Texas Hunting Forum

fascinated with uppers additional questions

Posted By: Roll-Tide

fascinated with uppers additional questions - 01/17/16 05:48 PM

I recently (October) bought my first AR. Ruger.

I had no idea how versatile it was, and didn't know I could buy uppers to attach for different calibers.

First gonna get the 300 blackout, since bolt and mags are the same. Gonna be a deer and hog gun.

I would like a bigger cartridge as well. Looking at 458 Socom or 50 Beowolf. I dont shoot much, so ammo is not that big of a deal. Will all these mags fit in mag well of my 556?

Socom, range, type of animals it will put down???

50 Beowolf, same question?

If I like these uppers I may buy a lower for a complete weapon. But right now just want versatility, which means I would like to not take my 270.

I hunt east Texas and shots would be 125 yards at the max.

Thank you.....
Posted By: red bluff

Re: fascinated with uppers additional questions - 01/18/16 12:36 AM

I do not have either of the 458 or 50 but I bet if the bullet is put in the right spot at 125 yards any game animal in East Texas is going down.
Don't forget about the 6.5 Grendel or many other offerings.
http://www.dtechuppers.com/

Welcome to the black rifle world.
Posted By: ImTheReasonDovesMourn

Re: fascinated with uppers additional questions - 01/18/16 12:45 AM

Originally Posted By: red bluff
I do not have either of the 458 or 50 but I bet if the bullet is put in the right spot at 125 yards any game animal in East Texas is going down.
Don't forget about the 6.5 Grendel or many other offerings.
http://www.dtechuppers.com/

Welcome to the black rifle world.


Yep. I have ARs in 4 different calibers and the 6.5 Grendel is easily my favorite.
Posted By: seacam

Re: fascinated with uppers additional questions - 01/18/16 02:17 AM

Don't forget the 6.8 SPC too.
Posted By: Roll-Tide

Re: fascinated with uppers additional questions - 01/18/16 04:39 AM

6.5 Grendel is impressive but pretty pricey.

6.8 I'm not familiar with range, etc. But sota has complete upper for 425 in soc, with bcg and handle.
Posted By: cyphertext

Re: fascinated with uppers additional questions - 01/18/16 05:31 AM

The .50 Beowulf looks like a wild cartridge. The mag well on a standard lower is fine, but the ejection port on the upper is opened up. I would like to shoot one of these!

AR-15 .50 Beowulf
Posted By: kry226

Re: fascinated with uppers additional questions - 01/18/16 08:36 AM

Originally Posted By: Roll-Tide
6.5 Grendel is impressive but pretty pricey.

6.8 I'm not familiar with range, etc. But sota has complete upper for 425 in soc, with bcg and handle.


6.8 SPC is essentially a short, light weight .270 cartridge. It does require it's own bolt, barrel, and magazines, but uses the standard AR lower receiver. At supersonic speeds, it will whip the the .300 BO all day long and is a great hunting cartridge as well. Lots of reasonably priced uppers on the market too. Just something for you to chew on.
Posted By: hdfireman

Re: fascinated with uppers additional questions - 01/18/16 02:25 PM

6.8 shooter here as well, it's a great hunting round. The 6.8 has a great selection of .277 hunting bullets and it performs very well out of shorter barrels.
Posted By: 30378

Re: fascinated with uppers additional questions - 01/18/16 02:42 PM

If you go after a 458 SOCOM, make sure you get an upper receiver for a 458. They have a slightly larger ejection port for the larger diameter of the brass and will greatly enhance function. With the 458 brass and bullets are expensive and can be hard to find. The 6.8SPC is by far my favorite. Hornady 120gr SSTs hit like a hammer.
Posted By: Night Hunting TV

Re: fascinated with uppers additional questions - 01/18/16 03:13 PM

I myself am fascinated by the range of availability.

If you go down the big bore route do your homework. Last I checked the 458 SOCOM wasn't adopted by SAAMI yet. I'm not putting money down on one till it does. Be my luck the upper I would buy would end up being different.

My family currently:
556/223
6.8 spc
Posted By: TTUhunter4

Re: fascinated with uppers additional questions - 01/18/16 03:28 PM

If you are getting that .300 BO for hunting without a suppressor and with a standard 16" barrel you would be much better served to go with a 6.5 grendel or 6.8.
Posted By: Roll-Tide

Re: fascinated with uppers additional questions - 01/18/16 04:12 PM

Looking at 16 inch barrel in 300. what length barrel can I get away with in 6.8 ?
Posted By: kry226

Re: fascinated with uppers additional questions - 01/18/16 04:21 PM

Originally Posted By: Roll-Tide
Looking at 16 inch barrel in 300. what length barrel can I get away with in 6.8 ?


Well, unless you register the lower as NFA, 16" is as short as you can legally go in a rifle. 6.8 in a 16" will bring some smoke. But I have a 12.5 from Eric above and it's no whippersnapper either.
Posted By: Dalee7892

Re: fascinated with uppers additional questions - 01/18/16 11:54 PM

No one talks about the 7.62x39, what is the issue? I would like to hear pros and cons.
Posted By: Elpatoloco

Re: fascinated with uppers additional questions - 01/18/16 11:58 PM

Originally Posted By: Dalee7892
No one talks about the 7.62x39, what is the issue? I would like to hear pros and cons.


Frankenmags were the hang up years ago when I looked at this. Only one mag would work properly and they were PRICEY. I see where RRA made a different lower that takes regular ak pattern mags
Posted By: TTUhunter4

Re: fascinated with uppers additional questions - 01/19/16 08:09 PM

Originally Posted By: Roll-Tide
Looking at 16 inch barrel in 300. what length barrel can I get away with in 6.8 ?


I assaying that unless you are building an SBR upper, go with a different caliber.

.300 BO hsd two areas where it shines:

1. When used with a suppressor
2. Very efficient out of short (SBR length) barrels.

If you are planning to build/buy and upper with a standard 16" barrel and/or do not plan to shoot suppressed, then there is no performance advantage of the .300 BO over a 6.5 or 6.8. There is the advantage of using 5.56 mags and bolt, but if you want something to kill deer and hogs, look at the 6.8 or 6.5, not the .300 BO. Both of those calipers are better suited for hunting medium sized game.
Posted By: GasGuzzler

Re: fascinated with uppers additional questions - 01/20/16 12:32 PM

It's a lot cheaper to build the 16" BO, that's the advantage. Performance is another story. If you want a cheap, larger caliber AR rifle that can eat anything from 100 grains to 220 and will lob cheap to make cast bullits for pennies, the BO is the answer. It's not for sniping long range.
Posted By: TTUhunter4

Re: fascinated with uppers additional questions - 01/20/16 04:17 PM

Originally Posted By: GasGuzzler
It's a lot cheaper to build the 16" BO, that's the advantage. Performance is another story. If you want a cheap, larger caliber AR rifle that can eat anything from 100 grains to 220 and will lob cheap to make cast bullits for pennies, the BO is the answer. It's not for sniping long range.


I Guess if he is planning to take the Bolt carrier group out of his other upper and use it with the .300 BO upper than he saves the $80 he would need to buy a new bolt. If he was going to buy/build a complete upper like most people do, then that wouldn't even come into play. Mags are cheap, $25 can get you a couple 6.8 or 6.5 mags. So, max you are looking at about $100 difference between a blackout and a 6.8 or 6.5. I don't see that as "a lot cheaper" personally, but to each his own.

He said he is looking for a hunting caliber, doesn't shoot a lot, and does not care about ammo cost, so I doubt he is going to cast his own bullets.
Posted By: chalet

Re: fascinated with uppers additional questions - 01/20/16 06:19 PM

Cool thing that the OP figured out is you can dress an AR just about anyway you want to. Cost was biggest reason I upgraded to 300BLK first from 5.56. Simple upper swap, same bolt and mags, small cartridge means less powder when you reload, cheap bullets available. Another cool thing is I hand load a couple other 30 cals and also 44 mag - meaning I always have 308 projectiles and H110 if things ever get scarce. I like the 300BLk and have a number of critters with it, works well at the ranges I hunt.

That being said I can definitely see the benefits of all the other calibers here listed and it really comes down to personal preference. Pretty sure I'm going to build up a 6.5 Grendel in the near future. Was leaning towards the 458 Socom but have a hard time justifying ammo costs in my head when I can reload 44mag for my Marlin at a fraction of the cost.
Posted By: Roll-Tide

Re: fascinated with uppers additional questions - 01/20/16 06:38 PM

I will probably do the same thing, go with 300 BO, for price. Everything I read says it will take down whitetail /hog within 150 yds.

I do think the best one for me would be the Grendel but they're pretty expensive. I can't
find an upper for under 600.

Sota arms has a 6.8 upper for 425, with bcg and ch. haven't ruled that out, still doing 6.8 research, but it sounds pretty good.
Posted By: GasGuzzler

Re: fascinated with uppers additional questions - 01/21/16 12:27 PM

Originally Posted By: TTUhunter4
I Guess if he is planning to take the Bolt carrier group out of his other upper and use it with the .300 BO upper than he saves the $80 he would need to buy a new bolt. If he was going to buy/build a complete upper like most people do, then that wouldn't even come into play. Mags are cheap, $25 can get you a couple 6.8 or 6.5 mags. So, max you are looking at about $100 difference between a blackout and a 6.8 or 6.5. I don't see that as "a lot cheaper" personally, but to each his own.


If he reuses the BCG and CH then his price is $270 shipped. .223 Mags are reused. Add $50 for 6.8 mags and the extra for the upper. That's $200 less for the BO.
If he gets a complete upper then his price is $350 shipped. .223 Mags are reused. Add $50 for 6.8 mags and the extra for the upper. That's $125 less for the BO.

6.8 prices based on OPs posted price.

$125-200 buys a lot of consumables. I'm not speaking for him, just giving examples of why someone would want to build a long barreled .300BO over other larger calibers.
Posted By: MikeTX

Re: fascinated with uppers additional questions - 01/21/16 01:02 PM

GassGuzler,

I missed the reference to the 6.8 upper for $350 shipped. Who sells that? Or is it one that you have to build yourself?
Posted By: Gravytrain

Re: fascinated with uppers additional questions - 01/21/16 01:19 PM

I would only get a 300BO if I were getting a Suppressor too, and I would want the suppressor to be a lighter 9mm compatible model too. Full strength supersonic 300BO is only slightly stronger than 223. 6.8 SPC and 6.5 Grendel are both great 300y deer/hog rounds (ammo choice is key), I would pick one, can't go wrong either is much better than 223.

6.5 Grendel has better ballistics than 6.8, but does better in a longer barrel (20" or 24"). Better plinker for long distance shooting, possibly a little more expensive for ammo. 6.8 does great out of a 16" or 18" barrel.

458 SOCOM and 50 Beowolf strike as fun rounds but I don't really have a mission for them, 6.8 SPC or Grendel smokes either of them past 150y. Don't forget 450 Bushmaster, it's a good round too, but again, not sure why I need it so I would stay away.
Posted By: Toxarch

Re: fascinated with uppers additional questions - 01/22/16 09:18 AM

I'm in the market for either 458 or 50 Beo. I think I might go 458 just because 500g subs are available for it. Don't think there's any commercial 50 beo subs. I'll reload after I get some brass stock piled.
Already have a 16" 300blk and an 8.2" 300blk SBR. Almost never take the 16" one out.
Posted By: GasGuzzler

Re: fascinated with uppers additional questions - 01/22/16 11:58 AM

Originally Posted By: MikeTX
GassGuzler,

I missed the reference to the 6.8 upper for $350 shipped. Who sells that? Or is it one that you have to build yourself?


bang The $350 unit is .300BO. That's the entire point of my post....the BO is 25-30% cheaper to build.

Caliber debates are silly, my apologies for dragging this out. hammer
Posted By: Toxarch

Re: fascinated with uppers additional questions - 01/22/16 05:09 PM

I'd buy a 6.8 if there were a $350 upper.
Posted By: Big Daddy K

Re: fascinated with uppers additional questions - 01/22/16 06:52 PM

Im seeing 6.8 uppers ready to pin on and shoot for around 500 on Gun Broker. Not too bad.

I haven't looked but Im guessing 300 BO upper ready to pin on and shoot are between 2 -3 hundred.
Posted By: kry226

Re: fascinated with uppers additional questions - 01/23/16 08:59 AM

Food for thought, I'd be real leery of an upper for sale for $350. Of any caliber.
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