Hunting with the AR-15
Pat Cascio 06.12.13
Another great maker of .223 ammo is Buffalo Bore Ammunition. Right now, they’re making some outstanding loads that they call “Sniper Loads”. I also really like their 55-gr Ballistic Tip, followed by their 69-gr JHP and then their heavier 77-gr JHP loads. You will find that BB ammo shoots a little hotter and perhaps a little flatter than some other .223 loads. But the bottom line is that Buffalo Bore makes only high-performance ammo – period! Much of my shooting is done with the good ol’ 55-gr FMJ ammo, and I’ve shot a lot of it from Winchester over the years. I know, they make a lot of hunting loads, too – however, every time I request some of their hunting ammo, they’re always out of stock. That speaks to the popularity of their hunting loads. For ground squirrels and small varmints, the 36- to 40-grain rounds are typically all you need. The 50- to 69-grain rounds are great for larger varmints and coyotes, though it depends on how far you are from coyotes — the farther out they are the heavier bullet you’ll want to use for bucking the wind and getting a better kill shot. The heaviest bullets can also be used on coyotes, but you don’t need them; those might be best reserved for deer-sized game. When it comes to the .223 round, and “big game” I would limit game to small to medium size deer, and no matter what type of weight of .223 ammo I’m using, I would restrict my shots to 150-yards or less.
Yeah, I know, our military claims that the 5.56mm is good out to 450-yards or so – and that is true, however you aren’t gonna have a kill shot at that distance. So I limit the 223 out to 150-yards for deer-sized game, and to be honest, I’ve never take a deer beyond 150-yards. Most of the deer I’ve taken have been under 100-yards with just about any caliber I’ve used. For this article, I took my Sig Sauer M400 AR out and fired it for accuracy. This rifle has a 1/7″ barrel twist, and it likes heavier bullets. I ran the Black Hills 77-gr Sierra Matchking and the Buffalo Bore 77-gr JHP rounds through it, and I used a cheap Tasco 3-9 power scope, and my best 5-shot, 100-yard group of the day was a 1.25″ group with the Black Hills load, and right on the heels of this load was the Buffalo Bore 77-gr JHP load.
One of the most accurate loads I’ve used in any AR is the Black Hills 68-gr Heavy Match Hollow Point load – it always gives me outstanding accuracy – probably the most consistent .223 loads I’ve ever used. Ultimately, the hard part about saying which bullet type/weight is “best” for any game is that there are so many different factors involved when using the .223/5.56mm round for hunting. The AR’s effectiveness on any particular animal comes down to a combination of distance, barrel length, bullet size, and twist. So before heading out to the field, do as much research as you can, and choose your ammo carefully — you don’t need a 77-grain Sierra Matchking load in .223 for hunting ground squirrels, when a 36-grain Varmint Grenade will do the job nicely. And, with any type of hunting, shot placement is the key – along with the right caliber and the right ammo.
Accessories and options
For hunting varmints, many states don’t limit the magazine capacity, so you can put a magazine in your AR that will allow you as many as 100-rounds, however they aren’t very practical. Some states allow hunting at night for varmints and certain other small game, and here is where a night vision scope and/or laser mounted on your AR will come in handy. Again, you are only limited by your own imagination and checking account, as to what you want to mount on your AR for your particular type of hunting. I’ve seen some really tricked out long-barreled ARs in .223 that are used for hunting ground squirrels, groundhogs and other small game, that can take that game way out there at 400-500 yards, with the right scope and load – and a good man behind the trigger. Some of those ARs weight in at 10-12 pounds, have very heavy barrels that are fluted, a bi-pod and all other types of equipment. I’ve sat on my brother- in-law’s ranch in Southern Oregon, and spent many a day, just in one location, on top of a small hill, shooting ground squirrels with an AR-15 in .223 and open-sights. And, I hate hearing that “no one needs more than 10-rds in their magazines….” from all the talking heads on TV. When clearing a farm field of nuisance ground squirrels, its nice having a pocket full of 30-round magazines on-hand. If you live in a state that allows certain types of hunting at night, then you can really benefit from a night vision scope mounted on a flat-top AR, and ATN Night Vision makes some of the best night vision scopes out there. This can make all the difference in the world, if you make a hit or completely miss game in the dark. Yeah, a flashlight helps, but nothing beats a night vision scope if you ask me.
There are also lasers that you can mount on a quad-rail of your AR. I like the laser fore grip from Crimson Trace, which not only provides a great hold on an AR with a quad-rail, but it puts that little red dot right where it should be: on game. The Crimson Trace laser also has a high-intensity flashlight built into it – again, make sure this is legal in your state. Ultimately, though, you don’t have to spend top-dollar on optics and lasers for a hunting AR-15 — just make sure you have something on there. I’ve mounted many types of scopes on ARs, as well as other types of no-name red dot cheap scopes, and they all worked for me.
What not to do, and conclusions
There is a popular TV show on these days, and it follows the residents of an Alaska native village in their day-to-day chores and survival. I’ve seen a couple of the residents hunting black bear with an AR-15 in .223, and I don’t care what bullet weight or design they’re using, they are only asking for trouble. This round is not meant for dangerous game. Sure, I’ve seen a few of the TV folks shoot and kill black bears with nothing more than an AR-15, but in many states, this caliber is illegal to use on big game, and for good reason. So please, don’t go hunting dangerous game like black bear with an AR chambered in .223.
Now if you step-up to a .458 SOCOM or .50 Beowulf, then we are in a different ball game. These rounds can take big, dangerous game, but we’ll talk about those in the next installment. So, as you can see, the AR-15 platform can be had in thousands of different configurations, as well as different barrel lengths and barrel twists, and a host of calibers. And, these days, it’s not uncommon to see someone out in the field with an AR-15 hunting deer or other game. So when the anti-gunners tell you that the AR is an “assault weapon” make sure you educate them, and explain the difference between a real, fully-automatic assault rifle and a semi-auto-only AR-15. Also, make sure you tell them that the AR is, without question, one of the most versatile hunting rifle there is — from varmints all the way up to black bear and even moose.
