A new 6.8SPC

[BillBro]

Yes, Im hooked on this caliber. Its really fun to shoot. Throwing a 110gr hornady bullet downrange at around 2575fps and smackin a 6" plate is alot of fun in a standard sized ar platform. Plus it has an array of good quality hunting bullets, 85gr to 120gr. Ive even been playing around with some bonded 130gr Fusions. Getting fantastic accuracy using Benchmark but the velocities are a bit lacking. Im hoping to be able to squeeze another few hundred fps out of them.
With the 6.8 you can use shorter barrels too and not have your velocities suffer the way they do with some other calibers. A new barrel and bolt are about all you need besides a mag, unless you already have some like I do.
So I bought a new 16" barrel from ARP (of course) and a new bolt from LWRCi. Still need a rail but have everything else.

 

[LVSteve]

A quick trawl of the Web revealed threads on other forums echoing your comments on Benchmark powder with 6.8 SPC. Great accuracy, not enough oomph.

 

[TheTinMan]

Looks like AA 1680 can get up to 2,600 fps with a 110 grain pill in 6.8 SPC (according to Hornady). That’s nice. However, I just don’t like cartridges requiring a larger bolt face in an AR-15. It’s only 0.050” bigger in diameter, but I read about problems every once in a while with 6.5 Grendel ARs and that’s the same bolt face as 6.8 SPC.

300 Blackout only produces 2,400 fps with a 110 grain bullet, but it works nicely with a 9” barrel.

 

[mckenney99]

I got a chance to shoot a friends 6.8 SPC AR as we were preparing to head to TX for a hog hunt. As soon as I fired the first rounds I was hooked on the caliber. It obviously just had more umpf than other AR similar platform calibers. I own a 7,62x39 Colt AR rifle but the ballistics of the 6.8 SPC were much more to my liking. My first hunting rifle was a Ruger M77 in .270 Winchester so I was already well stocked on .277 bullets for reloading. As a result I have built 2 AR's from scratch to my specs and they both are shooters. I am a fan of the cartidge.

 

[Valmet]

I’ve never talked with anyone who has used the 6.8SPC that hasn’t fallen in love with the cartridge. It’s phenomenal.

 

[Wyo]

I started using the 6.8SPC shortly after it debuted and it has been one of my favorites for years. I used it just this weekend on a combination antelope/coyote hunt. It’s easy to shoot, accurate and it punches well above its weight. I’ve used it in bolt rifles but prefer it on the AR platform. I currently have AR’s in several brands in 18”, 16”, 14.5” and 11.5” lengths. The shorties are especially nice when suppressed. So far I’ve used it on mule deer, whitetails, antelope, Texas hogs, coyotes and quite a few others. Never shot anything more than once. Most animals have dropped at the shot and none traveled more than 50 yards. I think it’s just a really cool, effective little cartridge that is severely underrated. Like Rodney Dangerfield, it deserves more respect!

 

[BillBro]

Its really nice to see at least some suppprt for the 6.8. While there are a few decent factory loadings out there I regard it as I do the 44Spl, a handloaders cartridge. If you want to really see full potential from it reload.
The 6.8forum has been invaluable to me since getting into the game. Now I can't imagine loading to a COAL of 2.260, 2.295 and 2.3 are my norms. My favorite mags are PRI and CPD, both of which will tolerate such lengths.
Yes, nice to still see some interest.