Deer/small pig hunting rifle

[1911man]

Pig

Why not a lot of 300 love? I just was thinking of that round because I would not have to buy a bolt and 6.8 dedicated mags.

[Gutpile66]

People will give you many different answers on what the best ammo is but to make it short, please don't use a 5.56 on pig or deer. How can you guarantee a pig under 120 pounds and if there was a pig over that size are you saying you would not take the shot? If that's true then you have a lot of restraint. Use a round that will maximize success and has the power to make up for a poorly placed shot and that won't injure the animal and cause it run off. It always sounds easy to say that I'll just take a heart or lung shot but there are so many variables that you can't place your bet on making those shots. Pigs are tough critters so pick a round that will put the animal down quick and with the least amount of suffering. I was looking at the 270 winchester which seemed like a nice round with good availability so that might be worth looking into. Price is always a consideration so I understand where people are coming from to try and make what they have in their safe work with hunting but do yourself and the animal a favor and use something that will maximize success without a size and shot placement restriction.

+1. Or 25-06. Both have good term. ballistics and are what an ethical hunter would consider to be the bottom of the "power" list when hunting anything larger than a yodler-dog. And the only shot you should ever take is low and tight, right behind the front shoulder.

[DirtyDave]

Why not a lot of 300 love? I just was thinking of that round because I would not have to buy a bolt and 6.8 dedicated mags.

Because the 300blk is a turd! Look at it this way. If you start out as an AR guy and then want to get into hunting, the 300 looks great because you are used to the 223 being the norm.

If you start out as a hunter and the "norm" is somwhere between a .243Win on the small side and a 300 Win Mag on the big side. The 300blk is a very underpowered little turd with only about 18-20 grains of powder pushing a 125gr bullet. You want at least double that amount of powder.

Your most common Big Game cartridges (without getting into magnums) are based off of 3 original cases.
.308 Win= .243 Win, 260 Rem, 7-08, 338 Fed
30-06= 25-06, 270 Win, 280 Rem
8mm Mauser= 7x57, 257 Roberts, 6mm Rem

If you are dead set on an AR15, the 6.8, 6.5 Grendel, 243WSSM, 25WSSM are some of your best options.
Or you can buy a used bolt rifle for probably less than it would cost to convert your AR and have a true big game cartridge instead of a marginal one. For recoil sensitive shooters, the 243 or 25-06 should be good for ya.