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  • TxHunter89

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    Hey guys new to the AR scene have friends that have them and liked them and well now I want to build one of my own.

    Now I know there's a crazy amount of options and others out there, my intended purpose for my ar will be an all around gun. Home defense, just to shoot, and deer hunting. Mainly deer hunting though. I'm not trying to go crazy expensive just yet, I want to get me a fairly basic but reliable gun for this upcoming season and slowly upgrade it as I go.

    The ammo I'm looking into is the .223, or .243, what are some things I can look at to meet my needs if you need further deals please ask as I am a newbie.

    Thanks in advance,
    TxHunter89

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    Little Jack

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    Stby for lots of replies.

    First thing. AR15 vs AR10. The .243 is going to be an AR10. Larger, more expensive, slightly fewer options and less commonality than the 15.

    More details on where you want hunt, range you plan on shooting, preferred hunting load, how you hunt (stand, walking) budget etc
     

    TxHunter89

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    I live in Texas so will probably be main location of hunting, as far as distance right now plan is no more than 200yrds I do want to have a blind set up but would like to have it set up for any case scenario even if on foot.

    As far as budget didn't really want to break the brand wanted to try and stay around the 600 range.
     
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    SAWMAN

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    The basics . . . there are two sizes if AR's. Picking which size you will use will dictate what chamberings you CAN pick from.
    The 243Win is the larger size. Quite a bit heavier and much more expensive. ESPECIALLY chambered in 243Win. In the larger sized guns the most common chamberings are the 308Win and 6.5Creedmoor. In the smaller size it is the 223/5.56.
    Sounds to me like you need a 6.8SPC. The 224Valkyrie would be another possibility in the small sized AR.
    Whichever gun you decide on,get it with a 16-18" bbl.
    The $600. range will get you 223/5.56 of "medium" quality. No optics and a shitty trigger. --- SAWMAN
     

    Murfpcola

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    If i was new to ARs and did not have mags and ammo already, I would look long and hard at 6.5 Grendel. I don't know much about it but Wolf makes fairly cheap steel case plinking ammo and the 6.5 projectile would be much better for larger game. There are a lot of YouTube videos on it. It is built on the AR 15 platform
     
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    Hey guys new to the AR scene have friends that have them and liked them and well now I want to build one of my own.

    Now I know there's a crazy amount of options and others out there, my intended purpose for my ar will be an all around gun. Home defense, just to shoot, and deer hunting. Mainly deer hunting though. I'm not trying to go crazy expensive just yet, I want to get me a fairly basic but reliable gun for this upcoming season and slowly upgrade it as I go.

    The ammo I'm looking into is the .223, or .243, what are some things I can look at to meet my needs if you need further deals please ask as I am a newbie.

    Thanks in advance,
    TxHunter89

    Sent from my SM-G920T using Tapatalk

    With the cost involved in building a .243 AR rifle as well as the heftiness of such a rifle, I highly recommend build an AR-15 based rifle in 5.56/.223. That is the best option, in my experience and opinion, for a general purpose rifle. That said, if you are wanting a rifle for hunting, I would recommend buying a bolt-action .243. It will be lighter that an AR in that caliber and much cheaper. I believe in having the right tools for the job. An AR-15 in 5.56/.223 is great for all-around uses like plinking, personal defense, and home defense. They are good for hunting some game, but there are some states that do not allow 5.56/.223 for hunting. You can also be limited to magazine capacity on hunting rifles as well. Some states only allow 5 to10 round magazines. In your budget range, you will be better off buying a .243 bolt-action rifle or building/buying an AR-15 in 5.56/.223. For a .243 AR build, you can start at about $1K and go up (not including scope and mount).
     
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    Bay Ranger

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    Close friend, and super avid deer hunter, in MS did a lot of research on calibers for deer hunting and wound up buying the 6.5 Grendel for his needs. He already had an AR15 and he just bought the new upper for the"15". He has killed many deer with the Grendel. If I were in your position I would really respect his advice and recommendation.
     

    TxHunter89

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    Thanks everyone for the responses and replies sorry been busy with work.

    I'm going to take everyone's advice and do some more research and see what I can find it see which option better suites my needs.

    Thanks everyone!

    Sent from my SM-G920T using Tapatalk
     

    epointer

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    I would look into the 6.5 Grendel if a small framed AR is wanted. If you would rather a large frame, check out Palmetto State Armory, you can get a complete free floated 6.5 creedmoor or .308 upper and slap it on a PSA complete lower for just a hair over your budget. This is the route I would go.
     

    FrommerStop

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    Many that are into to hunting up to ranges of 200 yards with the AR15 are choosing the 7.62x39. The knowledge for doing that build is being perfected. The easiest is to build it in 5.56 nato. If hunting is the goal at ranges to 200 yrds I would look into a heavier caliber in 7.62x39 which is the cheapest ammo or go to 6.5 grendel. Of course that AR10 gives many more options from more powerful rounds, but at great cost and i believe wt.
    If the moderators do not object here is a link to a thread on one particular 7.62x39 AR build from bear creek arsenal. https://www.ar15.com/forums/AR-15/Bear-Creek-Arsenal-7-62X39-upper/121-718119/ Like you I am a newbie. I have gotten my gun to feed and eject well. Now I need to improve ignition and have ordered a stronger set of springs for the hammer and trigger group. I added tungsten buffer wts to slow the bolt speed and some other things.
     

    FrommerStop

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    The basics . . . there are two sizes if AR's. Picking which size you will use will dictate what chamberings you CAN pick from.
    The 243Win is the larger size. Quite a bit heavier and much more expensive. ESPECIALLY chambered in 243Win. In the larger sized guns the most common chamberings are the 308Win and 6.5Creedmoor. In the smaller size it is the 223/5.56.
    Sounds to me like you need a 6.8SPC. The 224Valkyrie would be another possibility in the small sized AR.
    Whichever gun you decide on,get it with a 16-18" bbl.
    The $600. range will get you 223/5.56 of "medium" quality. No optics and a shitty trigger. --- SAWMAN
    I just installed a LaRue trigger for about $100 on a 6.5 grendel. If you are willing to wait a month or so the trigger is one hundred dollars. If you want it faster it will cost more from LaRue. I paid through the nose for an Alexander Arms 6.5 upper. But only $200 for a 7.62x39 bear creek arsenal upper. Difference between say a 600 yard rifle and a 300 yard rifle.
     

    tros6t

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    Just did a quick scan on web of AR10's in 243. Not much out there. 5.56/223 are a dime a dozen now. Even AR10's in 308 are plentiful and not crazy expensive but as Little Jack's said, it depends on what you plan to use it for. I hunt deer with .223 and 308. With the correct ammo, .223 will work for most deer in this area. Some will disagree. The thing about .223 is it's super fast and if you hit a twig or small branch on the way to your target, it will change courses very easily. 308 works well and you have so many different loads to work with.
    And yes, you have the "designer" calibers now and also 7.62X39, the AK round. The issue with all is the cost. Check the prices. Even 7.62X39 in brass is expensive compared to 5.56/223. Can get 7.62X39 in steel for cheap but some AR's don't like the hard primers. And firearms are like cars and engine oil, everyone has an opinion about it and some are good. But do your homework. Another option is get a deer rifle to hunt with and an AR to play with! Both are at all time lows right now because of the glut of them and not so many buyers.
     
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    FrankT

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    I am telling you the 6.8 is where the action is, none of the problems as with the X39 or 6.5
     

    FrommerStop

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    I am telling you the 6.8 is where the action is, none of the problems as with the X39 or 6.5
    On the 6.5 is it the bolt and extractor you are talking about? One does want to have spares about.
    The attraction to me for the 7.62x39 and 6.5 g is the lower cost of shooting ammo. For me guns are not so much about hunting. Killing for sport is not so attractive these days. For hunting if i was so inclined I have a lot of bolt guns that will do the job quite well. Ballistically I have not looked closely at the 6.8 and the 6.5 to see which was better. I can shoot 7.62x39 for close to 25 cents and the 6.5 for 30 cents a round that is cheaper than I can reload jacketed bullet ammo. I will have to verify it with mine but some of the 7.62x39 AR barrels are said to be .308. Means if you want to reload there will be quite a choice of 308 bullets out if that is true.
     

    SGB

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    I am telling you the 6.8 is where the action is, none of the problems as with the X39 or 6.5

    For your stated purposes this is your best all around best bet. Having said that for all things not 5.56 I'm a 6.5 Grendel guy for distance .....

    2q366na.jpg


    .......... and a .300 Blackout for 200 and under

    jt1n42.jpg
     

    FrommerStop

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    If I go AR pistol considering muzzle blast and performance I would go with the 300 AAC. But Since I am basically an AK person I just happen to have a lot of AK ammo. If become confident with AR in AK caliber I may just go to an AR in that caliber for my homestead defense of my 8 acres.
     
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