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Mamba6
2 May 2012, 20:39
I will be moving to GA shortly, and want to put together an upper for hunting, mostly of hogs, coyotes, and maybe deer. For several reasons I won't discuss here, AR hunting in Ohio has been impractical for me. A secondary application will be some minor target shooting at moderate distances up to maybe 400m. Budget is a concern but I don't have a set limit. I am not looking to discuss other calibers outside of 5.56mm as my wife is not comfortable shooting them.

I understand that muzzle velocity has very little difference between 20" and 16" barrels, only around 120 fps. For this reason, unless someone can sway me, I think I will go with a 16" barrel for maneuverability and price. Is a SS barrel necessary for these intended purposes? I want to use a mid-length gas system, if only because my wife who will hunt with me is a smaller woman and appreciates the slightly reduced recoil impulse and handling.

Second, I don't plan to add many attachments to this rifle, except potentially a light, so I was planning to either use a Rainier Arms/Samson 12" Evolution rail or a Troy Alpha rail in either 11" or 13". This means a LPGB under the rail of course. I am currently leaning towards the Evolution rail. If I did get the Alpha, would it be worth it to get one with the built in front sight?

Finally, looking for a decent optic for this. I have to admit, my personal experience is in combat optics so I don't really have a starting point, but I was looking at the Nikon M223 series with a non-BDC reticle.

Any help or recommendations nailing down components and mfg's is welcome. Thanks for the help gents.

markm
3 May 2012, 06:08
I'd build an upper using a White Oak Armament barrel. They're accurate and come with a twist rate that will allow you to run light and heavy bullets depending on the game.

We've done a couple of these barrels and they're a good balance of price and accuracy.

For 400m and in, you're not going to need much scope. I don't know much about Nikon, but it seems like one of those 1-4X or 1-6x variables might be an ideal scope.

mlosi762
3 May 2012, 07:46
Lived in GA (Fort Stewart/Hunter Army Airfield) and did plenty of hunting down there, mostly for the hogs. I know you didn't want to discuss other calibers but hear me out. If you want to use an AR to hunt, I wouldn't suggest 5.56 or .223. Reason being, those hogs can get pretty massive down there, 300lb+ are not that uncommon. Can you kill them with 5.56? Yes, I've done it myself, but I really don't consider it a powerful enough round for a clean, humane kill. The bullet tumbles too much and really does nasty damage that doesn't always put them down right away. One time with the AR was enough for me, I started using my M1A after that. So for an AR, I would suggest looking into a .300 AAC Blackout upper, I hear it shoots about as soft as 5.56, but has a way better ballistic coefficient than the 5.56. I've never used the round myself, (anyone who has, please feel free to comment) but the added "ass" behind it, will put 'em down quick for sure.

Great thing about the hog hunting in GA, is you can use just about any type of firearm you want, and the season is pretty much year round (except during turkey season), with no bag limit. Good luck and happy and safe hunting.

Mamba6
3 May 2012, 14:18
I would love to get a .300 BLK upper, and I've had that discussion many times with myself and my wife. Not to rag on her too much, but basically unless she shot it in the military (M16/M4/M9) she won't shoot it now. She doesn't even like shooting my Glock 19 or Sig P226, even though they shoot the same round. :P So Household 6 shot down the .300 BLK idea pretty quick. I'm working on her though....

mlosi762
3 May 2012, 21:31
I get the household 6

mlosi762
3 May 2012, 23:56
Somehow got cut off before I was done...But anyway, household six on my end was terrified of all my firearms until I got her shooting them. Now she loves them all, especially the 12 gauges. It make take some work, but give her time to be comfortable with a shotgun and everything else will be cake. But I digress... Hogs in GA are no joke, due to all the ranges at FT Stewart or FT Benning where you can hunt, they are accustomed to tank/artillery/small arms fire, and aren't afraid of sh*t. On more than one occasion, I've either shot (or seen one shot) that was in a group, it dropped, and the rest didn't even stop what they were doing like nothing happened, or have even charged at us. Also, I never went hog hunting without a back up side arm in just in case. May sound ridiculous to some, but better safe than sorry. So, if you do hunt them either in the FT Stewart or FT Benning areas, make sure you got plenty of ammo, because from time to time, even when wounded, they will charge you. That being said, go big (caliber) or stay out of the woods...

Paulo_Santos
4 May 2012, 05:37
Barnes makes some great TSX bullets for the .223, like the 62 and 70 GR. For under 100 yards, the 55 GR TSX are great.

Mamba6
4 May 2012, 06:23
I'd build an upper using a White Oak Armament barrel. They're accurate and come with a twist rate that will allow you to run light and heavy bullets depending on the game.

We've done a couple of these barrels and they're a good balance of price and accuracy.

For 400m and in, you're not going to need much scope. I don't know much about Nikon, but it seems like one of those 1-4X or 1-6x variables might be an ideal scope.

I do like the price on those. Is the "gas mainfold" they run any different from a LPGB? I think the "manifold" part throws me off a little. :D


Somehow got cut off before I was done...But anyway, household six on my end was terrified of all my firearms until I got her shooting them. Now she loves them all, especially the 12 gauges. It make take some work, but give her time to be comfortable with a shotgun and everything else will be cake. But I digress... Hogs in GA are no joke, due to all the ranges at FT Stewart or FT Benning where you can hunt, they are accustomed to tank/artillery/small arms fire, and aren't afraid of sh*t. On more than one occasion, I've either shot (or seen one shot) that was in a group, it dropped, and the rest didn't even stop what they were doing like nothing happened, or have even charged at us. Also, I never went hog hunting without a back up side arm in just in case. May sound ridiculous to some, but better safe than sorry. So, if you do hunt them either in the FT Stewart or FT Benning areas, make sure you got plenty of ammo, because from time to time, even when wounded, they will charge you. That being said, go big (caliber) or stay out of the woods...

I will be down at Benning, incidentally. I can definitely believe that, though. My uncle got me started on hog hunting back when I was a younger man in the back 40 of Benning, and I can clearly remember once when he finally stopped one with a S&W 629. I'm definitely a proponent of humane kills, so we will probably stick to hunting coyotes and smaller hog until I can get her hooked enough to move up in the caliber world. (Although, good shot placement can even drop an elk.)


Barnes makes some great TSX bullets for the .223, like the 62 and 70 GR. For under 100 yards, the 55 GR TSX are great.

Barnes are great rounds. I've seen them do some great work.

mlosi762
4 May 2012, 07:34
+1 on shot placement being a deciding factor. A buddy of mine used to always quote Arnold whenever we came across a big one "if it bleeds, we can kill it." And the smaller ones will go down from a 5.56 with little to no problem. Kinda jealous of you right now my friend... I miss being stationed in GA with all the great hunting and fishing there is to offer within a few minutes drive from the house. Living in the DC area now, and to hunt I'm driving for a few hours to get somewhere to do it. If I remember correctly, the hunting and fishing offices on Benning and Stewart pay a bounty on hogs since they're listed as a nuisance species and tear up the ranges. And damn if they're not tasty! Enjoy!

FortTom
4 May 2012, 16:16
You might want to get a Fish and Game rules book for GA. Many states, like my own, do not allow hunting Deer and certain other animals, with a .22 cal bullet. Coyotes and Varmits, Squirells and Rabbits, yes. Deer, no. I have hunted wild boar in several states. If you've ever seen one, which I'm assuming you have, do you really want to hunt them with a 5.56? People get severly hurt by pissing off a wild boar. Contrary to popular belief, you don't need a cannon to kill one, but hunting them with a 5.56 may very easily cause you to wound one, have it run off, never find it, and having it later die from either the gunshot, or a related injury. I don't think it's responsible, or humane to hunt them with small calibers. It takes a lot more ummmph to kill a boar than a human, unless you get a rare shure thing head shot. For some reason, they don't often seem to give you one, especially at close proximity.
FT.

mlosi762
4 May 2012, 21:47
http://www.georgiaoutdoors.com/hunting/firearms.asp#feral