What's your dream hunting AR build?

[nduffey]

Wow that's an expensive scope.
Bout 600% more than my budget would allow at the moment.
Your buddy would have to hook me up with one hell of a killer deal.
I'd like to hear some real world reviews on those scopes....sounds like they're the cats ass.

My buddy hooked me up with a demo model NXS 3.5-15x50 last season they had. Because it was a demo, I picked it up for around the price one would pay for vortex viper. The NXS line is amazing. They have glass etched reticles, the dials are perfect in every way, highly repeatable. The zero stop system works as described, you set it and forget it. You can always return your scope to zero after dialing. The glass on the scope transmits so much light its ridiculous. As twilight sets in i have to start checking my watch. I can still see the field Im hunting in good (not great) detail through the scope long after the 30 minutes after sundown has been reached and for that reason, I have to watch my time. With other brand scopes, I would get down out of the stand when I could no longer see detail enough to be ethical in the scope. Not so with the night force NXS.
The major drawback to the NXS is weight. The night force scopes are about 25% heavier in many cases because they are built like tanks. I went with a 32mm objective to reduce weight, but a standard 1 inch tube burris 3-9x40 weighs 13 ounces. The new night force, which is a 30mm and not a 1 inch, will weigh 19 ounces even though it has a smaller bell.
Nightforce has a new line out called SHV. The SHV line is a good bit cheaper priced. It has the exact same glass as the military grade NXS but is not built like a tank and will lack a few features. For example most of the SHV line has capped turrets instead of exposed zero stop and few have illumination. I highly recommend Nightforce. Highly. But they are expensive. With that said, I have owned dozens of scopes. My favorites are Nightforce, Vortex, and Leupold and in that order. I would not hesitate to buy a Vortex Viper. Great scopes, great company, and great glass packed with features. Not very far from the night force quality and every bit the quality of a comparably priced leupold.

 

[greg vess]

One of my 14.5 inch 6.8 builds. Next Level armament match set receivers ( which if you have never heard of them do yourself a favor and check out the Matched Sets. Very top notch fit and finish and has to date produced one of the smoothest charging rifles I have ever built and at 225 for the set it can't be beat). Daniel Defense barrel and bolt carrier group, spikes adj. stock kit with a T2 buffer, CMMG LPK, melonite gas tube, adj. gas block, Infinity 13 inch hand guard, Magpul furniture elsewhere and a mini tank comp, and a streamlite light and laser combo. This is the first gun I actually hung an accessory on. It's my go to gun for home defense. However It's every bit as accurate as my 18 inch set up, It has the Daniel Defense barrel and BCG as well.
The length and the fact it's a 6.8 would make it a nice hunting rig. That is if I took the red dot off the top and mounted my Vortex PST 1-4x30 TCMQ Illuminated reticle.

 

[19 Kilo]

Anyone dare hunt with an acog?

Yep, I use an ACOG on a 12" 6.8 pistol built by SAOD with a Lothat Walther barrel. My kids shoot either the 16" 6.8 or the 12" 300BO.......depends on which one gets ready to go the fastest, both want the 6.8 over the 300BO

 

[Comanche]

My buddy hooked me up with a demo model NXS 3.5-15x50 last season they had. Because it was a demo, I picked it up for around the price one would pay for vortex viper. The NXS line is amazing. They have glass etched reticles, the dials are perfect in every way, highly repeatable. The zero stop system works as described, you set it and forget it. You can always return your scope to zero after dialing. The glass on the scope transmits so much light its ridiculous. As twilight sets in i have to start checking my watch. I can still see the field Im hunting in good (not great) detail through the scope long after the 30 minutes after sundown has been reached and for that reason, I have to watch my time. With other brand scopes, I would get down out of the stand when I could no longer see detail enough to be ethical in the scope. Not so with the night force NXS.
The major drawback to the NXS is weight. The night force scopes are about 25% heavier in many cases because they are built like tanks. I went with a 32mm objective to reduce weight, but a standard 1 inch tube burris 3-9x40 weighs 13 ounces. The new night force, which is a 30mm and not a 1 inch, will weigh 19 ounces even though it has a smaller bell.
Nightforce has a new line out called SHV. The SHV line is a good bit cheaper priced. It has the exact same glass as the military grade NXS but is not built like a tank and will lack a few features. For example most of the SHV line has capped turrets instead of exposed zero stop and few have illumination. I highly recommend Nightforce. Highly. But they are expensive. With that said, I have owned dozens of scopes. My favorites are Nightforce, Vortex, and Leupold and in that order. I would not hesitate to buy a Vortex Viper. Great scopes, great company, and great glass packed with features. Not very far from the night force quality and every bit the quality of a comparably priced leupold.

Yep, I use an ACOG on a 12" 6.8 pistol built by SAOD with a Lothat Walther barrel. My kids shoot either the 16" 6.8 or the 12" 300BO.......depends on which one gets ready to go the fastest, both want the 6.8 over the 300BO

Very nice write up and info....thanks for that!

Keep me in mind if your
Buddy gets ahold of another
Demo (and feels like selling it to a total stranger.)haha.

 

[JBKnifeworks]

20 inch Grendel

 

[MaconGuns]

This might fill my want list.

 

[19 Kilo]

I've hunted with and killed deer at different distances with (all rifles in the AR platform) .308, .260, .223, 6.8, 7.62X39, 300BO, I can't speak for any other caliber, but this is how I feel (for those that care).

The 308 is just that, the 308, tried and true with almost all types of ammo available. The only problem I personally had with it was the weight, I can carry many other bolt guns or semi autos that do just as good of a job or better that weigh the same. The 260 is great and shoot a little flatter at distance, but I don't shoot deer in GA at a distance to need the 260 and the weight was the same as the 308.

The 7.62x39 did fine, but I did need to track some deer from time to time with only one hole in the deer as the bullets didn't always pass completely through depending on range and there wasn't a bullet that I really liked (at the time) without hand loading. The weight and length was getting there for what I wanted, but the lethality was not (again, at the time)

The 223 worked much better than I thought, but only with the correct bullet ( I used the 62 grn Trident now being offer by G2), but there was still tracking to do. Never had an bullet NOT pass through so the tracking was always easy.

The 300BO was very similar to the 7.62 in the results I saw with the exception of the two holes. I used the same trident rnd in the 300BO and never used subsonic.

The 6.8 is the gun that I've settled on, the ammo (120 grn Hornady SST) is easy to find and cheaper than the rest listed (when speaking of my preferences on ammo only). I've only seen one deer in the last several seasons move when shot and that was my son's that took a double lung shot, the deer ran 20 yards.The range is plenty good enough for any field that I may be hunting. I took buck last year at 260 yards and he dropped in his tracks. There's always been two holes. The 6.8 spc, in a pistol gives me everything that I'm looking for, a very short, light, lethal platform that is easy to get in and out of a deer stand, carry and shoot.

Just my two cents.

 

[Quacker]

Anyone dare hunt with an acog?

I have shot a couple of deer with my 4x32 acog. Honestly, its not ideal but it works. In low light, It doesn't bring in as much light as my 50mm pentax I have on my 270.

 

[Comanche]

I've hunted with and killed deer at different distances with (all rifles in the AR platform) .308, .260, .223, 6.8, 7.62X39, 300BO, I can't speak for any other caliber, but this is how I feel (for those that care).

The 308 is just that, the 308, tried and true with almost all types of ammo available. The only problem I personally had with it was the weight, I can carry many other bolt guns or semi autos that do just as good of a job or better that weigh the same. The 260 is great and shoot a little flatter at distance, but I don't shoot deer in GA at a distance to need the 260 and the weight was the same as the 308.

The 7.62x39 did fine, but I did need to track some deer from time to time with only one hole in the deer as the bullets didn't always pass completely through depending on range and there wasn't a bullet that I really liked (at the time) without hand loading. The weight and length was getting there for what I wanted, but the lethality was not (again, at the time)

The 223 worked much better than I thought, but only with the correct bullet ( I used the 62 grn Trident now being offer by G2), but there was still tracking to do. Never had an bullet NOT pass through so the tracking was always easy.

The 300BO was very similar to the 7.62 in the results I saw with the exception of the two holes. I used the same trident rnd in the 300BO and never used subsonic.

The 6.8 is the gun that I've settled on, the ammo (120 grn Hornady SST) is easy to find and cheaper than the rest listed (when speaking of my preferences on ammo only). I've only seen one deer in the last several seasons move when shot and that was my son's that took a double lung shot, the deer ran 20 yards.The range is plenty good enough for any field that I may be hunting. I took buck last year at 260 yards and he dropped in his tracks. There's always been two holes. The 6.8 spc, in a pistol gives me everything that I'm looking for, a very short, light, lethal platform that is easy to get in and out of a deer stand, carry and shoot.

Just my two cents.

Thanks for your real world input on this.
Care to share a pic of this bad-a pistol?

 

[19 Kilo]

Thanks for your real world input on this.
Care to share a pic of this bad-a pistol?