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Shorty AR pistol for taking deer


Center Mass 762
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It's illegal to hunt deer with a rifle in IL. So, I'm going to buy/build an AR pistol to hunt with. I want something short so I'm leaning towards something with a ~10.5" barrel. It has to be either .30 cal or above and bottleneck cartridge case less than 1.4", or a straight-walled cartridge (unlimited length) and fit a standard AR-15 lower.

My question is, what would you guys recommend? I reload, so ammo price isn't really that big of a deal. I'd like to be able to shoot 200m but that would be rare. 150m would probably suffice.

.300blk? .50 Beofwolf? .450 Bush?

What do you guys think? I've researched my ass off but there's so much info out there and I can't find comparisons specific to my needs. I also have zero experience with any of those cartridges.

Could anyone help me with some insight? 

Thanks, y'all!

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300 Blackout has a case length of 1.368 inches, so that's perfect.  It's designed for optimal performance in a 9 inch barrel, so 10.5 is perfect.  The one I just built uses a 10.5 inch barrel.

Reading around, it looks like the two best bullets for deer hunting are the Barnes black tip 110 gr TAC-TX FB, or the Hornady 125 gr SST.

 

The TAC TX rounds I've seen typically run about $1.40 or more per round, as it's an all copper bullet, and even if you reload it's still over 60 cents just for the bullet. 

https://vizardsgunsandammo.com/hpr-300b110tactx-300bo-100-tactx-20-10/

 

Fiocchi has a load with the 125 gr Hornady SST bullet for about half the price per round, so that's the one I just purchased a couple boxes of, and 500 bullets to load myself at 25 cents per bullet.  

https://vizardsgunsandammo.com/fio-300blkha-300bo-125-sst-25-20/

https://www.midwayusa.com/product/1010485949/hornady-interlock-bullets-30-caliber-308-diameter-125-grain-sst-flat-base-box-of-100  Lots of reviews at midway for the SST.

Since you already reload the 300 blackout is also pretty easy to deal with, if you do anything that's already in .308 then you can use any of the bullets you already have for plinking, but hunting really needs the rounds designed for slower velocity to work right.  .223 cases turn into 300 blackout cases with a little work if you have a source for them.  Overall it's 

 

I'm sure the 450 bush and 50 beo would work just fine, and for hunting you don't really need to have a 30 round mag capacity.  Bullets are going to cost more, and brass is expensive as well, but other than that no reason not to.  They are bigger, slower, heavier bullets in comparison to the 300 blk, but have a good bit more energy on impact.  At the shorter ranges drop shouldn't be too much of an issue no matter what you decide to do.  Heck, for the range you're talking you could do one in 10mm if you wanted and still have enough energy for a clean kill with decent shot placement.

The only AR pistol I have is in 300 blk, and I haven't shot anything in the other two calibers, so all I can really say is the 300 blk is a valid choice.

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After firing .450 Bushmaster in an 8lb rifle, I don't want any part of it in a pistol.  Seriously.  It has 2700 ft. lbs of energy at the muzzle.  Comparable to a .308.  Unless you are the size of Andre the Giant or a masochist...  I'd go with .300 BLK; closer to good ol' .30-30 ballistics.  And no one ever accused anyone that shot a deer with .30-30 of being undergunned or inhumane.

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14 hours ago, PNWguy said:

After firing .450 Bushmaster in an 8lb rifle, I don't want any part of it in a pistol.  Seriously.  It has 2700 ft. lbs of energy at the muzzle.  Comparable to a .308.  Unless you are the size of Andre the Giant or a masochist...  I'd go with .300 BLK; closer to good ol' .30-30 ballistics.  And no one ever accused anyone that shot a deer with .30-30 of being undergunned or inhumane.

By pistol, I mean an AR pistol with a stabilizing brace. But, I'm betting that would be a bruiser with a 10.5" barrel, huh? 

I'm guessing that bullet drop isn't a whole lot different at those ranges with those calibers?

Thanks for the help, guys!

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14 hours ago, PNWguy said:

After firing .450 Bushmaster in an 8lb rifle, I don't want any part of it in a pistol.  Seriously.  It has 2700 ft. lbs of energy at the muzzle.  Comparable to a .308.  Unless you are the size of Andre the Giant or a masochist...  I'd go with .300 BLK; closer to good ol' .30-30 ballistics.  And no one ever accused anyone that shot a deer with .30-30 of being undergunned or inhumane.

The problem with the 300 blackout out of a short barrel is it isn't really even "Almost" a 30-30.  it's "almost" a 7.62 x 39 which is "almost" a 30-30.  If rifles are illegal, why not get a 12 gauge and shoot rifled slugs? Otherwise if it has to be a 300 blk with lighweight bullets out of a short barrel then you need to limit your range just like any handgun hunter or bowhunter does.   

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16 hours ago, Borg warner said:

The problem with the 300 blackout out of a short barrel is it isn't really even "Almost" a 30-30.  it's "almost" a 7.62 x 39 which is "almost" a 30-30.  If rifles are illegal, why not get a 12 gauge and shoot rifled slugs? Otherwise if it has to be a 300 blk with lighweight bullets out of a short barrel then you need to limit your range just like any handgun hunter or bowhunter does.   

The short answer (and the sad truth) is, I've been hunting deer with a 12ga for 20 years and I'm bored with it. I'm looking for an AR pistol with a brace in a rifle cartridge to spice things up. I plan on limiting my range, but I want my limited range to be as far, or farther, than a 12ga with rifled slugs. I started shooting 300gr sabots moving at 2000fps so I'm not a stranger to recoil when deer hunting. 

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3 hours ago, Center Mass 762 said:

The short answer (and the sad truth) is, I've been hunting deer with a 12ga for 20 years and I'm bored with it. I'm looking for an AR pistol with a brace in a rifle cartridge to spice things up. I plan on limiting my range, but I want my limited range to be as far, or farther, than a 12ga with rifled slugs. I started shooting 300gr sabots moving at 2000fps so I'm not a stranger to recoil when deer hunting. 

If you're bored with 12 gauge how about a nice lever action carbine in 357 or 44 magnum? those cartridges both have more range than a 12 guage.

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300 Black out, even out of 10.5 inch barrel, is more than a match for any white tail in the lower 48.

 

Stick that X bullet in the boiler room, and its dead. I've killed about a dozen pigs and my GF took a nice caribou with hers this year, and they're both much harder to kill than deer.

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12 hours ago, AK_Stick said:

300 Black out, even out of 10.5 inch barrel, is more than a match for any white tail in the lower 48.

 

Stick that X bullet in the boiler room, and its dead. I've killed about a dozen pigs and my GF took a nice caribou with hers this year, and they're both much harder to kill than deer.

They have pigs in Alaska??

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