Top AR-Style Rifles for Big Game Hunting - NSSF Let's Go Hunting
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Top AR-Style Rifles for Big Game Hunting

Because of the prevalence of the platform, it didn’t take long for AR-style rifles to become popular among hunters. Some “purists” will say these modern sporting rifles have no place in the hunting blind, but they’d be wise to look around before saying such things too loudly.

In the standard .223/5.56 chambering, the AR has proven to be a great gun for varmints and other small game. But what if you wanted to hunt something bigger like, oh I don’t know, say an elk or a bear? Is there an AR out there suitable for such a hunt? You bet there is!

A large number of new(ish) calibers have come on the scene to complement some of the existing cartridges that make the AR platform a perfect choice for your big game hunt of a lifetime. Let’s take a look at 10 of them.

Big Horn Armory AR500 in .500 Auto Max

Big Horn Armory AR500 in .500 Auto Max

The Big Horn Armory AR500 is chambered for the company’s proprietary cartridge, the .500 Auto Max, a rimless version of the 500 S&W. • MSRP: $1,999

Big Horn Armory made a name for themselves with their SpikeDriver lever gun chambered in .500 S&W Magnum, but they didn’t stop there. Instead, they looked to the semi-auto market and created the AR500.

BHA’s AR500 shoots .500 Auto Max rounds. Built on the same .500 Magnum cartridge, it’s basically just a rimless version of the powerful handgun cartridge that has been popular with hunters for more than a decade.

The gun has a completely-railed upper for you to outfit with the optic of your choice. Load up the five-round magazine and you’re ready to take on anything “from prairie dogs to pachyderms to Peterbilts.”

If it can stop a semi-truck, it can stop any big game animal you’ve got in mind. The MSRP is $1,999.

Read the full article at Range365.com.

 

Growing in popularity, modern sporting rifles have evolved to become a real option for hunters — even for old-school hunters like the National Shooting Sports Foundation’s Doug Painter. Explore the evolution of the American hunting rifle.

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https://www.letsgohunting.org/articles/how-to-shoot-big-game-accurately-at-long-range/

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