Building an AR15 for Wild Hogs

[rdub934]

With my move to Shreveport, Louisiana looming later this month and hunting season not far off, my attention has turned to my ourdoor recreation needs. In Montana, my bolt action .270 Win has been a phenomal tool for me for hunting large mule deer and pronghorn. In Louisiana, I intend to hunt wild hogs quite a lot. The possible need for quick follow-up shots, and the fact that I have wanted an AR15 since forever, is why I want an MSR. I am not considering the .223 b/c I don't feel like it is an ideal cartridge for hogs, although I know that a lot of people have killed hogs with them.

I have been researching the topic a lot lately. Here is some of the more pertinent info in my mind:

- I believe I have swung to the 6.8 SPC side of the fence, mostly based on ammo availability. Also, performance is really good inside of 300 yds. Purpose built hunting ammo is much more available for it.
- The 6.5 Grendel does have performance advantage at long range, but I won't be taking shots much further than 300 yds at the extreme furthest, so that does not really factor in to the decision. Also, with it's severe shoulder angles, it has been claimed to have feeding issues.
- The .25-45 Sharps is so new that their is virtually no ammo variety for it yet.
- I am not a huge fan of the .300 AAC in theory. Slow, and with rainbow trajectories doesn't appeal to me.

So how about it? If you were building an AR15 for the primary purpose of hog hunting, what caliber would you choose to go with?

[Alan K.]

Seems you want an AR in a heavier caliber without moving all the way up to an AR-10 in .308.  Why not get one in 7.62x39 so you can still find relatively cheap plinking ammo when you want it.  All that other stuff is way more expensive.  The Patriot Ordnance Factory (POF) Puritan rifle in 7.62x39 got a pretty good write-up by Dave Fortier in the July 2015 issue of Shotgun News (now Firearms News).  You might want to also have a look at the CMMG MK-47 "mutant rifle." It came out about the same time.

[Grant Lamontagne]

I have to mirror what Alan said- as I was reading your post I was thinking .308 myself and I was a bit disappointed when it wasn't on your list.

It sounds like you've more or less made up your mind on the 6.8 SPC and you do certainly make good arguments for it.  Frankly I consider 300 yards to be about 200 yards more than I'll ever need as I rarely take a shot at more than 75-100, but maybe your aim is better than mine. 

Def

[SAK Guy]

I have to mirror what Alan said- as I was reading your post I was thinking .308 myself and I was a bit disappointed when it wasn't on your list.

It sounds like you've more or less made up your mind on the 6.8 SPC and you do certainly make good arguments for it.  Frankly I consider 300 yards to be about 200 yards more than I'll ever need as I rarely take a shot at more than 75-100, but maybe your aim is better than mine. 

Def

+1 On the 308 (or bigger)! We have a ton of hogs in Texas.....they regularly root up my back 40 and travel in packs of 20+. 

Read this a while back and it seems pertinent.
https://www.biggamelogic.com/ArticlesNews/tabid/136/articleType/ArticleView/articleId/563/AMERICAN-WILD-BOARS.aspx

[rdub934]

AR10s are really sweet, but if I were going that route I would probably want it chambered in .243 Win, possibly .260 Rem. While I am primarily going to use it for hogs, I would also use it for coyotes and foxes. .308 would be overkill IMHO; a lot of powder burned and recoil absorbed for pest eradication.

I wouldn't say my mind is made up. I am really torn between the Grendel and the 6.8SPC. Ammo availability may be what ultimately decides it for me. I would go Grendel, because it flies flatter. Also, Wolf makes steel cased "plinking" ammo that is really cheap per round. But, the 123gr SST is basically the best round available for hogs. Which is fine but there aren't many options. The 6.8 ammo is more expensive, so plinking would hurt a little more. But much better selection of hunting ammo.

I believe that two loads exist for the .25-45 Sharps as of now. So it would be a big leap of faith to go that route, but it is a very intriguing option.

[SAK Guy]

AR10s are really sweet, but if I were going that route I would probably want it chambered in .243 Win, possibly .260 Rem. While I am primarily going to use it for hogs, I would also use it for coyotes and foxes. .308 would be overkill IMHO; a lot of powder burned and recoil absorbed for pest eradication.

I wouldn't say my mind is made up. I am really torn between the Grendel and the 6.8SPC. Ammo availability may be what ultimately decides it for me. I would go Grendel, because it flies flatter. Also, Wolf makes steel cased "plinking" ammo that is really cheap per round. But, the 123gr SST is basically the best round available for hogs. Which is fine but there aren't many options. The 6.8 ammo is more expensive, so plinking would hurt a little more. But much better selection of hunting ammo.

I believe that two loads exist for the .25-45 Sharps as of now. So it would be a big leap of faith to go that route, but it is a very intriguing option.

Steel case ammo can be hard on some extractors...lots of AR guys and others avoid them. They work great in com block designs like the AK and SKS. The 308 has lots of loadings but the big plus (IMO) is availability of milspec/surplus ammo for plinking. If it was me, and it's not, I wouldn't shoot hogs with anything less than a .30 caliber bullet.

[jerseydevil]

Hogs, coyotes, and foxes? I'd honestly go .243 Winchester if you feel that .308 is a bit of overkill. Then again, I don't mind overkill. my deer rifle is a .45-70, which I've also used against squirrels on occasion.....   The .243 will allow you to use it as a varmint rifle, while giving you the power with the proper bullets for anything up to and including deer.

[rdub934]

Argh! I appreciate everyone weighing in but you aren't narrowing down my search. You're widening it

Okay, I've adjusted and reset the poll/votes

[Grant Lamontagne]

Honestly, are you even remotely surprised that the list is getting bigger?  I mean what are you, new here or something?  Hell, you might as well ask what everyone wants on a pizza next!   

Seriously, when it comes to hogs, those things are big and mean and powerful.  I would much rather have overkill on small animals and lots of power for the big ones than the other way around.  If you are that concerned I'd also consider getting a nice .22 that is going to dispatch most varmints- that makes a lot more sense than trying to get one gun that does everything. 

Frankly, as much as I enjoy the rush of shooting larger caliber weapons, I have just as much (or more) fun bullseying womp rats in my T-Sixtee... uh I mean shooting a .22.  I find it's more accurate, super cheap (by comparison) and doesn't hurt your shoulder after you have fired it a half dozen times.  And, it'll put a quick end to foxes, rabbits, squirrels and raccoons, and let's face it, even the annoying animals deserve a clean kill.

Def

[ironraven]

Well, the question really should be about which type of lower to go with. I'd say go with the standard size, so you can choose between .223 and .300. If I was reloading, I might take a gander at something called .277 Wolverine, but it is a newer round- bascially, 6.8mm but built on a .223 sized case so you don't need different bolts and magazines, while giving up about 100fps. I have a very good friend who swears by 6.8 SPC, and a brother who swears at it. Whatever you do go with, if it isn't .223, I'm going to suggest maybe a spare upper in .223 just for readily available ammo. Even during the worst of the shortage I was able to get some.

The one thing I would say "skip" to is the .25-45. It seems to be a strong effort to make a .223 class round that fits in a .223 sized platform, that isn't .223. I'm not convinced that gaining that extra half millimeter of bore size is going to make that much of a difference. If I was going to go supper nutty proprietary ammo, I'd either go with the Wolverine, or sell a kidney and go .458.

Full disclosure, I'm building an AR pistol (and I'll probably fill out a form 1 for it at some point, but since I might be moving to a different state within a year I'm going to hold off on that) and a spare upper for my carbine (currently wearing an XM177 profile barrel) at the moment, actually. Some I'm debating do I want to buy another upper and build a .300 BLK.

But if you want to go with the longer length, .243 and .308 will both make piggy fall down and it's just an upper swap. 260 and .338 Federal barrels are out there, and I really wish someone was loading .358 Winchester because I do believe that would be big medicine on pig and bear alike. My big concern with the AR10 size is that there is fair amount of variation between manufacturers still. So long as you avoid billets and other weirdness, parts pretty much just fit on the standard length AR.

But since someone mentioned it, yes, the Mutant. Someone finally seems to have gotten the AR47 concept right. But a lot of the parts aren't to any kind of standard from what I've read. That being said, if my lottery ticket pays off, I'm ordering one and a Tavor once the money is in the bank.

[Sea Monster]

I'm not a AR15 fan (maybe I just don't know enough about them?)

however as far as ammo goes, I've never had a problem with .223 and .308 for all my animal-murdering needs, and as has been alluded to prior - it's probably better in the long run to have multiple firearms to choose from depending on what you want to kill.


of course, it might just be that's all I know, and I don't hang out with enough gun-fanciers to know or keep up with all the latest new fangled skunkdickery.

[rdub934]

Frankly, as much as I enjoy the rush of shooting larger caliber weapons, I have just as much (or more) fun bullseying womp rats in my T-Sixtee... uh I mean shooting a .22.  I find it's more accurate, super cheap (by comparison) and doesn't hurt your shoulder after you have fired it a half dozen times.  And, it'll put a quick end to foxes, rabbits, squirrels and raccoons, and let's face it, even the annoying animals deserve a clean kill.

Def

I shoot a lot of .22 myself. It's the ultimate plinking round

[jerseydevil]

Voted. With the GAU-8, you can take out hogs, foxes, the neighbor's house, T-72 tanks......

[rdub934]

Well, the question really should be about which type of lower to go with. I'd say go with the standard size, so you can choose between .223 and .300. If I was reloading, I might take a gander at something called .277 Wolverine, but it is a newer round- bascially, 6.8mm but built on a .223 sized case so you don't need different bolts and magazines, while giving up about 100fps. I have a very good friend who swears by 6.8 SPC, and a brother who swears at it. Whatever you do go with, if it isn't .223, I'm going to suggest maybe a spare upper in .223 just for readily available ammo. Even during the worst of the shortage I was able to get some.

I have read about the Wolverine. I don't reload (someday) so ammo availability/variety would be an issue if I went that direction. Although I recently saw that a few companies have started making ammo for it.

Oh yea, the plan is to eventually get an extra upper in .223 for that exact reason

[rdub934]

Voted. With the GAU-8, you can take out hogs, foxes, the neighbor's house, T-72 tanks......

I know, right? Recoil is a little jarring, but with HE and depleted uranium bullets, you pretty much have all your bases covered

[captain spaulding]

Hogs, coyotes, and foxes? I'd honestly go .243 Winchester if you feel that .308 is a bit of overkill. Then again, I don't mind overkill. my deer rifle is a .45-70, which I've also used against squirrels on occasion.....   The .243 will allow you to use it as a varmint rifle, while giving you the power with the proper bullets for anything up to and including deer.

.45-70's are smurfing awesome. I love my 30-30, but I would send it down river without a thought for a SS .45-70 lever. 

[rdub934]

Hogs, coyotes, and foxes? I'd honestly go .243 Winchester if you feel that .308 is a bit of overkill. Then again, I don't mind overkill. my deer rifle is a .45-70, which I've also used against squirrels on occasion.....   The .243 will allow you to use it as a varmint rifle, while giving you the power with the proper bullets for anything up to and including deer.

.45-70's are smurfing awesome. I love my 30-30, but I would send it down river without a thought for a SS .45-70 lever. 

Same. And I don't really consider a .45-70 as being overkill for deer (squirrels, yes ). It is a really a big bullet, but it's slow, so the energy level is still appropriate. Now a .458 Win Mag would be overkill for a deer, lol

[Toolslinger]

No such thing as overkill: only fire and reload.

Also, the best kind of kill is overkill.

[Grant Lamontagne]

Especially if one of those boars realizes you are the reason his shoulder hurts.   

I think it is safe to put hogs on the list of animals you don't mess about with.

Def

[rdub934]

They can be really grumpy. A 300 pound boar with razor sharp cutters can easily be lethal if he were to get into an inner thigh.

I don't intend to get that close, however, luck favors the prepared

[Chako]

Good reason to keep those bayonets on the SKS. 

[rdub934]

Good reason to keep those bayonets on the SKS. 

You aren't lying

[duckman1975]

Get the biggest round you can, those suckers when charging is hard to put down.

[SAK Guy]

Get the biggest round you can, those suckers when charging is hard to put down.

A while back, I bought some 44 mag, 225 gr., solid copper hollow points to try on them if I get the chance.

https://www.midwayusa.com/product/528678/federal-premium-vital-shok-ammunition-44-remington-magnum-225-grain-barnes-xpb-hollow-point-lead-free-box-of-20

[duckman1975]

Get the biggest round you can, those suckers when charging is hard to put down.

A while back, I bought some 44 mag, 225 gr., solid copper hollow points to try on them if I get the chance.

https://www.midwayusa.com/product/528678/federal-premium-vital-shok-ammunition-44-remington-magnum-225-grain-barnes-xpb-hollow-point-lead-free-box-of-20

Hope you can tell me about it message me might not be for everyone here.

[rdub934]

Get the biggest round you can, those suckers when charging is hard to put down.

A while back, I bought some 44 mag, 225 gr., solid copper hollow points to try on them if I get the chance.

https://www.midwayusa.com/product/528678/federal-premium-vital-shok-ammunition-44-remington-magnum-225-grain-barnes-xpb-hollow-point-lead-free-box-of-20

I would like to point out that most .44 Magnum loadings have less terminal energy than a .223, and significantly less than the bigger AR15 cartridges Granted, I was looking at info that was taken from a 7.5" test barrel.

[shark_za]

Id change my vote,
If you are not making a larger AR-10 and actually making a AR-15 then I will change from .243 to .300 Blackout.

It does not have "rainbow trajectories" for most pig shooting ranges I am aware of. (125gr)
Maybe you shoot them from much further over there.

 

[shark_za]

And the 6x45 aka the .25-45 Sharps has a strong following down here in Africa for Impala and small game in the bushveld.
It would be an option for me too; I know two guys who got Zastava mini mauser actions and built customs in 6x45 for this exact purpose.

[rdub934]

And the 6x45 aka the .25-45 Sharps has a strong following down here in Africa for Impala and small game in the bushveld.
It would be an option for me too; I know two guys who got Zastava mini mauser actions and built customs in 6x45 for this exact purpose.

Wow, that's pretty cool that it is already a proven round. It is a really interesting new option for the AR15 platform, for sure. Velocity is the same (essentially) as the .223 but with bigger, heavier bullets. Hard to knock that type of performance

[SAK Guy]

Get the biggest round you can, those suckers when charging is hard to put down.

A while back, I bought some 44 mag, 225 gr., solid copper hollow points to try on them if I get the chance.

https://www.midwayusa.com/product/528678/federal-premium-vital-shok-ammunition-44-remington-magnum-225-grain-barnes-xpb-hollow-point-lead-free-box-of-20

I would like to point out that most .44 Magnum loadings have less terminal energy than a .223, and significantly less than the bigger AR15 cartridges Granted, I was looking at info that was taken from a 7.5" test barrel.

I realize that. Have hunted for most of my 56 years and owned my own guns/sporting goods store back in the 80's. Out of a rifle (like mine) 44's are fine up to Black Bear and with 300 grainers, again at short range (like 50 yards) Elk are no prob. What I'm generally looking for on big boars (300lbs and up) is penetration. I see the Nuge and his guys using 223's out of helicopters which looks like a blast, but personally, I would want a much heavier bullet if hunting them on the ground.  BTW the 300 gr 44mag  generates over a 1000 ft/lbs of energy at 50 yards which is decent wallop on most things that might hurt you.
Ref. - http://www.gunnersden.com/index.htm.44-magnum.html

For me, driving down to the tank and sitting my truck, the 44 lever is a perfect combination of easy handling and brute force so that is why I mentioned it. I'll dust off the 30 cal hunting rifles if .44 falls short.