Do You Use a "Modern Sporting Rifle" for Deer?

[timberjack86]

Nothing wrong with an AR just not my thing. I prefer a lever or bolt with a walnut stock.

 

[mike243]

I have very few weapons I don't like, have loved shooting the AR but not as much as the fully auto M16, have shot 50cal and loved it but at $5 or more a shot I won't pay the price.

 

[Dennis]

Found this pic from 2014. This was my first kill with a 450 Bushmaster

 

[Wooden Arrow]

Found this pic from 2014. This was my first kill with a 450 Bushmaster

View attachment 213749

i'm not familiar with the .450 round at all. is it a straight-wall cartridge, like a shortened 45-70, or ? i used to have a Ruger #3 in 45-70. nice deer!

 

[Dennis]

i'm not familiar with the .450 round at all. is it a straight-wall cartridge, like a shortened 45-70, or ? i used to have a Ruger #3 in 45-70. nice deer!

Thanks. The 450 Bushmaster is straight walled and uses a .452 caliber bullet. The 45-70 uses .458 caliber bullets. The bushmaster case is a little shorter than the 45-70 also.

 

[Cull Buck Hunter]

My 450bm is in AR platform and is 1 1/2 moa on a bad day. Very efficient on deer with right ammo

 

[ThorThor]

Same as above 450 bushmaster. Got the upper about 10 years ago. Also great for kids they can use the 223/556 for cheap practice and familiarization then switch uppers to the 450 for hunting. Basically a semi auto 45/70, being gas the recoil is not bad at all. It is very accurate for what it is.

 

[Bone Collector]

I put yes, only because when my son did deer hunt early on in his life, he was afraid of the recoil of the rifle. I allowed him to use my AR 15 due to the low recoil. He shot and killed a spike with it and missed a small 10 point, but then he quit hunting. I personally do not use that AR 15 for hunting. However, if I had an AR 10 I would.

 

[dogsled]

No, more like ancient sporting rifles. My go to's a are a Mauser 30-06 and a Marlin 35 rem. I had an AR10, was way too heavy for hunting in my opinion. I do have an AR set with scope and bipod for varmints.

 

[FLTENNHUNTER1]

DPMS Panther LR-308 AP4 with EOTech fed with 20 rounds of Remington 150 grain CoreLokt's. Deer (and other) killing machine. If it bleeds, I can kill it.

 

[Carlos]

No, more like ancient sporting rifles. My go to's an are a Mauser 30-06 and a Marlin 35 rem. I had an AR10, was way too heavy for hunting in my opinion. I do have an AR set with scope and bipod for varmints.

I know what you mean.
The AR10 I had was the heaviest one of my safe. Also, it seemed like cleaning after hunting in the rain, or carrying thru the woods would be a major pain, compared to simple rifles.

 

[00bucshot]

Well, I thought I would give my 223 AR a chance during this year's antlerless only season. I had a chance at a nice doe at around 50 yds. Double lunged her and the bullet broke the front leg on exit. She spun around and dropped within 20 yds.
The bullet was a 64 gr Federal Fusion. I realize shot placement is critical with any shot, but extry critical with a 223. I might hunt with it again, IDK.

 

[backyardtndeer]

Also, it seemed like cleaning after hunting in the rain, or carrying thru the woods would be a major pain, compared to simple rifles.

Two pins, to separate the upper and lower. Then pull the bolt carrier group. Not really much to it.

 

[RUGER]

Don't own one. Doubt I ever will.

I have owned 3 and sold them all.
One I never fired.
I'm just a bolt action guy.
For filthy disgusting animal control, I probably need one.
My theory is when the .300 win mag turns ones head into pink mist the rest will scatter like the rats they are.

 

[infoman jr.]

A lot of ignorance in this thread. That's a shame. I just finished my 30th season of deer hunting. I've carried all kinds of guns, mostly bolt actions and a bow, but I started carrying this .308 AR about 10 years ago. I'd like to share some of my experience and why I prefer an AR for deer hunting.

Here are some things I like about it:
I like that it has a vertical pistol grip. It's a much more natural wrist angle for me when my elbow is resting on something below my shoulder.
I like that I can sling it across my chest so it doesn't fall off of my shoulder, but I can still raise it to shoot very quickly if I need. Slinging the gun this way makes it easier to walk around with my climbing stand on my back - I was never able to carry my bolt guns on my shoulder without the gun/scope banging around on the stand.
Mine has a folding stock and a removeable suppressor making it more portable from a physical size perspective. This one is a bit on the heavy side, though you can build them down in the 7 lb range.
With its Geissele trigger and Bartlein barrel, it's one of the most accurate rifles I own.
The suppressor has spoiled me - so much so that I haven't deer hunted with a non-suppressed centerfire rifle in probably 7 years.
I'm not afraid to get it wet, muddy, or bloody. I can simply hose it down with brake cleaner and re-lube. I love nice wood on guns, but I save that for the dove field and clays range.
I spent 3 years of my professional life helping to design it, so I have a lot of pride in carrying it.

The bad:
The aluminum handguard gets cold. Very cold. A couple of years ago I lost a lot of feeling in a few fingertips for months because I had my scope on a buck for about 20 minutes trying to decide if I would shoot him, and my fingerless gloves left my skin exposed to the aluminum. Most years since, I've wrapped the handguard in that self-adhesive camo wrap you can find at Academy, and that's helped a ton. I forgot to reapply it this year.
The B5 Sopmod stock I have on mine pulls out my beard. I should replace that. The stock, not the beard.

Anyway, I'll get off my soapbox, but I wanted to add a little context to the thread. I'm not saying that these positive attributes are exclusive to the AR platform. Bolt action rifles have a ton of nice features, and it my 700Ti had a threaded muzzle, I'd be more apt to carry it.

 

[Carlos]

Two pins, to separate the upper and lower. Then pull the bolt carrier group. Not really much to it.

I was considering all the knock and crannies in the hand guard, etc. There's plenty of what seem like hard to dry/clean areas IMO.

 

[Dennis]

The bad:
The aluminum handguard gets cold. Very cold. A couple of years ago I lost a lot of feeling in a few fingertips for months because I had my scope on a buck for about 20 minutes trying to decide if I would shoot him, and my fingerless gloves left my skin exposed to the aluminum.

You could add a vertical foregrip like this:

Tactical M-Lok Foregrip Vertical Angel Short Grip with Storage Black or Tan

Tactical M-Lok Foregrip Vertical Angel Short Grip with Storage Black or Tan | Tactical M-Lok Foregrip Vertical Angel Short Grip with Storage FeaturesMade of durable and lightweight high strength polymer compositeCompatible with M-Lok rail systemLow-profi

www.wltactical.com

If you get one with a storage compartment, you can stuff one of those small hot hands packets in it.

 

[infoman jr.]

You could add a vertical foregrip like this:

Tactical M-Lok Foregrip Vertical Angel Short Grip with Storage Black or Tan

Tactical M-Lok Foregrip Vertical Angel Short Grip with Storage Black or Tan | Tactical M-Lok Foregrip Vertical Angel Short Grip with Storage FeaturesMade of durable and lightweight high strength polymer compositeCompatible with M-Lok rail systemLow-profi

www.wltactical.com

If you get one with a storage compartment, you can stuff one of those small hot hands packets in it.

The gun used to have a Magpul MIAD rear grip which had a storage compartment. I used hothands in it a few times. Unfortunately, my handguard isn't MLOK compatible, and I don't think a VFG would be suitable for my application. Good thought though.

 

[Shim71]

I considered but thought the weight if ar10 was a little more than i desired.

 

[Wooden Arrow]

i want one of those Civil War era "assault" rifles like pictured with the young man in Infoman Jrs post above... it would "look right" in the rack with my recurves, longbows, and BBO flatbow...