Is the 6.8spc a failure?

steves1911 · Nov 9, 2014

I have been looking into building an ar 15 strictly for hunting purposes and liked what I saw in the ballistics of the 6.8 but it doesn't seem many manufactures make uppers any more. I know remington screwed the pooch when it first came out and they have made changes on the twist rate and number of grooves in the barrels. Do you think the 6.8 will be a hand loaders only round in a few years or will it re gain some popularity?

kenpo333 · Nov 9, 2014

I don't know the future of it but I love my LWRC 6.8 SBR. Haven't had a problem with finding ammo.

MikeTF · Nov 9, 2014

I bought one because I wanted a home defense gun with better ballistics than a 5.56/223 and something that I can legally hunt with.

Ammo is not cheap @ 80 cents a round. It is readily available and the price is coming down.

ohen cepel · Nov 9, 2014

I think it is hard to say, there are many options for AR uppers and I'm not sure which ones will win out. I think ammo for most of them will be around for years to come but many are too close together for them to all survive.

I've wondered about a hunting AR also but have been confused by the options and concern I'll get one which loses.

Same for the "thumper" rounds for the AR, 458 Socom, 50 Beuwolf, 450 Bushmaster, etc (sorry if I have names mixed up). Not sure which of those will win in the end so I'm waiting there also. The price for large caliber uppers also made me pause.

clandestine · Nov 9, 2014

Yup. But the fans of the rounds will reload if it comes to it. They are vested and dedicated.

Some people are convinced the 5.56 is inferior and go to great lengths to support their fantasy.

steves1911 · Nov 9, 2014

I've been checking out the 68 forum and it seems a lot of guys use silver state armory ammo. Some of the chrono results from their ammo is really impressive a 85gr barnes tsx at 3000fps!! They also have a 110gr tsx at 2700fps. I have use SSA for 308 ammo and found it very accurate. They are a small company so maybe even if the big ammo company's drop the 6.8 SSA will keep it alive. I hope so because I believe it's probably the best non wildcat cartridge for small to medium game hunting in a ar15.

Wayne1one · Nov 9, 2014

6.8 spc has been on it's way out since it's inception according to nay sayers, but the truth is the round is not going anywhere IMO it has increased popularity with a lot of new ammo manufactures coming out with fairly priced ammo offerings. I have been buying ammo at .60 cents a round on average. The round has been adopted by a handful of military forces, LWRCi has a huge contract due to this. When I persaonlly think of AR15 calibers the top three are 5.56, .300 blk, and 6.8 spc, so i don't see how it is going anywhere for a good while.

http://www.alloutdoor.com/2014/01/20/lwrc-6-8-spc-300-blackout/#

http://outdoorchannel.com/article.aspx?id=22159&articletype=article&key=us-military-from-556-to-68-spc

Overboost44 · Nov 9, 2014

I hope not. I expect to be getting a barrel here in the next month or so, but I will be reloading for it, too. If it went away, I guess I would have to buy another barrel.

BigDaddy · Nov 9, 2014

I've read about the 6mm Hagar, based on the SPC case, but it doesn't seem to have a large following. Given the love for 6mm, I am surprised.

stu929 · Nov 9, 2014

I got one just for whitetail in Md. Its a handy little rifle that also keeps me legal on muzzle energy. And I can load it for very very reasonable prices.

Fiddlersgreen · Nov 9, 2014

If you're planning on using it for hunting I think you'd be fine. I wouldn't go that route for a tactical ar personally. Also be careful if you have 5.56 ammo as it can be easy to confuse in the mags if you arnt paying attention.

Boom Boom · Nov 9, 2014

It's too early to tell. 17HMR looked on its way out a couple of years ago but now looks to be making a resurgence (possibly driven by expensive, scarce 22LR).

Winged Pig · Nov 10, 2014

Here's a good read, written by someone who knows what he's talking about. Doesn't sound like much of a fantasy to me...

http://www.dtic.mil/ndia/2008Intl/Roberts.pdf

Overboost44 · Nov 10, 2014

Winged Pig said:
Here's a good read, written by someone who knows what he's talking about. Doesn't sound like much of a fantasy to me...

http://www.dtic.mil/ndia/2008Intl/Roberts.pdf

That is a very interesting piece of reading material. Thanks for posting. :thumbsup:

DaemonAssassin · Nov 10, 2014

steves1911 said:
I have been looking into building an ar 15 strictly for hunting purposes and liked what I saw in the ballistics of the 6.8 but it doesn't seem many manufactures make uppers any more. I know remington screwed the pooch when it first came out and they have made changes on the twist rate and number of grooves in the barrels. Do you think the 6.8 will be a hand loaders only round in a few years or will it re gain some popularity?

If you are dead set on building an AR15 for hunting, take a look at the 300BLK. You can cut down 223 brass, then form it, so you can have a never ending supply of 300 brass. If you already load 308 and 223, your component source list won't change very much if you want to reload. Your component list will be a hybrid of 308, 223, and some hard to find powders.

You can also look at building an AR10 in 308.

DaemonAssassin · Nov 10, 2014

clandestine said:
Yup. But the fans of the rounds will reload if it comes to it. They are vested and dedicated.

Some people are convinced the 5.56 is inferior to 40 and go to great lengths to support their fantasy.

FIFY.

Sorry, my friend. I had to do it.

Scottysan · Nov 10, 2014

+1

Excellent paper

sykesville · Nov 10, 2014

Yeah, good article but all the rainbow psychedelic fonts and colored background was an immediate turnoff and give me pause to the reliability of the information. And a headache.

jimbobborg · Nov 10, 2014

I like the 6.8, it does what I want with my handloads, and even if I do something stupid like put a mag of 6.8 in my 5.56 rifle, it won't chamber, unlike doing the same with the 300 BLK. I don't have a suppressor, so the Blackout is kind of useless for me.

WheelHead · Nov 10, 2014

Never had much of an interest in the 6.8...now the 6.5 different story.

Is the 6.8spc a failure?

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