Tell me about a 6.8SPC II Round

[jim Glass]

Is this the metric version of the 300 Blackout? Someone on another forum said this is a good hunting round, better than a .223. I have never heard of a 6.8 SPC II. Can someone enlighten me on a 6.8 SPC. Thanks, Jim

[hunter63]

A friend built and shoots a 6.5 Grendel for deer hunting.
Not the same I know...but the closest personnel reference....
He likes it as a improvement over the .223.

Might want to check this out.

http://abesguncave.com/6-5-grendel-v...t-perspective/

[Phaedrus]

It's different than a .300 Blackout. It uses a smaller diameter bullet with a larger case capacity. Unlike the .300 it won't work in an AR with just a barrel swap- the boltface is larger IIRC.

[Rick]

It looks to me like the change of uppers is the new handi rifle albeit a tad more expensive.

[alaskabushman]

The 6.8 SPC is based off of the old (early 1900's) .30 Remington cartridge case. (not to be confused with the .30 Rem AR) It uses a .270 bullet. It is one of the many attempts at increasing the power of the AR platform with minimal changes to the gun. The 6.8 only requires a new bolt face and barrel. It is also recommended that specific 6.8 magazines be used. The power is good and it is a surprisingly good deer cartridge out of an AR-15. I don't own one myself, but a buddy of mine had one for a while, so I have shot the 6.8 a few times.
It was designed to be a potential replacement for the 5.56 for the military, but it gained very little interest. It has found a home in the gun cabinets of AR hunters across the US.

The .300 Blackout, 6.8 SPC, 6.5 Grendel, .30 Rem AR, .25-45 Sharps, 7mm Valkyrie, .450 Bushmaster, .458 SOCOM and .50 Beowulf are all attempts at cramming more power into the smaller AR-15 platform without going up to the larger heavier AR-10.

[kyratshooter]

Easier solution would be to go to the heavier bullets in .223.

Unless you are losing hogs due to lack of power I would not worry about making a change. If it ain't broke don't fix it!

Going to the 6.8 upper is some real expense, plus all the new reloading gear because you can't just run to Walmart and get ammo.

If I am going to make the jump to "bigger is better" I do not want the short case length limitations of the AR lower holding me back. I will go straight to 7.62x39 or .308.

[alaskabushman]

Easier solution would be to go to the heavier bullets in .223.

That's what the military ended up doing.

I think Kyrat is right, there probably is not enough of an advantage with the 6.8 SPC to warrant getting set up for it. Heavy bullet .223 rounds will probably do all most people need.

Since you didn't say what you were wanting the info for I'm not comfortable making any recommendations until you give a better picture of what you are shooting.

[jim Glass]

I saw the 6.8 SPC on a wild hog hunting forum.

http://lonestarboars.com/forums/hog-...actics-tips.9/

One guy felt it was the best round for wild hogs. I did a little research myself and people claim for 100 yard shots the 300 blackout is fine, the 6.8 SPC was better for shots greater than 100 yards. I did a metric conversion and 6.8 converts to .2677".

I had my 223 out hog hunting numerous times but never fired a shot with it. The 300 blackout was setup with the night vision scope and I killed 3 hogs with it and it performed very well. In Florida my hog shots are in the 30 to 60 yard range.

Well now I know what a 6.8 SPC is. Thanks for the replys. jim

[hunter63]

I gonna set this up a bit as we don't normally have wild hogs, at unless some one turns time loose....

Had one guy came in a saloon ...was down-pouring out, lunchtime .... we were taking a break from turkey hunting.

Said he was hog hunting?
Thought that was odd in our area (SW WI)... I hadn't seen any or even heard about them.

These were there as someone had turned loose 30 or so hogs on a private farm.....for a 'hunting preserve'.....And had gotten out.
He was hired to hunt them to eradicate them as they were starting to really tear up farm land and were multiplying.

His group used the 7.62 x 39 FMJ round... in a custom AK as the primary weapon.(didn't see it but would suppose it was tricked out)

Turns out he was a gun store owner.. in Lake mills Wisconsin.....
So even with an almost unlimited choice of weapons to choose from....he found the 7.62 X 39 the most effective....for him...and his group.
That made an impression on me.....FWIW

[kyratshooter]

I was considering going to a upper chambered for the 6mmx45 and realized that the performance for 80-100 grain bullets was hindered by the small case capacity of the AR platform. You just can not get enough powder into the case to make the heavy bullets work without blowing up the gun.

Performance of the 70 grain 5.56 and the 70 grain 6mm was almost equal. That cancelled any advantage that building a $500 upper would have gained plus it added the mandate that all ammo had to be reloads.

If I want a 6mm that preforms like a 6mm I am just going to have to buy a real .243, and it will not be on the AR platform.

Almost all of the "improvements" on the 5.56 performance are in the same boat. A lot of money spent for very little or no real gain.

The key is that the platform and round were developed in unison, scaled down from the AR10 and not just a rechambered AR10.

You can get the little gun/round or you can get the big gun/round, but asking the little round perform like it was a big round will always be disappointing.

I can remember back in the early 1960s when Stoner introduced the platform, and the question was the same. Do we want this little round as our primary weapon? They realized that it is what it is and case capacity and overall cartridge length were going to place limitations on what they could do with the round.

The military has so much invested in the round and the guns that use it that many of the students of military planning expect the 5.56, and the AR platform, to live for another 100 years.

[hunter63]

It looks to me like the change of uppers is the new handi rifle albeit a tad more expensive.

This may be correct at first glance......but as Kyrat related...more expensive for little overall gain.....
Like varmint rifles...there may be 20 versions of the .22/.25 caliber options out there....but will all do about the same job.
Same with the .30/35 calibers...etc.

Then again we have a tendency to want newer, faster, better, more accurate , and the oddest round we can think of for the "Na na Na Na Boo Boo factor..."I have one you don't and mines better."
That's the fun of it, right?

So far the Handi Rifles have provided me with a mission and hobby....and still haven't got as expensive as AR uppers w/goodies.
Although that seems to be changing note the raising prices for the H&R and the lower prices of the AR.
May go down that rabbit hole at some point......LOL

[kyratshooter]

It don't matter what label you put on a bullet none of them can bend Newton's laws and any 7mm-35 caliber rifle that slings a 150 grain slug at 2800fps is going to have that slug hit within an inch of the next one at 200 yards.

Changing the velocity a hundred fps or changing the shape of the slug is not even going to make that much difference until you get out past 300m. I have one scope with a ballistic compensator that uses rings. Same ring works for .223, 243, 280, 308, 30-06, 8mm......

If you sight in at 200 you are going to be around 1.5" high at 100m, dead on at 200m, and about 6" low at 300m.

It is physics, not caliber choice.

[hunter63]

That is pretty much the way the 150 gr 7mm mag and the 130 gr .270 win....my basic out west rifles....
Hogs are a bit different as I havn't heard of anyone shoot 200 yard hogs.

Jim...Seems you are becoming resident expert on Florida hogs.....
What was your goal or reason for the change?
Or just because?

If I were to hunt them here...the scoped SKS would be my choice...going back to a couple of conversations.

[jim Glass]

The only reason for a change would be for ammunition that might be more readily available (cheaper) and just as effective or better than what I already have. I had never heard of 6.8 SPC round before and this hog hunter thought it was so great, I decided to check into it. A project for a rainy day.

You have to remember a year ago I never heard of a 300 blackout and never seen a 223 before, now I
own one of each and shooting them all the time. Now I'm into night vision. What's next??

Yes, I spent 3 months in Florida and I probably went hog hunting 7 days out of 10 so I banked lots of experience.
I saw things and heard things in the jungle I'm a little surprised I didn't soil my under ware. Lots of wonderful memories.

[kyratshooter]

You have to remember a year ago I never heard of a 300 blackout and never seen a 223 before, now I
own one of each and shooting them all the time. Now I'm into night vision. What's next??

Probably did not ever expect to be shooting one you made in your own shop either!

I believe that we are the guys your mother told you not to hang around with. We've turned you into a hog hunter.

Was that really the label you had anticipated for your retirement years?

[madmax]

Yeah. I'm thinking am AR-10 build. I don't need it. But I want it. And that's good enough.

[hunter63]

The only reason for a change would be for ammunition that might be more readily available (cheaper) and just as effective or better than what I already have. I had never heard of 6.8 SPC round before and this hog hunter thought it was so great, I decided to check into it. A project for a rainy day.

You have to remember a year ago I never heard of a 300 blackout and never seen a 223 before, now I
own one of each and shooting them all the time. Now I'm into night vision. What's next??

Yes, I spent 3 months in Florida and I probably went hog hunting 7 days out of 10 so I banked lots of experience.
I saw things and heard things in the jungle I'm a little surprised I didn't soil my under ware. Lots of wonderful memories.

Jim
At least these posts have been experiance talking, good and bad rather than ...I saw a You tube and this is the way it's done....LOL

Young guys....Take note....you don't have to be retired....if you have an interest...Do it as soon as you are able.
That's called "learning"....LOL...something to do in retirement....
But think about how much you can pack in the head if you start early.

I for one am enjoying your journey....
Reminds me of the early Turkey hunting days... of the early 1990's when it was new to me ....as well as new to everyone.

[kyratshooter]

Yea, if a person put these hog hunting threads all in a line there is a good bit of information packed into these discussions all the way from How to hunt a hog to how to build a hog hunting rifle from a block of aluminum as well as the best optic for the job and how to cook the meat after the hunt.

I am surprised that Jim has not made one of those big smokers so he can do a whole pig at once. I'm sure we could find some instructiosn somewhere!

[jim Glass]

Ya, shoot-in hogs with a rifle I built myself, then throwing a hog roast at the campground, was just over the top. Now I'm thinking about hog decoys, game caller and a
thermo imaging scope.

[Rick]

Oh, yeah. He's infected. The disease is insidious.