Byron South
New member
I see lots of guys coming to AR platform for hunting these days. I think this is a good thing. Obviously I like these rifles a lot. But this was not always the case. I was no different than many of you here in that the AR platform was just not a rifle I felt was best suited for hunting. Once I became more acquainted with the platform I quickly realized that it had many of the attributes I was looking for in a hunting/calling rifle. It was first of all very accurate, reliable, sturdy, and dependable. The fact that it was semi-automatic was not lost on me either. I’ve had many instances prior to using the AR where this would have come in handy.
When I first went with the AR for my calling rifle I had no clue what I really wanted or needed. Being new to the design it was confusing trying to sift through all the different options. Then, several years later after sifting through all the options I was still left without exactly what I wanted. I even went the route of having a couple of custom rifles built to my specs.
During this time Remington joined the AR market and asked me to help them to spec the rifle out. They wanted to build the perfect predator hunting rifle. Of course I jumped at the opportunity and the result is the Remington R-15 Signature Edition. As many of you already know they build the R-15 rifles with the expertise and experience of Bushmaster and DPMS.
With the growing popularity of predator hunting and the diminishing stigma associated with the AR there are now many people coming to this platform. I see more and more guys here asking what rifle to choose, which barrel length, what accessories and so on. For what its worth, take it or leave it, I seriously doubt you could find a better suited rifle for predator hunting than the R-15. My preference is of course the “Signature Edition” R-15. Not because it has my name on it but because I honestly believe you can’t buy a better rifle more suited to calling predators. I’ve been using the signature rifle now for three years now and still wouldn’t change a thing about it. It has all the features I could ever want on a rifle and none that I don’t. It comes with a nice trigger, and with a barrel of what I feel is the perfect length and weight. There are plenty of other AR’s out there but none specked out like this rifle. They either have barrels that, IMO, are either too short (loud), to long (unwieldy) , or two heavy (burden to carry). Even if you don’t choose the “Signature” rifle, but rather the standard R-15 you still have many of the same features you would want rolled into a readily available rifle.
I’d be the last to diss custom rifles. I love custom rifles. I also have some good friends that build custom rifles. A couple of which, frequent this forum. These guys do some fantastic work. With this said I do believe that for the money/features you can’t go wrong with the R-15. In the accuracy department I’ve also never been disappointed in the R-15s I own or have seen. Without exception all shot very well. A custom rifle might get you ¼ or ½ inch groups, but don’t be surprised if you get very close to that with the R-15s. All I have seen will shoot around an inch or less with factory ammo they like and some will shoot with any custom gun going. That is more than good enough accuracy to shoot coyotes way out there.
Of course I’m sponsored by Remington but I don’t say these things because of that. I say these things because I believe this to good advice coming from lots of experience using ARs for hunting. For you guys that are looking to buy an AR for predator hunting it is my opinion there is no better choice than the R-15. I didn’t intend this to be an ad for the R-15. I simply wanted to share what I use and would recommend.
Good Hunting, and God Bless,
Byron
