6.8mm Rem. SPC---Opinions Wanted

[Go Navy]

6.8 SPC II is great. Just please get the right chamber and twist combo and reload.

And where did you hear about the NATO version of 6.8 SPC? Please give more info about this.

Fair question. I had to go back and look. My source was the Oct. 2011 issue of "Special Weapons for Military and Police" magazine, and there are two articles relating to 6.8 SPC. One is on the Ruger SR-556, now offered in 6.8 SPC, page 14.

The other, more interesting, is an article by Stan Crist "21st Century Combat Round" beginning on page 60. It was the latter where I saw mention of the round in a NATO context. He lists about 16 different factory loads, by the way.

I have to correct what I said earlier. Crist does not report that any NATO armies have adopted the round. He reports that the Beretta ARX160 rifle has been developed for the Italian Army and designed to be easily converted to 6.8. The CZ S805, he says, was created for the Czech armed forces and likewise designed to be easily converted to 6.8. (The same could be said of the M16/M4, I would think.) He says that if the round were officially anointed by NATO, it would probably be called 6.8x43mm.

[VaderSpade]

6.8 is my new choice for deer and hogs under 300 yards. I killed both my bucks with my 6.8 this year, both dropped in their tracks. And I built the upper for under $400.00.

[Nathan Krynn]

6.8 is my new choice for deer and hogs under 300 yards. I killed both my bucks with my 6.8 this year, both dropped in their tracks. And I built the upper for under $400.00.

Yeah good old Betsy is now a safe queen. She had 16 years good service as a century series model 94 30-30. But I am with you I use the 6.8 for all my deer and hog hunting.

My 6.8's are bison barrels, trx extreme's, stag bolts, FA carriers, and PRI brakes. I actually could do with out the PRI and switch to a flash hider but haven't committed to that yet. Over all not that expensive and I love those 2 uppers.

[Spelunker]

These are the rounds I use.

http://www.ssarmory.com/6.8_spc_ammo_Barnes_95gr_TTSX_Tactical.aspx

They are pushed to 2750 fps so rework some of those previoulsy posted calculations and you can easily reach out to 350yds with this round. I read somewhere about how fast the ttsx needed to be going to for proper expansion and somewhere after 350 yds it wouldnt open properly upon impact.

[jgraham15]

Or you could go with Wilson Combat 95gr TTSX. 2850 fps from a 16" barrel. Only bad thing is they are pricey!

http://shopwilsoncombat.com/68-SPC-95-gr-Barnes-TTSX-2850-FPS-16-Barrel-20_Box/productinfo/A68%2D95%2DTTSX/

[winxp_man]

The 6.8 SPC has three types of chambers. The SAAMI the SPC II and DMR. Here are the spec for each chamber.

Remington 6.8x43 SPC-(SAAMI Chamber):
Has a .050 freebore, 45 degree cone angle, .278 diameter freebore.

6.8 Remington SPCII (SPCII Chamber):
Has a .100 freebore, 45 degree cone angle, .278 diameter freebore, .3085 neck.

6.8x43 (DMR):
Has a .095 freebore, 45 degree cone angle, .2775 dia, and a .3085/.309 neck.

All the chambers work perfectly if used with in spec and not over loaded.


I have personally owned a SPC SAMMI chambered rifles and shot fine and with no issues. As I looked into higher FPS I needed to get the SPC II chamber on a new build so thats what I did. I got a WOA 6.8 SPC II with a 11.5 twist and 4 grove barrel.

[Go Navy]

The 6.8 SPC has three types of chambers. The SAAMI the SPC II and DMR. Here are the spec for each chamber.

Remington 6.8x43 SPC-(SAAMI Chamber):
Has a .050 freebore, 45 degree cone angle, .278 diameter freebore.

6.8 Remington SPCII (SPCII Chamber):
Has a .100 freebore, 45 degree cone angle, .278 diameter freebore, .3085 neck.

6.8x43 (DMR):
Has a .095 freebore, 45 degree cone angle, .2775 dia, and a .3085/.309 neck.

All the chambers work perfectly if used with in spec and not over loaded.


I have personally owned a SPC SAMMI chambered rifles and shot fine and with no issues. As I looked into higher FPS I needed to get the SPC II chamber on a new build so thats what I did. I got a WOA 6.8 SPC II with a 11.5 twist and 4 grove barrel.

Excellent info, Winxp. Thanks. I see the Spec II has twice as much freebore, if I'm reading it right. Is that because they seat the Spec II bullet load shallower (or further out) to make room for more powder? The reason I ask is "experts" say that if a bullet has to jump too much freebore upon firing, it hurts accuracy.

[mixicus]

OP-it's likely a good 'all around' cartridge out to 300yd or so. The downside to that usually means it's not very good at any one thing. So it really depends on what you need out of it.

With high volume shooting, I don't know of any 'bulk' type or the cost equivalent to 55gr FMJ .223 ammo or 147gr FMJ .308. So the ammo price makes it a bit too costly for my taste in that application.

You can limit the ammo cost by restricting the discussion to hunting. Then my taste is to match the round to the game. In this case, you could limited cartridge selection down to something like a 22-250 for squirrel thru coyote and a 30-06 for hog, deer and most other critters in North America. And likely do much better than the 6.8 for everything.

Just depends if it fits your needs and budget.

[jwb28]

Here is one link that explains the spec 11 chamber reasoning. Pressure, freebore ect. Lots of people get sub MOA out of their loads, so no woories about to much freebore messing up accuracy.
If you load long Ie 2.285 or so. (some mags will let you go a little longer) you get rid of the freebore problem, increase case capacity a little and can get some more FPS while staying within pressure limits.
Go to 68forums the doc u database section and have fun.
If I get an ar upper it's spec 11, but if you like Ruger I wouldn't worry about it.

http://68forums.com/forums/showthread.php?840-2008-6.8SPC-PERFORMANCE-TEST-follow-up-report-now-posted

[Spelunker]

The PRI mags let you load to 2.285 oal.

These rounds kick butt also but expensive:

http://www.doubletapammo.com/php/catalog/product_info.php?cPath=21_69&products_id=401

[wash]

OP-it's likely a good 'all around' cartridge out to 300yd or so. The downside to that usually means it's not very good at any one thing. So it really depends on what you need out of it.

With high volume shooting, I don't know of any 'bulk' type or the cost equivalent to 55gr FMJ .223 ammo or 147gr FMJ .308. So the ammo price makes it a bit too costly for my taste in that application.

You can limit the ammo cost by restricting the discussion to hunting. Then my taste is to match the round to the game. In this case, you could limited cartridge selection down to something like a 22-250 for squirrel thru coyote and a 30-06 for hog, deer and most other critters in North America. And likely do much better than the 6.8 for everything.

Just depends if it fits your needs and budget.

Let me guess, you've got a 22-250 and a 30-06...

The whole idea behind 6.8 SPC was to create a cartridge that would fit in an AR15 but give better terminal ballistics. When you look at it that way it's a great success. I'm pretty sure that you need a 77 grain bullet at more than 500 yards to find any advantage with a 5.56*45 (and both will be marginal performers out that far).

Comparing an AR cartridge to cartridges that are mostly found in bolt guns is not terribly valid.

As far as hunting goes, 6.8 SPC was not designed as a hunting round, it just happens to hunt very well.

[duggan]

10 shot string firing at each natural pause, not a full on rapid fire but pretty quick. My loads using SSA brass, and barnes 110 gr TSX
Factory SSA loads 85gr.

All these rounds were shot at 100 yds from a Stag 7H upper. I've shot a few rabbits and one coyote with it so far, the damage is outstanding. Way better performance/damage against flesh than what I was seeing with my Remington 700 in .223. The 6.8 just plain works for what I use it for (hunting) is it an end all do all magic bullet? No. When someone makes the magic bullet that will fit into the magwell of an AR15 lower my 6.8 won't get much use, but until then I'll hang on to what I've got.

[Go Navy]

Wow, Duggan that sort of speaks for itself!

[tvfreakarms]

6.8 rds r expensive. It seems going .308 would be better.

[starsnuffer]

10 shot string firing at each natural pause, not a full on rapid fire but pretty quick. My loads using SSA brass, and barnes 110 gr TSX
Factory SSA loads 85gr.

All these rounds were shot at 100 yds from a Stag 7H upper. I've shot a few rabbits and one coyote with it so far, the damage is outstanding. Way better performance/damage against flesh than what I was seeing with my Remington 700 in .223. The 6.8 just plain works for what I use it for (hunting) is it an end all do all magic bullet? No. When someone makes the magic bullet that will fit into the magwell of an AR15 lower my 6.8 won't get much use, but until then I'll hang on to what I've got.

Have you tried 6.5 Grendel? Just curious, as it fits into an AR15 lower and has similar characteristics to 6.8, even though you'd have to start fresh working out the loads.


-W