AR-Platform Rifles Becoming More Common Afield
BY Herschel Smith
1 month, 2 weeks ago
Forty-one percent of surveyed hunters used an AR-platform rifle at some time for hunting, according to the findings of research conducted by Responsive Management for the Outdoor Stewards of Conservation Foundation (OSCF). When asked a similar question during a 2014 study, the rate was only 25 percent. Fifty-one percent of the hunters who do not currently use an AR said they would if it were legal in their state.
Nearly half of respondents said their favorite hunting firearm is a traditional rifle—defined for purposes of the survey as any rifle that’s not an AR. Another quarter prefer shotguns.
Roughly 80 percent of AR hunters use their firearm to hunt large game, a significant increase from 57 percent in 2014. Thirty-one percent said their preferred quarry is small game, about the same as 2014.
Over a third of AR hunters cited ease of shooting as the primary reason for their preference. Another 31 percent said their main motivation was accuracy. Reliability and weight reduction were the next-highest responses.
“It was not surprising to learn that hunting with AR-platform/modern sporting rifles is on the rise,” said Jim Curcuruto, executive director of OSCF. “I was surprised, however, to see that more than 50 percent of hunters that are not currently using AR-platform rifles to hunt with, responded that they are likely to try hunting with these versatile rifles in the future.”
Well, that the main motivation is accuracy is a little weird. I’ll stipulate that AR pattern rifles have greatly improved over the last ten years, and my rifles are generally 1 MOA. Bolt action rifles are too as long as you spend the money to get good rifles, and something like a Tikka will give you << 1 MOA accuracy. But of course to get the accuracy in an AR pattern rifle costs a lot of money too. I’d have to say generally that since you can buy a Tikka bolt action for < $1500, and getting really good accuracy out of AR-10 pattern rifle requires something like a Daniel Defense or Seekins Precision, you’re saving 50% on your purchase by opting for the Tikka.
Where I think the AR pattern rifle really comes in handy is something like hunting hogs where multiple shots can be taken very quickly. There might be other applications (a deer stumbles but begins to run and you need another round quickly). Anyway, as I said, opting for an AR pattern rifle because of accuracy over a bolt action sounds strange to me.
But I don’t find it surprising at all that AR pattern rifles are beginning to take off among hunters. I would day that if you opt for an AR pattern rifle, spend the money necessary to get a good one. On a recent hunting trip I heard a guide say that the cheaper AR-10s shooting .308 had malfunctions that require slamming the butt into the ground. Normally, that comes from a double-feed.
On November 5, 2024 at 8:25 am, Pat H. Bowman said:
Don’t disagree that bolt guns are generally more accurate than AR pattern rifles, at least when you’re looking at the same cost per gun. With that said, a lot of people were hunting with lever actions, pump guns or, horror of horrors, shotguns with rifled slugs. When I started deer hunting, we used the “pumkin’ chuckers” and accuracy was not even discussed. If you put enough big holes in them, they eventually went down.
I shot my first deer with a 28″ barreled shotgun and rifled slugs. The shot landed more than a foot away from my aiming point. Now, that could have been partially due to my youth and inexperience, but the gun was not accurate. The last one I shot was with a Ruger American in 6mm Creedmoor, a gun that stacks Berger 115 VLD-H’s practically on top of each other.
I’ve since built a 6mm ARC upper that shoots around 1 MOA and have a 6.5 Grendel upper that does the same. A Model 94 is fine in my woods where I can’t see more than 30-40 yards anyway, but it’s a 2-3 MOA gun. I’ve shot a .308 AR-10 that now shoots .75 MOA with 175 GMMs, but it took a lot of time and money to get there. It’s also heavy.
All that to say, it’s all relative. When I started getting serious about shooting a decade ago, my first AR was a 2 MOA gun, and I thought it was the bee’s knees because it was the most accurate gun I had ever shot. Now, I’m pretty bummed out if I can’t get sub-MOA, and my precision rifles shoot .25-.5 MOA. It all depends on what you’re coming from.
On November 5, 2024 at 8:31 am, MN Steel said:
ARs are pretty light, and nice to carry if you don’t have an M-203 underneath.
Traditions still matter, older hunters will probably grab the same rifle they’ve been using for 30 years as if it is a part of them, and probably in a “traditional” cartridge for their region.
Run with what works for you, this will probably turn into the same old argument like 1911 vs Glock or .30-06 vs 5.56mm and degenerate into matrix of what rifle in what caliber in what area at what time of the year for what game.
I’ll still use my Savage 325C in turdy-turdy with Weaver KV-II just like I have for 34 years, because swamp country.
On November 5, 2024 at 9:06 am, george said:
Sometimes the throats on AR-10 platforms are too short and the longer bullets(projectiles) engage the rifling. Not a thing when the round is fired but when one tries to eject an unfired cartridge it can necessitate mortaring the weapon. Usually once will free up the round.
On November 6, 2024 at 5:28 am, Joe Blow said:
My 17-y-o Son and his buddy want to deer hunt on our property this year. Buddy has an AR, son wants to borrow one of mine. Nobody even inquired about a 30-cal bolt gun.
In my youth it was 12-ga slugs or buckshot. Usually slugs. Big-hunters had a Remington bolt action that only came out during deer season. Poor folks had a 12-ga that they used for turkey and deer, maybe swapped barrels, usually just the choke.
I think the reasoning is partly just the changing of the times? You can’t beat a Rem700 and a Nikon scope. Just can’t. If you spend bank, you can get a heck of a nice AR rifle, but you could also buy a Tikka….
And that’s I think what it is – everyone who wants a gun and has $500-800 spare change owns an AR and they shoot it, a lot. Rounds are 20-some cents each. THAT’S WHAT THEY SHOOT. So when it comes time to go into the woods…. You grab what you know. “I can ring steel all day long at 100 yards with this thing!”… MOA? Who cares?
A 5.56 round that tumbles or is HP will do significant damage, and effectively bring the prey down, unless it’s a bad shot – but same could be said of 30-cal’s. I don’t hunt, but have only ever heard about 300 win-mag picking a deer’s hind end up and turning it around… that KILLS your shoulder, and costs 3-bucks a pop….
If you’re a serious hunter, of course you have the best tool for the job. If you’re an average Joe, you see no problem using an AR. When you bring something home, you prove the point.
And I see it, too… I’m no expert and don’t hunt, but my Anderson Mfg AR lets me keep a 6” groups on paper at 200 yards! That’s an $800 gun (and the Nikon scope was $250). What would I take hunting with me? That AR w/ the Wolf hollow points it loves so much.
On November 6, 2024 at 11:17 pm, X said:
Hmmm. I have not yet taken a deer with an AR pattern rifle. Mine are all 5.56/.223, which is fine for killing deer within reason and I have done so, but with bolt guns. My lightest and handiest AR is a 16″, whereas my bolt guns are 24″ and I prefer the additional velocity when hunting with a .223. I have a 20″ AR match rifle that would be suitable but it is too heavy.
If I had a .308 AR-10 I would hunt with it, but my Remington 700 synthetic .308 is lighter.
So there are a lot of variables to consider. Guns are tools, and the best tool I have found for killing deer is my bedded, floated, laminate-stocked, Timney-triggered Remington 700 .30-06 with 165 grain loads. Just hammers them and is accurate as a laser out to 200 yards.
When I want to be guaranteed to get meat I just grab that. Where there is already meat in the freezer and I have the luxury of filling additional tags, it could be almost anything.
On November 8, 2024 at 1:32 pm, Paul B said:
I’ve used ar pattern rifles. Too easy to burn ammo with them and they behave funny in cold weather. Went back to rifles and had much better luck even. Shooting the same calibers. But then I am an old fart so there is that.