Initial experience w/6.8 on game

A bolt action mini-mauser might be a little more politically correct weapon to choose and lighter weight. More practical.
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I wasn't aware that the deer cared what type of operating system is on the rifle they were shot with.
 
Typically AR-anti hunters believe the AR hunter is a "spray and pray" type of hunter--at least that's what I hear most of the time.
 
I have only killed 4 deer in my hunting career. This is my fourth season of deer hunting and of those 4 deer 3 of them have been harvested with a AR-15. Two were with a AR-15 wildcat called the 7mm Valkyrie, the other was with a 6.5 Grendel. They were all one shot affairs no spray and pray involved.

People around me typically use bolt/lever actions, and I have heard them say who needs a semi auto and a 30 round mag to hunt. I just tell them I like the platform and I like the semi action in case a quick follow up is needed. One particular AR hater I know uses a lever 30-30 no problem with that, but he shot 4 times at a running doe opening weekend. He never found it.
 
Car, you are doing it right. kudos to you.
I like to hunt with my flintlocks many times, but I have also killed 33 game animals with my ARs and also some with other auto-loaders. I can and do usually fire my autos at the same rate of fire I fire from my flintlocks.
I can shoot just as slow, contrary to what the nay-sayers tell us.
 
Wyosmith thanks for the kind words. Looks like you are doing well with your semi auto's also. I appreciate seeing your experinece with the 6.8 becasue I ordered a barrel just last week. I didn't start deer hunting until I was 28 years old. I'm now 31 I have shot guns all my life. I'm very familiar with them. When I first started hunting I was a bolt action type hunter. Then I started hunting with a co-worker who is a strictly AR type hunter. What sold me on the AR's is I saw him with a large buck about 60 yards he shot him with a lethal shot, but he was still on his feet running. The buck stopped about 20 yards from him and he shot him again to keep him from running down a very large hill. It worked and it was an easy "dress and drag" If he hadn't gotten that second shot of that buck would've went down that hill and been nearly impossible to get out. A bolt or lever it would've been much much harder to get that follow up shot.

Between me seeing that and a shoulder surgery I had I just seem to gravitate towards lighter recoiling rifle.
 
I have a 6.8spc 20" ARP target crown barrel in a mildly built AR15. I do a yearly hunt in Texas and the last 2 years have been doing strictly management on a hi-fence property. I've shot around 25 deer using 110gr Sierra ProHunters, 110gr Barnes TSX, 90gr Gold Dots, and the Hornady 120SST which beats them all.

West Texas white-tails are not that big, so 120-150lbs is about average. Most shots are in the 150yd range, but a few out to 300yds. Every deer I've ever shot, regardless of bullet, has resulted in a complete passthrough with good blood, and a 20-30yd average run. I'm strictly a lung/heart guy, so I expect that they won't be DRT, and the dog loves to go "find" them even though they're usually laying in sight of the feeder.

The 120SST's and Barnes shoot 1MOA, everything else I've tried is in the 1.25"-1.5" range, except Remington FMJ's that were complete crap.

The caliber has done everything I've ever asked it to do and I've never been disappointed. I chose it for strictly ego reasons... the Grendel was too damned snobbish, the 300blk was too damned fat, the various wildcats were too damned expensive... the 6.8spc just seemed like it had everything going for it and nothing to dislike unless you'd already bought something else and were going to crap on it just because.
 
6.8

A buddy has a Wilson Combat in 6.8 and I must say I aam throughly impressed with what it does to 200 pound hogs. We got into a group and both shot 2 at around 140 yards. I used a .223 and hit one in the neck and one in the chest. The neck shot let him run about 60 yards with a good blood trail. The chest shot one we never found. My buddy had 2 cherst shots that punched holes all the way through and one hit the opposite shoulder leaving a huge gaping wound. I would defintely buy one if I decide I want yet one more cal. of ammo I need to buy. I have a DPMS .243 that I will use for hogs on occasion but it is a big heavy rifle and not really built for carrying around.
 
I only kill hogs with my 6.8 using Hornday 120gr SST's. Prolly killed 30 plus with factory loaded rounds before I started reloading my own with the 120 SST's. This I've killed 67 pigs with my reloads. I'm using an ARP 18in barrel on my AR with thermals and a suppressor. No, the 6.8 and 120's isn't the best choice for everything out there but like everything you make a good shot you'll kill it. Another guy I hunt with really likes the Federal Fusion 90 and 115 grain MSR rounds for pigs. He doesn't reload, and is a big fan of bow hunting. So he hasn't taken any deer with the 6.8. It hasn't really mattered what round we're using, we normally drop the pigs right where they stand on the first shot. After they start running, it's game on. Sometimes they'll tumble and go head over heals and sometimes they'll just stuck the hit up and keep going. Pretty tuff to make precision shots on running pigs at night at unknown ranges while standing using a tripod for a rest. Sure is fun.
 
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