How to? I'm confused and new....

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[ARCHIVED THREAD] - How to? I'm confused and new....

Posted: 10/30/2006 1:08:23 PM EDT

I purchased an AR-15 about 2 years ago, it was a standard .223 from RRA. Anyway I live in minnesota and we are required to use .23 caliber or higher for deer hunting. Anyway I was wondering what it would take to either upgrade my current gun to a .243 or a .308 caliber? can any parts be used from my current configuration, or is the a "might as well just purchase a new one" situation? Thanks for any help in advance!

Posted: 10/30/2006 1:50:14 PM EDT

[#1]

Quoted:
I purchased an AR-15 about 2 years ago, it was a standard .223 from RRA. Anyway I live in minnesota and we are required to use .23 caliber or higher for deer hunting. Anyway I was wondering what it would take to either upgrade my current gun to a .243 or a .308 caliber? can any parts be used from my current configuration, or is the a "might as well just purchase a new one" situation? Thanks for any help in advance!

I don't think you can upgrade to the calibers you mention, they are just too big to fit in your lower.
you could get a new upper, 6.8mm maybe, those are getting pretty popular and a lot of folks make em.
Midwinter

Posted: 10/30/2006 2:02:56 PM EDT

[#2]

You need a 6.8 upper, link below...

cmmginc.secure-mall.com/shop/?shop=1&cart=461148&cat=44&

Or a nice used Marlin 30-30 which will be a good deal cheaper.

Posted: 10/30/2006 4:44:38 PM EDT

[#3]

Yeah, or a Winchester M94 .30-30 can be had for cheap used in most pawn shops. Swapping to .308 requires a wider magazine well for the longer rounds, and therefore requires a different lower. You can get a DPMS .308 AR for about $1000.
www.dpmsinc.com/308_series.asp

Posted: 10/30/2006 4:50:22 PM EDT

[#4]

Get a 6.8 upper. Great round. And will give you a chance to buld it yourself!

Posted: 10/30/2006 5:38:21 PM EDT

[#5]

.458SOCOM!! You dont need any special mags, a regular 30 rounder holds 10 of those fat bastards. 300gr hollow points will trash any damn deer! I keep mine sighted in at 3" high at 100 yards and that puts me about 4" low at 200 yards. You basically get a semi auto 45-70.

Posted: 10/30/2006 7:03:52 PM EDT

[#6]

height=8

Quoted:
.458SOCOM!! You dont need any special mags, a regular 30 rounder holds 10 of those fat bastards. 300gr hollow points will trash any damn deer! I keep mine sighted in at 3" high at 100 yards and that puts me about 4" low at 200 yards. You basically get a semi auto 45-70.

So im still confused....if i get a 6.68 upper does that work with my current lower? also what caliber is 6.68?? what ammo would it take? Also I dont exactly understand what HighlandMac is saying here. Could i have some further explanation....sorry for the newb questions... Thanks, Tim.

Posted: 10/30/2006 7:14:34 PM EDT

[#7]

yikes i guess i found the ammo 6.8mm ammo at $17 box(20). Thats pretty steep unless i'm looking wrong. At least i can switch back to .223 for fun shooting.

Posted: 10/30/2006 7:24:58 PM EDT

[#8]

also why not go with 7.62x39mm it appears to be compatible with a standard ar15 lower, and ammo is cheaper i think.

Posted: 10/30/2006 7:37:25 PM EDT

[#9]

7.62x39mm would be fine if you used a non-FMJ (i.e., SP or JHP) round. Most cheap x39 FMJ doesn't exactly expand well at hunting ranges, and the x39 round is reportedly a little underpowered for most big game. Seems to work fine for jihad, however.

The x39 bolts are a little more prone to breaking too, based on what I read on here. Plus, magazines suck unless you get the new CProducts mags - they were supposed to be promising with lots of hooplah before they went on sale, then I didn't hear anything else about them once they came out.

ETA: Welcome to AR15.com, by the way!

Posted: 10/31/2006 10:14:01 AM EDT

[#10]

Quoted:

Quoted:
.458SOCOM!! You dont need any special mags, a regular 30 rounder holds 10 of those fat bastards. 300gr hollow points will trash any damn deer! I keep mine sighted in at 3" high at 100 yards and that puts me about 4" low at 200 yards. You basically get a semi auto 45-70.

So im still confused....if i get a 6.8 upper does that work with my current lower? also what caliber is 6.68?? what ammo would it take? Also I dont exactly understand what HighlandMac is saying here. Could i have some further explanation....sorry for the newb questions... Thanks, Tim.

The .458 socom round is a very large and powerfull round. (check out 458socom.com) the round ie..cartridge was designed to fit the unmodified ar-15 magizines and function without feeding problems. the upper will slap right on your lower just like anyother ar-15 style upper.
The 6.8 will require special mags and then the appropriate barrel and bolt assembly. other than that all your other parts should be usable.

Posted: 10/31/2006 10:40:15 AM EDT

[#11]

I'm shooting 6.8mm SPC and I can tell you it is a great white tail roundhe
I do know that 6.8 mm will give you a much faster and flatter shooting round that .458.

Like I said the ammo prices suck! I just sold all my 5.56 parts to buy ammo...god help me.

Posted: 10/31/2006 4:09:23 PM EDT

[#12]

so between 6.8 and 7.68 what should i do for hunting deer and being able to have fun??

[ARCHIVED THREAD] - How to? I'm confused and new....

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