6.8SPC a flash in the pan or a long lasting round?

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Geezerbiker

New member
It seems that excitement for this round is wearing off and other than AR's nothing is being made for it. I think a Savage Axis would be a good seller in this round for first time or youth deer hunters. The only bolt gun in 6.8 was an over priced Ruger that no one has in stock... What do you think?

The reason I'm asking is that I'm still trying to work out what guns to buy when I take my twin grandsons out deer hunting for the first time hopefully next year.

Tony
 
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hodaka

New member
The 6.8 is perfect for an AR. There are more and better choices for a bolt gun. I think that tHe 6.8 will be around as long as AR's are around.
 
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globemaster3

New member
Remington also made a 700 in 6.8, but they are fetching a nice price on GB.

As for the future, I think it will be around. There are enough ARs out ther shooting it and new ammo being offered, I don't see it going anywhere anytime soon.

I agree in either a bolt or AR format it is an excellent choice for deer. It's what my oldest is shooting now and it's on a short list for me in the future. Mild recoil and 1,000 ft lbs to 300yards.... The only thing not to like is the $1/round price.
 
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BumbleBug

New member
The 6.8SPC is an interesting cartridge whose odd-ball military type name has kind of hindered its popularity. It should have been called the .270 something for the bolt guys & rode to popularity on the coat tails of the .270 Win. The AR community has done wonders for this cartridge & the .270 caliber itself. When AR shooters wanted a more powerful deer cartridge for their standard platform, the 6.8 was it. Soon the AR mass following was appeased with an excellent selection of bullets in the 85gr to 120gr range that functions beautifully on deer size game in a lower but wider velocity range. If there are any flies on the 6.8mm SPC it is the fact that factory ammo must loaded to a shorter OAL for magazine feeding an AR reducing its powder column. In the AR community, it seems to be making slow but significant gains in popularity. When a standard AR shooter wants to make a step up from the 5.56 this cartridge is THE BEST bet considering cost & performance. That just might assure the 6.8mm SPC future!

JIMHO...

...bug
 
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Gunplummer

New member
I built an AR a few years back expecting the round to take off. I did not want to reload for it and had a bad time with ammo. I did use it for deer and was quite impressed with the little .270, but sold it. Ammo availability is everything to make a round popular. I still have a .260 REM and it was the same way. Not a lot offered as far as ammo when it came out. It is doing OK now. The 6.8 SPC may pick up more as it gets more exposure.
 
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CTS

New member
You can buy ammo for it at many Wal Mart and Academy sports stores if that tells you anything about it's popularity. In a recent Guns and Ammo poll ranking AR calibers by popularity, 556X45 was number 1, 6.8SPC was number 2, 300 Black Out number 3 and 6.5Grendel was number 4. I wish I could still find it.
 
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hodaka

New member
For those of you who are interested in reloading, the 6.8 is an easy one to get into. Turns it into a less than $0.30 per round rifle for match ammo.
 
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tdoyka

New member
http://matchgrademachine.com/

the 6.8spc can be 'tender or encore.
it almost became an encore barrel, but i decided on the 6.5 creedmoor.
16 1/4 - 30" barrels can be made for a rifle, i make it around 18" for twin grandsons.
6.8 spc should be a good one, but the way they make ammo, it may be a flash in the pan.....
 
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globemaster3

New member
Slappy, it's great to hear that GA has 6.8 around like that. Maybe I need to move there. Pecans, peaches, peanuts, 6.8 ammo at Walmart... What's not to like?

About 3 weeks ago I trekked from St Louis to NM. Stopped at 5 Walmarts along the way as well as BPS HQ in Springfield. I could not find a single box of 6.8:confused:.

Went to a local gun show here 2 weeks ago. Found 2 boxes of Hornady 110gr VMax for $29/box... No thanks.

I keep an eye on Gunbot for ammo deals.

I am going to be following hodaka's lead once this TDY is over and life settles down and start reloading for 6.8.
 
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hodaka

New member
My standard load uses Sierra 110 Prohunters over H-322 with Tula 223 or CCI 41's. You can find these bullets for $22 to $24/100 and they are almost as accurate as the Sierra 115's.
 
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Tejicano

New member
Doesn't Ruger still make the Mini-14 in 6.8 SPC? I know they made one a few years ago but I haven't really been following that product line.
 
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globemaster3

New member
I just checked the Ruger website. The only options for the mini per the website is .223/5.56, .223 (not a typo, they list .223 again separately), and 7.62x39mm.

I thought about a mini in 6.8 a few years ago, but was afraid of the caliber not catching on and the AR being more adaptable to other calibers.
 
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steveNChunter

New member
Would anything other than a rebarrel and opening the bolt face have to be done to make a .223 bolt rifle into a 6.8 spc?

I have a Ruger M77 MKII in .223 that I've been thinking about rebarreling to 6x45 but I haven't totally dismissed 6.8 spc

Not trying to thread hijack, I just figured I'd ask the question since it pertains to the topic.
 
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JASmith

New member
from Geezerbiker -
The reason I'm asking is that I'm still trying to work out what guns to buy when I take my twin grandsons out deer hunting for the first time hopefully next year.​
Click to expand...

Tony,

If you have not already completely committed to the 6.8 SPC, take a look at some of the alternatives. Depending on their age, they may be able to handle the .257 Roberts, or the .260 Remington.

Another possibility is the 6.5 Grendel. This cartridge has been used by hunters as young as 8 years old to harvest deer and is still robust enough to take on elk. A two-volume reloading manual is available for the round and spells out the hunting characteristics in some detail: 6.5 Grendel Reloading Handbook. Get them an adjustable stock for the bolt-action or AR and they may still be using the rifle when they retire from active working life.
 
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Geezerbiker

New member
I'm not committed to anything and the 6.8mm is about to the end of it's curiosity for me. I have more than a dozen rifles but none of them particularity fit my 11 year old grandsons.

If I were more of a gunsmith and less of a mechanic, I would buy a couple savage Axis rifles in .223 and screw on 6.8mm barrels. This would be close to our price range and selling off the .223 barrels would offset part of the cost. I'm not up to trying this but I do like the idea...

Both boys are excited about deer hunting even though I've told them hunting around here is awful. Plenty of deer in the yard and none in the woods. The easy solution is to hold off on the hunt for a couple more years until they can shoot rifles I already own...

Anyway I'm thinking now of getting them Handi Rifles in .35 Remington. The one rifle I have they liked the feel of is my .45-70 Handi but neither of them is thrilled about shooting it and I can't blame them. I figure I could load premium .357 handgun bullets to around .357 max velocity and the recoil would be ok and we could load them warmer as the boy grow up...

I had forgotten how much trouble it was teaching their mother to shoot when she was that age. I think the recoil is more of a mental challenge than a physical one at that age. When my daughter was around 14 she inherited a Rem 78 Sportsman .243 from her uncle and I always talked about it being a light shooting round (for me) and she tried it and found it acceptable. Later on I told her my .308 only had a tiny bit more recoil and she did well with it.

Anyway I don't think I can head fake the boys that way...

Tony
 
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steveNChunter

New member
The .35 rem Handi-rifle isn't a bad idea but I didn't think they were still being made in .35 rem. I know the CVA hunter comes in .35 rem. Another thing to consider is getting brass. If you don't already have some it may be very hard to find. It sure is scarce around here anyway.
 
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me26245

New member
6.8

While the 6.8 was issued to some spec-ops units for evaluation reviews were mixed. I think that pretty well sent the 6.8 into a niche market as an odd ball caliber.
When I researched alternative calibers to use in an AR platform my results indicated that the 6.5 Grendel was a better overall performing round.

Currently I can think of 4 manufactures of ammunition for the 6.5 Grendel, with Hornady being the latest to produce ammunition for the 6.5 Grendel. That brought down the cost of ammunition and reloading components quite a lot.

There are a lot of AR uppers that were sold and are still for sale in 6.8 so it will be around for a while, but I see it going the way of cartridges like the .303 Savage.
 
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