I can buy 6.8SPC at Walmart.

Your 300 Blackout argument is invalid.

Scored 9 boxes today (Limit 3 Boxes per Customer)

I just saw that same stuff today. 23.95 a box.

Good to see it on the shelf now. One of our members on 68forums posted the sku tags and shelf space from his Walmart a few months ago, and Dr. Chris Lucci ( HTR , High Tech Rancher-Wild River Ranch ), tested the fusion ammo.

The Fusion is premium ammo, but Federal is making another load as well, and it should be much cheaper. The great thing is that it's dumping brass on the market and driving down brass prices. Even though most folks are getting over 10 loads from the SSA brass, $60/100 is steep to get into, and .35¢ per for once fired is high too.

6.8 ftw

I hope they bring the 90gr out and its reasonable. $15 a box or less.  I know, im dreaming....

click

I saw the same stuff at my wallmart yesterday.

I reload 223 and 308 , your argument is invalid, but sweet score none the less my friend!

If it wasn't for Newtown I think we'd be seeing much more 6.8 ammo now and from more vendors.  Equally I bet Blackout ammo would be more plentiful as well.

The FMJ is what we're waiting for. That's cheap enough to buy that reloaders will come out ahead by buying it and shooting it versus buying brass.

I'm not impressed with the velocity on the 115 Fusion though, they could have gotten another 75fps from it and still been SAAMI.

The 90gr Fusion is the ticket, at 2850fps or just over.

If they'd make a 90gr FMJ, at 2850fps or just better, it would cut the cost down less than the 115gr due to material costs, maybe down to $12.99 or so.

I grabbed my three and that was about all the ammo that was there that day. Cool and disturbing at the same time.

Ammo is made out of unobtanium in this part of the country. I am so glad I got into reloading a long time ago......

Yeah, the Fusion is anemic. But, the brass is good. The FMJs would be nice. Because they are cheaper. The 90gr would be great. But, my 110 ABs do very well.

Yeah, WalMart always has lots of calibers on one wants.

GO 300!

Just kidding!  6.8 is a great second tier caliber.






JUST KIDDING!  REALLY!

we got 6.8 ammo on the shelf here in my area too, but it's 110 hornady 22 or 23 a box

I got some here too... Got the 4 box limit

well good . glad to see the 6.8 crowd getting another option. I dont have one but never say never in the ar world.

Solved how?  So your finally get factory ammo! Big whoop!  I have all the ammo I want our need for my 300 Blk  and can make a hell of alot more at pennies a round!

We've had plenty of factory ammo. This is another step in the development of it's popularity. Having ammo available at the Walmarts of the world and from Federal is huge. Federal is running a full time 24/7 365 shift of man and machines on 6.8 now, with the same equipment used for Lake City. 150 million rounds per year of the 90gr load, plus whatever they run of the two 115gr loads. There are only two rifle calibers that share that distinction at Federal, .308 and 5.56/.223. Everything else is batch loaded on other machines.

Now that it will be seen at Walmart, more people will get into it. The, "I can't find it at Walmart crowd" will be finding it, and that had turned a lot of buyers off.

Remington loads it, but their low cost product is crap, and their high end stuff is still loaded weaker than any other and over priced, and not as accurate as the other brands that are available for less, with more power. The Remmy brass is LRP, and nobody really wants it, we all use SRP brass for the most part.

Hornady has been loading it, and you could get Hornady, high quality ammo for $16/20 before the scare.

SSA was the big boy for quality and power, but Wilson, Barrett, S&B, Privi , and others also load it. I've seen S&B for $14 a box with a 110gr V Max. You won't find .223 VMax for that most times.

Smugness of the OP aside, this is a great thing for our hobby and the industry in general.

It is good to see that this ammo stocked in Walmart is more geared to the tactical/home defense crowd rather than just the hunting crowd (which I am sure this can be used for hunting too).  This is significant as Walmart is the biggest retailer in the country that services some areas that may not have access to 6.8 other than online!

It's about time that Walmart finally did this!

To the OP on the smugness thing, 6.8 has been around for a just few more years than 300 BLK (~9 years vs. ~1.5 years), so in time I am sure that we will see other popular AR calibers making their way into Wally world (300 BLK, 6.5 Grendel, .204 Ruger, etc.).  Either way, this is a huge win for our hobby and especially AR and 6.8 aficionados!

LOL, the 300 platform has been around for decades, far, far longer than the 6.8 in it's several itterations.

The 300 AAC Blackout is a new SAAMI approved chamber of the wildcats like 300/221 and others that allows both subsonic and supersonic shooting from the same semi-auto rifle.  The 300 BLK stuff finally hit the market less than 2 years ago.  A 7 year head start is significant, yet you guys can't accept a victory for the industry without turning it into a penis-measuring competition to create infighting of "my caliber is better than your caliber".

300 vs 6.8 thread

Don't lump all of us together.

I hope to see 300BLK, 6.5G, and others in the Walmarts. It's a win for everyone. Joe Blow doesn't know about these alternative calibers. All he knows is 5.56/.223 and maybe .308 in the big gun. He doesn't know that there are three very effective calibers that outclass the 5.56 in just about every way, or at least in a few ways, depending on your comparative needs. Having ammo at Walmart , and some of the other big guys, will bring them into the public light and they'll get more exposure. That will in turn drive sales of the weapons chambered in them, which will, in turn, again, drive up production of ammo.

Each caliber has strengths and weaknesses, and none is perfect.  Pick the one that fits your needs if you can only have one, and go with it.

My thought process on buying my 6.8 back in 2009, and I studied these rounds for a year before switching.

I was shooting a .308, 16" barreled DPMS LR308, had a M1A before that, and before that, a DSA STG58 and a few AKs.  I was replacing the .308 as my go to rifle. I wanted something with more power than the 5.56, and as close to the .308 with that barrel as I could get, but in the AR15 platform.

I wasn't going to be shooting 1,000 yards anymore or much over 700 yards anymore. Most of what I was going to do was 500 yards and in.

I didn't go .300 Whisper due to ammo, even though I hand load, and due to the longer ranges.

It was between the 6.5G and the6.8. The 6.5G won out in most cases for the longer range stuff, but out to 500 there are loads that match it from the factory, and handloading there are loads that beat it out to 500 yards using 16" barrels. There was more industry support at the time for the 6.8 as well so far as loaded ammo.

I went with the 6.8 due to that, and I've been very happy.

If my needs changed and I wanted more 700-1000 in the AR15 platform, I'd go Grendel, but probably in a 20".

If my needs and my reality was back then what is now, not getting out to the farm much for the 750 yard shooting, and mostly 300 yards and under, I would go with the .300BLK. It's a bit more capable that the 7.62x39, and I have never felt under gunned with an AK.

The calibers are what they are, and none of them suck, they are all great. I want to see them all pick up more steam and get out there in the mainstream.

I couldn't agree more...  the more mainstream the AR and any of its calibers become, the better it is for our hobby and industry!  6.8 is a great caliber and the AR is a great platform, therefore everybody here wins!

My nearest walmart limits me to "2 boxes per customer per day", which invalidates your argument.

Not sure if the OP is serious or just trying to be funny.

Ether way.  I am glad that 6.8 is available at Walmart.

Of course for me it is irrelevant.  Since I have not bought a single round of .300 blk.  All my 300 blk ammo is home rolled.

For that matter except for.22lr I have not bought factory ammo in several years.

One of my local walmart stores had it on the shelf.....wow!

That's the beauty of being a reloader, don't need ammo on the shelves.

As long as you can find reloading components!  

The way I take it, OP was picking.

I do plan to build a BLK upper for use with a suppressor . I'm still torn between that and the 6.8 Bison, since I already have a 6.8.  Either way, they will be suppressed and SBR'd.

Casting your own lets me load subsonic .300 blk for $0.06 a round.  I can shoot for a long time at that cost.

I'll bet you make your own powder and primers too!

nope, at least not yet, But did stock up on them before the panic started.

Here is the real question. With just about every other popular caliber sold out before it even hits the market why is the 6.8 ammo selling so slowly that Walmart can actually put boxes of it on their shelves?

It's very simple really.

1. A major manufacturer has joined the game, and is producing it for the first time creating a new supply line.

2. Said manufacturer just filled an order for 150 million rounds of 6.8 ammo for military contracts.

3. Due to that contract, the manufacturer has a line dedicated to the 6.8 on machinery identical to the Lack City machines, and is operating them full time, 24/7/365, which previously was done only for 5.56 and 7.62NATO. There are now only 3 rifle cartridges being produced in that manner and in those numbers. All others are run in batches.

4. The ammo has just been released, and Walmart is not known for their tactically oriented customers. Once it becomes common knowledge, it won't be on the shelves long. There are less shooters of this that of 5.56/.223, so demand catches up to supply slower. Everything else is out everywhere just like the other calibers. It's only the Federal that is showing up.

SSA just released a new production run, but that is almost sold out already as well, it was released a few days ago.

$.06 cents
does factor in the beer that is being consumed while reloading

For me it would be a Coke or a glass of tea. But no I don't count that in the cost.

I have been kinda busy with my own little 308 bullet world and must of missed the boat about the 6.8 bison. would you be so kind as to explain what it is please?

Exactly this.

 

I've been able to buy more 6.8 components lately instock vs .223.

Bison Armory specializes in barrels and uppers for the 6.8 SPC cartridge. AR Performance (ARP) is another source as well. Harrison the guy who owns ARP has taken the 6.8 round and perfected it. His barrels are the best for this round in my opinion.

Think of it as a light .270 that fits in an AR sized gun. It has 80% of the ballistics of a .308 Win. It shoots a .277 caliber bullet. The Barnes 95 gr TTSX can be pushed to 2800-2900 fps out of a 16" barrel. It makes one heck of a deer/hog round.

You'll need a bolt, barrel, and magazine to shoot this round. The .223 mags won't work with the 6.8.

Remington worked with the military to develop the round. Somewhere along the way Remington screwed up and sent the wrong prints to SAAMI to get the round certified. Because of that early guns and barrels didn't have the performance the military guys were able to get. Which brings along 6.8 SPCII chambers. This is what you want if you get one. With this chamber you can get all the performance out of the round. Think of it like a .223 chamber vs 5.56 chamber.

Change the .227 to .277. I think you just mistyped.

Fixed, thanks.