With just a barrel change.......

[Capn Jack]

Lance,
Thanks for the information. I'll pass it on.
He is in the Dalles and says in the woods where he hunts 300 yards would be a long shot.

 

[Koda]

Too bad they don't break it down which calibers require a different bolt, mag or other modification.

found the link, it was on calguns
list by bolt mods and blowback....
http://www.calguns.net/calgunforum/showthread.php?t=337969

 

[PaulB47]

.25 caliber is basically as large as you can go, if you want to maintain muzzle velocity near 3,000 fps

Nowhere near that speed. I have a 6.5 TCU in a 22 inch barrel (a Winchester 1885) and I can only get 2300fps or thereabouts with a 120gr bullet. I figure that makes it at best a 200 yard deer rifle.

 

[Koda]

Look at the bottom of my first post (#4)

well, during the day I can only reply by smartphone but yeah thats the list I googled a couple days ago.

ok now back on track folks...

 

[PaulB47]

It wouldn't be wise to shoot an elk with an 85gr varmint bullet.

 

[AngryRedTicTac]

he might want to go ahead and buy a bolt with that barrel and do a Grendel ,a couple 5 round mags .....money isn't that much more and if he is willing to swap barrels then what's a bolt

let him rock the SOCOM, that would do it

Nuke 'em from orbit, it's the only way to be sure ;-)

As much as I am enjoying the SOCOM, I would look at number of other options for elk. That said, if you can master the mortar lobbing fun of 45-70 ballistics, you could certainly one shot drop an elk at a considerable distance...

 

[jonn5335]

I built a 6x45 some years back in an AR platform it was a wicked little package. I packed it around for deer but I personally would want a little more umph for an elk but that's just my .02.

 

[DeanMk]

Sorry to dig up an old thread, but I recently found out about the .25-45 Sharps.
I like the idea of this, as it could be loaded into a light rifle, yet has enough bullet mass and energy to get the job done on medium sized game, or even something a little larger.
I'm just wondering if anyone has ever converted a Mini-14 to shoot that round?
How did that work for you?

Dean

 

[Goosebrown]

IIRC Oregon requires larger than 6mm/243 for elk. I think the AR15 really isn't up to the task.

AR10 of course would do it but anything off the 223 case is not going to do it for elk IMO. Deer? Sure. But not elk. Too much mass for a clean kill.

Also the 204 ruger is not based on the 223, it's based on the .222 Remington magnum.

Hunting rifles in many appropriate calibers are cheap. Even new. Go that direction. Everyone'll be happier, even the elk.

 

[DeanMk]

Ok, so I won't use it to hunt elk in Oregon...getting back to my question, has anyone ever converted a Mini-14 to shoot .25-45 Sharps?

 

[bsa1917hunter]

Lance,
Thanks for the information. I'll pass it on.
He is in the Dalles and says in the woods where he hunts 300 yards would be a long shot.

Your buddy is right, every elk ive killed here has been less than 100 yards away. The last bull, i shot, was walking toward me and i dropped him at 30 yards. I also agree with the guys saying to just buy an elk rifle. A good used bolt action can be found for very reasonable prices around here.

 

[DeanMk]

I know there are numerous wildcat and commercial cartridges available for
the AR15, but which ones require a barrel change only?

I know there is the 7.62x39,but it requires special magazines.
The .458 SoCom requires ejection port modifications.
What is there out there that just requires a barrel change other than the
.300 Blackout?

Ok, so going with the overwhelming majority opinion about getting an "Elk Rifle", and sticking with the OP's original query about creating a "new" gun with just a barrel change, what about .358 Winchester?
Any AR that's chambered for .308 should fit a .358....with just a barrel change...right?


Dean

 

[HB of CJ]

Generally speaking a new barrel needs a new head spaced bolt. Not always. The turning point is around 1000 rounds or so. Metal flow in the bolt locking and barrel extension lugs. Consider that new premium bolt along with that new cool barrel.

Make sure the gas tube length is the same. Short, medium, long. Also understand that some different calibers will require fiddling with the buffer group. Not always. Sometimes. Have fun working up that pet load. Expect some recoil with some.

hundreds of AR builds

 

[DeanMk]

HB,

So what you are saying, is there is almost never a time when you can change calibers on your AR with just a barrel change ?

 

[Nocaster]

What about the new 300 legend cartridge?

 

[Goosebrown]

What we're mostly saying is that anything near 5.56 you can do a barrel swap on an AR15.

On an AR10 you can swap to most .308 based rounds.

You can't use .308 based rounds on an AR15.

 

[DeanMk]

True. I forgot we were talking AR15 in particular.

...in that case, I'm back on the .25-45 Sharps bandwagon, and to that end, I found this interesting video the other day.....

Dean

 

[DirectDrive]

"With just a barrel change"....no can do for elk.
However, with a barrel and bolt change, your prospects are much brighter.

.375 SOCOM

That's about the best elk buster you'll get out of the small frame AR