Here is the only plus to the 30 AR

The 30AR was and remains a real live game round that Remington developed only to stand back and kill off by no brass and support.  In 308, or 6.5 it was a great round.  I've never understood why they did that with both the 30AR and the Para-Ordnance line, but then again Remington went bankrupt twice in two years so there might not be a right answer here...

Any of the WSSM rounds will stomp a deer / hog for you at short to long ranges without issue.  
There's always the old 30/223 Apache.  A link to that round https://loaddata.com/Cartridge/30-223-30-Apache/6663

I've just about given up on proprietary rounds. Too expensive and odds are you'll end up with a gun that's hard to load for due to a lack of components.  There's a LOT of choices right now on the market that you can still expect to find brass for in 5 years without risking another do nothing safe queen.

The .30 Apache won’t work in conventional AR15’s because the overall length is too long with conventional bullets.

The ham’r uses .308 bullets and .223 brass that takes one extra step to form, shortening it so it will fit an Ar magazine, that’s the difference, you will never have a hard time loading for it. I had a couple 7.62x39’s, and currently have a 16” carbine, it shoots well but they are definitely harder to get shooting reliably  and accurately Vs  the ham’r. All my ham’r s will shoot moa or better and there are less stoppages. They also use all 5.56 parts minus the barrel.

The 7.62x39 really shined when ammo prices were low, it’s a cheaper platform for sure. I built all mine with that in mind but if you think they perform as well as a 5.56, 300 aac or ham’r you are dreaming. It is capable of killing deer, I’ve taken plenty with mine, it’s just less refined and not as reliable. If you want them to run you must buy a 7.62x39 magazine and there just aren’t as many choices, and if there is ever another assault weapons ban it’ll compound that issue.

If you don’t reload, I wouldn’t get a ham’r, to me it takes all the utility away. but if you were considering a 30 ar you would have to be a reloader, right?

Actually, it worked just fine thank you.
We full length resized 223 cylinder brass from Buffalo Arms, trimmed to 44mm and that was just about it.
Olympic Arms ran a batch of 30 Carbine barrels that we re-chambered in the 30 Apache or now 7.62x44mm and we were off and running.  
You're correct in that we did not use long spitzer bullets, but we used the Sierra .307 150 grain, Speer 130, Hornady 150 and a few others to keep under length.
Pacific Tool and Gauge has the reamers in stock long before we started in on the project, so only one phone call and we were cranking out matched uppers and bolts. It was fun, but the rage at the time was the 300 whisper for subsonic rounds, so we never did much after the first few hundred.
It was an inherently accurate little round that did duplicate the 30/30, so mission accomplished.  It would be pretty cool if rebranding the old Apache made it a hit again like the Black out did for the Whisper.


https://hosting.photobucket.com/images/y178/le78302/7.62x44mm_mag.jpg?width=450&height=278&fit=bounds&crop=fill

https://hosting.photobucket.com/images/y178/le78302/5.56mm_NATO_and_7.62X44mm.jpg?width=450&height=278&fit=bounds&crop=fill

https://hosting.photobucket.com/images/y178/le78302/300AR_Reamer_Spec_scan.JPG

Without A Doubt!
Wish Ruger or Another Manufacture would get it running again.  I wonder who bought that line when Remington went under?

There was also the 30 TCU which is a 30-223 variant very close to the 30 Apache if not exactly the same, but I'm not sure of the case length.

Tony

I think the Apache case length limited it to short squat bullets in a stanag magazine based rifle and hence why it wasn’t successful in that platform. I don’t think Wilson came up with a whole new idea, they built on an existing idea and perfected it. He helped developed the 7.62x40wt prior to the ham’r and I’m sure that was built on experience with the .300 aac. I think his tweeks make it a better hunting round vs all the other rounds we discussed, it’s more versatile as far as bullet choices are concerned in the 110-150 grain supersonic realm. It’s just my opinion of course. I will say that if the rifle were a single shot I’d go with the straight necked up .223 case all day long but we are trying to get the most out of a .308 bullet in a .223 case in a basic AR-15 platform. Mission accomplished.

FWIW, the pic above of the 30 TCU is an XP-100 bolt action pistol.

Tony

That’s a great application for that round! I bet it would rock with CFE blk. These new powders are what changed the game in medium bore small capacity cases.

30 AR from Whitley?
270 MSR from "that banned company"?
Devil's advocate: 308 AR 15 from POF?

6.5 grendel. If things ever get back to normal then ammunition is normally available. Many options for reloading, performance similar to a 308 in an ar-15. Would make a good dmr rifle round. People hunt hogs and deer with them all the time. Easy shooting to 800 yards, with rounds being supersonic out to 1000. Probably one of the most efficient rounds available period. As a reloader i am hoping we get back to normal so i can get a new upper and start working up loads for it.

I don’t have the energy to do this (I used to make wildcat cartridges all the time), but the 458 SOCOM necked down to 30 caliber would do everything you want.
Plenty of brass available. You’d need a custom reamer made to cut the chamber, and you’d probably want a set of dies made.

If you’re going to spend that kind of money go whole hog and get an AR10 in 300 WSM or 300 SAUM. So much less trouble and you can hunt any animal in North America.

Wildcats are fun projects and get you into the the esoteric principles of handloading; you’ll learn a lot doing it.

I’ve surrendered that part of my youth.

The AR10 in 300 magnum is truly under appreciated. It’s a hell’uva hunting rifle and a great sniper rifle.
Want to know a secret about which magazines feed the 300 WSM best? The magazines for the 1919 shotguns. Don’t tell people. It’s my secret.

I had a .30 OSSM and still have a 25 WSSM, both were factory uppers. I'm not sure about building one yourself because Olympic tightly controlled sale of bolts to only high end custom builders like D-Tech. The very high pressures of the WSSM means you have to be very careful about who is doing what with your parts.

That said the .30 OSSM will deliver bullets into 30-06 power, while the 25 WSSM is just a hair below 25-06 depending on the load and barrel length of the 25-06 being compared to. The .30 I had used a barrel comparable to a bolt action rifle, not match grade but plenty good for hunting. The .25 has a stiff thicker barrel but slimmer than "bull" barrel, and is very accurate. Accurate enough to use for long range prairie dogs and definitely coyotes as well as deer & antelope.

The WSSM is right at the edge of the universe for the small AR platform and must be treated with respect/caution. The brass is easy to get right now and very reasonably priced. But the brass is much harder than say 30-06/308 or 223 and you will need anneal every other load(approx) or they will crack the necks.

The difference between .223 and the WSSM is like F-16's vs Sopwith Camels. The F-16 offers a lot of performance and capability vs the Camel but requires a higher level of diligence to avoid becoming a big lawn dart. The 223 has been the easiest most forgiving cartridge I've ever loaded and brass lasts a looooong time. WSSM is definitely higher maintenance but there is something satisfying about getting 25-06 power from the small AR.

You cannot just neck down a .458 SOCOM and think you are going to do wonders on cucumbers.  Regardless of the caliber in the front end, the diameter of the case and the diameter of the case head limits the round in the AR platform to 36.5-37K psi.  As we have seen working with .458 SOCOM wildcats, as you go down in caliber you reach a limit of diminishing returns at around .338 caliber.  The .338 SOCOM is only very slightly faster than the .338 GRRR, a creation of my own based on the necked up and slightly shortened 6.8 case.  The .338 GRRR can be pushed to 54-55K psi easily but the .338 SOCOM must still be held to 37K psi, so they are almost equal in velocity, the SOCOM being about 150 fps faster, the SOCOM burns more powder, and since it is a fatter round, magazine capacity is reduced.  The same thing will happen when you neck the SOCOM down to .308.  Since it will still need to be held to 37K psi max, it will not give much if any higher velocity than the 6.8 necked up to .30 caliber (.30 HRT) and loaded to 54K psi).  Another words, more powder, more recoil, lower magazine capacity, and no appreciable if any gain in performance.

Just loaded up a fresh batch tonight!
It really does run sweeeet!

POF Revolution DI or Rogue.
AR 15 in 308...