Anyone hunt with their SBR?

H

HALLAUSTIN

New member
I remember a thread where someone posted their 10.5" AR that they hog hunt with so I wanted to see if anyone else hunts with theirs aswell. Wondering if it's common practice or a rare thing. I could see it being a pain to travel to other states to hunt with an SBR, but I could also see the positive side of it. Shorter with a suppressor, easier to maneuver through the thick stuff, ect.

Didn't know where to post this, moderators if you think this is better suited for the NFA section message me and I'll post it there.
 
I don't have an SBR or pistol AR (same barrels), but I know folks who hunt with both. Most of the SBR hunters use them in combination with suppressors, shorter, lighter platforms. They are hog hunters who find it much easier to be getting in and out of vehicles with their rifles, going over fences, etc. if they have smaller, lighter weapons, plus they are that much easier to carry. They make fun of me and my behemoth rifle and complain when having to pass it over the fence.

I am not as much of a fan of the shorter barrels because of the reduced velocity. It isn't a huge amount, but depending on the particular gun and caliber, for some, their 50-100 yard shots are like shooting 400-450 yards in terms if impact velocity.

What we have never stopped to study for them (usually because of time) is just how well their projectiles are or are not performing. It would be interesting to know if they are really loosing any real performance or not at typical hog hunting distances. I suspect they must be, but haven't done the necropsies and so don't have proof. If so, just just means you need to choose your shots a bit more carefully.
 
"Yeah, but you still gotta do the paperwork on the suppressor and deal with the wait time."
yes, IF you already have a stamped SBR
You're going to have to ask permission to cross state lines for either, correct??
 
" if they are really loosing any real performance or not at typical hog hunting distances. I suspect they must be, but haven't done the necropsies and so don't have proof."
While there may be a few bullets designed specifically to perform on game at sub-sonic muzzle velocities, the more common bullets fail miserably. About the only thing you can expect is for them to make a hole. I've not been able to recover any of the 208 grain tipped or 190 BTHP match type bullets I've shot into water filled milk jugs. They veer off line and exit in random directions before expending their energy. Some show significant energy dump(tumble) while some just make a .30 cal hole and fly away.
I have ZERO confidence and don't use sub-sonic(centerfire) ammo on game.
 
Not a SBR but I have a Draco. I finally got my single point sling on, just need to get my scope mount finished. I wanting to get a linear compensator.
 
I have killed a pretty good number of game animals with barrels as short as 4", 5", 6", 7-1/2" and 8-3/8". Deer, elk, black bear, antelope and a buffalo.
All revolvers however, in 357 mag, 44 mag and 45, and 454 Casull.

So if I can do it with standard revolvers all with issue iron sights, I have no doubt someone can do it with carbines with short barrels.
 
I can't see why not. In Arizona you would be perfectly legal to hunt with an NFA SBR with suppressor and standard capacity magazines. I'd I had the scratch to buy one, I would. ;)
 
Suppressor hunting is legal here, if it becomes less hassle to get a supressor I would sacrifice a bit of velocity for the ease of portability and maneuvering through the woods If it wouldn't be crazy loud to shoot.

Every animal I've ever shot or seen shot in person was inside 150 yards. 3500 fps isn't necessary to kill a whitetail deer or smaller animal inside 100 yards. Put into through heart/lungs a deer won't know the difference between 2000fps and 3500fps.
 
There's a feller in my neck of the woods that sold 95% of his substantial rifle and revolver collection after SBR-ing and suppressing a Marlin 1895 in .45-70.

I don't remember his exact words, but they were to the effect of:
"Once you're a ghost, you don't ever want to be a mortal again."

Translation: "I killed more stuff. I learned to be quieter and get closer. Not making excessive noise makes follow-up shots much easier. I enjoyed it a helluva lot more. And I no longer need those other guns."
 
"Suppressor hunting is legal here, if it becomes less hassle to get a supressor I would sacrifice a bit of velocity for the ease of portability and maneuvering through the woods If it wouldn't be crazy loud to shoot.

Every animal I've ever shot or seen shot in person was inside 150 yards. 3500 fps isn't necessary to kill a whitetail deer or smaller animal inside 100 yards. Put into through heart/lungs a deer won't know the difference between 2000fps and 3500fps."

Adding a 7-10" suppressor isn't going to make that SBR any shorter (and likely longer) than a non-SBR carbine. Therefore, less portable and maneuverable through the woods.

That's the problem, 2000 fps isn't sub-sonic. To get the quietness, you don't "sacrifice a bit of velocity", you drop to 1050 FPS which is below the expansion levels of most bullets.
Just "reducing" the muzzle signature is quite an advantage and often leaves the game bewildered as to shooter location. You don't "become a ghost" unless using sub-sonic ammo which limits your range to approx 100 yards. Not everyone hunts in the middle of a thicket.
 
More quietness?
Less loudness?

Open to interpretation and influenced by one's views about what loads would be expected to be used, I guess.

The 'Ghost'?... He runs subs.
Last I heard from him, he was running BTB 525 gr Piledrivers at about 1,000 fps (to ensure they're still sub-sonic at altitude in cold weather).
 
Ive never hunted suppressed, or used a suppressed weapon. What I do know at some distance beyond 100yds, but not too much further, you can actually hear the bullet smack the animal. (yeah, yeah, I hunt without hearing protection) at least, I can hear it.

It's just close enough that you can hear the bullet strike, but far enough that the bullet has traveled to the target and the sound has traveled back after the sound of the gun firing is gone. Too close, it's masked by the gun... too far and you can't hear it.

My question is this; can you hear a more pronounced bullet strike in a suppressed firearm?
 
I have no interest in SBRs but if I did did make one I would agree with ED308 and make it a 12" 6.8.

The ongoing debate between the 6.5Gren and the 6.8 SPC is something I have a lot of real-world experience with as a gunsmith and as a hunter.
In a nutshell I call it this way:

"6.8 for short barrels. 6.5 for long barrels."

Having killed 33 head of game myself with 6.8 and seen killed about 30 others. I have reports from about 60 more kills on top of those from friends and customers that use my guns. I have a good idea what to expect from 10 yards to 435 yards.
I have killed 6 with the 6.5 Gren and seen 8 others killed. Ranges for the 6.5G kills were between 60 yards and 385 yards. I also own a chronograph and so what I know is knowledge, not theory.

For performance in the game-field it's best to think of the 6.5 as a rifle shell and the 6.8 as a carbine shell. The 6.8 SPC does gain more speed between 16" and 20" than I thought it would, but nothing I can do with a 6.8 will beat the 6.5 in 20 to 24 inch barrels, and the .277 bullets don't hold their velocity as well. (they hold it well enough to make it an honest 1/4 mile gun, and that's all I'd want from it anyway)

With 125 Gr .264 Nosler Partitions, the 6.5 Gren is an honest 600 yard hunting gun. It's accurate even farther, but not all that deadly out past 600 as the bullets that can expand at 200 yards don't open much (or at all) at 700.
So the Gren is a better target rifle (by far) but the 6.8 kills a bit better at close range out to about 250. At 300 yards I can't see any difference on game as far as the size of the wounds and how fast they drop.

The other side of the coin is this;
loading for 16" and shorter barrels, (which makes the Gern fans mad, but it's a fact) the 6.8s I have made actually out run the 6.5 Grens I have made in 16" and shorter barrels, and sometime out run the Gren by as much as 125 FPS.

You can shoot the 125 Gr Nosler Part in the 6.5 and that makes it the best killing combination I have seen in that bore size. Most of the .264 bullets I have tried for long range flight and for accuracy were so-so on game. Not the Nosler 125 partition. It's a perfect bullet for the Gren. at nearly 400 yards it worked perfectly and at 30 yards it worked perfectly. I have been told by a friend it's fine at 550 too, and I believe him. (I was not there when he killed that big deer, but I did the butchering for him and the wound through the ribs and meat behind the foreleg was perfect.

The 6.8 SPC works well with a handful of bullets on game. From 85 grain to 130 grain. In fact, other than the 90 grain Speer TNT, all the most accurate .277 bullets I have tried have been hunting bullets. The Sierra Match king and the Matrix bullets doing well, but not as well as the Barnes, Sierra, Nosler and Hornady bullets.
The 90 Gr TNT was one of the most accurate bullet I have shot, going under 1/2 MOA in several guns, but are designed to blow up, and even at the lower velocities of the 6.8 compared to the 270, they still blow up. Can't blame a bullet for working as advertised however.

Anyway coming back to the point of the OP, I agree with Ed308. If you want an SBR on an AR, the 6.8 SPC is probably the best choice you could make.
 
Excellent points Wyosmith. Now, how would the 270AR or 7mm Valkyrie compare to the 6.8 and 6.5 Gren? Either would make a great SBR.
 
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