The enemy soldier in front of our two-man fighting position dove into a ditch about 75 yards downhill from us and began low-crawling along it--but not quite low enough. When the top of his helmet bobbed into view, I put the front sight post on it and squeezed the trigger.

I was rewarded by the high, shrill signal of my M16's laser emitter scoring a hit on the sensors, and the soldier sat up and slammed his helmet down in disgust. That "kill"--during field exercises in Army infantry school--was my first with an AR.

Fast forward 20 years later as guide Danny DeCock at the 777 Ranch in Texas led me to the edge of a big open field. Three exotic blackbucks were bedded in the center of it, and Danny set up the bamboo shooting sticks. "When they stand up, take the one on the left," he said.

Moments later, the animals rose and began walking steadily to the right, the range about 250 yards. I tracked the biggest buck with the crosshairs, and when he stopped, I squeezed the trigger--dropping him like a sack of potatoes. That was my second kill with an AR, this one the brand new R-25 from Remington, chambered in .308 Winchester.

Last year Remington trotted out the R-15 VTR, a varminter chambered to .204 Ruger and .223 Remington, and the firm--now a sister company to AR makers DPMS and Bushmaster--wasted little time developing a gun with bigger aspirations.

Initial chamberings for the new R-25 will be .308 Winchester, 7mm-08 Remington and .243 Winchester, so it's pretty obvious Remington is going after the big game set. Remington is also going after servicemen and women returning from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

The idea is to provide them with a rifle with which they're familiar, the hope being that those who either return to their hunting roots or decide to take up the sport will cotton to an AR--and their choice will be a gun from one of our oldest and most respected brand names.

Remington is also betting that an increasing acceptance of the AR among hunters will help put them in the driver's seat. The AR has already achieved this acceptance in the varmint realm. The hill is higher to climb in the big game world, but Remington is putting its best foot forward.

For starters, the R-25 is a good looking rifle, sporting a flat-top receiver, fluted barrel and ventilated free-float tube--all finished in Mossy Oak Treestand camo.

The Picatinny-style rail affixed to the flat top boasts 17 crosscuts, which provide a wide range of mounting positions for a scope or red-dot sight. The gas block (which replaces the front sight found on a standard AR-15) also has rail slots for mounting other accessories such as a laser or light.

The carbon-steel barrel has a recessed crown, is 20 inches long and, as mentioned, it's fluted. The fluting shaves off a couple of ounces, but it's mostly for aesthetics, although the short length does make it handier and lighter. The barrel is button-rifled with a six-groove, 1:10, right-hand twist, but the bore is not chrome-lined as you'll find on some ARs.

The general consensus on chrome lining is that it's critical if you are engaged in a lot of firefights or aren't able to clean the gun regularly between said firefights. But for the average hunter? Not so important.