the type that if I am going to own a rifle, it has to be a AR. I love great shooting bolt actions and single shot rifles, but I like semi autos also. I have a list of non AR semi auto guns, that I plan on buying also. Then I do like lever guns also, my favorite 22 LR for 20 years or more was a 9422, till it got stolen.

I am not the stereo typical AR owner, that loads up a a bunch of 30 round mags and then burn through those as fast as possible. Yes, I do have 30 round mags, I have loaded them up and ran through them quickly, plinking at cans or whatever. That has happened, but not my normal thing. I do plan on building a AR9 for that purpose, and as a general purpose short range gun.

One of the many cool things with a AR, that you can not do with most bolt guns or other guns, is swap barrels out quickly and easily. If you have a 5.56 AR, and want more power, you can just order a 6.5 Grendel barrel or a 350 Legend barrel or a 450 Bushmaster barrel. Then remove your forearm/hand guard. Then unscrew the barrel nut remove the barrel, install your new barrel and then put it back together in reverse order. If you have a carbine and want a longer barreled rifle for more velocity and range, or vise versa, you just swap barrels and possibly hand guards. If you have a gun with a retractable stock and want a stock for more of a precision rifle, you can swap out the stock quickly and buffer tube quickly. You can take a fixed stock and replace it with a collapsible stock. You can buy one lower and then have multiple different complete uppers set up, with sights or scope, sighted in, and ready to go, just swap the upper you want to use on the lower. Just like guys do with T/C Contenders.

The ARs are very modular, pretty quick to completely change the gun from one style and caliber, to a completely different style gun and caliber. Once you really get into them and start to fully understand what all can be done with them, then you will really start to understand why they are so popular. They can be built to appeal to most anyone. Then they make stocks out of wood and stocks that don't look like AR stocks, I saw one a guy posted up, that looks similar to a old Browning BAR. I have seen some others, with wood stocks, that took a while of staring at them to figure out that I was looking at a AR. In some states, they don't allow military style guns with the pistol grip, the grip and the stock, have to be one piece.

Then another thing I have come up with, is when some new caliber comes out, that is available for the AR. You can buy just a barrel, maybe a bolt, if you don't already have a bolt of the correct size. I have multiple size bolts, so I can just buy about any barrel and install it on one of my guns, then either pick up some ammo or brass and dies. Then be out shooting quickly. A barrel is a lot cheaper than buying a complete rifle in some new caliber. But if I wind up liking the caliber, then I may go and hunt down a bolt action in that caliber. But the AR is the cheapest way to try out some caliber you don't currently own. That or something like a Contender or Encore, those are even cheaper and easier to change out barrels to a new caliber. I have been a Contender owner for over 30 years, I may finally buy a Encore. They are much stronger, so you can install just about any caliber barrel you ever want, on one of those. For use as a handgun, I would prefer a Contender, but in the more powerful rifle calibers, your only choice is the Encore. I have refused to buy one, because they are bigger and heavier, but you can't get a 458 Win. Mag barrel for a Contender, you could for a Encore, I don't know if I would shoot that very often. I see a lot of guys with 300 Win. Mag Encores. The point is have a modular gun, such as a AR or a Contender or Encore, is really a good idea, because of the modularity of those guns. But with a AR, you also have a great defense gun, if you ever need one. A Contender, is not the best defense gun, it could be used for that purpose, but a AR would be a lot better.