Good info. What was the exact differences? Better penetration? I can definitely see where a poorly chosen bullet in the 90-100 gr range would "blow up" and not exit, thus making tracking and finding the game much more difficult.
What is the best caliber for hunting whitetail deer that will fit on an AR15 lower
- Thread starter jtischauser
- Start date
Good info. What was the exact differences? Better penetration? I can definitely see where a poorly chosen bullet in the 90-100 gr range would "blow up" and not exit, thus making tracking and finding the game much more difficult.
Dieseltech09
Well-Known Fanatic
Jason,
Yes SSA makes some pretty hot loads but there are alot of people shooting them without any problems. They have 2 versions of 110gr Serria Pro Hunter. The standard load is pushing 2500 fps and the TAC load is 2600fps.
Even the Hornady 110 BTHP and the V-max are both hitting 2550fps out of a 16" barrel according to Hornady's website. They even list the 120gr SST at 2450fps
Jefpainthorse
Fill in the Blank
I'd go another route here all together...(hunting Wisconsin and Michigan offer similar real estate)
30-30 in a $300 Marlin 336 or beater Winchester 94... or any 12 gauge pump shotgun and plain old slugs.
Why? As cool as the AR rifles are... I can get a woods rifle (or shotgun) that WORKs and kills deer every year and for the last 100 years with boring regularity.
If he hunts a wooded area... a long shot up there is 50 yards. If he's hunting most townships over beans or row crops... 150 yards is a long shot.
Other giant advantage... if I left my ammo home... every hardware and gas station in the upper midwest has a box of 30WCF or 12 guage slugs on the shelf...
Boring? Yes? Will this work? You bettcha! BTW...when someone sells a AR upper in 25-35 Winchester I'll be all over it.
30-30 in a $300 Marlin 336 or beater Winchester 94... or any 12 gauge pump shotgun and plain old slugs.
Why? As cool as the AR rifles are... I can get a woods rifle (or shotgun) that WORKs and kills deer every year and for the last 100 years with boring regularity.
If he hunts a wooded area... a long shot up there is 50 yards. If he's hunting most townships over beans or row crops... 150 yards is a long shot.
Other giant advantage... if I left my ammo home... every hardware and gas station in the upper midwest has a box of 30WCF or 12 guage slugs on the shelf...
Boring? Yes? Will this work? You bettcha! BTW...when someone sells a AR upper in 25-35 Winchester I'll be all over it.
shootingbuff
Well-Known Fanatic
Fine points. Reasons I would had opted for 243, 7-08 or 308 except he is wanting to stay with the org size lower and wants an AR platform.
Great observations though. Maybe you can sway him?
Great observations though. Maybe you can sway him?
243 WSSM??
Jefpainthorse
Fill in the Blank
Not to sway the idea...If I was younger I'd probably go AR with mix and match uppers.... my gun safe would take up less room that way :86:
I've killed a few deer up there (on farm damage permits in MI) using 62 grain soft point 5.56.... a boiler room shot layed those deer right down. I dont know if WI has a minimum bullet diameter... some states have a 25 or 27 cal minimum.
Dieseltech09
Well-Known Fanatic
I looked into that before I decided on 6.8 but damn that is some expensive ammo. I was pretty impressed with what I found while researching it. I have always thought that either the 243 or 270 are the perfect Oklahoma Whitetail round.
Yeah the 243 WSSM is expensive but if you reload it's not any more than anything else. For me, being a hunting gun, I don't expect to run a bunch of rounds through it. I have my other AR's for burning up ammo.
I haven't even shot this 243 WSSM upper yet. Sure looks good with that Zeiss sitting on top of it.
dennishoddy
Moderator
My .243 WSSM upper has accounted for many deer. I bought it before the obimination price hike. I knew ammo was going to be pricey, so I picked up 500 rounds of brass before Sportsmans Warehouse went out of business in OKC. Like you said, its not a plinker, but its a shooter.
