6.8 Remington- Factory Ammo Data Announced!

[Big Paulie]

OK guys.  Remington has officially announced the ballistics of its new 6.8 Remington rounds.   You can see these by going to gunsandammomagazine.com, and then selecting RifleShooter magazine.  There is a lengthy article on the factory rounds, including shooting a mule deer with it.


    Bottom line, the new round in factory form is:  basically a .270 caliber bullet, 115 grains weight, with virtually the same foot pounds of energy as the factory loaded .243 with a 100 grain bullet, and a trajectory very similar to the .308 Winchester.   Three factory loads will be available:  full metal jacket, hollow point boat tail, and I think a soft point, but all in 115 grain weight.

     I must confess that I am a little disappointed with these ballistics from a hunting standpoint.  I was hoping that this round would give perhaps five percent more energy than the .243, plus the advantages of the heavier bullet with the better ballistic coefficient.   This would have made a great dual purpose round, that solved the problem of the .243 being just a little too light for reliable shoulder bone shots etc.   Will the extra weight of the new bullet and the better coefficent alone solve this problem???

      When you look at the factory charts for other ammo, the ballistics of this round look an awful lot like the factory loaded .257 Roberts with the 117 grain bullet.    Maybe that would be the best huntiing comparison?

Best Regards,

Big Paulie

[The Sodbuster]

the 6.8 SPC has been around for a couple years now.  I like the idea of a low recoil .277 caliber but don't have any experience with it.  Maybe it's 'cause I'm used to .270 Winchester numbers, but it seems a little underpowered for a medium game round.  I get it that the military wants their guys to be able to carry a lot of ammo without all the weight of a .30 caliber round; and, that they need to be able to convert existing rifles easily to the new cartridge.  But it seems if you want a modest recoil, 115 grain bullet to put deer down, you're better off with a .257 Roberts or .250 Savage.  Your thoughts?

Are they selling many of these caliber rifles in bolt actions and/or assault rifles?

[victorcharlie]

   This would have made a great dual purpose round, that solved the problem of the .243 being just a little too light for reliable shoulder bone shots etc.   Will the extra weight of the new bullet and the better coefficent alone solve this problem???     

I always thought the .243 was a dual purpose round.........I've never found it to light for reliable shoulder shots and none of the 50 or so deer that I've killed with it over the years ever thought it wasn't a dual purpose round.

Seriously, I never heard the .243 was under powered until I started reading internet post!javascript:void(0);
Wink

I really sounds to me like they're trying to fix a problem that doesn't exist.....JMO

[victorcharlie]

What case is the 6.8 based on?

[Rummer]

Victorcharlie:

I think that the 6.8 case is based on a shortened .30 Remington case.

I am not familiar with 6.8 ballistics, but I bet that this cartridge would be ballistically similar to a 7-30 waters.

Rummer