All that I had ever brought to the stand was my 270, and would shoot deer and hogs. That all changed after only having the 270 in hand and a hole pack of hogs came to the feeder and they would not leave. I ended up shooting 9 of them, and ran out of ammo. I now carry my 223 AR and the 270. AR is for hogs do not have to reload and ammo is cheaper, and the 270 is for deer. At first I was not sure about my AR's accuracy or power until a couple of weeks ago I shot a hog at 175 yards and killed it on the spot. The 223's usually pass righit through unless I shot them in the head.

This one passed through...

http://www.texashuntingforum.com/forum/ubbthreads.php/topics/4425595/Putnam_Pig#Post4425595

...and have had others do the same.

Wow, a suppressed AR-10 in 338 Federal. That's the stuff that dreams are made of.

6.8 custom build for me. So far two hogs and two turkeys.

I have killed plenty of deer with 223 but if you are hunting in brush I would use a 243 as a minimum. 308 is preferred. Bought a R25 in 308 just for that.

I have Killed plenty of deer with my Remington R25. Sweet shooting rig.

Thanks for the replies, My friend got to use his DPMS in .308 on Wednesday, he took a pretty big bodied 4pt that had messed up antlers....The round did quite a bit of damage, we were surprised that even with a good hit the deer ran about 30yrds, it wasn't a long run but were expecting to see it fall where it stood....None the lass the bullet and gun performed as they should.
1fowlHntR, That is one of my AR choice options that I am contemplating getting, that or a Smith & Wesson M&P 10...I really like the R-25 which is my first choice, but I'd like to change out the butt stock to a collapsible one...

It's hard to drop one where it stands without hitting them in the head, neck or high into the spine. I saw somebody shoot a doe through the left shoulder and double lung with a 300 win mag and it ran 70 yards. Couldn't believe it. 308 will do a ton of damage if using most 150 grain bullets especially core lock or hornady interlock. I heard the nosler 150 boat tail blew an entire shoulder off a deer like a varmit grenade. When you get into the 165 and up class they seem to hold themselved together from what I have heard and seen. Otherwise stay with barnes or some other solid copper.

There is a swear word in this, but I wanted to post it so you can see this deer run after being hit with a 450 Bushmaster. A 450 Bushmaster is a BRUTE!!

http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=lOIyP5cn4iw

Personally I would not hunt with my AR in .223 because it is a bit heavy and unwieldy in my stand. I do have a Sako 75 bolt action in .223 that I would not hesitate to hunt with. With the right bullet it will do the job on deer and hogs.

My brother has a Armalite Ar10T in 308 and it shoots awesome. I haven't had enuff range time with my R25 to make a comparison. The Armalite is more costly and definately more weight, but it shoots very well.Just a thought. Don't know your budget.

My brother has a Armalite Ar10T in 308 and it shoots awesome. I haven't had enuff range time with my R25 to make a comparison. The Armalite is more costly and definately more weight, but it shoots very well.Just a thought. Don't know your budget.

Picked up a Bushmaster in 308 couple yrs back, perfect recipe for pigs in a blanket! or shall I say hangin on the meat rack!
Used a .223 for pigs on the run a place and seems a 22 caliber is not enuff punch for putting one down at 200yds or in a dead run when you come upon them!
I hand load for 308, Nosler ballistics tips 165 grn or
Partition is also a good bullet, none have run yet since I have been using them!,
Doe I got last Dec didn't mind it either.....

308's are my vote..... brass, bullets are a plenty!


party on!

happy cheers to all.

18" 6.8 spcII sending 85gr TSX or 95gr TTSX down the tube.

Anti-gunners don't like you hunting with AR's. They are only "assault" weapons.

2 pics from many kills with a 68

Well, after reading all the posts on this thread, I decided to add my two cents. Two years ago, I was confronted with this same decision due to the high pig and coyote density on our hunting lease relative to deer. After much purchasing, testing, debate, and consideration, we decided on the following weapons...AK 7.62x39 for one of the guys (he also bought an AR 10 but it was just too heavy to tote around versus other rifles.) My weapon of choice after trying out the AR10, AK, AR, SKS, R25, Ruger mini ranch, Colt AR15 in .223 and 9mm...was a Remington 742 and 750 (both carbine's) in 30.06. I also picked up a couple of .270's in these models, but with longer barrels. Then I went online to cheaper than dirt, got some 10 round steel mags...I topped one of these with a Vortex Viper 2x7 scope, the other with a 3x9 Vx II Leupold..Coupled with 150 grain Nosler Partition hand loads ..basically, anything that moves from point blank range out to 440 yards is dead meat. Cheap and available ammo was one of the test considerations. I am very satisfied with the set ups, and know that I tested enough options to make an informed decision. Hope this information helps.

Ditto...

This. Suppressed SBR in 6.8 for everything from fox to deer to pigs.

I just got my first AR. I'm 2 for 2 with it. .223 64g Win powerpoints.