Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Ask The Gunwriters 6.8 SPC

'You can lead a horse to water but you can't make him drink' is an old saying that comes to mind here. Or maybe you can show a horse water and he will not drink. No amount of logic or real info will affect someone with a preconcieved notion and biased opinion who hangs on to a notion like a tick on a rhino. No sense in trying after a certain point. TTT

Sorry I found my mistake.

so am I looking right, the 6.8 is basically a 250 savage?

I could really go for that in an Contender carbine.

I would guess bullet B.C. being somewhat different but out to 250 yds or so are the 6.8 and 250 Savage nearly identical?

If so sounds good to me.

TWR, try this:

http://www.hornady.com/ballistics-resource/ballistics-calculator

6.8spc 110gr TSX = 110grains; 2550fps; .323BC

I'm getting 2039fps and 1016ftlbs at 200 yards.

Funny you mentioned that. I was thinking the same thing earlier today comparing Hodgdon reload data. They are real similar in some listed loads.

well in any case .277 85 tsx at 2900+ should cover a fair amount of ground as a hunting cartridge.

We cant use AR's to hunt in PA but a 6.8 in a contender may do for PA deer and maybe even Back bear.

I forgot to change the weight of the bullet but got it fixed, numbers are correct.

Au contraire. I'm a fan of the .223 not because of my age, but because it's saved my ass more than once. If the 6.8 had saved me, maybe I'd be an advocate of it. And as I said before, the 6.8 seems a one-trick pony. Deer, coyotes...wait...the .223 can do that. HAS done those. I may be wrong here, but I don't think the 6.8 kills a coyote any deader than a .223.

If I had a few ARs and was looking for something unique, I might get one if the ammo was cheap. Or, I might just paint my AR in a camo pattern for the uniqueness.

I wonder if the matchking would work as well as the Berger's do on WT deer? Most of my shots are under 200 yards? I am going to look into that switch barrel nut but for deer I shoot under 200 its hard to start out with the 6.8 for me.

I'll say this, I've been around alot of AR's in calibers ranging from 17 Rem to 308 Winchester. They all have their positives and some have their negatives as well. The 77gr SMK has negated the need for anything other than 223 in an AR.

Certainly not saying the 6.8 isn't better, needed or wanted, it just don't kill anything any deader than I need it killed.

Well, it can't spawn a whole slew of lightweight bullets in .277 caliber, which can now be put to good use in a 270 Winny!

Thank goodness we got some light bullets. Long live the SPC!

No, it won't kill a coyote any deader than a .223, but nobody said otherwise, and the discussion on 6.8 usefulness has centered around deer, hogs, and larger stuff. As has been stated multiple times and you keep ignoring, it has more lethal terminal performance on larger animals. That is not theory; it is fact. Using your same generalization, .17 Mach 2 will technically kill all the animals mentioned just as dead (eventually), but it isn't an ideal or smart choice on anything larger than small varmints. .22LR has killed tons of deer, but that doesn't mean it's a good deer round. If you compare the performance numbers of .223 and 6.8 with even an inkling of objectivity, you'll quickly see that the latter offers performance that the former cannot duplicate. That either will kill some of the same animals is beside the point.'

And again, the simple fact the .223 or any other .22 centerfire is ILLEGAL for big game hunting in many states is reason enough to choose something else for deer hunting.

I'm gonna go out on a limb and assume that you probably have more than 1 rifle and that they aren't all chambered in .223. If so, then why not, since the .223 will do everything you need?

I have a question. If you shoot a SSA 110 grain bullet loaded cartridge at 2550 out of a 6.8 SAAMI chamber will it be over pressure?

I looked at both the 6.8 SPC and 6.5 Grendel and chose the Grendel. The reason is simple enough - the 6.5 Grendel does do something that neither the 6.8 or the 5.56 do very well, perform at long range.

At close range the Grendel has plenty of terminal effect, so the argument that the 6.8 was developed for "close range knockdown power" is moot. From a 20" barrel you can hit right at 2600 FPS with a 120 gr bullet, which I think is about the sweet spot weight for the round. For hunting a 100 gr mono bullet is absolutely not without interest either though. At the mild velocities of the Grendel the 120 gr Ballistic Tip makes for some inexpensive hunting ammo.

With a good 120 gr bullet, consistent 800+ yard accuracy is possible from a 20" tube. I don't think anyone will argue that the bullet selection at 6.5 mm is lacking. That was the main reason 6.5 mm was chosen for the round. Note: I'm not advocating the Grendel as a long range deer round, 400 yards is probably a good guideline for that - but for humans or coyotes it'll work fine at extended ranges. ;-)

Another plus is Hornady is now loading affordable factory ammo with the 123 gr A-max.

The Grendel isn't perfect. The factory mags still sometimes require tweaking for perfect function, although I heard a new first-tier manufacturer was about to come on the scene. I do think the Grendel is very close to an optimal round for the AR platform in terms of killing power, small to medium game hunting, and long range capability.

Yep, and I've never heard anyone claim that a 250 Savage wasn't a step up from a .223

jimmyp,

I don't knpw the numbers and the recommended pressures vary from brand to brand. The SAAMI standard -- offically the 6.8SPC Remington -- will blow up some of the weaker ARs IF TAC loads are used. The newer 6.8 SPC II -- same case body dimensions, slightly longer leade -- will shoot everything safely with a slight increase in velocity and, some say, accuracy.

1B

the 6.8 is not without interest to me, if you go buy a Ruger Ranch rifle is 6.8SPC to shoot at close range deer, or even at the musk ox can you just buy 110 grain Accubond loads at 2550 FPS from SSA and they will function just fine with no problems?

I like that 110 grain tactical load at 2650 FPS, how will that work in a Ruger Ranch rifle?

I have a ranch rifle in in 6.8 SPC Remington and there is no warning in the Ruger paperwork regarding that round. If any rsik at all was there Ruger's lawyers would have it carved on the barrel!

I do plan to stick with the Hornady's in mine. The max MOA I expect from it is 1.5 so there would be little point in higher performance rounds. Now in my accurized custom Ruger #1...

By the way, I came across a Rem 700 tactical rifle for a good price last week and held my nose long enough to buy it. Hope the bolt handle stays on. (grin)

1B

The 2550 load is the commercial load, it is made for the SAAMI chamber. I would not personally use the 2650 Tac load in an old 6.8 chamber.

most of my deer are shot at 20 yards