6.8mm rem SPC

[Amos Keeto]

Yeah, FNG Amos Keeto here.
I'm new here and not sure where everything goes.
If this is the wrong spot to post this, tell me where it should be.

Long ago, I got tired of dragging gramps fine old Marlin 336 .30-30 through the thickets chasing feral hogs.
Ended up with a Ruger "Ranch" in 6.8mm Rem SPC. One hog killing dude...and a couple deer. Love the round!
All Ruger provided was a 5 round mag!
Shopping around for AR parts, I stumble into an Anderson 6.8mm Rem SPC II bbl! Well, I already had a stripped lower, so why not....AND 5, 10 and 20 round mags are easily located for the AR platform.


I CAN HARDLY FIND 6.8mm AMMO!

Is it THAT unpopular?
Do any of you shoot the 6.8mm?

Just curious....'cause I ain't giving up my AR in 6.8mm!

1.5-4×20 Leupold "VX-Freedom" w/ Pig Plex reticle.

 

[StupidLightweight]

As you know, the "Six.Great" is a fine round in an AR-15 and is my father's go-to cartridge. Unfortunately, it lost the midsize AR cartridge battle to the 6.5 Grendel (among others) and won't likely ever make a comeback. There's enough guns chambered in it avoid obsolescence for a few more decades, but if I were you, I'd invest in reloading equipment and components, because finding it on shelves is never guaranteed.

 

[TxLite]

If you don’t reload, I wouldn’t be messing with 6.8. It’s a dying cartridge imo. Some places still have ammo for now but as you’ve seen it’s few and far between.

 

[macatac]

If you look on ammoseek, there are lots of places selling 6.8 ammo. 3 of my local stores carry at least 2-3 types of 6.8. I love the one I built last year and have taken 2 deer with it. Hope to get 2 or 3 more with it this year. Personally, I don't think you need dozens of different bullets for the same gun. Heck, SG Ammo has almost as many 6.8 options as they do 30-30.

 

[ScreamingPotato]

I've got a couple Bison 6.8 SPC II barrels, they're both shooters no doubt. Bad medicine for the hogs. I just switched barrels out but the 18" loves the old SSA 110gr Accubond and I piled up on Winchester Deer Season XP when BPS had them on sale this spring. It shoots them well also. You can buy from Cavity Back from time to time, their stock comes and goes. The local Academy store has it also but they want $35/box for FMJ S&B.

 

[BAKPAKR]

I have a Noveske 6.8 that I like a lot.

 

[Grundy53]

I love mine. Ammo is readily available where I live.

Sent from my SM-S901U using Tapatalk

 

[Amos Keeto]

WOW! ....and I thought "I" was the only 6.8 freak!
I seldom find 6.8 shooters in my area, but when I do, like me, they are very dedicated to the round.

The same 6.8 as my OP, but with a 3-9×40 VX-I originally mounted.

I ordered RCBS (SB) dies when I bought the Ruger "Ranch" in 6.8.
I started with Rem ammo. Think 110 grain? I burned up quite a bit then went to digging through my loading bench stash. Lot'sa .277" stuff, but all 30, 150 grain stuff. Then a box of Sierra 90 grain HP appeared!
All three of these pigs fell to a single 90 gr hollow point!
Since then, I've gone to a GD 90 gr SP with great results!
My rifle "loves" just about any 90 grain ammo!

....you're prolly right! The 6.8 may never regain any status, but I'll always believe it's superior to the 6.5G. But that's just me!

 

[macatac]

I ordered some 120 gr SST’s loaded by a company out of MO. (Not sure I can mention names) My final 100 yard groups could be covered by the little black square sticker that comes with the hi-vis targets. 2 were almost in the same hole. And for the record, I am not a great shot. I really like this gun. 16” ARP barrel is a shooter.

If you look around, the ammo is there.

 

[macatac]

Meant to post this. The bigger doe was 203 yards. These were shot with S&B PTS bullets. Bonus doe season last year. Freezer was full.

 

[StupidLightweight]

For a short-barreled hunting rig, I'm not sure the 6.8 can be surpassed. Our 12.5 ARP barrel zips 90-grain bullets at something like 2,900 fps. That's superb performance from a barrel this short. Toss on a compact suppressor, and you're still less than 18 inches. Talk about handy. For most game at most distances, it's a wonderful cartridge that give you the length of a .300 BLK with the killability of a 16-inch 5.56 or 6.5 Grendel.

 

[gelton]

I bought an LWRC almost 15 years ago and had enough reloaded ammo to last a while but I just went to buy components for the first time in at least a decade and I was amazed at how sparse it was from an availability perspective.

I have plenty of 95gr Barnes already loaded but am switching to 120gr Hornady SST's for the next round of reloads.

Once the military decided on the .277 Fury and when you have rounds like the 6 ARC and now the 22 ARC the 6.8 is definitely on its way out. Kind of sad to see actually.

 

[ScreamingPotato]

I bought an LWRC almost 15 years ago and had enough reloaded ammo to last a while but I just went to buy components for the first time in at least a decade and I was amazed at how sparse it was from an availability perspective.

I have plenty of 95gr Barnes already loaded but am switching to 120gr Hornady SST's for the next round of reloads.

Once the military decided on the .277 Fury and when you have rounds like the 6 ARC and now the 22 ARC the 6.8 is definitely on its way out. Kind of sad to see actually.

These guys have 105's and 120's in stock regularly. You might give them a try and see how they work for you. I don't reload so been eyeing their loaded ammo but it's not in stock often and I never feel like spending the money when it is.

6.8/.277 Projectiles

COPPER BULLETS COPPER PROJECTILES

www.cavitybackbullets.com

For a short-barreled hunting rig, I'm not sure the 6.8 can be surpassed. Our 12.5 ARP barrel zips 90-grain bullets at something like 2,900 fps. That's superb performance from a barrel this short. Toss on a compact suppressor, and you're still less than 18 inches. Talk about handy. For most game at most distances, it's a wonderful cartridge that give you the length of a .300 BLK with the killability of a 16-inch 5.56 or 6.5 Grendel.

I replaced my Bison 18" bull barrel with a 16" lightweight threaded 5/8. I haven't installed the adjustable gas block yet so haven't shot it suppressed but that's the plan. Even with a full sized 7" suppressor that brings me in at 23" total "barrel" length so I'm hoping it'll balance out. We shoot a lot of hogs on the run and I love the 6.8 for the extra thump over the 5.56's and the AR10's are just too heavy. I typically just shot the Hornady 120gr SST's because they're available regularly, the 18" barrel was giving me roughly 2500 fps with them and 2550 fps with the 115gr Deer Season XP so I really can't afford to lose too much velocity. I picked up some 110gr Pro Hunter from Cavity Back to try just in case that 16" dings it too much but I haven't shot that yet.

 

[JRS3]

I am a 6.8 fan. I have taken a fair amount of WT and hogs with the cartridge, as well as my sister and son. The lack of recoil and blast combined with decent weight bullets is a nice combination. I bought a case of Hornady 120gr SSTs, as they shoot well in my rifles but their performance has not been super impressive. I have yet to lose a deer but have had some very long recoveries due to lack of blood trail. A friend uses a 6.8 for agricultural crop culling of deer and hogs and likes the lighter weight Barnes or Nosler Accubond. I plan to get some loaded after the season.

 

[Amos Keeto]

I am a 6.8 fan. I have taken a fair amount of WT and hogs with the cartridge, as well as my sister and son. The lack of recoil and blast combined with decent weight bullets is a nice combination. I bought a case of Hornady 120gr SSTs, as they shoot well in my rifles but their performance has not been super impressive. I have yet to lose a deer but have had some very long recoveries due to lack of blood trail. A friend uses a 6.8 for agricultural crop culling of deer and hogs and likes the lighter weight Barnes or Nosler Accubond. I plan to get some loaded after the season.

My rifle responds best to lighter bullets also. It really prefers a 90 grain. Wish I had a couple thousand 90 grain Gold Dot bullets.

 

[Ozarkansas]

My uncle got a 6.8 over a decade ago when it seemed to have a leg up on the 6.5 Grendel (which my brother was an early adopter of) in terms of ammo availability. He’s killed a pile of pigs with it, and since he’s a handloader the ammo shortage hasn’t affected him too much. That being said, it seems like a combination of Remington’s incompetence and hornady putting its weight behind the 6.5G has been gradually pushing it out of the market.
It’s still a great AR cartridge, but I think it’s going the way of the 30 Remington AR.

 

[AngleAway]

It certainly hasn’t taken off in the way I hoped to see, the SPC/SPC II chambering didn’t help. I’ve enjoyed it so much I doubt I’ll ever get rid of the it though. 12.5” barreled, light recoil, effective hunting round for most game in Texas. It’s a winner in my book!

 

[yfarm]

Light, easy to carry 6.8spc.
SG Ammo is my go to.
Was going to chop to 18 from 23 but balance is perfect as is.