What AR round should I try next? Bigger than 5.56.

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kymasabe

New member
Hey all. I'm bored with 5.56, tired of building the same old AR's, thinking of building something bigger. .300 Blackout might be an option but...was thinking maybe .350 Legend? 6.8SPC (if anyone shoots that anymore?) Maybe .450 Bushmaster?
I'm looking for ammo that's not going to be TOO expensive or hard to find, need something reliable, parts availability that's not too exotic, something that might be used on occasional pig hunt.
Your thoughts ?
 
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44caliberkid

New member
I really like my 6.8 SPC and 450 Bushmaster. I also have 458 SoCom, but the Bushmaster is easier and more economical to build and shoots 1 to 1.5 inches at 100 yards. Easy to reload for too, since I already reload 45 Colt and 454 Casull.
I have 300 Blackout AR pistol, sort of a home/ urban defense gun, with a red dot/ laser combo sight. I only shoot 110 - 125 grain, high velocity loads, no subsonic, heavy bullets. It is a fun gun but looking back on all my AR builds, I wouldn’t have done 300 Blackout, 22 Nosler or 22 Valkyrie.
 
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taylorce1

New member
If you want cheap ammo I'd build a 7.62X39 AR.

Wrong forum for this question, but I won't hold it against you.
 
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Koda94

New member
I'm looking for ammo that's not going to be TOO expensive or hard to find, need something reliable, parts availability that's not too exotic, something that might be used on occasional pig hunt.
Your thoughts ?
Click to expand...
6.5 Grendel is an awesome hunting caliber in the AR platform and well established availability in parts and ammo.
 
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ballardw

New member
I would think the approach is "what do I want to do" which would lead towards likely caliber choices.

Hard to go wrong with .22 LR as an option.
 
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603Country

New member
I went for the 6.5 Grendel. The grandson shot up a big hog with the 223, but the hog went another 300 yards. It was the last straw on pig hunting with the 223. Too many ran off. They don’t go far when you hit them well with the Grendel.

I’d have probably been just as pleased with the 6.8 SPC, but I already had reloading bits and pieces for the Grendel.
 
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JasoninSD

New member
I've used both the 6.8 SPC and 6.5 Grendel on deer and antelope. I've had no problem with either of them but if I were to settle on one, it would be the 6.5. For factory ammo you will probably have better choices there. You might even be able to pick up some cheap steel cased Wolf ammo for the 6.5. Not sure if it is still available but I did lay some in a few years ago when it was about $6 per box.
 
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P Flados

New member
For a combination of "just shooting" and pig hunting using factory ammo, the 350L sounds pretty good.

For more general purpose hunting, a 6.5 Grendel would be my choice.
 
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Webleymkv

New member
Based on what I see available in my local stores, .300 Blackout, .350 Legend, and .450 Bushmaster seem to be the most popular non-5.56 AR calibers. Of the three, .300 Blackout has the most widely available ammo and lowest cost. However, the main advantages of .300 BO are running in very short barrels and/or with a suppressor neither of which you mentioned in your OP.

You did mention Hog hunting and when I hear that I immediately think "brush gun" and when I think "brush gun" I immediately think of big bore lever guns. Since .450 Bushmaster gives roughly the same Ballistics as .444 Marlin, a purpose built "brush gun" cartridge, it only makes sense to me that .450 Bushmaster would be a superb pig hunting cartridge.
 
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taylorce1

New member
kymasabe said:
I'm looking for ammo that's not going to be TOO expensive or hard to find, need something reliable, parts availability that's not too exotic, something that might be used on occasional pig hunt.
Click to expand...

OP isn't reloading, so he's looking at cost for the most basic round available. The cheapest ammunition online at ammoseek.com with conditional free/ free shipping requiring quantity or total amount spent. This is just most of the cartridges mentioned so far with a couple extra thrown in.

.223/5.56: .45 a round brass case ($200 purchase)
7.62X39: .50 a round brass case (1000 rounds)
.300 BLK: .60 a round (300 rounds)
.224 Valkyrie: .68 a round ($125 purchase)
6.8 SPC: .86 a round (1000 round case)
6.5 Gren: .95 a round (500 round case)
.350 Leg: $1 a round ($200 purchase)
.300 HAM'R: $1.20 a round ($50 purchase)
6mm ARC $1.42 a round ($250 purchase)
.50 Beowulf: $1.70 a round ($250 purchase)
 
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Sarge

New member
I have been leaning toward the 6.5 Grendel, but I'll probably try some IMI 77 grain Razorcore before I order a 6.5 upper.
 
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jmr40

New member
I'll probably try some IMI 77 grain Razorcore before I order a 6.5 upper.
Click to expand...

Good idea. I think most people would be surprised at what a 223 with heavier bullets does. It makes most of the "other" cartridges that can be shot through an AR 15 platform look much less appealing.

It is my opinion that you really have to move up to the AR10 rifle to get it in a cartridge that is really a significant jump up over 223.

But if I were going to go bigger the 6.5 Grendel and the 6.8 cartridges make the most sense to me.
 
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tangolima

New member
I tried heavy bullets. Accuracy is not good for some reason. Anything heavier than 68gr is struggling. I have some light varmint bullets. They will go real fast. Not sure whether they will disintegrate with 1:7 twist.

-TL

Sent from my SM-N960U using Tapatalk
 
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Crankylove

New member
I’ve got complete rifles in 5.56, 5.56, and .338 Federal.

I think my next uppers will be .300 BLK, and 6.8.

I’ve also been eyeballing 9mm and .46 Auto carbines.

Occasionally, I get the bug for a .375 SOCOM, but I expect ammo is a bit more than the OP is looking for.
 
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Ignition Override

New member
A Fedex pilot neighbor also has just the AR in .223.

Now he’s interested in building,
or buying, an AR-10.

I have Zero rifle building experience or advice for him.
My main rifles are .308 (no ARs), and just one is 7,62x39.
 
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