Author Topic: The 6.8 SPC. Another Remington Rip-Off. (Read 1924 times)

mannyrock · « **on:** October 04, 2009, 06:27:14 AM »

Dear Guys,

I know that Remington developed the 6.8 with a view to it becoming an assault weapons cartridge, but at the same time, they were not at all bashful about touting it as a great dual purpose hunting round, in 100 and 117 grain bullet weights. Indeed, they helped all of the gun rags write articles about the joys of this new hunting round, even supplying them with the writers with the ammo they needed.

And now, here we are, a few short years later, and it appears to me that Remington doesn't even offer one single factory hunting round in this, their newest proprietary cartridge. I have looked through all of my recent catalogues, and I cannot find any green box core-lokt, or other similar rounds, offered by Remington in any of them. What a total and absolute rip-off. Way to go Remington, . . again. No wonder every named proprietary cartridge it has offered in the last 30 years has plummeted to commercial failure. (What was the last big success? The 7 Mag?)

The only hunting round whatsoever that I can find is by Sellier & Bellot, a Polish company, at about $30 a box. Good thing we can rely on the Poles to make ammo for our Connecticut gun company.

Regards,

Mannyrock

gjn · « **Reply #1 on:** October 05, 2009, 07:46:03 AM »

I don't have a Remington catalog but I looked on the Remington website and they show this round as available. 6.8mm Remington SPC PRC68R4 115 Core-Lokt Ultra Bonded PSP They also have a 115 Matchking. I have a 700 in 6.8mm and am very impressed with its accuracy. I'm loading it with the Hornady 110 V Max and RL-10 and 5 shot groups at 100 yards are running between .4+ and .7+. Hornady also sells factory loaded ammo for the 6.8mm

SHOOTALL · « **Reply #2 on:** October 05, 2009, 08:23:30 AM »

Manny . the poles are also making ammo for the US govt . millions of rounds and also rpg rounds and others . Did you know a company in the USA makes RPG lanchers ? they are working on a light weight model .

mannyrock · « **Reply #3 on:** October 05, 2009, 10:57:21 AM »

Thanks for the info guys.

Well, GJN, if Remington and Hornaday are currently making factory hunting loads in 6.8 spc, then I stand fully corrected. But, I don't see it anywhere, not even in catalogues. I have found that lots of the gun and ammo companies list things in their online catalogues, that they simply don't make or offer.

I don't own a 6.8, but was strongly thinking about getting one as a single shot rifle for hunting. But if you can't find ammo for it, even from major distributors, then no thanks.

But, I'll keep looking.

Best,

Mannyrock

charles p · « **Reply #4 on:** October 05, 2009, 11:25:10 AM »

I still don't think the round will catch on. Just one opinion.

gjn · « **Reply #5 on:** October 06, 2009, 04:09:24 AM »

Charles, I think the round has already caught on, the question is whether it will stay "caught on" Its chambered by Remington, Stag Arms, Ruger, Barrett, Rock River, DPMS, Bushmaster and several other AR manufacturers. Its loaded by Remington, Hornady and several foreign brands. There are also bullets made specifically for it, though they have other uses, by Nosler, Barnes, Hornady and Sierra.Dies are available from RCBS, Redding and Hornady.

charles p · « **Reply #6 on:** October 06, 2009, 04:55:37 AM »

The allure of an AR to me is the ability to shoot lots of inexpensive ammo. Plinking. A plinking round needs to be a military surplus round to become affordable and in surplus. This is a present shortfall for the 6.8.

Just an opinion. If you want to hunt with your black rifle, go right ahead. Seems like an image thing to me rather than a gap that needed filling.

LONGTOM · « **Reply #7 on:** October 06, 2009, 01:47:18 PM »

TC also chambers it.
As for ammo try these places.

www.palmettostatearmory.com
They list no less then 10 loads for it.

www.ammunitiontogo.com
They have Rem & Hornaday ammo.

www.midwayusa.com list 24 different loads
They have CorBon, rem, Hornaday, Seller & Bellot, Silver State Armory
Some are on back order, some in stock.

Most of the shops here in northern VA seem to have it on hand.
I sold my friend my TC barrel last year before deer season and he used it a lot with great success.
He was useing the 115gr factory loadings.
Don't recall which one.

LONGTOM

Cheesehead · « **Reply #8 on:** October 06, 2009, 02:34:13 PM »

Midway has several Remington 6.8 offerings, but are on back order. I bought 2000 pieces of brass for mine and lots for bulk Remington bullets. I stamp out piles of rounds from my Dillon 550. Many companies make the 6.8 round, you usually will not find them in a store. With a little planning you could buy thousands of hunting roundc from the internet. I see no problem with the 6.8 and many rifles are currently chambered for this round. I believe it is the most popular AR round other then the 5.56.

Cheese

35Rem · « **Reply #9 on:** October 08, 2009, 11:59:32 AM »

Uhh, Remington is not a Connecticut company. Ilion, NY.

The bottom line is any new cartridge these days is unnecessary. Too much already out there and the stuff that works is available.

If the 22 LR, 223 Rem/ 220 Swift, 243 Win, 308 Win/ 30-06 can't handle it, it don't need handling. and there is overlap in that list.

Cheesehead · « **Reply #10 on:** October 08, 2009, 12:10:12 PM »

Quote from: 35Rem link=topic=184664.msg 1098909713#msg 1098909713 date=1255039172

Uhh, Remington is not a Connecticut company. Ilion, NY.

The bottom line is any new cartridge these days is unnecessary. Too much already out there and the stuff that works is available.

If the 22 LR, 223 Rem/ 220 Swift, 243 Win, 308 Win/ 30-06 can't handle it, it don't need handling. and there is overlap in that list.

The 6.8 fills a huge void in the AR-15 chamberings. I consider it necessary and needed.

Cheese

mannyrock · « **Reply #11 on:** October 08, 2009, 12:40:32 PM »

LongTom,

Thanks for the information.

By the way, I'm sitting over here in my parents house in Mantua right now.

Personally, I think the 6.8 spc appears to fill a gap in the sporting cartridge realm.

I loved shooting the .243 Winchester, but was not at all comfortable with that 100 grain bullet on large deer. The 6.8 SPC seems to give that extra oomph that I would like to the .243, without having to go to the blistering ear-shattering world of the .25-06 or the finicky world of the .257 Roberts. I particularly like that the 6.8 has a .27 caliber bullet. The 6.8 appears to be a better dual-cartridge round than the .243 Winchester, so long as prarie dogs or gophers aren't on the list.

Thanks,

Mannyrock

LONGTOM · « **Reply #12 on:** October 08, 2009, 04:14:50 PM »

mannyrock:
While I also like the extra weight and the .27 over the .24 caliber I chose the Handi 243 for my youngest sons first deer gun only because at the time the 6.8 was pretty new and no one really knew if it would perform on deer with the limited factory ammo available at the time.
The 243 100gr has always done a fine job on deer for my family and proved so for my son with the first two shots at deer.
A nice large 8pt and a large doe, both one shot kills at 147yds and 180yds respectfully.
Last year I stepped him up to my Handi in the classic 7x57 round and that has also proven to be a fine choice with three one shot kills for him.
I guess I have lost that gun to him now!

I think the 6.8 has had time to prove it's self and is another fine cartridge that can get the job done without all the buck & roar of the bigger rounds.
Now all we need is for the companies to take notice and step up production of both ammo and guns chambered for it.

LONGTOM

diggler1833 · « **Reply #13 on:** October 12, 2009, 06:18:43 AM »

Not that I'm trying to hijack here, but if it were any easier than trying to find a needle in a haystack for brass I'd run a 6.5 Grendel for B.C. and S.D. reasons.

I will give the 6.8 one thing though, at modest ranges and in it definitely has the 5.56 beat for stopping power. Too bad you can't configure one [6.8] to push out to 1K though.

mannyrock · « **Reply #14 on:** October 12, 2009, 12:52:25 PM »

I agree Digger, there are many medium caliber rounds that will outperform the 6.8 SPC. The SPC only shines as stepped-up alternative to the .223 Remington and the .243 Winchester, and in particular as a dual purpose varmint/deer round.

Best,

Mannyrock

rich56 · « **Reply #15 on:** October 18, 2009, 12:07:20 PM »

I agree with Diggler, If I need more than 5.56 (and many do) I'd go for 6.5 Grendal, much better BC and choice of bullets. PS I'm still pissed off about Remingtons lack of marketing and rifles in 260. I love the caliber but try finding choices for it. I think I'll never buy a rifle in a new "Remington" caliber again. Oh Yea, can you say 5MM Rimfire Magnum?

Cheesehead · « **Reply #16 on:** October 18, 2009, 02:49:34 PM »

Who makes ammo for the 6.5 Grendel?

Who Makes rifles for the 6.5 Grendel?

Cheese

JASmith · « **Reply #17 on:** October 18, 2009, 06:05:14 PM »

Go to the ammunition section in http://midwayusa.com/ for 6.5 Grendel ammuntion. You can also order directly from http://www.alexanderarms.com/grendel.htm but these folks have been seriously swamped over the past year.

Alexander Arms (above) manufactures and sells Grendel rifles. Go to the forums on http://www.65grendel.com/ for a lot more information including bolt action and single shot offerings.

JASmith · « **Reply #18 on:** October 18, 2009, 06:09:06 PM »

Quote from: mannyrock on October 05, 2009, 10:57:21 AM

... I don't own a 6.8, but was strongly thinking about getting one as a single shot rifle for hunting. ...

Best,

Mannyrock

Go with a single shot in .270 Win if you like the 6.8 caliber. The factory reduced recoil loads are slightly faster than the 6.8 and you still have the full potential of the .270.

You can reload to almost any level if you want.

ccoker · « **Reply #19 on:** October 20, 2009, 10:37:50 AM »

I can tell you from first hand experience the 6.8 while no magical caliber is very capable of taking deer and hogs
Remington basically screwed up when they introduced it
the latest developments on the cartridge and the right chambering and twist rate allow for significantly faster loads than the rather anemic stuff Remington came out with

if you want to learn about it, join the 68forum

it's proven to be VERY popular with hog hunters
getting 2700 or so FPS out a 110g bullet and over 3100 with an 85 out of a 16" barrel in a light fast gun what makes it appealing

Bill Wilson of Wilson Combat is a big time hog hunter, like almost every day he goes hog hunting...
a few months ago he got interested, built the first one, did some testing, some hunting and then LOTS of testing and hunting and killing hogs at his place in Northeast Texas... and now he's introduced several models

Having been up there hunting with him and exchanging LOTS of emails on the 6.8 I can tell you he's convinced it works!

http://www.wilsoncombat.com/h_hog3.asp

Cheesehead · « **Reply #20 on:** October 20, 2009, 12:31:16 PM »

I have actually seen 6.8 ammo on the shelves of the local sporting goods store. I doubt you will ever see 6.5 Grendel on any store shelf. I understand the 6.5 is a great cartridge, but it is even more obscure then the 6.8. That is why i choose the 6.8 over the 6.5.

Cheese

Swampman · « **Reply #21 on:** October 20, 2009, 12:50:39 PM »

The 6.8 and the AR are unnecessary unless you are fighting a war. Even then they aren't that great.

Cheesehead · « **Reply #22 on:** October 20, 2009, 01:00:25 PM »

I am fighting a war. Me against hunger. Me against the whitetail deer. Me against the anti gun movement. Me against gun discrimination, the black gun haters, the semi auto haters.

Cheese

Swampman · « **Reply #23 on:** October 20, 2009, 01:07:38 PM »

I would be the later 2. I use to own and like them. Now I'm just so tired of of seeing and hearing about them. What will the next trendy gun dejour be?

Cheesehead · « **Reply #24 on:** October 20, 2009, 01:15:05 PM »

That is some bizarre reasoning, but to each their own. I have owned a variety of AR's for years, nothing trendy about that. Now I finally have one in a big game caliber, perfect.

Cheese

wganz · « **Reply #25 on:** October 20, 2009, 02:45:02 PM »

Quote from: 35Rem on October 08, 2009, 11:59:32 AM

If the 22 LR, 223 Rem/ 220 Swift, 243 Win, 308 Win/ 30-06 can't handle it, it don't need handling. and there is overlap in that list.

<rant="rambling">
Unfortunately, the highlighted calibers don't fit through an AR15's mag well. The 6.8 SPC(and particularly the 6.8 SPC spec 2 chamber specification) gives the AR15 the equivalent performance of the .270-250 Savage wildcat. There is a dedicated 6.8 forum that has lots of DRT bambie & porkie pix. And to boot, the AR15 system is generally more accurate than most hunting rifles.

Let's face the truth. The AR15 is to today's sportsman that the 1903 Springfield was to sportsmen in the 1920's. There are uppers for the AR15 in .50 BMG, .458 SOCOM {duplicates the .45-70 ballistics}, .223/.243/.25 WSSM's, .30 WSM wildcats{DTech & OlyArms}, 6.5 Grendel (aka 6.5 Sporter) that duplicates the tried&true 6.5 Swede, 6.8 SPC, 6x45 wildcat, 5.56 NATO, .204 Ruger, 17 Rem Fireball, .22LR, .50 ML, and even a cross bow upper.

This isn't unlike the Handi where someone has one frame and multiple barrels where a person can have one lower and multiple uppers. Just tell the wife that you're accessorizing it.

The current trend over the past 10 years has been a decrease in hunters due to urbanization with all the hunting land being leased up so that it is no longer available to the 'Handi crowd' and an explosion of tactical/SelfDefense/competitive{typified by Cowboy Action} shooting sports.

If the 6.8 SPC brings in more shooters to our ranks, then it has been successful.
If the 6.8 SPC can bring more 'tactical' shooters into hunting, then it has been successful.

I'm surprised that Remington hasn't had the H&R folk offer a 6.8 SPC barrel yet.
</rant>

diggler1833 · « **Reply #26 on:** October 23, 2009, 01:28:22 PM »

I too hope that the 6.8 can help bridge some gaps between tactical shooters and hunters. Anything that helps promote either shooting or hunting can only be beneficial to our community, and we need all the support and new blood to these venues as we can get.

Some may have a distaste for the thought of taking a "black rifle" in a tactical caliber out hunting. But I personally don't see how a rifle that is generally pushing MOA or better with plenty of killing power out to several hundred yards is a bad thing. Especially when recoil is mild enough that some of the more recoil sensitive shooters can enjoy fielding such rifle to WANT to shoot/hunt with it.

Cheesehead · « **Reply #27 on:** October 23, 2009, 01:46:22 PM »

Quote from: diggler1833 on October 23, 2009, 01:28:22 PM

I too hope that the 6.8 can help bridge some gaps between tactical shooters and hunters. Anything that helps promote either shooting or hunting can only be beneficial to our community, and we need all the support and new blood to these venues as we can get.

Some may have a distaste for the thought of taking a "black rifle" in a tactical caliber out hunting. But I personally don't see how a rifle that is generally pushing MOA or better with plenty of killing power out to several hundred yards is a bad thing. Especially when recoil is mild enough that some of the more recoil sensitive shooters can enjoy fielding such rifle to WANT to shoot/hunt with it.

+1

Cheese

sachel.45 · « **Reply #28 on:** October 23, 2009, 06:10:01 PM »

Quote from: Swampman on October 20, 2009, 01:07:38 PM

I would be the later 2. I use to own and like them. Now I'm just so tired of of seeing and hearing about them. What will the next trendy gun dejour be?

do you hate the 1911 to? its everywhere can't pick up a gun rag without seeing one

R.W.Dale · « **Reply #29 on:** October 23, 2009, 10:36:43 PM »

Quote from: sachel.45 on October 23, 2009, 06:10:01 PM

Quote from: Swampman on October 20, 2009, 01:07:38 PM
I would be the later 2. I use to own and like them. Now I'm just so tired of of seeing and hearing about them. What will the next trendy gun dejour be?
do you hate the 1911 to? its everywhere can't pick up a gun rag without seeing one

There for 3 or 4 years you couldn't even look at the cover of one without seeing a m1911