Rifle for my son

[SecedeTX]

I got an unexpected half day off on Friday and decided to drop by my local firearm shop just to see what was going on. By the end of the day I walked out with 50ish pmags for a great deal for a few of my buddies and myself. While I was there, the guy behind the counter said "We have Precision Aero stripped lowers for $69 bucks, do you want one?" I have more than a few AR rifles, a few complete lowers already built, and really did not NEED another rifle. But then the thought hit me. My 10 year old son, who went to deer camp last year for his first time only has a .22. My thought was, buy a stripped lower and order a build kit for us to build HIS hunting rifle from the ground up....trigger, springs, everything. We can take time to do everything from scratch and build him something to take down his first deer.

My thinking is, if he can build it from scratch, he will know how to use it, clean it, and respect it more than if I just purchased it for him for Christmas.

I do not use an AR platform for deer hunting. My question is, for east Texas, if I build a 5.56 with iron sights for my son to hunt his first deer, is this a good platform for him to use? I hunt with a 30.06 (overkill) or a 30.30 (about right) both bolt action with a scope. I really want him to learn open sights first, and then go to a scope.

I think it will be a good father/son deal, plus have his personal buy-in on HIS rifle. On top of that he will learn his rifle. Am I off point on this? My wife thinks I have lost my mind. She is not against hunting, but she is a bit worried about my son building his own AR. It will live in my safe and only used while a deer camp, mind you.

Beyond that, how would you optimize the 5.56 platform for deer hunting?

[texanjoker]

Dang that is a good price..

[C-dub]

50ish pmags

Really? That's a bunch of PMags. About 6 months ago that might have been all there were in Texas.

[Carry-a-Kimber]

I would go with either a 6.8 or 300 Blackout for East Texas deer over a 5.56.

[SecedeTX]

50ish pmags

Really? That's a bunch of PMags. About 6 months ago that might have been all there were in Texas.

Hey, at $8.99 a piece (Magpul 30 rnd PMAG Gen M2) I loaded up, and a number of my family and friends did also. I typically don't panic buy, but in non-panic times I have been know to "stock up". I guess you can call it panic buying over a decade :) Having Primary Arms less than two miles from my house helps, but it also keeps money going out of my wallet!

I did think about building another 300 blackout, but the intent of this rifle was to give it to my son once he got to a responsible age. I don't know if building him a rifle with a specialty round is the way to go. I want him to shoot quite a bit, and locking him into an expensive round is not what I wanted to do.

Heck, the deer in west Texas are the size of dobermans and we don't normally have a shot over 250 meters. I have personally never hunted with a 5.56, but wanted input from anyone who has.

[Carry-a-Kimber]

I have shot several deer and many hogs with .223/5.56 with heavier premium bullets and not had any problems with recovery. The problem with .223/5.56 and inexperience shooters is the low BC of smaller rounds makes shot placement very important. A slight miscalculation can end up with a mortally wounded animal dying miles from where it was shot. I understand it is cheaper to plink with 55 grain FMJ, but the type of bullet I use for hunting in a .223/5.56 costs as much as a quality bullet in any other medium game caliber. So, if I were building a rifle with the intent of giving it to an inexperienced hunter; I would choose 6.8 or 300 BLK over .223/5.56.

[SecedeTX]

That's why you have a 30 round mag right???

Just kidding :)

[SecedeTX]

Just finished my son's lower build with the buffer tube. Building this has been a blast with my son. He is SOOOO into this. I will say that the Aero Precision lower and the PMMG lower kit were really good together.

My question is what caliber to build this rifle on now? This will be a deer rifle used in east Texas (less than 250 meters) and given the lower what do i go with? I have been itchin to build a 300 blackout and this seems to be a good option. Having a 5.56 optional upper for swap out seems like a good compromise (ok, this build is going a bit more expensive than I thought up front, so lets just get over that now )

So, a 300 blackout upper along with a 5.56 upper would solve both the hunting/fun/affordability/availability aspects of the rifle. Am I missing something, or is there a better option?

And FYI, I am building this to be around 6lbs, so weight is an issue with all decisions.

[The Annoyed Man]

Two uppers: a 5.56 for plinking, and a 6.8 for hunting (because it has greater range than the .300 Blackout). 16" Pencil barrel in 5.56, and a 20" medium weight barrel in 6.8.

[jmra]

Just finished my son's lower build with the buffer tube. Building this has been a blast with my son. He is SOOOO into this. I will say that the Aero Precision lower and the PMMG lower kit were really good together.

My question is what caliber to build this rifle on now? This will be a deer rifle used in east Texas (less than 250 meters) and given the lower what do i go with? I have been itchin to build a 300 blackout and this seems to be a good option. Having a 5.56 optional upper for swap out seems like a good compromise (ok, this build is going a bit more expensive than I thought up front, so lets just get over that now )

So, a 300 blackout upper along with a 5.56 upper would solve both the hunting/fun/affordability/availability aspects of the rifle. Am I missing something, or is there a better option?

And FYI, I am building this to be around 6lbs, so weight is an issue with all decisions.

Honestly, I'd build out the AR in 5.56 and pick up a used savage 110 in .243 for deer hunting. Cheaper (if you're patient you can pick them up for a couple hundred) and you don't mind being a little rough with the savage. A .243 doesn't have a lot of recoil and will kill just about anything you're gonna run into in Texas.
I have a number of ARs and a couple of really nice hunting rifles - then I have several 110s that I got cheap in everything from .243 to .300 win mag. The 110s get put in a cheap case and thrown in the back of the truck. I don't care if they get dirty or a little beat up. In fact I think it gives them a little character. The other guns pretty much get used for target shooting.

[SecedeTX]

Ordering next round of parts. Lower and stock are complete at this point. I am ordering the upper with parts kit and a barrel. I am looking at the Daniel Defense pencil barrel and was wondering if I should get a gas block or not. All of my other AR rifles came with gas blocks.

Again, I am looking for light weight but a gas block is not that much additional.

Opinions please.

[Carry-a-Kimber]

Ordering next round of parts. Lower and stock are complete at this point. I am ordering the upper with parts kit and a barrel. I am looking at the Daniel Defense pencil barrel and was wondering if I should get a gas block or not. All of my other AR rifles came with gas blocks.

Again, I am looking for light weight but a gas block is not that much additional.

Opinions please.

If you don't get a gas block you will have a straight pull bolt action AR-15. You can get a lo-pro gas block to save weight.

[troglodyte]

I have two lowers and am kicking around the whole "which caliber" thing.

I know I will build one on the 5.56 but I've been swinging between the 6.8 spcII and the 300 Blackout for the other.

Right now I'm leaning towards the Blackout because all I have to do is drop it on top of the 5.56 lower and it's good to go. Since it is made on 5.56 brass it uses the same mags, bolts, etc. Nothing to change. I can build a lightweight 5.56 truck gun and have another 5.56 upper for coyotes or longer ranges. If I want to hunt deer or hogs in central Texas then I could drop the 300 on top and be ready to go. For the price of an extra upper I can have four rifles.

If I think I need a bigger thump or longer distance then I'll take the .308 bolt.

The Blackout is still not the most common caliber to find but reloading it will be no problem. I really like the 6.8 but just don't see a real "need" for it when I have my .308.

That's the way I'm thinking right now...tomorrow may be a different story...

As far as open sights, I would suggest letting him get range time in with open sights, transition to optics, then let him hunt with a scope.

[SecedeTX]

Sorry for the delay in building this thing. Work got busy and waiting on parts. What we have done was probably the expensive route. We started with an Aero Precision stripped lower, Timney drop in trigger, and Magpul everything on the lower. We have two uppers, one is a Yankee Hill 5.56 black diamond carbine upper (yhm780017) that had irons already installed. Being from the deep south, I had to get over having the word "yankee" on the rifle, but I got over it. The quality of the upper was really nice. It is really light, and the fit and finish is sweet and unique to say the least.

The other upper we are still putting together is a 300 Blackout with Areo Precision upper.

I have had a blast with my son building this thing. He is almost 10 and will probably have one of the nicer AR's on the range. We went to the Grand Prix a few weekends ago and there was a local gun range/vendor there and one of the guys in the booth started asking my son about the details of his rifle. He answered what trigger, twist, and parts with no problem. The guy in the booth was stunned. He was also jealous that my son had a rifle that he would aspire to.

If I was more techy, I could post a pic of my son with his new rifle, but my tech skills are poorly lacking.

The only big thing as a takeaway from this whole thing is, if you have a son, build a rifle with him. It was a learning experience for me, a great bonding moment with my son, and my son knows more about his rifle than I ever knew at his age.