6.8spc

[Ramslammer]

G'Day All
Has anyone shot or seen a 6.8spc used in a match? How did it go? The case actually holds more water than my daughters 7TCU and I was wondering if they work or not. Too bad they didn't make it a 6.5spc because I think I'd be lining up for one of those, especially in the nice little 700LTR.
Juddy

[lone ringer]

Ramslammer, I would not waste my time with it since it uses .270 bullets and nobody that I know makes good match bullets in that caliber.

I played one season with a 6.5 Grendel two years ago before they allowed us to use any caliber in Hunting rifle but after they changed the rule I dropped it like a hot potato and now I use a 6.5 BR improved (6.5 Viking) that is similar to the 6.5 TKS but with a little more case capacity. With the right kind of brass and bullet selection both the 7TCU and 7BR can be made to perform well enough all the way to 500 meters.

I just got some .223 Rem brass made for Dakota Arms by Lapua that I will be trying with Sierra 7mm 175 gr. bullets to see how well they perform at the turkey and ram lines. The problem with my 7TCU is that it has a fast twist barrel and only likes the heaviest of the bullets available to me.

[Ramslammer]

G'Day Lone Ringer
I must admit that the 7mmTCU is more than enough (except for the odd Ram) but I was just curious and like I said it should of been 6.5 spc. We just finnished working up a new load for the TCU yesterday. It was a balance of what we could fit in the case without bulging the shoulder and getting a accurate load.We have a 500m range at our shack so we can load a few and try them as we go. All inbetween going out to shoot Wallaby.
The rifle is a Sako 75 fitted with a 23" 8.5 twist Tobler Barrel (Robert makes barrels equal to any of the Harts or Shilens I've owned). I've had to remove the ejector as loaded rounds won't fit out the port so the bolt has to be removed with round attached. It is fitted with a 30mm tube 10 power tactical scope. This scope is clear and repeatable and hasn't given any trouble.
The best load is Federal primer 27grns of 748 with a 168 mk on top, the Toad (my mate) shot a 7" 10 shoter@ 500 in less than ideal conditions with this load. We also tried the same load with a Rem 140CL and could hit dots on the pigs. Strangely at 500 it was not a great performer but it wouldn't have enough energy anyway (we were just experimenting).All these loads are in Remington cases and were safe in my rifle, please reduce and work up to them following all safety procedures.
Hope this helps to get your TCU humming as they are fun to shoot. One of the Australian shooters is over 6' and a big bloke and he uses one as he doesn't see the point in the added recoil.
Juddy

[Jerry G]

Rem lists only one bullet for it and on paper it sucks. The energy they show at 200 yd (1163 ft-lb) would take a ram at 200 but not at 500m. If they ever make a selection of bullets for it, it may be ok someday but not now.

[constructor]

What if a 110gr 6.8 bullet with a BC of .380-.390 could be pushed to 2950fps out of a 24" barrel?
certain chambers and rifling profiles along with SSA small primer brass stuffed with H335 or RE10x can do it.

On another note, a 6.5BRX or 7BRX on a AR15 platform might work, I am not a silhouette shooter as you can tell, just stopped by after taking to a friend.

[Jerry G]

I don't think the 110 bullet would retain enough energy at 500m to take the rams down without hitting them in the ass. A G1 bc less than .5 on that small of bullet is real questionable.

[jjp]

What if a 110gr 6.8 bullet with a BC of .380-.390 could be pushed to 2950fps out of a 24" barrel?
certain chambers and rifling profiles along with SSA small primer brass stuffed with H335 or RE10x can do it.

On another note, a 6.5BRX or 7BRX on a AR15 platform might work, I am not a silhouette shooter as you can tell, just stopped by after taking to a friend.

Hey Harrison, Thanks for stopping by.

If anyone needs any info on the 6.8 I would be glad to give you any info. I've shot 6000+ rounds of 6.8x43 over the last few years. Constructor owns AR performance and is one of the most knowledgable people on earth on the 6.8 and AR15 style rifles.

I don't believe the 6.8 would be competitive in Highpower. It's easy to shoot and would make it to rams. I just don't believe it could reliably knock them over. It's a great defense and hunting cartridge in AR15 style rifles. For 2.30" magazine length AR's I feel it is the best all around cartridge. There is alot of info on 68forums.com

[constructor]

Hey Jason,
Trying to learn a little and get away from the nuts at the same time, they'll never find me here
Let me know about the 260, weight, length and what brass you want to use, I need to make sure this chamber is right for the brass
and bullets you want to use then it may take 4 weeks to have the reamer reground.

On the 6.8 we could probably get a 135SMK(BC of .480) up to 2650 but no real reason to do it in an autoloader if there is plenty of time to shoot.
A 6.5x47 or 260 with 139s would do a much better job at 500.

[Innocent]

Jason and Harrison...try Seirrra 142g MK on the 6.5X47, have only rung two rams with it and they were both center hits in high wind situations.
Mary

[RBriscoe]

Jason and Harrison...try Seirrra 142g MK on the 6.5X47, have only rung two rams with it and they were both center hits in high wind situations.
Mary

I did not see you in Missouri, Mary. You could have joined the club. I think just about everything rang at least a few rams.

I left a pair with 139s at 2825 fps...too fast?

Several others left them with 168s and probably even 175s just to keep things interesting.

As to the original question, the fate of the 6.8 SPC is still out. I would not want to bother with something that may or may not have brass in the future, especially one that has inadequate case capacity and "the wrong caliber" as Tony pointed out. Some who tried the 6.5 Grendel (a 6.8 SPC competitor) ran very high pressures and encountered problems with the high temperatures in Phoenix, at least in part due to the powder chosen.

[Innocent]

Rick, I was at Tennessee states, building my collection of the famous shirts from there, as I have every year since Gator has started hosting this match.
Not to mention eating cake first...from the very famous City Cafe.

Maybe next year as TN will probably move to October time.

Mary

[RBriscoe]

Sounds like good fun, Mary...shooting and eating!

[jjp]

Jason and Harrison...try Seirrra 142g MK on the 6.5X47, have only rung two rams with it and they were both center hits in high wind situations.
Mary

I did not see you in Missouri, Mary. You could have joined the club. I think just about everything rang at least a few rams.

I left a pair with 139s at 2825 fps...too fast?

Several others left them with 168s and probably even 175s just to keep things interesting.

As to the original question, the fate of the 6.8 SPC is still out. I would not want to bother with something that may or may not have brass in the future, especially one that has inadequate case capacity and "the wrong caliber" as Tony pointed out. Some who tried the 6.5 Grendel (a 6.8 SPC competitor) ran very high pressures and encountered problems with the high temperatures in Phoenix, at least in part due to the powder chosen.

I have to disagree on the 6.8 being the wrong caliber. It is a short range round. Never intended for longer range. Brass is readily available from Silver State Armory. I won't go into the grendel debate. I have taken 40+ deer with the 6.8x43. It is a very effective medium game cartridge. The published numbers don't do the cartridge justice. It is one of the best Hog hunting cartridges you can choose.

I wouldn't even consider it for High power. Way to many better choices.

[RBriscoe]

Jason and Harrison...try Seirrra 142g MK on the 6.5X47, have only rung two rams with it and they were both center hits in high wind situations.
Mary

I did not see you in Missouri, Mary. You could have joined the club. I think just about everything rang at least a few rams.

I left a pair with 139s at 2825 fps...too fast?

Several others left them with 168s and probably even 175s just to keep things interesting.

As to the original question, the fate of the 6.8 SPC is still out. I would not want to bother with something that may or may not have brass in the future, especially one that has inadequate case capacity and "the wrong caliber" as Tony pointed out. Some who tried the 6.5 Grendel (a 6.8 SPC competitor) ran very high pressures and encountered problems with the high temperatures in Phoenix, at least in part due to the powder chosen.

I have to disagree on the 6.8 being the wrong caliber. It is a short range round. Never intended for longer range. Brass is readily available from Silver State Armory. I won't go into the grendel debate. I have taken 40+ deer with the 6.8x43. It is a very effective medium game cartridge. The published numbers don't do the cartridge justice. It is one of the best Hog hunting cartridges you can choose.

I wouldn't even consider it for High power. Way to many better choices.

Jason,

I don't disagree with your observation that it is an adequate cartridge for deer, at a reasonable distance, and hogs, but silhouette is very different. Silhouette is not a short range game. The 6.8mm bore (.270) lacks a choice of match bullets comparable to those available for the 6.5mm or 7mm bores, as Tony commented earlier. The weight of bullets available for the 6.8mm bore is not sufficient to generate 500 meter momentum comparable to that of most of the 6.5mm and 7mm bullets from suitable cartridges. Even in a .270-308 the bullets are a substantial limitation. Even Ackley thought that there was little reason to shoot a .270-308 when compared to a 7-08. Those are some major disadvantages.

The 6.8 SPC was created to feed from an AR length magazine and any bullets of greater weight will need to be seated to a longer than AR mag length to free up case capacity for powder (and a suitable chamber used). While brass is currently available, the ultimate fate of the 6.8 SPC remains uncertain, at best. There were improprieties associated with the initial government procurements and there simply is no great likelihood that it will see widespread deployment in the U.S. armed forces at the present time. There are also questions about the selection process of the cartridge itself. Information available to the public suggests that there may well have been a pre-selection of someone's pet project rather than an objective evaluation of alternatives. At the present time there does not appear to be any rush on the part of the armed forces to adopt the 6.8 SPC. There are vast differences in a few spec ops teams using something and it being adopted throughout the armed forces. At present, there are substantial issues surrounding what weapon system will be adopted to replace the M-4 and whether it will continue to use the 5.56 NATO cartridge. If the 5.56 NATO cartridge is replaced, there will probably be a new round of trials conducted.

The 6.8 SPC could easily become an "orphaned" cartridge. On the other hand, if you are pleased with your 6.8 SPC, I am happy for you. If you want to try it at silhouettes, go right ahead and please let us know your experience with it. I could see where it might work at a reduced distance course, but I would not be prepared to recommend it to anyone. That is my opinion. "Your mileage may vary."

P.S. While the 6.8 SPC may work for hogs under a number of circumstances, there are a variety of hogs which have a pretty tough hide and have been known to literally have 44 Mag bullets bounce off.

Cheers

[constructor]

RB,
I believe the original post was about finding a low recoil rifle for ramslammers daughter where he asked about the 6.8, I threw out a few possibilities with the newer spec rifles, the 6.5BR or 6.5BRX may be a better choice for her as a low recoil rifle with better BC bullets. As far as shooting hogs with the 6.8 the Barnes TSX bullets pass through end to end so we already know they work just fine on hogs. Never had one "bounce off" of a hogs hide though that must be as tough as 3/8" mild steel plate.

Jason asked about building him a 260 bolt rig, and I brought up the 6.5x47, pretty sure he is going with one or the other all he has to do is say which way he wants to go and when he wants it.