The AR-15 isn’t typically what I think of when it comes to most hunting applications. However, the AR platform covers a wide range of cartridges, some of which are more than suitable for hunting everything from small varmints to feral hogs. A new research document from the Outdoor Stewards of Conservation Foundation titled Proliferation of Hunting With AR-Platform / Modern Sporting Rifles sheds some light on how AR has been used within the hunting world.

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How Popular is the AR-15 When it Comes to Hunting?

The research, entitled “Proliferation of Hunting with AR-Platform / Modern Sporting Rifles”, was conducted for OSCF by leading outdoor industry research firm Responsive Management.

Mark Damian Duda, Executive Director of Responsive Management states: “This report is chalk full of new insights and is a must read for anyone connected with hunting or AR-Platform rifles. In addition to many key findings, the report includes demographic-participatory analyses graphs that provide extra insight to the reader on how various demographic groups respond to certain questions within the report.”

Key findings include:

1. Most important reasons for hunting last season.
2. Percentage of hunters that have used an AR-Platform rifle to hunt with.
3. What type of firearm hunters use most often to hunt with.
4. How long they have hunted with AR-Platform rifles.
5. Type of game, (i.e., large/small) that hunters have used an AR-Platform to hunt.
6. Main reasons they use AR-Platform rifles for hunting.
7. Likeliness of using an AR-Platform rifle to hunt with in the future (asked of hunters not currently using an AR-Platform rifle to hunt with). PS – the results will surprise you!

OSCF Board of Directors Secretary, Patrick Shay noted; “With limited data on this topic, the new OSCF report is a welcomed resource that allows readers to make fact-based decisions – which is important during these tough market conditions.”

This report expands an ever-growing knowledge library provided by Outdoor Stewards of Conservation Foundation. To view the report and findings (free of charge) visit www.OutdoorStewards.org .

The single most important reason for hunting according to the research document turned out to be “for the meat” by about 20% more than the next biggest reason which was “to be with family and friends,” Both of these are great sentiments but when it comes to the AR-15, most stated that the reason they favored it over other rifles was for its “ease of shooting,” and its “accuracy.” A majority of respondents to the research also stated that they used the AR-15 for large game such as deer or elk over small game such as squirrel or rabbit. The whole report is a bit of a dry read but it I thought might be interesting to some of you out there. Do you use your AR-15 to hunt with? If so then in what configuration and what for? Let us know in the comments!