AR15 equivalent for .308

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IMHO, once you get to AR10's, the rifles are just too heavy to fool with for hunting.
For driven/stalking/moving hunts, definitely. Then again, for treestand/blind in open terrain they're IMO an ideal combination of accuracy, range, recoil management and repeat shot(s) if need be. Or simply shooting three deer in one pile when you still have bunch of tags on the last day of the season when sun starts to set. I haven't kept track of how many have fallen to mine over the years but I'd give it quite a bit of credit for keeping my freezers stocked.

I've carried other rifles lately, mainly because most hunts have been driven and had a dress code which AR:s don't really fit in, but tomorrow is another treestand evening and I'll take the .308 AR. Mainly because the stand is just a 100yd hike from the nearest road, I wouldn't like carrying all its bulk much further.
 
People are getting 2500 with a 200 grain FTX out of the 358 yeti. By my calculations that would pass your load in energy at 30 yards from the muzzle.
That seems a reasonably short distance down range. :D Still love my thumper, and it's legal in straight wall states where I am from. I hunt with 275gr Barnes TSX at only ~1850 fps and it still shoots through everything I hit with it. Shot almost the full length of a 140lb Doe this year, in behind the ears out just in front of the hind legs.:cool:
IIRC that's what the 6.8 SPC is based off of.
Edit: Nope the 6.8 SPC is based off of the 30 Rem and not the 30 RAR.

I posted a picture of 30 RAR on page 3 of this thread. 30RAR is based on 450 Bushmaster, which is based on 284 Winchester. 30 RAR is a very odd duck in the AR world, using allot of proprietary parts in the upper and some funky mags.
 
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For driven/stalking/moving hunts, definitely. Then again, for treestand/blind in open terrain they're IMO an ideal combination of accuracy, range, recoil management and repeat shot(s) if need be. Or simply shooting three deer in one pile when you still have bunch of tags on the last day of the season when sun starts to set. I haven't kept track of how many have fallen to mine over the years but I'd give it quite a bit of credit for keeping my freezers stocked.

I've carried other rifles lately, mainly because most hunts have been driven and had a dress code which AR:s don't really fit in, but tomorrow is another treestand evening and I'll take the .308 AR. Mainly because the stand is just a 100yd hike from the nearest road, I wouldn't like carrying all its bulk much further.
It's personal choice more than anything. I have no issues carrying a 9-10lb muzzleloader all day but I'm just not gonna do it with an AR. If I was gonna pile `em up, I'd prefer a 7lb levergun. ;)
 
That seems a reasonably short distance down range. :D Still love my thumper, and it's legal in straight wall states where I am from. I hunt with 275gr Barnes TSX at only ~1850 fps and it still shoots through everything I hit with it. Shot almost the full length of a 140lb Doe this year, in behind the ears out just in front of the hind legs.:cool:


I posted a picture of 30 RAR on page 3 of this thread. 30RAR is based on 450 Bushmaster, which is based on 284 Winchester. 30 RAR is a very odd duck in the AR world, using allot of proprietary parts in the upper and some funky mags.
^Exactly, I was reading about the 30 RAR it's a weird-ish round in the sense that's it's basically(for all intents and perposes) a Short Magnum for AR-15 rifles, that was developed about 12 years ago by Remington for their R-15 AR.
 
^Exactly, I was reading about the 30 RAR it's a weird-ish round in the sense that's it's basically(for all intents and perposes) a Short Magnum for AR-15 rifles, that was developed about 12 years ago by Remington for their R-15 AR.

Yeah its a strange bird. I just built one from old-new and old parts late last year. Hopefully my first range trip with it will be this weekend. Hopefully the used barrel is not shot-out.

RXffKfBl.jpg

@someguy2800 if you get a chance could you share a picture of the 358 Yeti bolt compared to a standard AR bolt and AR-10 if you got it. The more I think about that cartridge the more curious I am. 450 Bushmaster uses a standard AR-15 lug pattern but due to the larger bolt face has to limit peak pressure to 38,500 psi or it's going to start damaging bolt lugs. 30 Remington AR is spec'ed to 55,000 psi but uses what is accentually an AR-10 bolt lug pattern and barrel extension (Hence all the propitiatory parts). I noticed that 358 Yeti is spec'ed for 55,000 psi also and uses the same bolt face as 450BM/30RAR (but is not rebated as those cartridge are) and was curious what the bolt and lugs looks like but have not had much luck finding dimensions or even pictures online. -thanks
 
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Want something a bit larger and heavier than 5.56mm that only has to go 150 yards in WV. Would also be nice if I didn't have get it online, but it's not a dealbreaker. I guess it's too much to ask for it to be common enough to get at Walmart.
 
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Want something a bit larger and heavier than 5.56mm that only has to go 150 yards in WV. Would also be nice if I didn't have get it online, but it's not a dealbreaker. I guess it's too much to ask for it to be common enough to get at Walmart.
7.62x39
6.8SPC
6.5 Grendel

Those are probably the three most common "larger" ar15 rounds. You could probably find one of those at your local walmart...maybe...dunno, walmarts here dont stock ammo or guns.

After that Id look at the .350 Legend, and .450 bushmaster. Those two are a little harder to find here, but still available over the counter.
 
Want something a bit larger and heavier than 5.56mm that only has to go 150 yards in WV. Would also be nice if I didn't have get it online, but it's not a dealbreaker. I guess it's too much to ask for it to be common enough to get at Walmart.
For 150 and in my vote goes to 7.62x39. Uppers are cheap, ammo is as cheap as can be and very available, and they are very reliable when you use a correct 7.62x39 mag. Try the tula 154 grn sp or the federal fusion hunting ammo. Both are great deer medicine. Or just use federal fusion in 223 if you can legally do so...
 
Yeah its a strange bird. I just built one from old-new and old parts late last year. Hopefully my first range trip with it will be this weekend. Hopefully the used barrel is not shot-out.

View attachment 891564

@someguy2800 if you get a chance could you share a picture of the 358 Yeti bolt compared to a standard AR bolt and AR-10 if you got it. The more I think about that cartridge the more curious I am. 450 Bushmaster uses a standard AR-15 lug pattern but due to the larger bolt face has to limit peak pressure to 38,500 psi or it's going to start damaging bolt lugs. 30 Remington AR is spec'ed to 55,000 psi but uses what is accentually an AR-10 bolt lug pattern and barrel extension (Hence all the propitiatory parts). I noticed that 358 Yeti is spec'ed for 55,000 psi also and uses the same bolt face as 450BM/30RAR (but is not rebated as those cartridge are) and was curious what the bolt and lugs looks like but have not had much luck finding dimensions or even pictures online. -thanks
Nice AR build there mcb, I hope it shoots as good as it looks :) , I'm more of a "AK guy", but I'm not a "AR hater", although I tend to "abhor" AR snobs though. ;)
 
More pictures for those curious. Hopefully this is not to far off topic but I don't think it is. 30 Remington AR was expressly design to try to give near 308 performance in an AR-15 plateform. It is not 308 performance but with 150gr or lighter bullets it is respectable.

Bolts
3HgYhkFm.jpg qaOni0km.jpg Z7RiRZ2m.jpg
Left to right: 30 Remington AR, 450 Bushmaster, Std 556
Direct links below for higher resolution. Sorry they are all dirty, have not had a chance to clean them in awhile.
https://i.imgur.com/3HgYhkF.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/qaOni0k.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/Z7RiRZ2.jpg

Now magazines cause 30 RAR is a funky chicken in the magazine department. It only feed from the left side.
c9h2wMNm.jpg aGUXa0Hm.jpg o64H2hbm.jpg
Left to Right: 30 Remington AR, 450 Bushmaster, Std 556
Direct links to higher resolution.
https://i.imgur.com/c9h2wMN.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/aGUXa0H.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/o64H2hb.jpg


Your turn @someguy2800 :)
 
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358 yeti bolt on left, 5.56 bolt on the right. The 358 bolt is the same that they use in the 7mm Valkyrie and others. The rounded root is the secret to why they are so much stronger than a normal bolt.

View attachment 891853
Awesome, thanks for post that image, couldn't mind one on the internet anywhere.

ETA: I appreciate that you didn't clean them and make me look bad too.:D
 
What's the most common widely available FACTORY cartridge that I can hunt deer with by buying an upper for my AR? Colt LE6920

Want something a bit larger and heavier than 5.56mm that only has to go 150 yards in WV. Would also be nice if I didn't have get it online, but it's not a dealbreaker. I guess it's too much to ask for it to be common enough to get at Walmart.

6.5 Grendel would be my choice given these parameters.

Admittedly, for such a short range, I would look exceptionally hard at some of the larger caliber, commonly available thumpers, like .350 Legend and 450 Bushmaster.
 
It's personal choice more than anything. I have no issues carrying a 9-10lb muzzleloader all day but I'm just not gonna do it with an AR. If I was gonna pile `em up, I'd prefer a 7lb levergun. ;)
I would venture that my 26" Weatherby Mark V and my M&P 10 are within a few ounces of each other.
 
358 yeti bolt on left, 5.56 bolt on the right. The 358 bolt is the same that they use in the 7mm Valkyrie and others. The rounded root is the secret to why they are so much stronger than a normal bolt.

View attachment 891853
Wow, that picture tells the story doesn't it? There must be twice as much meat per lug on the yeti bolt. Thanks for sharing, been wondering how they pulled it off.
 
Wow, that picture tells the story doesn't it? There must be twice as much meat per lug on the yeti bolt. Thanks for sharing, been wondering how they pulled it off.

For sure. If you really think about it from an engineering standpoint the standard AR15 bolt lugs profile is actually a terrible design. If you used something like the MDWS bolt in a 5.56 or 6.8 spc or whatever the bolt should last literally forever.
 
For sure. If you really think about it from an engineering standpoint the standard AR15 bolt lugs profile is actually a terrible design. If you used something like the MDWS bolt in a 5.56 or 6.8 spc or whatever the bolt should last literally forever.
Yeah look at a Knights SR25 or a DPMS (RIP) GII bolt lots of meat in those. Lots of nice radius, especially the GII, to keep those stress concentrations down. The more radii also makes them easier to machine both the bolt and the barrel extensions. Corners, especially inside corners are a pain to machine and bad for causing stress risers.
 
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The MDWS bolts are a very nice design. Once the Yeti barrels and bolts get back in stock I’ll be ordering one. Just got to decide between a 16” or 18”.
 
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