Please recommend a fun woods gun on AR platform

[MikeGoob]

I'm going to join some friends for some plinking in the woods, nothing really long range, and I want to bring something fun to shoot that may be different than the typical .223 that I could bring. I'm thinking I can expose them to something different--These guys are pretty much lever gun, 308 and 223 regulars. I have many .223 lowers and would be converting one for this occasion.

I'm considering:
300 Blackout pistol
7.62 x 39 upper
Some pistol caliber upper?
5.7x28 (is this still around?)

something else?

[Erno86]

7.62x39...because it's the cheapest hi-power centerfire factory ammo on the market.

[Fishbed77]

How about a dedicated .22LR AR-15 upper?

There is a lot of fun to be found there.

[AK103K]

Any of the AR pistols are fun. The shorter the barrel, the more the beast.

[Targa]

Get a .458 Socom upper, that will be a bit different https://www.gunbroker.com/item/817910683

[riffraff]

Originally Posted by Erno86

7.62x39...because it's the cheapest hi-power centerfire factory ammo on the market.

Thats not my experience, maybe if you run steel case but really 5.56/.223 is about bottom end cost (ie .30 round for brass, steel less of course) and when you specify brass case then 7.62x39 gets awful close to 7.62 nato / .308 cost wise (ie around .45 for russian and .55 for nato) its a cool round for short range but once you go to brass case, which many rifles kinda need to run right, economics are way different...

For woods plinking hard to beat a .22lr if you really dont want 5.56.. but then Id say get a 15-22 or 10-22..

300 bo is the semi equivalent to Russian, not cheap but kinda made for short range but doesnt need to be a pistol.. 6.5 grendel is the trendy longer range round but aint really a woods plinker.

How about a 9mm, that would seem perfectly suited?

[MikeGoob]

Great suggestions guys! Lots to look into... How does 300blackout compare to 7.62 x 39? Supersonic--I would not have a suppressor anytime soon.

[CarJunkieLS1]

7.62x39 has a 150fps advantage over the 300blk with supersonic ammo and the same barrel length.

[mehavey]

Naaaaahhh.... Go for the gold.
50 Beowooof.

They'll all go home remarking that not even the trees are safe.

[TrueBlue711]

I vote 300 BO. Yes, ammo is a little more expensive, but if you were shooting based solely on price, you'd stick with 5.56/223 or .22LR. On the bright side, you won't need to get new magazines like you would with 7.62x39. Just use what you got already for 5.56/223. And the Blackout has a big range of ammo from 110 grain zingers to the 200+ grain subsonics (though you mentioned you don't plan on getting a suppressor) and everything in between.

.22LR is also good choice, but it's almost better to just get a S&W 15-22 vs getting a dedicated 22 upper. I got a dedicated 22 upper, but it's SUPER picky on magazines. I only found one that works. If I could go back, I would've spent the extra $50 and got the S&W 15-22. I hear nothing but good things about it.

[zukiphile]

Mikegoob,

For something really different, a pistol caliber would do it. 300BO is interesting as a cartridge, but it's advantage is that it is just a different caliber for an AR. A pistol caliber AR is a fundamentally different arm. The choice of patterns for bolts and magazines is greater, and there seems to be a lot to figure out with each build. CMMG has a delayed radial blowback design that doesn't require heavy buffers. Another outfit, Macon Armory, makes direct impingement pistol caliber uppers.

I've built some 22lr ARs on the CMMG pattern. My sense is that it is the dominant standard for dedicated ARs in 22lr, the VHS of 22lr ARs.

Originally Posted by Trueblue711

.22LR is also good choice, but it's almost better to just get a S&W 15-22 vs getting a dedicated 22 upper. I got a dedicated 22 upper, but it's SUPER picky on magazines. I only found one that works. If I could go back, I would've spent the extra $50 and got the S&W 15-22. I hear nothing but good things about it.

The 15-22 has the advantage that you can take it out of the box and it should shoot reliably, without assembly or tweeking. It's also less expensive than a dedicated AR. The downside is that spare parts are going to come predominantly from S&W. Accuracy reports for the 15-22 range from not bad to pretty bad. S&W also has the Appleseed problem, which if you aren't going to an AS event shouldn't be a problem.

Dedicated 22lr ARs aren't problem free, but they offer a good range of choice for parts, and they can be easier to make accurate than a 10/22 imo.

If you are having magazine problems, S&W makes excellent magazines for the 15-22 that can be used in a dedicated "real" AR.

[Chuck Norris]

6.5 Grendel would work,wolf sells blasting ammo for it for 25-30 cents a round. I run my own reloads in mine for 40-50 cents a round.

[SamNavy]

Chuck has the right idea... take it a little farther.

The cheapest .223 brass is about $0.27/rd
Cheapest 9mm brass is about $0.15/rd

.27x3200= $864
.15x3200= $480
Difference: $384

PSA has several 9mm uppers for $300, and ENDOMAG sells their kit in a 3-pk for $80... and you already have some PMAG hosts laying around, I'm sure. It takes 3200rds before you're shooting for basically half-price vs. .223... your wife will find this financially sensible.

[MikeGoob]

Thanks again for the thoughtful replies!