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Varmint Hunting With The AR-15 Type Rifle - Part I |
Varmint Hunting With The AR-15 Type Rifle - Part IBy L.P. Brezny
©Copyright 2008, The Varmint Hunters Association, Inc.
It was about 7:00 a.m. when the lone male coyote came running in from the far side of a deep draw. As he reached a fence he hesitated just enough to allow me to get a sight picture centered on his wide chest, then touch off a round from the AR-15 I was shooting that morning. The gun was a Les Baer original. That is, it was a reworked M-16 type military rifle system that had been hand-fitted, and given the accuracy to meet bench rest standards. As the bullet slapped the coyote head on at about 200 yards he turned and started to move off down the steep canyon. It was time for another quick tap of the trigger as the cross hairs on the Leupold scope sat directly across his rib cage, but at an angle that pushed the bullet well into the vitals. Crack, Whop! The rifle erupted for the second time, and now the big dog came to a stop, rolled forward, then lay still. This was the second coyote of the hunt taken with an autoloading military-based rifle, and it was getting the job done well.
AR-15 Rifle For VarmintsToday, one of the most popular firearms in the marketplace is the AR-15 type rifle, or variations that have been built directly from this basic rifle design. The AR-15 rifle has more added features than any other firearm built today, or for that matter any time in shooting sports history. This rifle is the toy shop of big boy toys all rolled up into a very tight package. Hunters who want special optics such as lasers or night light systems need only open one of many different catalogs to find just the thing they have been searching for.
This AR-15 is good to go with an A.C.O.G. sight and a heads up display over the top. Also battle sights for backup use. This rifle is a good example of a complete varmint rig for closer range calling work. However, glass sights are required for open country, long-range coyote hunting, in the author’s opinion.
Rifles with special butt stocks, hand guards, rails for attaching extra tools, or even special camo and surface treatments, are available all over the place. The question is, however, what is the best route to take when thinking about going to the AR-15 type rifle as a critter control system? That is, for the most part, what I will try to clear up here, and with luck offer you enough information to allow you to make good choices and not overspend on stuff that won’t help much, if at all, in getting more lead on varmint critters.
Because the AR-15 is a lightweight gun system from the start, there is room for added, or at least different, controls from those of the first level M-16/AR-15 type rifles. While these basic systems will get the job done, there are some ways to make the AR-15 style rifle just a bit more user friendly, or at least a customized tool for hunting coyotes and other related critters.
Stocks
Stocking an AR-15 is for the most part a real exercise in creativity. This rifle has options that won’t stop, but for my money the best system to use is a telescopic stock (tactical), or a skeleton-type configuration. While the old standard A2 is just fine, it has a bit more weight than the previously mentioned designs, is also a bit long for shorter individuals, and cannot be folded or made pack ready when hunting mountain country or walking for a day into rolling prairie country.
In most cases, upper level companies will oblige your requests for special stocks on many of their AR-15 rifle models. As an example, DPMS Panther Arms, a company that offers kits, parts, and accessories, will install an AP4 carbine stock assembly, Pardus carbine stock, Command Arms AR-15 collapsible stock, or Ace fixed skeleton stock. This single company will make available a full range of stock systems that run from the GI standard M-16 stock system to those fancy tactical folders.
When moving to the fore-end of the rifle, again some thought needs to be given to just how you’re going to use your rifle. If you live in a state that allows night hunting you may very well want to install light systems or lasers for low or no light varmint hunting. Here again, I tend to favor the 4-Rail handguard like the system built by Midwest Industries, or the SureFire M-73 Quad Rail. The exact guard you buy will depend on the brand of rifle, barrel length, and how much of a systems carrier you want to haul around. Any quality rifle manufacturer will be able to fit your rifle with ease. All you need to do is ask when you’re buying that first AR-15 style gun system.
In some cases, the addition of something as simple as a sling swivel stud housing can be addressed by the use of a fore-end rail system. In the case of the S&W M&P 15 (the M-4 style rifle, for example) the full quad fore-end makes no provision for a sling mounting system (this situation currently is being corrected). When testing this rifle I turned at once to a Bushmaster add-on part that allows a simple screw mount to attach the sling stud housing to the Weaver rail. The attachment is quick and efficient. Here is an example of a company just getting into the AR-15 market that has not as yet caught up with itself in terms of aftermarket goodies. It is an indication of just how fast this new craze is moving forward under many brand names.
This rifle is ready for light carry and predator calling with quad rail, six position stock, fluted barrel with bird cage muzzle brake, and bipod rest.
Sights
While the H bar sight on the carrying handle may look very military, it has little place in an AR-15 varmint configuration. Here the call is for the flattop rail (Weaver) and the use of some quality varmint glass. This past year I got the chance to shoot a Rock River Arms AR-15 that was set up with both the scope sight and a secondary Trijicon ACOG (Advanced Combat Optical Gunsight). The ACOG is a deadly sighting system against large-sized targets like enemy soldiers, but coyotes and the like are not life-size as in human targets. In my mind the ACOG tends to fall short at distances much beyond 200 meters. When testing both systems on a controlled target range environment at PASA Park, Illinois, the scope won hands down every time when varmint targets were considered. About the only exception to this rule would be coyotes coming in close with heavy cover surrounding them, or under low light conditions in a swamp or brushy environment. The red ring or chevron ACOG is an outstanding military sighting system, as has been proven in Iraq, but leave it to our military who fight bad guys. It’s not for varmint hunting predators and prairie dogs, please. Regardless of the upper system on the AR-15 , the flattop receiver with a Weaver rail wins every time, and must be considered as standard issue on any varmint rifle configuration.
As a final element in the sighting department, the use of auxiliary flip up sights, both front and rear, is a must. If the scope goes out, or light system fails when in use, the backup flip sight is always a “get by” tool. Often I find myself back in the mountains a good ways off the beaten track, and having a sighting system go to pieces is not my idea of a good day afield.
Flip sights are built by a number of manufacturers. Midwest Industries builds a folding front sight that fits a Weaver rail as designed into the rail style fore-ends. Flip rear sights by A.R.M.S. can be quickly attached to the rear receiver rail and offer a workable sighting system when all else fails.
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