Home Forums Hunting & Shooting AR and Tactical Rifles 6.8 vs. 7.62x39 vs ???

gentlemen,
This is not a "caliber selection doesn't matter" thread or a "its the indian not the arrow" thread.
I personally feel more comfortable shooting a bullet that is 100% heavier than than the typical 223 load because it fits my requirements and preference stated in my origional post.
I'm looking to you AR enthusiest to compare a 6.8 against the SKS round or if there is more choices out there since I last looked at AR options. Not being a handloader keeps me to off the shelf stuff and I object to buying really expensive premium bullets to make lighter designs work.
Respectfully yours,
Humdinger

your thread started 6.8 vs 7.62 x 39 vs ???,

I guess we know now that the vs ??? was anything other than the 5.56, typical I guess.

You can lead a horse to water but you cannot make him drink.

In KS the minimum bullet size for deer is 24 cal.

that is a good point, maybe where he lives as well.

YOu have a lot bigger deer there than we do down here, but I"ve shot more than a few does that were around 150 pounds live weight, at give or take 300 yards with the 223 and 62tsx... Shot them facing me for tests. Never caught a bullet to this day. That says enough for me.

OTOH if I"m trophy hunting, where I don't want to have to pass any shot given, if the buck of a lifetime comes along, I won't be carrying a 223.... I'll be with you on rounds, but actually probably ahead of you as it won't be any smaller than my 7x300 wtby and probably more along the lines of 300 wtby or 338 Win... just in case. Even though I'm convinced the 223 would probably suffice.

Where I'm just meat hunting and if I get a shot I don't like, I can walk away from it, then while I have other rounds and take various guns out, the 223 is alwyas on the go to list along with a 6.8 necked to 6mm....

Getting the right answers often depends on asking the right questions...

Answer, there ain't a nickles worth of difference between all of them (6.8, 6.5, 7.62x39). Pick your poison and put a good bullet in the right spot.

TN the 223 is legal for Deer but in Virginia it must be 23 or larger

Good point! Cept for the price and availability of factory ammo. Grendel is non-existent on the shelves, 6.8 is pretty scares as well. 7.62x39 has the most off the self options for hunting rounds with the added attraction of cheap surplus or foreign ammo.

Hey - I resemble that remark! If you read my post you would have seen I wanted to something larger than 223....

Ding Ding Ding!
Someone caught it.
6.8 is one I can find though.

Never did do well with riddles... grin

Oh knowing him, he got it alright, he was just trying to tell you cool if you want it, but its not really needed typically.

But if not for wanting something just because, I guess I could have a much smaller safe....

6.8 is the answer for you.

And I'd personally take the 7x62x39 every last time. Just goes to show.....

Only reason though because of cheaper ammo available just because... I have no qualms with the 7.62 out to 300 yards either, I don't know that I'd push the 6.8 farther than that.

Kind of a wash in one way. And if a .224 bullet isn't big enough for some, why stop at .277 when .308 or .311 is there?

Of course my real opinion is if one had an upper for every caliber that the AR15 could handle, that would be close to enough to have fun with....375BR is still nagging my head...

Gentlemen,
New developments -
Found a copy of Shooting times that has articles on the 6.8 and the grendel and I am reading their research. As with any magazine article, you look in the advertisers index to see who they are being paid off this month.

On another note - I am preparing for a black friday run over to sportsmans guide retail location to get some items and I searched under "6.5" to see if they have some cheap ammo for my swede and they do ($19 for wolf goldline), but what shocked me is they have wolf goldline 6.5 grendel ammo for $15 and the remington 6.8 ammo is $27... I may have to do more research between the 6.5 versus 6.8 because I was leaning toward 6.8, but the grendel has a edge with potentially cheaper ammo... hmmm...

Thanks for the input on the 7.62 and it sounds hit & miss. Not too many oddballs like the Olympic rounds came out which amazed me.

I was deciding between the 6.8 SPC and 6.5 Grendel and went 6.8. The deciding factor for me was using a 16" barrel. From what I read, the 6.8 was designed for a short barrel and a longer barrel gives relatively little gain. If I was looking to use a longer barrel and shoot longer distance than I would have gone with the 6.5. My 6.8 upper has done the job so far.

The Wolf Grendel ammo sucks and is riddled with pressure and chambering issues. Don't base you new rifle/chamber on POS ammo.

He's talking about the 300 AAC Blackout, or the 7.62x35. A good choice for the handloader, a terrible one if you're not. I get about 2250-2300 fps with 125 grain Sierras which is about the same as the '39, a little less actually. Thing is, the '39 uses bullets that are .311 in diameter and there are not many choices in configuration or weight.

I make my own brass from .223's, it's very easy to do with a pipe cutter, case trimmer, and a full length sizer die. The upper I got is a CMMG with a 1-8 twist that I spent about $550 on and seems to be a very good unit so far. With 180 grain and up bullets you have the subsonic option available, but with mine anyway the only things that will not go thru the target sideways at 100 yards are Sierra Matchkings.

Good luck finding factory loads in this cartridge; all I've seen advertised are subs for about $1.25 a round. Since it's adoption by SAMMI this may change but who knows how long it will take for such ammo to appear.

I feel the .300 is a very good short to medium range cartridge that has the advantage of suppressed subsonic capability. I'd not try to take a shot at more than 300 yards on game with it.

Blah blah yak yak I seem to have gotten windy here sorry.

In my experience the 7.62X39 doesn't out perform the 6.8. I have shot both and I still have a 6.8 and have been rather impressed with its destructiveness for lack of a better term

The 6.8 SPC & the 7.62x39 pretty much fire a bullet at the same velocity as the venereable old 30-30, or thutty-thutty, as they say 'round here. Difference being that you are using pointed modern bullets. Do not let this dissuade you either way, as it is fine round and was once though of as the 'super-hot' cartridge of it's day, and I am sure that hundreds of thousands of deer taken with the thutty-thutty in the 100+ years of it's existence would stand as mute testimony to how useful it is.