AR left your bolt actions collecting dust?

4

4winds

New member
I've been pouring over the threads regarding both the 6.8 SPC and 6.5 Grendel in an AR15 and have been thinking for 200 yards and under for cpx2 game (whitetail & hogs), is getting either in an upper instead of new bolt action in say a 7mm08 or 6.5x55 a better idea? My areas of interest lies in recoil and terminal performance.

To narrow the scope: I reload and already have an '06 for elk and other cpx3 game so please limit your suggestions to the parameters above.

Which path would you choose and why?

Thanks!
 
The 6.8 and the 6.5 Grendel are both pretty aenemic compared to the 6.5 x55 and 7-08. Marginal choices for hunting IMO.
 
7mm-08 for me (of the 4 choices listed). Hunting and bolt guns go together like ice cream and apple pie. Don't let me talk you out of a new rifle but you have a .30-06 which will work fine for whitetail and hogs. I shoot 150s in my .30-06. My one and only deer so far this year fell to a 150 gr. Core-Lokt.

I've looked at both 6.8 SPC and 6.5 Grendal. Neither has yet enticed me enough to buy one. They seem underpowered for hunting to me too. My .243 has more energy at the muzzle and I kind of expect more in a larger caliber. Wrong, perhaps, but that's been my thinking.
 
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They aren't bad, the performance is closer to the old .250 Savage or the .257 Roberts. They will kill stuff dead, if you are a good shot. The .243 is better than either of these rounds.

I just like using a bolt or lever action rifle when hunting -- for calibers with a little more power.
 
I'm thinking of buying the ar upper for the versatility as well as a platform to use if my lefty relatives come to visit. From what I've read the 6.8 at least seems to knock down hogs like bowling pins when some say the 243 isn't enough. I can't believe how confusing firearm choices can be - but I don't want to buy a 500-1000$ mistake. I know my 30-06 can kill anything but I'm getting less recoil tolerant with age and she's a pretty gun. I also thought about just getting a plastic vanguard in 7-08.:confused:
 
I've had four Minis and I'm on my fifth AR, but for all that they've been casual fun for forty years I've never really given a hoot about them. Trade into, play with, make a few bucks and move on. I guess I'll always be a bolt-gun guy. One shot = one deer and that seems good enough.

My legs went and got old, so I went lightweight. Rem 700 Ti in 7mm08. 6.5 pounds fully dressed, so recoil at the bench is noticeable. Not bad, but noticeable. I guess that if my arthritis in my right shoulder gets worse, I oughta go to either a bit more weight for that cartridge, or go back to my seven-pound Sako carbine in .243.

I'd never feel under-gunned for hogs with a 100-grain bullet in the .243. I wouldn't figure on 400 pounds + at 200 yards, maybe, but the general run of hogs at common distances? Oughta work fine.

I've tagged around a couple of dozen bucks with the Sierra 85-grain HPBT, limiting myself to neck shots (mostly) or cross-body heart shots and staying inside of 200 yards or so.
 
getting less recoil tolerant with age
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I hear that!

My .30-06 is a Tikka T3 Lite. It's lighter than my .243 by about half a pound. A Limbsaver recoil pad was a life-saver!

Pretty and not wanting it scratched I can't help with, though.
 
I'm a bolt guy too. Most of this is delusional wanting on my behalf and in some weird way charitable for those who want to use it (like my wife and kids or friends who need to borrow a gun). My 30-06 is one of the rare production 9 lug Weatherby Mark V deluxe models - she's got scars but still beautiful and not meant to be drug through some mucky swamp especially tipping the scale around 10lbs. My AR it is a fun gun to shoot, inherently accurate and easy to work on, but doesn't seem to have a soul like the others I have, then again it is utilitarian to me and nothing more. I just thought these newer calibers might bridge the gap for a beat me up light kicker for hogs/deer, but some of the responses have me more cautious in regards to these calibers killing effectively.
 
No it is like the AR's are collecting dust. Mini 14 and a Stag Model 5 lefty in the safe. Had the Stag about 3 years and its never been fired, so that tells you that it is on standby for other duties. My bolt guns are my working guns per say as far as hunting. All of them except for maybe four of them are stainless steel with plastic stocks. When I am hundreds of miles from home I want my hunting rifles to be ready and dependable, no matter if it is raining or coming a blizzard. Don't get me wrong I am not saying that the AR's are not weather ready or that they will not do the job, but it is hard to beat a good bolt rifle for hard hunting.
 
My bolt guns are my working guns per say as far as hunting. All of them except for maybe four of them are stainless steel with plastic stocks. When I am hundreds of miles from home I want my hunting rifles to be ready and dependable, no matter if it is raining or coming a blizzard. Don't get me wrong I am not saying that the AR's are not weather ready or that they will not do the job, but it is hard to beat a good bolt rifle for hard hunting.
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Amen. I've been thinking on getting a howa barrelled action in stainless and throwing it in a b&c medallist weatherby stock - I'd rather have a sub moa vanguard in stainless but alas not made anymore - go figure. My problem is I get distracted in the process by a browning white gold medallion xbolt or weatherby mark v deluxe and the mad lust begins...I just love the feel and looks of wood. Am I alone in these complex stressful and life changing contemplations?:D
 
I have a DPMS LR308L in .308 that is 7.9 lbs out of the box.I also have a couple of .223 AR's.I suppose come Cristmas I'll be down to one,but my son on law be happy.
I have thought about a Grendel upper,but have other priorities.
Deer ,etc? I dunno,my 308 AR will work fine and I may do it just to do it,but on big game semi auto...I like that first shot best.A bolt does that just fine.Handier to carry.With the Leupold 6x by 42mm scope on it,my 257 AI weighs 7 lbs and easily shoots 4 in groups or less at 300 yds.The Mex 98 small ring shorter mauser action is dependable.It is free float glassed in a Garret Accralite stock ,year to year usually is zeroed at sight in time,its stable.Pretty hard to beat.
That said,for other shooting activity,fun at the range,targets,varmints,etc,its the AR that I use most.
 
Ah, 4winds, you're a gentleman and a scholar! Excellent taste in fine firearms! :)

My "Old Pet" is a Wby Mk V in '06. 26" #2 profile barrel. German made. Canjar trigger. Many and many a sub-MOA group. :) Bought it back around 1970. Definitely not pristine, given how many desert mountains it's been carried through.
 
How dare you, Art! Funny how a work of art still looks beautiful even after being strapped to a clumsy ol mountain man!:D
 
The 6.8 and the 6.5 Grendel are both pretty aenemic compared to the 6.5 x55 and 7-08. Marginal choices for hunting IMO.
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I wouldn't call them marginal at all but adequate under the right conditions. I took a pronghorn this year at 300 yards with a 6X47 Rem (6mm-.222 RM) I built. The only handicap I feel to my cartridge is the lack of good hunting bullets; I was only able to find one premium bullet in the 70 grain range called a Rhino bullet. I wasn't able to get any of the Rhino's so I used a Nosler BT 70 grain to take my pronghorn.

I felt my cartridge and rifle was adequate for the job I asked it to do and I wouldn't hesitate to take a deer with it either, but the discussed cartridges are better yet in terms or power and efficiency. Both will deliver more energy and better trajectory at all ranges than either the .30-30, 7.62x39, or my 6X47. Plus with today’s modern hunting bullets they don't give anything up to the .30-30 except bullet diameter. Now is the 6.5x55 and 7-08 better choices? They do offer more power and energy but getting clean kills is really a matter of putting the bullet where it belongs and that is more of a learned skill than a cartridge choice.

I'd still rather have both on a bolt action or single shot rifle than an AR. I've owned AR's and they are fun, but they just don't hunt like a regular old bolt action, ss, or lever rifle. They just seem awkward and bulky when compared to carrying a nice trim hunting rifle
 
Waterman,

Unfortunately, my physical build is broad shoulders and a neck like a giraffe, that puts me out of a lot of stocks and rifles including the T3. I had a 6.5x55 in a cz550 FS, what an awesome gun that was, LOP was great and a beautiful piece, but the bavarian cheekpiece wouldn't give me a decent weld...so down the road she went. After trying every gunstock and manufacturer I realized the importance of rifle fit and the only one that felt as if designed to align perfectly when shouldering without a heavy, high bore axis scope was the weatherby monte carlo style stock. I would like to recomplete my rifle set to cover the gambit of animals outside the big nasties in Africa while keeping clear of the magnum calibers. Due to the high cost of the economy I had to sell a bunch of rifles to feed the family and look to replenish my stock in a much smarter configuration. For big game I have and will always have a 30-06 due to the versatility, wide availability and killing prowess. I would like to add a 338-06, whelen or 9.3x62 for the biggest critters and a 6.5x55 or (can't be found) 260 for the smaller critters - I may have to settle for the 7mm08, instead because of its availability in rifles. My dilemma is the calibers available in weatherby original rifles don't fit my aspirations (outside the 7mm08 and an older used 338-06 mark V), but the howa barreled actions do - mainly the 6.5x55. Henceforth, the howa barreled action in a B&C stock. I thought if the new 6._ AR calibers might fit the role, but I haven't hunted with my AR yet and it sounds unanimous that a bolt action is better suited for the job.
 
Sorry I couldn't be of more help to you. I have a Weatherby Mark V in .300 Wtby. Mag and it does have a great stock. Unfortunately, I must sell it because I've had shoulder surgery and the recoil bothers me. Good luck to you.
 
Which path would you choose and why?
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I grew up shooting bolt-actions, and I guess I've never been tempted by an AR enough to change. They're ok, I guess, but don't grow on me at all.

One shot to the right place doesn't generally require a follow up, so I keep using the bolt-actions.

Daryl
 
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