Fudd Friday: Four Reasons Why You Should Hunt With An AR-15

The joke about Fudds is that they’re in love with wood-and-steel guns, think semi-auto functionality is a curse of Satan himself and that they poo-poo any caliber below the .30-06. And yeah, some of those things are true, or at least sort of, speaking from the perspective of a professional Fudd—and yet, this Fudd is here to tell you that you should hunt with an AR-15. Here are four good reasons to do so.

Fudd-friendly ARs @ TFB:

• TFB Review: Bear Creek 300 Win Mag Huntmaster
• The Perfect Hunting Calibers and Their Game by Bear Creek Arsenal
• Remington R-15 now in .450 Bushmaster
• BOTW: Michael's Predator Hunting AR Build

The AR-15 Was Originally Sold As A Hunting Rifle

Sure, Eugene Stoner was hoping for some military sales; what self-respecting gun designer wouldn’t? But when the Colt-built AR-15 hit the market in the early 1960s, it was explicitly sold as a hunting rifle. The original advert said stuff like: “With Colt’s new AR-15 Sporter, you’re ready for a new hunting adventure … The AR-15 Sporter weighs only six pounds … If you’re a hunter, camper, or collector, you’ll want the AR-15 Sporter.” The ad showed a stereotypical hunting camp scene, with a lantern and a map, a ballcap and binoculars. No mention of tacticool advantages there; this was a rifle for an outdoorsman.

If you think about it, that was 60 years ago, and since then, AR-pattern rifles have been as popular with civilians as they have been with the military/police, just like bolt-actions in the first half of the 20th century and lever-actions in the last quarter of the 19th century. And after Armalite sold the rights, Colt picked up production, one of the most-worshipped American firearms manufacturers with a history that dates back to the Mexican War. To be honest, I am surprised that the AR-15, at least in its original configuration, wasn’t enshrined in the halls of Fudd-dom a long time ago.

The AR-15 has hunting-friendly features

You want your hunting rifle to be light, accurate, and if you need a follow-up shot, you want to be able to make that shot quickly—and the AR fits all those requirements. Chambered in .223 in its original configuration, the AR is capable of downing a wide range of game but is especially good for varmint hunting.

The original AR-15 came with pretty good iron sights, arguably better than most of the rifles of that era. Today, almost all ARs come with flat-top receivers that can take a wide range of optics with simplicity, instead of wondering if you have the right scope base. They can even run multiple optics; an added-on red dot might be just the thing for a deer that sneaks in close while you’re watching a far-off opening in the woods with a zoomed-in scope. Try doing that on your Winchester Model 70.

And of course, modern ARs are infinitely customizable with whatever grips or furniture or anything else you could imagine to help your shooting. These accessories can be just as useful when hunting as they can be when playing tactical games at your local range.

The AR comes in Fudd-friendly calibers

I would contend that the AR-15 has always come in Fudd-friendly calibers; .223 is one of the best-ever hunting cartridges in that it’s widely available and therefore widely affordable; it shoots flat and straight and doesn’t have punishing recoil. Years of tinkering with loads and bullets have gotten us to the point where the .223 is used for a much wider range of animals than its original varminting aspirations.

I’m not going to sit here and tell you the .223 is a good big game load, or that the AR is the optimal rifle to use for big game hunting, but I can tell you that over on the Rokslide forum, a lot of very experienced shooters are talking about putting this round to use on everything elk-sized and smaller.

But why bother with that if you don’t think it’s a good idea? An AR-10 in .308 is easy to find now, and that’s enough gun for anything you can hunt in the Lower 48, at least. Palmetto State Armory currently has them on sale for $749.99. Of course, you can spend a lot more money than that, if ya want! Or maybe you don’t like the cut of PSA’s jib; go and spend your money at Bear Creek Arsenal, then. At the time of writing, they’re selling a stripped-down BC-10 for $474.95, and you might be able to get another discount on top of that by signing up for their email list.

If you dig around, you can now find AR-pattern rifles chambered in everything from long-action Fudd standards like .270 Winchester, to mid-century magnums like .300 Win Mag, not to mention new straight-wall standards like .450 Bushmaster. A lot of the higher-powered long-action rifles do tend to be a lot more expensive than the AR-10 models mentioned above, though, which brings up another point!

Modern ARs can be very affordable

Have you seen the prices of made-in-America hunting rifles lately? I get it; wages have risen, taxes have risen, the cost of materials has risen, the cost of advertising through gun magazines to pay the salaries of high-priced journos like myself has risen.

Uh, maybe not so much on that last one (can anyone lend me fifty bucks for ammo?). My point is this: While the majority of the gun industry sees prices rise, ARs are actually more affordable than ever. You can even 3D-print a lot of the parts yourself, if you want to. If funds are tight, and you can legally hunt with an AR where you live, it might be the most affordable option. And even if you can’t hunt with a semi-auto where you live (I’m looking at you, Pennsylvania!), then thanks to the wonders of 3D printing, you can make a second bolt-action-only upper for your AR in the deer woods. One of my school buddies has done just that, allowing him to take his AR-10 afield for whitetails in the Pennsylvania hills.

There are other aspects of AR affordability to consider. Common chamberings like .308 and .223 are some of the most affordable centerfire rounds in the U.S. And what about the long term, when you have to maintain your gun or maybe fix something? Compared to a finicky lever-action, or (heaven forbid) a break-action, an AR action is very easy to repair yourself. As the cost of gunsmithing rises, do not discount this advantage, especially since you may also be able to 3D print the part yourself, instead of hoping some gun parts warehouse has an ancient spring or roll pin in stock.

Conclusion

If an AR isn’t for you, fair enough—I like lever-actions too, and a good bolt-action carbine, and a pump gun, and so on. But don’t be put off by old-fashioned wood-and-steel snobbery. An AR makes a lot of sense for the modern hunter, especially if you’re on a budget. If someone as old-school as Dan Infalt can take them out for a deer drive in the Wisconsin marshes, that’s enough Fudd credibility for me.