In order to participate in the GunBroker Member forums, you must be logged in with your GunBroker.com account. Click the sign-in button at the top right of the forums page to get connected.
6.8 REM for deer
littleperk
Member Posts: 32 ✭✭
I have been considering a contender G2 carbine for my Grandson to hunt deer. something easy to carry in the mountains of NC. Want light recoil but potent enough to kill a 125 lb. whitetail at 100 yards. I had decided on either a 30-30 or 7-30 waters when I saw a listing for the 6.8 REM. Don't know much about the caliber. It appears to be used mostly on an AR type platform. Just a quick look at ballistics appear to be superior to 30-30 or 7-30 waters. But I know from experience that does not always tell the full story. Anyone got one? Can you advise as to: accuracy, recoil and stopping power for a whitetail. Also, maybe your choice for best factory ammunition. Thanks to all.
Comments
That could take a fair amount of ammo or hardly a box to sight in if he is already a shooter. Might be a consideration shooting only store bought ammo in both price and availability plus perhaps bullet weight/type vs the twist in the rifle.
Added I reload for several reasons, I get to shoot way more and with better ammo too. Ammo shortage for me not very likely and I have had several wildcats that never had factory ammo or hard to find obsolete ones. Only one rifle so far has shot better with factory ammo than mine - way less than 1%. Personally the gunrags need something new to talk about, the manufactures need new stuff to sell - I'm still waiting for the reintroduction of the OKH and a 7mm in a 458 sabot. When was the last time a new game critter was introduced.
There are literally thousands of deer harvested every year with the 6.8 SPC. The ranges are usually not long but many deer are harvested at close ranges with the multitude of cartridges which are fielded every year as well.
The story now though revolves around the newest version of this cartridge, the 6.8 SPC II.
quote:While it has earned a reputation as a deer cartridge, the 6.8mm Remington Special Purpose Cartridge (SPC) was developed with military applications in mind. The concept was to boost the power level beyond the 5.56 NATO in M4-style carbines. It was thought for a while the 6.8 SPC would become a U.S. military service cartridge, but in the end the government took a pass. Today, the 6.8 SPC lives on as a sporting cartridge.
quote:The 6.8 SPC is a cartridge with a varied history. As far as I can tell, there are currently four different chamber designs for it. The two that have emerged into common usage are the SAAMI and the SPCII designs, with the SPCII holding the lead. The SPCII chamber is said to work better with high-pressure handloads and ammo from some specialty loaders. It also works well with ammo loaded to the SAAMI spec.
Loaded with a high quality hunting bullet like the Berger Classic Hunter, you should be good out to about 300 yards given the 1,000 ft/lbs of energy as a qualifier. But there are literally dozens of hunting bullets which are adequate for this cartridge. Normally the heavy bullets are left to folks using the bigger cartridges but there are many which fall in the 130 grain class or slightly less. The hunters who wish to use the heavier bullets can be found using suppressors in the field. Obviously, subsonic performance will lessen the distance to which the remaining energy will be effective.
Best.
I use Federal white box 90 grain bonded soft point ammo for the flatter trajectory and lighter recoil. It produces an exit hole on most any broadside hit and does significant damage inside. My barrel is a 1:11 twist and this 90 grain ammo gives MOA accuracy with or w/o the suppressor(BTW the 6.8 is relatively quiet even with super sonic ammo). Recoil is not noticeable to an experienced shooter but is more than a .223 as can be expected. 6.8 recoil is far less than what I remember getting from a 30/30.
One thing to note about factory ballistics: the 6.8 numbers are sometimes taken from 16" barrels which gives far more realistic results than other cartridges' numbers taken from 24" bores. A TC with a longer barrel will produce more velocity than the chart shows.
THERE ARE MANY CARTRIDGES THAT ARE LESS THAN 10 YEARS OLD THAT YOU CANT FIND AMMO FOR TODAY [V][:(!]
quote:one thing to consider is this ammo available at stores I shop at or do I have to buy it online will it be available 10 years from now
THERE ARE MANY CARTRIDGES THAT ARE LESS THAN 10 YEARS OLD THAT YOU CANT FIND AMMO FOR TODAY
First and foremost, this cartridge has already been around for 15 years so this point is over reaching.
Second, none of us know what your stores have in stock but just in case on the outside chance you're referring to the stores we shop at, most if not all the stores around me have some of this ammunition on the shelves every day. I can't verify every store since I don't have time to check each one.
Third, none of us that I know are clairvoyant so I'm not aware of anyone who can forecast the future with regard to what cartridges are going to be around in 10 years.
As with trying any new-to-you cartridge, there is the opportunity to shoot store bought ammunition and save the cases for reloading or buy all the components to test and resolve to keep those components on hand for reloading.
Best.
I think you were a little hard on Perryshooter.
Simply put, I believe what he was saying in a nutshell was that while you might find .308 or 30-06 or .270 in "Bobs Hardware Store" in East Mudshoe Montana, you may be hard pressed to find 6.5 Creedmore or 6.8 SPC or the latest 300 Whizzbang magnum caliber. Yes there have been cases where ammunition was lost, stolen or ruined while on a hunting trip.
Perryshooter has been around long enough to have seen cartridges come and go , as I have.
I know I'll probably get beat up now but thats OK.
Ammo stores easily and doesn't take up much room. When you find something that works, buy a 5 years' supply and re-stock often. I burn less than a box of 6.8 per year and have 20 boxes on the way to add to the ??? boxes already stashed.
I always appreciate the reminder that writing can sometimes come across as being somewhat more terse than speech. Sometimes in my hurry to get something written, I am apparently a little more terse than I really mean to be. This is the situation here. I was in a hurry and my writing was a tad more direct than it could have been had I taken a little more time.
perry shooter,
If I came across as being hard on you, I apologize.
The reality is this, cartridges come and go, especially in the more recent couple of decades. The major manufacturers are reticent to keep anything around too much longer than when they are making a rapacious profit. When profits begin a small slide, the product is reviewed. If the bean counters anticipate a continued slide, the product is discontinued. We see this occur much faster these days than what used to take place. So yes, some cartridges do come and go.
The cures as noted above by others is anticipation and/or learning to reload. I'm not talking about hoarding, rather anticipation, looking ahead to make pragmatic purchases to insure a continued stream of components into your reloading process or factory loads in storage.
The 6.8 SPC has been around 15 years already so this is a pretty good indicator that it will remain around for a while longer. The newest release of the SPC II ammunition is another indicator that the cartridge should remain viable for quite a while because manufacturers are reluctant to add a new version of a cartridge without already having a substantial market potential.
I hunt and compete with some of the most obscure, arcane wildcats available through reloadable components. I can't even come close to finding anything which will work in these rifles at a small town LGS let alone Walmart or other mart stores. Yet I have never been at a loss to either hunt or compete because of preparation ahead of time. I don't worry about not having what I need because I make sure it's where I need it and when. If you depend on the LGS or mart stores for your need to CYA, that's a situation which can be cured simply by preparation. You don't have to be intimidated when wanting to use a new cartridge or something out of the ordinary when you plan ahead and prepare.
Best.