Initial experience w/6.8 on game

M

Mobuck

Moderator
I'm impressed but, I'm NOT going crazy with outlandish claims. A single instance is not enough on which to base foolish expectations.
My 6.8 16" AR claimed it's first deer this morning-an average or slightly above sized doe at around 125 yards nearly broadside hit behind near shoulder and exited slightly behind mid-ribcage on far side. Short run (50-60 yards) with a good blood trail.
I'll say the Federal 90 grain bonded SP did well and expect it is adequate within 200 yards with my only reservation of not intentionally hitting point of shoulder as the bullet may expand too rapidly to handle that application.
 
I'm following your post intensely, I've considered the 6.8 over the years but haven't moved on not due to the success I've had with my 223. I'm interested to know your thoughts on the two. Have you killed many deer with a 223?

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In the 10 years I've been using the 6.8, I've never had to trail one more than 30-50 yards. I use either the 100 or 110 gr Accubond bullets.
 
Thanks OP for your post I recently placed an order for a 20" 6.8 barrel. I will reload for the rifle and I will be trying the 110 Accubonds first as those have excellent reviews. I WISH I could get those 90gr Gold Dots as a component. Looks like they performed perfectly for you. Also if you only shoot factory ammo have you tried the Fusion MSR load?
 
"Have you killed many deer with a 223?"
Personally and alongside my kids, I've seen at least 30-40 deer hit with a .223. I'm NOT a fan of the .223 as a deer cartridge but the 6.8 seems to have the capability to deliver the energy needed to do the job. I can't say whether the heavier bullets would increase the terminal ballistics.
I chose the ammo cause it was on sale but I did read the reviews which were quite glowing in reference to how the bullets performed on game. Further testing will determine if these reports are true or just hype.
 
CarJunkieLS1 said:
Thanks OP for your post I recently placed an order for a 20" 6.8 barrel. I will reload for the rifle and I will be trying the 110 Accubonds first as those have excellent reviews. I WISH I could get those 90gr Gold Dots as a component. Looks like they performed perfectly for you. Also if you only shoot factory ammo have you tried the Fusion MSR load?
Click to expand...

Unfortunately, the XM68GD was a foreign military contract that is done. The closest you can get now is the Federal Fusion MSR, and the price has gone up.
 
I bought what may be a lifetime supply of Federal and SSA 90 grain bonded ammo when it was dirt cheap. As far as I'm concerned this carbine has a single use--moderate range deer rifle for the Grandkids once I have the confidence to turn them loose with it. I do keep an eye out for the cheaper target ammo when it becomes available.
 
I have a 6.8 that took it's 6th deer this year; 3 in MO, 3 in TX. All were shot with Hornady 120 gr SSTs. The TX deer and 1 of the 3 MO deer dropped where they stood. Of the 2 MO deer that did not, a 9 pt buck went ~30 yards and piled up with a devastating double lung and heart hit, and the other was a doe I shot 3 weeks ago that I messed up and gut shot. Not the round's fault. And the deer was recovered the next day. Exit wound measured a tad over 2 inches.

16" Olympic Arms upper, free float tube, railed gas block, Nikon Prostaff 3-9X40 BDC.

I like the 6.8 and am looking to get a Stag Arms Model 7 at some point for myself. The rifle I mention above is for the kiddos.

Ammo is potentially the only challenge for those considering it... You won't find it on the shelves of most LGSs, but I seem to see it regularly at Academy for ~$24/box or BPS for $36/box (same Hornady ammo...) You can find it online, but you will not find much in the way of cheap plinking ammo... Expect to pay ~$.80/round on up.

I've been holding onto my brass and one day when the USAF is done with me and I have time, I am planning to reload.
 
I would expect a 6.8, 762x39 or 6.5G with the right bullet and placement should be able to take a deer. I dont think an evil looking and relatively heavy ar15 is the best choice. But, what the heck. I joined the dark side in the pre Hillary panic, and I can see where someone might just want to put a gun to use for something other than pretend-zombies.

Some southern deer are very small (223 small) and some hunting is at very close range. A bolt action mini-mauser might be a little more politically correct weapon to choose and lighter weight. More practical.

Did you all know you can push deer through the swaps in Florida with dogs? Almost the same hunting as jack rabbit up north, two per day limit and all.

People register and for reasons unknown, refuse to include any geographic info in their profile. Then you get these unclear one-liners about hunting. That is funny, I dont see my location either. Let me see if I can fix that.

I was thinking about a 6.5 AR upper and may just hold off, for reasons above, and consider a mini-mauser in cz or howa in 6.5g. Or just save my cash for a whole new direction of spending.
 
fourbore said:
A bolt action mini-mauser might be a little more politically correct weapon to choose and lighter weight. More practical.
Click to expand...

Screw the PC BS. The more people hunting with an AR the more acceptable it will be.

Also, my 6.8 AR is 6 lbs with the magazine. It's very easy to do with the right parts selection.
 
I have 2, a 16" carbine and a 20" rifle. I have personally killed 33 deer and antelope with the 6.8. I have used the 100 Grain Remington bullets for 26 of the 33 kills. I used Barnes X bullets on 2 deer, and I used the Hornady 110 gr hollow points of 3 deer. I used one 130 grain Winchester Power Point on one deer. and I used two 110 grain Sierra Pro-Hunters on one deer and one antelope.

The Remington 100 grain bullets shoot just over MOA so they are accurate, but less so than many other bullets, but have been VERY good killers. Far better than most of the others.
I have only failed to get exits on 2 large mule deer, and no deer or antelope has gone more than about 15 feet when hit by one. Most have fallen at the shot. DRT

The Barnes X bullets are all they claim to be. Sub MOA and good wound channels with 100% penetration, but with one 2 kills I can't say I have a lot of info to pass on. They work but are quite expensive so practice is going to be a problem if you are not a wealthy man or woman.

The Hornady 110 Gr HP bullets were super accurate but that's all I can say good of them. Very erratic in their performance on deer and antelope. My friend Cas G. and I used them in out 6.8s for deer and antelope the year Hornady introduced them. Some broke up into fragments and some made pencil sized wounds. The largest Whitetail I have ever killed in my life was killed with one of these that hit the neck bones. Dropped it stone dead, but the wound was so small even after the hit on bone that it was tight on my pinky finger. Cas killed 4 deer too, and all his kills were unimpressive, with one being a pencil wound and 3 being blow-ups. We both went back to Remingtons and Barnes after that season.

I look at the Hornady #10 manual and these were discontinued. I am glad of it too. Not good for anything but paper.

As a side note, Hornady now makes a 120 gr SST which some of my customers say is a very good bullet, but I personally have no experience with them.

The one I killed with the Winchester 130 grain worked as well as anything I have shot. I have killed deer with that bullet from a 270 Winchester and I know exactly what it will do at 400-450 yards so I figured hunting whitetails and mule deer in the brush would give be the same results at closer ranges from my 6,8, and I was right. 135 yards to a nice big mule deer. One shot. Whop! Down deer, exit wound, and get out the pocket knife. These 130s can only be driver at about 2400 FPS from my 20" rifle, but so what? that's faster than I shoot 170 grain 30-30s and my 30-30 is just fine for hits on deer out to 200 yards. This 130 at 2400 FPS was just exactly what I expected it to be. Outstanding! Shot about 1.3 MOA form my rifle.

The Sierra 110 Pro Hunters are very accurate from my guns going well under MOA without much trouble. They kill well, but always shed their jackets after about 10" of penetration. I have killed one deer and one antelope with them, but I have 4 customers that use them in guns I made for them and all tell me the same thing. I have only 2 kills with them but I have seen several more (about 10) so I can speak about them with some real knowledge.

I do not know if I could trust them for heavier boned game, or thicker muscles, but so far they have done well. I might use something else for black bear. Deer and antelope fall quickly to them and hits are easy because of their great accuracy. They are also not very expensive.
I use the Remingtons in preference to them because of the better performance inside the game, but they shoot groups 1/2 the size of the Remingtons, so it's a trade off.
For open country where shots are going to be a bit longer, the Sierra may be a better option, but for hunting in the woods where striking velocities are higher and penetration may be impaired by bullet failure the Remingtons are probable better.

The best bullets offered today for the 6.8 SPC are probably those offered by Nosler. They are making a few for the 6.8 that look to be outstanding, but as of now I have yet to buy any or kill any game with them, but I will give Nosler credit for paying attention to our needs. These new bullets were designed "from the ground up" for the 6.8 SPC. I'd be willing to bet they will be great.
 
We all wish those 90 gr Gold Dots were available as a component to reload. Just have to settle for 95 gr TTSX, 110 gr TSX, Accubonds, and the 120 gr SST. All are good. I shot a a bunch of hogs with all of the above and my 6.8 and never had one run on me.
 
A 6.8 was one of my earlier builds--back then SSA was the only game in town for ammo. I've been thinking long and hard about one of Wilson Combat's 6.8 barrels--I still have the cases and dies. : )
 
I have made all my barrel out of other .277 barrels from FN Mauser (1-12 Twist) to Ruger M-77, (1 in 10 Twist) and a lot them made from Green Mountain blanks (1 in 11 twist)
All have been good. There is a lot of "to-do" about this kind of rifling or that twist, but after building about 35 of them I can say that attention to detail is far more important then twist or geometry. My worst one so far shoots about 1.2 MOA and many of them shoot well under MOA. Just like other modern rifles, one can be matched to a load that another rifle shoots only so-so. Testing loads is something you will want to do if you are trying for top accuracy. But don't get carried away with group size if you want to hunt with them. A good preforming bullet that holds 1.5 MOA is going to please you more then a bullet that comes apart or is erratic that shoot 1/3 MOA. 1.5 MOA is "minute of deer chest" way past the range that a 6.8 stays super sonic. But poor preforming accurate bullets may mean hit and lost deer.

A man in Riverton bought an expenncive Barrett 6.8 and was very mad that it would only do 2.5" at 100, so he brought it to me. It was a bit finicky, but I worked loads for it a bit trying 4 different powders and about 6 bullets, and I got it to shoot MOA.

Once you get one to shoot well and they are easy to love. Most shoot well without a lot of work.
 
Haven't put in for a Coues Deer hunt in a while, but have been thinking that 6.8 could be ideal for this light weight variant of the whitetail family.

This thread kind of confirms that. Thanks for the insights.
 
For barrels, look at AR15 Performance. I've got ARP barrels in .223, 6.8, and 270AR. All shoot 1/2" groups. And they are less than $200. I see no reason to buy another brand.
 
"For barrels, look at AR15 Performance. I've got ARP barrels in .223, 6.8, and 270AR. All shoot 1/2" groups. And they are less than $200. I see no reason to buy another brand."

That's where I got my 6.8 barrel-they have so many choices. I was able to pick a length, gas port position, and contour to match my specific needs. My 6.8 is NOT a .5 MOA but it's good enough for deer @ 200 yards. The accuracy is not what I hoped but my ammo selection is based on bullet performance rather than maximum accuracy.
 
Try Accurate 2200 (thinking 28.5 grs) with Nosler Custom Comp bullets. With a free floating rail and good trigger, you should be able to shoot 1/2" groups. The bullets I seem to have the most trouble with are Barnes' bullets. I can get this to group well enough for hunting. But no where close to 1/2". But I shoot a lot of non coppers bullets out of my barrels so that's probably the reason.
 
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