MtnMike

@JMJ I like the VX-Freedom 3-9x50 a lot. Very good scope for the price and weight. I also have an older VXii 3-9x40 on a Rem 700BDL (which was my primary deer rifle for ages) and I think the Freedom is a bit brighter. Not sure if that is due to the increased objective size or updated materials. My plan is to move the Freedom to a new muzzle-loader for next season.

Looks like you are on a similar path that I walked down when putting together my Windham Weaponry hunting AR10. I remember the Saint was in my final 3 for a per-assembled, reliable, reasonably priced not too heavy rifle. Let us know how you like that stock. Also curious as to how much that stock weighs? I ended up going with a Daniel Defense collapsible stock that weighed 7.65 oz on my scales, which I like a lot. Also, being collapsible is good for climbing into tree stands. I do have a couple of things planned after this deer season to lighten that package up a few more ounces in the off season. Trying to get it back under 9 lbs with an unloaded magazine. I found, a lighter titanium muzzle brake on sale for $35, which is a couple oz. lighter than the Precision Armament M4-72 I currently use. Also leaning towards a Leupold VX3HD 3.5-10x40 which is listed at 13.1 oz, which is couple oz. lighter than the Leupold VX Freedom 3-9x50 I currently use.

Welcome from Western NC. 600 yds with a “pig” gun is solid!

Welcome from the mountains of NC!

Welcome from WNC!

My first gun was also a shotgun. 20 ga., single shot Harrington & Richardson junior model. I believe I was 9 or 10, when my dad got me that. That gun brought many a squirrel to the dinner table in my youth. Still have it. Loaded with #3 buckshot as one of multiple home defense guns strategically placed about the homestead. Hard to believe its pushing 50 y.o.

Now lets go get some whitetails! (but first muzzle loader season here)

@DustBuster I confess, after reading your post yesterday, I ordered one of those $35 a2 titanium brakes. I remember thinking the gun felt a tad front heavy when I first added the PA-M4-72 on it. Though I quickly got used to it. But, I'm not going to mess with it until after deer season. Everything is dialed in, and season is right around the corner in SC where I'll be primarily hunting this year. Getting 1" groups @ 100yds with plain vanilla 150g Fed Powershok. I do plan to try to reduce the weight by 6 to 8 oz. for next season. Just to do it. Figure the brake is 1.5 oz. Can probably cut the rest of the weight by switching mounts and backing from 50mm to 40 mm scope. I like Leupold scopes because they are made in the US and pretty light. According to Leupold's website, the 50mm VX-Freedom 3-9 I have on there now is 14.6 oz. Might swap with a 40mm VX-Freedom 4-12x40; it's listed at 13.1 oz. My current mount is 6oz as I recall. Should be room for some improvement there as well.

https://monstrumtactical.com/dpms-lr-308-m-lok-handguard-10-inch-free-float-high-profile/ maybe a more likely candidate

ran across this fairly light 12" rail - might work - don't know for sure https://www.2a-arms.com/product-p/2a-bshg-12.htm

That is a light muzzle brake. By my scales, an A2 birdcage weighed 1.75 oz and a Precision Armament M4-72 (which went into by hunting build) weighed 3.20 oz. Curious what the total weight of your hunting build came 2. Mine ended up just under 9#, including Alumina lens caps for the Leupold 50mm scope and an empty 10 round Pmag. Photos attached are of a couple of not quite final configurations.

I like the Larue MST 2s for hunting. Very good trigger for the $ IMO. Lightest collapsible stock I've actually seen is probably the Mission First Minimalist, listed at 5.8 oz. For comparison, the "standard" collapsible stock that came with my WW weighed in at 7.25 oz (and rattled a bit), the Daniel Defense collapsible (that I went with for my hunting AR10 build) weighed 7.65 oz, and the Magpul MOE SL from my AR 15 weighed 9.5 oz.

video review of SFAR

Use lots of 10 & 20 round P-mags. Use one 50-round drum P-mag when I want to really waste some ammo. All work flawlessly. Use the WW 13" free floating hand guard on one AR10 https://shop.windhamweaponry.com/product/hgd-ww-1/ . Have no idea if it will work with your build. But their stuff plays better with others than most. I like it. Other gun is a Daniel Defense - very proprietary stuff there.

Not too bad for a 20 y.o. hand me down. Did fine w/ 2 50gr pyrodex pellets and Hornady 290 gr Boredriver bullets. Main things I picked up in my learning curve - swabbing between every shot is critical for consistency- these things are dirty AF. And, a small paper clip is critical kit gear for clogged nipples. Hope to try it out on a whitetail soon!

Heck, I was happy to locally find pyrodex pellets period. Read that the 777 powder and more modern stuff don’t do well with No. 11 percussion caps. And there seems to be something of a powder shortage…go figure. Found an old online manual for this particular gun and it does include some pellet loads for both 100 & 150g. If I come across some 30g, I’ll definitely try them. Going to make a range day with the muzzleloader and trying 9 different commercial loads for the hunting AR10. Just to see if any one really out performs the others.

Reckon I’m range ready.

"Inherited" a couple of 0.50 cal. muzzle loaders, when my dad and uncle (both well into their 80s) requested I clear out the old gun cabinet in the family's remote fishing/hunting cabin before someone possibly broke in and stole the contents. Never hunted with a muzzle loader before, but starting to get a bit excited at the prospect of a couple of more weeks of deer season for a very nominal cost. Older No. 11 percussion cap guns, but in excellent shape. Where I currently hunt in SC allows scopes, and one of the rifles is an inline with a real crappy old Simmons 3-9x32 scope on it. Think I'll borrow the rings and a fairly decent Vortex Crossfire II 3-9x40 off of one of my .22s and see what kind of groups I can get with the thing.

There are some really good Danners, still made in the US, and some crappy Danners, made elsewhere. I'm about 12 years into my 2nd pair of Danner Mtn Lite II hikers. Made in Portland, OR. First pair lasted 15+ years. Expensive - about $350 at Midway. And, poorly named, because they are quite heavy by today's standards, But they've become my outer skin and the Airthotic food bed insert really becomes appreciated once you exceed 10 miles of trekking in any given day. I don't mind paying a premium if it the product performs and lasts 3-4 times longer that cheaper boots.

Sounds interesting - and yes, I'm a sucker for marketing! Will definitely be looking at reviews as they come out.

Saw where NY just past a state law requiring gun applicants provide a list of 3 years of "social media" accounts as part of application. Made me wonder if forums are considered "social media" under the law. And how much delay is added to an application if state bureaucrats are spending all day trolling through 3 years of each applicant's facebook, twitter and reddits. Unreal. Also, made me wonder if the pols in NY considered that their last batch of gun laws was recently ruled unconstitutional by the S. Ct. and that NY had the largest population decline of any state last year. We are watching the destruction and fall of the American dream before our eyes in real time.

I've been assembling a decent variety of hunting ammos to test in two different AR10s for comparison. With the holiday weekend upcoming, it'll probably be a couple of weeks before I can get to the range. I've got to work on stands and food plots this weekend. I'll report back with photos of results once accomplished.

Ended up going w/ the blem (<$1200) Leupold Vx6HD 2-12x42 w/ the basic (<$80) Leupold Mark mount for now. With the basic rifle starting at just over 8# 11 oz, this is going to be one heavy heifer compared to my “hunting” AR 10 (last pic) which comes in well under 9#.

I've been using multi-focal contacts for a few years now and that seem to work well in most situations. Remember actually taking multiple brands with me to the pistol range to see what worked better when I first started wearing them. My eye doctor is good about letting me try multiple trial lenses. There's a bigger difference between the brands than I would have thought. (Especially using open sights and driving at night in the rain.) I ended up going with Alcon Air Optix, which are good for a month and you can get deals if you order them online. I also did eventually add a Holosun 507K-X2 micro red dot to my EDC (SS365XL). I work in a shitty neighborhood and have a ways to go before I can retire. Don't expect the neighborhood or my eyes to improve in the next 10-20 years. Everybody is different. Keep trying different things until you find what works best for you. But that's what's working for me.