No responsible deer hunter would shoot an animal at 300 yards with a .223, and I find it odd that they are considered suitable for a human, the most dangerous animal on earth because only a human can inflict injuries from a distance. I do not believe that we need to take bear cartridges to war, but we do need to take white-tail cartridges, at least.
Timothy J. Mullin – Testing the War Weapons – pp410
Would anyone here care to elaborate on the 6.8’s ballistic character in relation to hunting medium North American game animals?
For the last two years, I have hunted with a .270 Winchester Short Mag. That’s .277 caliber, or 7.04 mm, which is only slightly bigger than 6.8 mm.
Using a Nosler Ballistic Tip in 130 grain and a Nosler Accubond in 140 grain, I have taken two elk, seven whitetails, six hogs, and a coyote, at ranges from 20 yards to 256 yards (per a laser rangefinder).
I did not recover any bullets, as all penetrated completely through the animal after creating a fabulous wound channel. The best test was on an elk at 124 yards, running flat out. The first bullet hit broadside just above the heart, destroying both lungs, and the second went straight through the spine above the shoulders and exited out the far side, mushrooming all the while.
I think that’s good enough.
Wasn’t there a caliber called the .264 Winchester?
Also, I have a nephew’s AND my mother’s experience in .243 WIN on both Blacktail Deer (smaller Coast Range deer, a big one goes about 130#) and Mule Deer (same size as Whitetail), and the .308-based cartridge did fine on them.
I think that the 6.8 SPC has much smaller case size, though, and is probably more on the order of a necked-down 7.62X39, but PawPaw reports that hunters in his end of the woods take deer with the 7.62X39, which equates well to the ballistics of the .30 WCF, or “30-30” as we know it.
The only beef I have with the 6.8 is that we’re pushing the calendar on it. There is little ammo out there yet, we would have to reload everything, and for an urban warrior, that logistics problem could be major (as in fatal).
If, when the SHTF, I shoot so much that I use up all my ammo in either of my main battle rifles, I will be able to get more 7.62 NATO or 7.62X39 wherever I am fighting.
As much as I dislike the .223, I say stick with it for ammo availability over something still in the exotic class like 6.8 SPC
BTW, if you want to go to an exotic caliber, Accuracy Systems, Inc will make you up a Ruger Mini-30 in 6.8, but also in ANY of the WSSMs, AND .50 Beowulf! Have up to two Large available for the order, though.
If you MUST stick with Stoner’s action, there is a developing concept that the Layabout Sailor is researching for me: the interchangeable magwell idea.
Interchangeable magwells have already been produced, and before that idea, two different ARs were made in 7.62X39, the Knight and the Special Weapons, Inc. They were called SR-47 and AR-47, respectively.
Recently, an AR-47 failed to attract bids on Gunbroker, at $1,000. For a Stoner rifle in a GOOD caliber, taking a PROVEN magazine (the AK mag), all tricked out with Duracoat and various rail systems, I think that was a tragedy. I had to severely restrain myself….
The 6.8 is based on the old .30 remington case, which is a little tiny bit smaller that the 30-30. It has been shortend to a length of slightly more than a 7.62×39, but has more case capacity. I’m working from memory here, so may be off a tad. It does use a .277 dia projectile, notwithstanding the minor differences in metrification.
It is a LONG WAY short of being a 264 Mag or a 270 super short mag, but it does offer more than the 7.62×39.
Merle
I picked up a 16 1/2″ upper for my M-4 in 6.8 SPC about two years ago. The only problem so far is finding ammo in the midwest. When I lived in WA it was plentiful.
I will probably end up selling it. It’s fun to shoot, but its a game warden magnet in Nebraska and I no longer participate in 3 gun (poor college student)or have any use for a CQB gun. My K-31 knocks down Bambie just fine and a .308 will be a better SHTF gun. Not to mention it doesn’t feed from a 5.56 mag very well (mag bulges).
I’ve been hunting for years with a 6.5mm mauser (that’s .256) and had no problem dropping hogs and deer at over 200 yards. In fact, one shot with a nosler partition at 75 yards went through and through, tearing through both shoulder blades of a 100 lb hog. It dropped right where it stood.
This week’s American Rifleman TV had a long segment on Cobb Manufacturing, and the interesting interchangeable magwell they have incorporated in their modular multicaliber AR-15 design.
BTW, the BetaMax/MacIntosh analog of the “what to replace the 5.56 with” contest is the 6.5 Grendel, aka the 6.5x38mm.
It starts of a bit slower than the 6.8, but catches it velocity wise by 100m, IIRC, due to superior BC. At extreme ranges (>800m), the 6.5 actually has more velocity and energy than the 7.62, again due to it’s superior BC.
The 6.5 stomps all over the 5.56 (in everything except number of rounds for a given volume or weight), and with proper bullet selection in the 120-130 grain range should be good for most whitetail.