AR-15 in 6.8

[Birdstrike]

What are your thoughts on this round for whitetail hunting? Pros & cons. Trying to decide between this and an AR-10/ 308. Thanks.

 

[Leo]

The 6.8 spc is a pretty good round, and also pretty rare. Ihave never seen hunting ammo in that caliber. There is also a 6.5mm round target shooters use in an AR, that is also very rare. There are a TON of hunting and target rounds available for the .308 AR-10 platform. If you feel .308 is too big, they also make the AR-10 in 243, and there are a lot of good hunting rounds there also. I think that is where I would focus if you are a hunter. Good Luck

 

[dom1104]

You wont be hunting the whitetail here in Indiana I can garuntee you that.

Other than that, its a fine short ranged whitetail round.

 

[Birdstrike]

Nope, hunting at my folks land in Kentucky/ hunter friendly state :-). Thanks for the tip on the 243! I'll check into that.

 

[edporch]

What are your thoughts on this round for whitetail hunting? Pros & cons. Trying to decide between this and an AR-10/ 308. Thanks.

Check out the 6.8 forum.
A WEALTH of info on the 6.8 SPC.

..::68FORUMS::..

If you do decide to go with a 6.8 SPC, make sure you get one that has the Spec II chamber.

 

[starbreather]

Don't waste your $ on 6.8!

 

[Birdstrike]

Don't waste your $ on 6.8!

Would you exain please? The advantage of the 6.8 is, of course, it will work with an AR-15 lower which a lot of us already have. The AR-10 would be an entire new setup = $$$$! I will save my money for the 308 if it is really that much better than the 6.8, or if the 6.8 has kown issues. Thanks for all the replies!

 

[malern28us]

You really need to check out ..::68FORUMS::.. or Innovative Tactical Systems LLC, Made in USA, AR 15 uppers, piston operated tactical upper, 5.56, 6.8spc, custom precision barrels
Most of the people on this site that comment don't have one but heard from their cousins-brothers-mothers-uncle that they aren't a good rifle.
The ammo is expensive currently although Remington UMC is loading rounds now for $14/20 rounds. You want top rate hunting rounds and its gonna cost over a dollar a round.
The 6.8 Spc shines in SBR setups as it was designed to be used in CQB carbines.
People that also haven't recently done anything with the round will talk about its negatives. It has made leaps and bounds over the past few years and some people are reporting longer distances are easily done now.
My best advice is to read up on it and ask people who really know about the round.
Harrison, over at Innovative Tactical Systems LLC, Made in USA, AR 15 uppers, piston operated tactical upper, 5.56, 6.8spc, custom precision barrels has a listing of all of the hunting bullets available. Its one of the tabs at the top of the page all of the way over to the right.

 

[malern28us]

P.s. I love mine. If you live by Roanoke you can shoot mine. Reloads (me reloading the rounds) are running about forty cents a round.

 

[teddy12b]

I bought a bushmaster 6.8 way back when they first came out. I was on the waiting list for a 6.8 for all the reasons you mentioned above. The problem with the 6.8 is that it didn't come out of the gate with all the details figured out. That's why you see different twist rates on 16" barrel and different chambers as mentioned above. If they would have had everything worked out from the get go the round would be more popular today because of it. The 6.8 is a fine round, but it's just never going to be as popular(cheap) to shoot as either a 223 or 308. I ended up ultimately selling my 6.8 and buying a DPMS 308. Back then even the reloading components were very expensive. It just came down to too much money spent for what I was getting out of it.

The DPMS 308 is a much heavier gun, but it's much more capable at long range too. Plenty of other AR 308's out there too, but they're more expensive than the DPMS and don't weigh any less. There's more variety of ammo available for it, but agaon you sacrifice weight. The 6.8mm has enough factory hunting loads out there today that finding a good one shouldn't be a problem. If you reload, your ammo options only get better.

Ultimately get whatever you want, because I'm happy with what I've got and I think you shold be happy with whatever you buy. A 6.8 will kill the heck out of a deer, but it's up to you to decide if that's the way you want to go. I think you'll be happy either way you decide.

 

[malern28us]

Now that's an honest review. Thanks.

 

[booey50]

depends on the range you want to shoot at?

 

[malern28us]

Guys are posting deer kills at 300 yards and above. I guess it depends on how far you can shoot.

 

[Birdstrike]

Thanks everyone, lots of good info here!!

 

[teddy12b]

Just curious, but what kind of configuration were you thinking about in the 6.8? The one I had was an M4 looking rifle, and I wouldn't buy that again. However, that Stag hunter model looks like it'd be the cats @$$ if a guy wanted a hunting 6.8 that was setup for accuracy.

 

[Mordred]

The people that say you can't hunt deer with a 5.56mm are just plain ignorant and wrong. Go with the standard 5.56mm round and never look back.

 

[teddy12b]

The people that say you can't hunt deer with a 5.56mm are just plain ignorant and wrong. Go with the standard 5.56mm round and never look back.

Nobody here is saying that. Read before postign please. Of course a 5.56 will kill a deer, but not all states allow it and if he wants to chose to use a 6.8 or 308 then good for him.

 

[melensdad]

The people that say you can't hunt deer with a 5.56mm are just plain ignorant and wrong. Go with the standard 5.56mm round and never look back.

Nobody here is saying that. Read before postign please. Of course a 5.56 will kill a deer, but not all states allow it . . .

There are plenty of rounds that will kill a deer. There are also limits as to what is actually legal to use to kill a deer. The poster in this thread is looking for options other than the 223/5.56, and as teddy12b clearly pointed out, its an issue with legality. Many states strictly enforce laws that limit the calibers and/or cartridges that are legal for deer hunting.

 

[malern28us]

Just curious, but what kind of configuration were you thinking about in the 6.8? The one I had was an M4 looking rifle, and I wouldn't buy that again. However, that Stag hunter model looks like it'd be the cats @$$ if a guy wanted a hunting 6.8 that was setup for accuracy.

The reviews I have read on hunting setups seem to be 16 or 18 inch barrels. Seems longer with the 1:11.25 twist dormant gain you anything. Again, I would defer to the gurus at 68forums.

 

[malern28us]

There are plenty of rounds that will kill a deer. There are also limits as to what is actually legal to use to kill a deer. The poster in this thread is looking for options other than the 223/5.56, and as teddy12b clearly pointed out, its an issue with legality. Many states strictly enforce laws that limit the calibers and/or cartridges that are legal for deer hunting.

Melensdad is a good person to talk to if you want to consider other setups or Indiana legal cartridges for hunting deer.