Is the 6.8 SPC Dead???

C

Catdog1

New member
I finally got a chance to actually sit down and compare some numbers on some of the different AR-15 configurations. I noticed that the 6.8 SPC has some very good ballistics from 0 to 200 that I am interested in for hog hunting. But now that I'm looking for components and uppers it seems like everyone is starting to move away from the 6.8 SPC. IS it technically dead or is it just as good as it used to be and not near as popular. I hate to buy something in a 6.8 barrel and not be able to get components for it, mainly brass.
 
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Plenty of ammo out there and components aren't hard to find. Not many OTC uppers out in the wild as it has been abandoned by several companies. STAG seems to have a love hate relationship with it.

I believe it will never have that great a growth in the long run even though it is a god round for deer and hogs. It has no sex appeal and big numbers like the new releases and does not have corporate push like the 300 BLK.

I love the case for wildcats and it will have a long life because of the 'catteres and things like the Valkyrie and other ones that are bound to come out.

Greg
 
I don't think so.
Ive got 7 6.8 Rifles and that is all i use for hunting. Whether it be for Coyotes or deer or hogs.
When i got into the 6.8 there wasn't many offerings for factory rifles really. I still look at them as a piece together the setup you want, same as a .223 or any AR for that matter.

Even now the 6.8 components are very easy to get. Matter of fact ive never seen them at this volume and price, i've been reloading them since i got my first 6.8 barrel in 2007?

Just bought 2 ammo cans of 6.8 brass from Shooters Pro Shop, 2428 pieces for 20 cents each shipped i think it was. Few years ago once fired was hard to find under 40 cents and it was hit and miss. Then Palmetto State Armory offers the Federal XM68GD 90gr gold dot round for 45 cents shipped.
Cavity Back Bullets released their 6.8 bullets last year and they are awesome.
Hornady 120gr SST has been a favorite by many and its avail most places.

Like GL stated, it doesn't have much of a large corporate push as other rounds. Modern Outfitters in Meridian, MS and Dallas, TX push it pretty hard for a their hunting M6 carbines and it does very well.

I think the largest issues is the Specs sent in to SAAMI had the Throat/Land error and that hurt the round bad. If the SPCII chamber design could replace it, i think that would help it take off for the most part.

But either way, 2017 had the best 6.8 deals in the past 10 years so i don't see it going down the drain.
 
I actually just put mine back in the safe, it appeared to be about as alive as it ever was
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6.5 Grendel is the flavor of the year, who knows what it will be next year. However for the distances most of us hunt the 6.8 is a pretty sweet round. Mine happens to like the Priv ammo as well which is a little less expensive.

What I've noticed is when some supplier runs a sale on 6.8 SPC ammo its usually sold out before you have a shot at buying some. Pretty good for a dead caliber.
 
Mine isn't going anywhere. It's not the latest, most greatest, current flavor of the week cartridge, but it's a great round for me during deer firearms season, especially with the terrain here.
 
Originally Posted By: NE223I actually just put mine back in the safe, it appeared to be about as alive as it ever was
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6.5 Grendel is the flavor of the year, who knows what it will be next year. However for the distances most of us hunt the 6.8 is a pretty sweet round. Mine happens to like the Priv ammo as well which is a little less expensive.

What I've noticed is when some supplier runs a sale on 6.8 SPC ammo its usually sold out before you have a shot at buying some. Pretty good for a dead caliber.

Funny you mention that.. ever since ive been shooting 6.8 ive noticed sales don't last long before going out of stock.
So either manufactures don't do large quantity runs or there are just that many guys shooting 6.8 they like to stock up.
 
I love mine. I cant think of a better round for hogs out of an AR. I do use my 6x68 for long range coyotes..

now that s&b and starline brass is available i can shoot more without worrying where I'm going to get replacement brass
 
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I bought a Bison Amory 6.8 upper in 2009. I sold it because I had to order all my ammo . Now it seems like 6.8 ammo is everywhere. I will soon be buying or building another one. I really like the round and it is very accurate. It seems to me it’s more popular now than ever. I really don’t think it’s going away any time soon ......... even if it’s not a 6.5 creedmoore
 
I built one last winter with an ARP barrel. He keeps a huge inventory and it will be at your door in 3 days for right at $200. Mine shoots MOA and a hair under with 7 different factory loads. It killed 11 deer this year from 40-217 yards with factory 110 accubonds and only one took a step and it was dead in seconds. I would venture to say its probably the most popular AR rounds for hunting hogs and deer. I plan on loading the 105gr cavity back bullets in mine.
 
Originally Posted By: NE223 However for the distances most of us hunt the 6.8 is a pretty sweet round. This was my main considerations. 99.9999% of my hog and coyote shots are 120 yards and under. And the 6.8 data at this distance shows it to be a hammer. I dont ever go past 200 yards. So im thinking the 6.8 will fit the bill really well. I just didn't want to get into a cartridge that was going to be difficult to find components for.
I had a similar problem when I was shooting a 204 Ruger, all of a sudden, Winchester brand brass got almost impossible to find. I gave up on that cartridge and decided to just go straight 223.
 
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The 6.8 and 6.5 Grendel were all the rage until the 300blackout craze hit... They pushed the 458soc for hogs a couple years ago, now pushing the 22 Nosler... The Grendel got a nice bump because unwitting new guys wanted a 6.5 creedmoor, but didn't want to pay AR-10/LR-308 money, so they got "nearly the same thing as the creedmoor" by running a Grendel...

The 6.8SPC is still alive and kicking. Brass and ammo are easily found... barrels, bolts, and mags are too... I just built another 6.8spc for myself last year, a 10.5" SBR... it might not be as sexy as it once was for the tacticool, mall ninja dipschitts - since it was designed for special forces use afterall - but it's just as effective on game as it ever was, which is VERY. It's a hammer on coyotes, and highly effective bringing down deer and hogs as far as anyone should be shooting.
 
Originally Posted By: Catdog1Originally Posted By: NE223 However for the distances most of us hunt the 6.8 is a pretty sweet round. This was my main considerations. 99.9999% of my hog and coyote shots are 120 yards and under. And the 6.8 data at this distance shows it to be a hammer. I dont ever go past 200 yards. So im thinking the 6.8 will fit the bill really well. I just didn't want to get into a cartridge that was going to be difficult to find components for.
I had a similar problem when I was shooting a 204 Ruger, all of a sudden, Winchester brand brass got almost impossible to find. I gave up on that cartridge and decided to just go straight 223.

200 yards is a walk in the park. 300 isn't any problem either. In shot a coyote with mine last week just a hair over 400 with SSA ammo and 110 accubonds. I definitely believe on deer 400 would be my max but I know exactly where mine shoots.
 
Any time the topic of shooting deer, with an AR-15 comes up on forums, with "Ya-heys" from Wisconsin, the first thing that comes up, is the pathetic 223 Rem round, and then the 6.8 crowd shows up with their testimonials. I was surprised at how many 6.8 fans are out there shooting deer with AR-15s. I have been hunting with one for 10 years now, and am pleasantly surprised by the support in the industry, even though the big players have largely ignored it.

If one wants to really hit the sweet spot for deer and hogs, with the 6.8 SPC, shoot 95 gr. Barnes Triple Shock loads, in a 1:11" twist barrel. The slower twist allows for more velocity, if one wants to push a load, and the TTSX bullet does an impressive amount of damage. And yes anyone that says its limit is 200 yards, must be talking about their limited skills. The rifle is pretty flat to 200 yards, and knowing the ballistics of the round will get it on target, and have plenty of lethal energy, to 500 yards.

Given the amount of factory ammo, reloading components, and AR-15 barrels, available, I think assembling/buying a 6.8 SPC upper, is still a very good idea.

Squeeze
 
So my brother and I started hunting coyote calling contests in Oklahoma about seven years ago. We did alright on the first few then we started noticing the number of coyotes we were losing, with v-max, accutip, JHP, it didn't seem to matter. Losing three in one contest, costing us about $1,500, was the last straw so we started looking for more. Our hunting partner uses a .243 which I think is [beeep] but not in the ar-15 platform.

Then we stumbled upon the 6.8 SPC. He went ARP, I went Bison. Now five years later with well over 100 killed and I can count the number of coyotes we've lost on three toes. There really isn't a better round in the AR-15 platform for the distance that we hunt.

I've used Hornady 110gr V-max, S&B 110gr PTS, SSA/Barnes 95gr TTSX, SSA/Barnes 85gr and 110gr TSX, and even Nosler 110gr Accubond. Really they all performed except a couple of the TSX's that didn't open up, but they still killed the coyote. Now I've been loading Cavity Back Bullets 105gr MKZ to about 2750fps from a 16" barrel. They have been performing great with 15 coyote kills between me and my brother and one bobcat. They just flat out work.

Since I've gotten more into reloading I've looked at the other offerings: 6.5G, 300BLK, 6x6.8, 22x6.8, 224 Valk, 22 Nosler, etc. For me, the 6.8 SPC does it well enough that I really don't need to look any further. No the speed isn't up there with .223, .204, or .22-250. But the energy beats them all except the Grendel. And that's fine. With the Grendels early feeding issues, lack of performance from shorter barrels (which I prefer for the type of hunting we do) and, from what I've seen, the lack of available factory ammo, I still think the 6.8 SPC wins out. Now if you're in wide open country and want to shoot coyotes at 500+, Grendel I guess. And I'm not against that. It's all about using the right tool for the job. A .22LR with iron sights isn't good for 800 yard shots and a .308 with a 24x optic isn't good for 25 yard creek hunting.

I don't know if I'm a bigger Trijicon, 6.8 SPC, or Knights Armament fanboy.
 
We still ship a fair amount of 6.8 barrels and uppers. It seems to be very popular with suppressed hunters due to it's performance with short barrels and the plethora of factory loaded ammunition available.
 
As wormydog and the others have stated, a 6.8SPC to me is ideal in a AR15 gas gun. I have worked up several accurate loads and taking deer sized game out to 350yds with great results. I have been on the fence of building another in a 18 or 20” version but my 16” ARP barreled rifle has done everything asked of it very well over the last 6 yrs. it is my go to rifle for most game with 95 gr TTSX bullets being the pinnacle for deer each year. 120SSts and 110 gr accubonds being a close second.

I have taking dee with several different loads.

As for components and reloading, I don’t see any shortage of that. Factory ammo is readily available and shoots sub MOA. I highly recommend AR Performance barrels for this caliber.

Personally I wouldn’t hesitate.
 

I love mine so much I'm considering building another. My daughter just shot her first deer with our 6.8, worked perfectly.
 
Originally Posted By: craftyAs wormydog and the others have stated, a 6.8SPC to me is ideal in a AR15 gas gun. I have worked up several accurate loads and taking deer sized game out to 350yds with great results. I have been on the fence of building another in a 18 or 20” version but my 16” ARP barreled rifle has done everything asked of it very well over the last 6 yrs. it is my go to rifle for most game with 95 gr TTSX bullets being the pinnacle for deer each year. 120SSts and 110 gr accubonds being a close second.

I have taking dee with several different loads.

As for components and reloading, I don’t see any shortage of that. Factory ammo is readily available and shoots sub MOA. I highly recommend AR Performance barrels for this caliber.

Personally I wouldn’t hesitate.

I have the 20"Triad. I'm really thinking about a 16" barrel since inhabr everything but a barrel to build another
 
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