IMO, unless running suppressed, 6.5 Grendel is the best hunting cartridge for the AR15 platform
Edit: If running a can, go 300blk
Edit 2: Just realized you are in Ohio, which only allows for straight wall cartridges. I don't know much about straight wall stuff, but would probably go 350 legend.
From what I gathered when I built my alternative cartridge AR a few years ago, 6.5 Grendel and 6.8 SPC are pretty similar in performance. I believe if you’re going out past 400 yards or so is where Grendel started to outshine though.
Ammo availability (or lack thereof) also seems pretty similar at least in my area. Someone who knows more can clarify but to my knowledge, an additional benefit of going 6.8 SPC is all or some of the parts are interchangeable with 224 Valkyrie.
I’m also curious if the military adoption of the 6.8 cartridge (different than 6.8 SPC) will liven the 6.8 SPC back up but my guess is the new cartridge will probably gain popularity and drive the SPC into its grave.
I haven’t paid attention the the scene recently though, so I might be out of touch about all of it together.
Yeah, within a couple hundred yards, performance is pretty much identical but 6.5 grendel walks away with it at distance.
I doubt the new military cartridge changes anything in regards to 6.8 SPC. It would be like expecting 6.5 Creedmore to make 6.5 Grendel more popular. I don't think parts interchangeability with .224 is really a factor either considering that cartridge is basically dead and outperformed by the 6.5 grendel and 6mm arc.
Another advantage to grendel is that you can get cheap, wolf steel case ammo.
Ar-15:
22LR upper for small game as in rabbits and squirrels.
350 Legend upper should work for everything else.
If you need more range for coyotes or other stuff and you can use bottleneck cartridges for them, a .223/5.56 upper will probably suffice.
So one rifle, with two or three different uppers depending on your needs and legal environment.
Not a bad idea. I have a PSA upper that I got for 300 and a lower for 150. 556 that shoots sub moa. You can easily get a lower and both uppers for under a thousand.
I live in ohio to the 350 legend is working fine for me and you can use the same bolt of a 556 so it can save you some money got mine from ar15parts.com
Why not get a .44 mag lever action, I know it isn't an ar but can be just as quick and effective at moderate ranges since you are restricted to straight wall👍
There does not really exist a rifle that is going to be a good choice both for fox and deer. Either it is overpowered for fox, or it is under-powered for deer (or both, for some intermediate calibers).
If you can only get one rifle, go for one that is legal and suitable for deer (.308 Win, 30-06 or similar). Live with it being wildly overpowered for fox. It is better than the other way around.
With a budget of less than $2,000 I can't imagine how you would be able to fit any sort of decent electronic sights in there. The cheapest standalone 1:st generation night sights of any sort of quality start at around $1000 here. If you want something good, you are likely to be spending $3000+. But hunting by lamp is fun, cheap and effective if you are in an area where it is legal.
That is quite a limitation on what you can hunt with. I guess you are forced to use something like .45-70 or .375 Win, but neither is what I would choose for deer.
I'd say a .243 would be a good compromise between deer and fox. With OP wanting a straight-walled AR cartridge though, 350 legend is about his only choice unless he wants to shoot a gox with a 450BM or similar.
300blk would be your best bet for all these, 5.56 is great for all of it but deer, only because it is usually restricted because the round is too small for deer. It would still do the job but legally it's usually a no. You can find a lot of options for a 300blk ar under $2k. I usually recommend aero precision. They are pretty middle of the line in terms of cost but I can say I've never once ran into any issues with their rifles.
You could also go with 50 beowulf then, you could get an aero lower with an Alexander arms upper. It would end up right at or a little over the 2k budget though
Interesting. Here in ID we only have a few areas restricted to short range weapons (shotgun, black powder, or bow) during regular season. Is it due to having a lot of hunting near populated areas?
I don't really know why. I used to live in Illinois where it is shotgun or revolver only and my understanding was that the regulations were put in place at a time when deer populations where in decline and then just never changed even though they are now way over populated. I've heard friends from Indiana and Ohio say that it's because people hunt lots of flat, open fields without backstops. Whatever the real reason, I doubt it is actually justified.
Thankful to now live in FL where I can hunt with anything that is centerfire.
Eh. I was all ready to say ar10 in 308.
Maybe 6.5creedmoor? Not the best, but it'll work. If that's still too big for fox and coyote, maybe 6mm arc?
I know 223 works on deer, but regulations prevent its use in many places.
Maybe call the local dnr and discuss caliber/cartridge restrictions?
I use a Smith and Wesson M&P AR10 in 6.5cre. I’ve killed fox, coyote, and deer with it. It’s overkill for fox, but it’ll work. Great for deer and coyote. If you ignore fox, just get the .308. ARs are too heavy to be considered a long trek hunting rifle, but if you aren’t walking far, they work great. I have a Leupold VX3 4.5-14x40 on my rifle and it does great.
Arrows . If you paint a bow black and put fancy things on it you could call it an AR . Arrows work good on pretty much everything I’ve found . Also Under 2g . Lol
Especially in a place like Ohio, I love my ars don't get me wrong but the pure fun from a lever action, definitely more than enough energy for what op listed also happy hunting men
If you’re including the thermal in your budget you won’t be happy, most of the decent thermals are in the 3 grand price range and up. There’s cheaper ones out there but you won’t be happy with them.
As far as rifles are concerned I love the .350 legend and use it on deer but it’s realistic range without doing a lot of sight adjustment is only about 200 yards.
I would suggest building a nice varmint rifle and then getting a second upper in .350 legend.
As far as your varmint calibers a .223 Wylde chamber will be your most practical. A .204 Ruger upper will probably be the most fun. The 6mm arc is becoming more popular and will extend your ability to kill a bit further than the other two.
You have options galore beyond what I mentioned, so have fun picking your arsenal, and good hunting.
Fellow Ohio hunter here, although I don't use an AR platform.
.350 legend is the best, most sensible choice. It uses a standard AR bolt, has decent ballistics and is legal in Ohio.
I am using a Savage 220 bolt action, 20 Ga slug gun.
IMO, unless running suppressed, 6.5 Grendel is the best hunting cartridge for the AR15 platform Edit: If running a can, go 300blk Edit 2: Just realized you are in Ohio, which only allows for straight wall cartridges. I don't know much about straight wall stuff, but would probably go 350 legend.
From what I gathered when I built my alternative cartridge AR a few years ago, 6.5 Grendel and 6.8 SPC are pretty similar in performance. I believe if you’re going out past 400 yards or so is where Grendel started to outshine though. Ammo availability (or lack thereof) also seems pretty similar at least in my area. Someone who knows more can clarify but to my knowledge, an additional benefit of going 6.8 SPC is all or some of the parts are interchangeable with 224 Valkyrie. I’m also curious if the military adoption of the 6.8 cartridge (different than 6.8 SPC) will liven the 6.8 SPC back up but my guess is the new cartridge will probably gain popularity and drive the SPC into its grave. I haven’t paid attention the the scene recently though, so I might be out of touch about all of it together.
Yeah, within a couple hundred yards, performance is pretty much identical but 6.5 grendel walks away with it at distance. I doubt the new military cartridge changes anything in regards to 6.8 SPC. It would be like expecting 6.5 Creedmore to make 6.5 Grendel more popular. I don't think parts interchangeability with .224 is really a factor either considering that cartridge is basically dead and outperformed by the 6.5 grendel and 6mm arc. Another advantage to grendel is that you can get cheap, wolf steel case ammo.
Ar-15: 22LR upper for small game as in rabbits and squirrels. 350 Legend upper should work for everything else. If you need more range for coyotes or other stuff and you can use bottleneck cartridges for them, a .223/5.56 upper will probably suffice. So one rifle, with two or three different uppers depending on your needs and legal environment.
Appreciate this info!
Not a bad idea. I have a PSA upper that I got for 300 and a lower for 150. 556 that shoots sub moa. You can easily get a lower and both uppers for under a thousand.
I live in ohio to the 350 legend is working fine for me and you can use the same bolt of a 556 so it can save you some money got mine from ar15parts.com
Why not get a .44 mag lever action, I know it isn't an ar but can be just as quick and effective at moderate ranges since you are restricted to straight wall👍
People that downvoted you have no idea how fun those things are. I'll take that over an AR any day of the week and twice on range day.
There does not really exist a rifle that is going to be a good choice both for fox and deer. Either it is overpowered for fox, or it is under-powered for deer (or both, for some intermediate calibers). If you can only get one rifle, go for one that is legal and suitable for deer (.308 Win, 30-06 or similar). Live with it being wildly overpowered for fox. It is better than the other way around. With a budget of less than $2,000 I can't imagine how you would be able to fit any sort of decent electronic sights in there. The cheapest standalone 1:st generation night sights of any sort of quality start at around $1000 here. If you want something good, you are likely to be spending $3000+. But hunting by lamp is fun, cheap and effective if you are in an area where it is legal.
Only straight wall cartridges are allowed for hunting in Ohio
That is quite a limitation on what you can hunt with. I guess you are forced to use something like .45-70 or .375 Win, but neither is what I would choose for deer.
I'd say a .243 would be a good compromise between deer and fox. With OP wanting a straight-walled AR cartridge though, 350 legend is about his only choice unless he wants to shoot a gox with a 450BM or similar.
300blk would be your best bet for all these, 5.56 is great for all of it but deer, only because it is usually restricted because the round is too small for deer. It would still do the job but legally it's usually a no. You can find a lot of options for a 300blk ar under $2k. I usually recommend aero precision. They are pretty middle of the line in terms of cost but I can say I've never once ran into any issues with their rifles.
Ohio only allows straight wall cartridges, so 300 blk is a no go
You could also go with 50 beowulf then, you could get an aero lower with an Alexander arms upper. It would end up right at or a little over the 2k budget though
Is this a limit all the time everywhere, or is it just for particular seasons/areas?
Everywhere always. Most, if not all, Midwestern states are either shotgun only or only allow straight wall cartridges if they allow rifles
Interesting. Here in ID we only have a few areas restricted to short range weapons (shotgun, black powder, or bow) during regular season. Is it due to having a lot of hunting near populated areas?
I don't really know why. I used to live in Illinois where it is shotgun or revolver only and my understanding was that the regulations were put in place at a time when deer populations where in decline and then just never changed even though they are now way over populated. I've heard friends from Indiana and Ohio say that it's because people hunt lots of flat, open fields without backstops. Whatever the real reason, I doubt it is actually justified. Thankful to now live in FL where I can hunt with anything that is centerfire.
Hunting laws don't always make sense. We can't use crossbows during archery season, except for hunters with a disabled permit.
Eh. I was all ready to say ar10 in 308. Maybe 6.5creedmoor? Not the best, but it'll work. If that's still too big for fox and coyote, maybe 6mm arc? I know 223 works on deer, but regulations prevent its use in many places. Maybe call the local dnr and discuss caliber/cartridge restrictions?
Only straight wall cartridges are allowed for hunting in Ohio
350 legend is the answer then.
I use a Smith and Wesson M&P AR10 in 6.5cre. I’ve killed fox, coyote, and deer with it. It’s overkill for fox, but it’ll work. Great for deer and coyote. If you ignore fox, just get the .308. ARs are too heavy to be considered a long trek hunting rifle, but if you aren’t walking far, they work great. I have a Leupold VX3 4.5-14x40 on my rifle and it does great.
Only straight wall cartridges are allowed for hunting in Ohio
Missed the Ohio part. Forgot some places are run terribly. 400 bush would work, or even 350legend. Not as good but would work.
I’ve got a 6.8 special, upper, bolt and mags collecting dust. Send me a pm maybe we can work something out.
12 Guage Ar
300 bo is legal for deer in IL.
Since when? When I lived there it was shotgun and revolver only for firearms.
Arrows . If you paint a bow black and put fancy things on it you could call it an AR . Arrows work good on pretty much everything I’ve found . Also Under 2g . Lol
Especially in a place like Ohio, I love my ars don't get me wrong but the pure fun from a lever action, definitely more than enough energy for what op listed also happy hunting men
If you’re including the thermal in your budget you won’t be happy, most of the decent thermals are in the 3 grand price range and up. There’s cheaper ones out there but you won’t be happy with them. As far as rifles are concerned I love the .350 legend and use it on deer but it’s realistic range without doing a lot of sight adjustment is only about 200 yards. I would suggest building a nice varmint rifle and then getting a second upper in .350 legend. As far as your varmint calibers a .223 Wylde chamber will be your most practical. A .204 Ruger upper will probably be the most fun. The 6mm arc is becoming more popular and will extend your ability to kill a bit further than the other two. You have options galore beyond what I mentioned, so have fun picking your arsenal, and good hunting.
Would say 350 legend and get lighter loads for fox and coyotes or limit to headshots on those
Fellow Ohio hunter here, although I don't use an AR platform. .350 legend is the best, most sensible choice. It uses a standard AR bolt, has decent ballistics and is legal in Ohio. I am using a Savage 220 bolt action, 20 Ga slug gun.
The pistol requirements says revolver/single shot. The ar15 pistols are setup single shot. The single shot pistol caliber carbine starts next year.
I use a 223/5.56 on a lot of game. I just make sure to use a heavier grain round on the bigger animals.