Thinking about coming back to the AR. Recommend non-556 version.

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There is a lot I dont like about AR15s but they are undeniably ubiquitous, easy to work on and parts are readily available.

What has me considering coming back to the AR is it being so easy to repair. I think I fell for the allure of a cooler, more reliable rifle, but if it went down (machines break) when I really needed it, id be up a creek. Whats funny and a bit ridiculous is this is why I went from a Ruger Mini to an AR in the first place!

So if I were to come back to the AR...what are the other popular common calibers other than 556? Bonus points if it fits in a regular magazine.
 
5.56 and .308 are the only common ar sizes. You can do a 300 blk in an ar 15. It will use the same mags and bolt as 5.56 but ammo is not common and is usually kind of expensive if you don't reload. If you want to be able to buy any kind of bulk ammo it really only leaves the 5.56.
 
Think 458 Socom allows you to use a standard 20 rd mag as a single stack magazine with no mods.

300 Blackout = same mag, same capacity.

Both are short range cartridges.
 
Well, in the AR15 platform, the more popular calibers besides 5.56 are
6.8 SPC2
.300 AAC Blackout/Whisper
6.5 Grendel
.458 SOCOM
.500 Beowulf
5.7x28
5.45x39
.204 Ruger (available from at least LMT)
7.62x39 - not recommended due to cartridge taper.

And, of course, you can always get a .22 LR conversion or upper receiver. Or just buy an M&P15-22.

If you want throw the AR-10 into the mix, then you can go anywhere from .308 to .30-06 to .300 Win Mag and further depending on the depth of your pockets.
 
Member "UpTheHill" was so kind as to post this in another current thread:

AR-15, without bolt modification
.17 Remington
.20 Tactical
.20 Practical
.204 Ruger
.221 Fireball
.222 Remington
.222 Remington Magnum
.223 Remington (5.56x45mm)
.223 Remington Ackley Improved
6x45mm
6mm Whisper
6.5mm Whisper
7mm Whisper
7mm TCU
.300 Whisper (.300/221, .300 Fireball)
.300 Blackout
.338 Whisper

AR-15, with bolt modification
223 WSSM
5.45x39mm (.21 Genghis)
243 WSSM
6mm PPC
6mm BR Remington
6.5mm PPC
6.5mm Grendel
25 WSSM
6.8x43mm SPC
.30 Herrett Rimless Tactical (6.8x43mm case trimmed to 41mm and necked up to .308; the 6.8mm version of the .300 Whisper)
7.62x39mm
.30 RAR
300 OSM
.357 Auto
.35 Gremlin (necked up 6.5 Grendel to 35)
.358 WSSM (various names, but all are some form of a WSSM necked up to 35 caliber, some are shortened to make them big game legal in Indiana)
.458 SOCOM
.50 Action Express
.50 Beowulf

AR-15 using a simple blowback operation
.17 HMR
.22 LR
.22 WMR
9x19mm
40S&W
10mm Auto
45ACP
Click to expand...
 
I really like the 6.8 SPC for hunting with a larger more capable cartridge in a light weight AR-15 package. Daniel defense, Wilson, and others have an example.

by the way, what is your "cooler, more reliable" rifle? Cooler is subjective of course. I suppose more reliable might be as well?
 
I never gave any AR a second glance.......until they were chambered in 6.8, now, I could get rid of every other rifle I have and rely solely on the 6.8 AR if it came down to it and not feel a bit undergunned in the slightest.
As a matter of fact, I bought a DPMS 16 Lite A3 in 5.56 for the females in my family just before the last school shooting, thought it would be easier for them to handle.
Well, I'm converting it to 6.8spc also, I just have no use for the 5.56x45, now the 6.8, what can't I do with it?
 
Two questions that must be asked...

1. What do you want to do with it, or what will be it's purpose?
2. Do you reload? And if you don't but have lots of money to burn pay no attention to this question.

First I will address it's purpose.
1. Long range (500 yards plus) = 6.5 Grendel
2. Longer range (100-450 yards) = .204
3. Mid range (100-400 yards) = 5.56, 5.45, 6.8 SPC
4. Shorter Range (100-300 yards) = 300 AAC/Blackout, 7.62x39
5. Short Range (50-150 yards) = .458 SOCOM, .50 Beowulf
These ranges listed above are what I would consider their optimal ranges, obviously you can shoot under, and have the potential of shooting over with greater holdovers and wind effect, etc.

Now the second question.
1. If you have plenty of money to burn disregard the following, and just pay the premium for these specialty rounds.
2. If you do reload then any of these can make sense on a budget, however some make more sense money wise. The 300 Blackout brass can be sourced from 5.56 brass. 7.62 and 5.45 brass will be easy to find to reload. .204, 6.8 SPC .458 SOCOM and .50 Beowulf, I don't really know but I imagine that the .204 would be the easiest brass to source.
3. If you don't reload and don't have money to burn then I would get one of the following: 5.56, 5.45, or 7.62. They are all military cartridges that can be bought for cheap, especially the 5.45.

The 7.62 however has had some problems in getting it to run right in the past, I don't know if they have been worked out, but for me I wouldn't even consider it being that I reload and there is the 300 AAC/Blackout.

Personally, the three I would consider for my personal preferences are the 5.56, 300 AAC/Blackout, and the 6.5 Grendel. The others that interest me are the .458 SOCOM and .50 Beowulf, that's about it for me.

If I were you and you reloaded I wouldn't hesitate to buy/assemble a 300 AAC/Blackout, it is easy to reload for and if you already shoot magnum handguns and reload the powder that is used crosses both platforms. The Blackout is seemingly picking up interest and I wouldn't be surprised to see a more ammo manufacturers ramping up production to meet demand which might allow for cheaper commercial ammo purchases.

P.S. Forgot to mention the pistol cartridges, but that can be more self-explanitory.
 
Last edited:
mooner said:
i really like the 6.8 spc for hunting with a larger more capable cartridge in a light weight ar-15 package. Daniel defense, wilson, and others have an example.

By the way, what is your "cooler, more reliable" rifle? Cooler is subjective of course. I suppose more reliable might be as well?
Click to expand...

uploadfromtaptalk1395943106928.jpg
 
You can pretty much buy factory loaded .300 AAC and 6.8 without too much searching these days, and even 6.5 Grendel.
 
The overseas contract to supply a MidEast government a 6.8SPC carbine has created the associated demand for ammo - which Federal is making. That means we now have (technically) a round that is military, with the associated lower costs. It's not the first country, either.

6.8SPC was Special Forces effort to get 50% more power out of the M4 for their purposes. It was created by the Army Marksmanship Unit, and has undergone further improvement. It's chosen for SBR's because it loses less power per inch of barrel than others, without the necessity of increasing caliber size. That is specifically what the overseas contracts are about. It was specifically designed to do that, unlike others. In hunting terms, it carries 1,000 foot pounds of force out past 300 meters depending on the load. Most hunters don't shoot past that effectively, and in comparison to most .30 cal cartridges, the 6.8 has less drop to compensate, extending the "point blank" range where you can sight dead on and not worry about needing more elevation.

With Federal MSR sitting in piles on the shelf at my local Academy, and still very little .223, I think my decision to build one five years ago is justified. I put money into getting a good barrel, and magazines aren't hard to find or problematic unlike the X39 cartridges. It can't use polymer magazines, but even then I could buy steel ones right in the middle of the last panic and they were shipped in days - not months.

The requirement to use "normal" magazines really isn't a good idea at the range, because you still need to mark what cartridge is in them, and that means you wind up dedicating some to a particular group and using them exclusively. That goes double when you find some that don't work well and they get culled. It's like the idea that you can pin any upper onto an AR - sounds nice, rarely happens in real life simply because we optimize guns to match the range and use that cartridge exploits. An SBR upper gets a close quarters stock and grip, a long range rifle something different.

While it's talked about interchangeability as being a great thing it really goes to building it and what options. Just because we can, doesn't mean we do. What's nice about 6.8 is that you can build a multipurpose rifle out of it and it does well - making it a popular first pick in a handy rifle or modern Scout self loader. It amplifies everything we like the AR to do, and it has a lot to do with why AR's are one in five rifles sold on the market today.
 
I really like the 6.8 SPC. Good loads available and my handloads are powerful and accurate.
 
I bought an Alexander Arms 6.5 Grendel 20" upper that I use on my DPMS lower. It is a sweet shooter than I am taking for Antelope in the fall then whitetails!!! Very accurate, plenty of range...
 
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