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Whatever happened to 6.8? (Page 3 of 4)
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Originally Posted By cttb: It's definitely the most popular AR variant. My guess is that's because it only requires a different barrel. Outside of subs and barrels under 10", it's a mediocre performer compared to other variants. Maybe it's better to look at this as "Wow, it's awesome we can do all this with the AR-15 platform" than "This is better than that." 6.8 SPC, 6.5 Grendel, and 6 ARC are all niche cartridges in the grand scheme. 300 BO is the only one that approaches mainstream. Originally Posted By cttb: Originally Posted By Z09SS: . . . . 300 Blackout won the alternate war, bigly. It's definitely the most popular AR variant. My guess is that's because it only requires a different barrel. Outside of subs and barrels under 10", it's a mediocre performer compared to other variants. Maybe it's better to look at this as "Wow, it's awesome we can do all this with the AR-15 platform" than "This is better than that." 6.8 SPC, 6.5 Grendel, and 6 ARC are all niche cartridges in the grand scheme. 300 BO is the only one that approaches mainstream. And it had the AAC marketing engine behind it. You guys haven't even mentioned .25-45 Sharps. 
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Originally Posted By cttb: It's definitely the most popular AR variant. My guess is that's because it only requires a different barrel. Outside of subs and barrels under 10", it's a mediocre performer compared to other variants. Maybe it's better to look at this as "Wow, it's awesome we can do all this with the AR-15 platform" than "This is better than that." 6.8 SPC, 6.5 Grendel, and 6 ARC are all niche cartridges in the grand scheme. 300 BO is the only one that approaches mainstream. Originally Posted By cttb: Originally Posted By Z09SS: . . . . 300 Blackout won the alternate war, bigly. It's definitely the most popular AR variant. My guess is that's because it only requires a different barrel. Outside of subs and barrels under 10", it's a mediocre performer compared to other variants. Maybe it's better to look at this as "Wow, it's awesome we can do all this with the AR-15 platform" than "This is better than that." 6.8 SPC, 6.5 Grendel, and 6 ARC are all niche cartridges in the grand scheme. 300 BO is the only one that approaches mainstream. I thought you needed mags too |
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Originally Posted By ALASKANFIRE: I'm a bit confused now because almost all your points apply to the other rounds you mentioned. Nothing beats 223. Yes 300 Blackout using 30 cal bullets helps a lot. I don't switch my bolts around to other guns so I don't worry about it fitting other stuff only that it's available and not a fortune. You can always use a 223 or even a 22lr upper for training to get the benefit of cheaper ammo. You asked what I meant by logistics and the thread is about what happened to 6.8. I'm just stating that it did not win its battle with logistics. The same could be said for many other alt calibers except 300blk. It wasn't just .308 bullets, it was being able to utilize current 5.56 bolts and mags. I don't swap bolts around, and I only own one true 300blk mag, everything else is 5.56 Magpul Gen3's or Lancers since I shoot mostly 110gr-120gr supers. In the end, a simple barrel swap with little other commitment made for an early logistics win. 6.5 Grendel shared a lot of the logistics issues as 6.8 (and a weaker bolt to boot), but it got a short time logistical boost with cheap steel case ammo. Now 6ARC is stealing 6.5G's new shooters because Hornady is doing a marketing and logistics flood trying to push their ARC ecosystem. I was at Farm and Fleet last week and I could not believe the amount of Hornady 22/338/6ARC ammo on the shelves. They must really be pushing it. That whole ploy is strange to me because all they have done is taken a 6.5 Grendel round, stuck some different projectiles in them, and called it ARC, but never addressed any of the original flaws of trying to run a 6.5 Grendel/.220 Russian in an AR15. But I guess they are going to brute force it by offering a full ecosystem and available ammo for those weapons with Grendel/ARC bolts and mags. |
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Originally Posted By 9D1Alpha: Then there was 277 wolverine . 9/10ths 6.8spc with just a barrel . 11/10ths 300blk . I have that one too . * oh , there was a 6.8x45 Kramer ( actually x44mm) Wolverine was popular here for a minute, remember those threads now that you reminded me. It could run subsonic as well, IIRC. Then again so can 7.62x39mm, I think you just pretty much use .300 Whisper recipes. |
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Originally Posted By backbencher: Wolverine was popular here for a minute, remember those threads now that you reminded me. It could run subsonic as well, IIRC. Then again so can 7.62x39mm, I think you just pretty much use .300 Whisper recipes. Yep , it could do subs . It was kind of in the middle with 300blk but biased more towards supers . I still get loaded ammo for it which a testament to its popularity... at least in the frindges. |
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Originally Posted By HighpowerRifleBrony: Depends on the ogive and COAL. Ah , 300blk came out in 2010 ...magpul didn't come out with a 300 specific mag til 2017 with rib clearance for subs . Kurt(7.62×40) made me a 6.8x40 bbl in 2008 . Itd run 85gr tsx right at 3000fps out of 16" . Essentially 7mm TCU with a bit shaved off the base and neck sized down to 6.8 . Had to file a bit out of the front ribs of a magpul polymer mag . It ran great . I sold it and the dies to a guy in Wisconsin around 2013 when I bought my first 6.8 spc . |
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Originally Posted By panthermark: They must really be pushing it. That whole ploy is strange to me because all they have done is taken a 6.5 Grendel round, stuck some different projectiles in them, and called it ARC, but never addressed any of the original flaws of trying to run a 6.5 Grendel/.220 Russian in an AR15. But I guess they are going to brute force it by offering a full ecosystem and available ammo for those weapons with Grendel/ARC bolts and mags. What were the original flaws not addressed? Seems like bolts and mags were all I ever heard about and bolt problems seem to be very rare nowadays. |
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Originally Posted By ALASKANFIRE: What were the original flaws not addressed? Seems like bolts and mags were all I ever heard about and bolt problems seem to be very rare nowadays. Hornady didn't address the bolt issue when they introduced a "new cartridge". They just kept with the Grendel parent case and it was up to the industry to do something about the broken lugs and extractor issues from that parent case. Same goes for mag/feeding. AK bullet geometry doesn't flow so great in AR's, but Hornady is like "that is up to everyone else to figure out, send it!" ---- I personally thought 6.8 > 6.5 from an everyday use case (especially out of shorter barrels), and the stronger bolt was the big plus. But I think the 6.5/ARC ecosystem won out (between the two). Hornady did a better job of marketing than Vista/CSG IMO, although I still have my doubts on that parent case. 6.8SPC + 224V + (338Spectre wildcat) vs 6.5G + 6ARC + 22ARC + 338ARC |
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Originally Posted By panthermark: Hornady didn't address the bolt issue when they introduced a "new cartridge". They just kept with the Grendel parent case and it was up to the industry to do something about the broken lugs and extractor issues from that parent case. Same goes for mag/feeding. AK bullet geometry doesn't flow so great in AR's, but Hornady is like "that is up to everyone else to figure out, send it!" ---- I personally thought 6.8 > 6.5 from an everyday use case (especially out of shorter barrels), and the stronger bolt was the big plus. But I think the 6.5/ARC ecosystem won out (between the two). Hornady did a better job of marketing than Vista/CSG IMO, although I still have my doubts on that parent case. 6.8SPC + 224V + (338Spectre wildcat) vs 6.5G + 6ARC + 22ARC + 338ARC Not to nitpic , but the Grendel does not maintain the "ak geometry" . Case taper is minimal as opposed to the 7.62x39 . True , the case rim is a bit large for the old AR bolt though. |
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Originally Posted By backbencher: https://www.cdnnsports.com/anderson-ar15-barrel-6-8-spc-ii-16-1-11.html I saw that yesterday in an email from CDNN. While there's no shortage of 6.8 owners (as this thread proves) I wasn't aware Anderson sold 6.8 parts. |
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Not everything is a marketing ploy. Some cartridges really do perform better than others, either at something specific or in general. The shooters that are currently adopting small frame variants aren't, as a whole, a bunch of guillable newbs. They're going to skew more towards the expert end of the spectrum. They can probably figure out what cartridge suits their needs best without a marketing blitz befuddling them into a bad choice. Grendel hasn't had bolt, magazine, or reliability issues in well over a decade. My Grendels work as well as my 5.56es. It's a mature cartridge that works well in ARs. These threads invariably get a good bit of outdated and inaccurate information in them. My experience with 6 ARC comes from shooting Grendel alongside of other shooters using it in matches that stretch out to near 1,000. The difference in drop at distance is significant. My observations exceeded what I expected based on ballistics tables. While switching to 6 ARC won't turn a mid-pack shooter into a top finisher, the edge is significant enough to make picking it over Grendel (and certainly 6.8) for distance target shooting an easy choice for someone picking their first small frame variant. Marketing isn't making that bullet shoot flatter. |
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Originally Posted By cttb: Not everything is a marketing ploy. Some cartridges really do perform better than others, either at something specific or in general. The shooters that are currently adopting small frame variants aren't, as a whole, a bunch of guillable newbs. They're going to skew more towards the expert end of the spectrum. They can probably figure out what cartridge suits their needs best without a marketing blitz befuddling them into a bad choice. Grendel hasn't had bolt, magazine, or reliability issues in well over a decade. My Grendels work as well as my 5.56es. It's a mature cartridge that works well in ARs. These threads invariably get a good bit of outdated and inaccurate information in them. My experience with 6 ARC comes from shooting Grendel alongside of other shooters using it in matches that stretch out to near 1,000. The difference in drop at distance is significant. My observations exceeded what I expected based on ballistics tables. While 6 ARC won't turn a mid-pack shooter into a top finisher, the edge is significant enough to make picking it over Grendel (and certainly 6.8) for distance target shooting an easy choice for someone picking their first small frame variant. Marketing isn't making that bullet shoot flatter. The 6 arc excels at punching paper at long distance for sure. I’d rather go with a large frame ar with a cartridge that has some more power behind it for longer distance shooting and hunting. I would be comfortable with any of the 6x variants out to 350 yards for hunting deer and antelope. Some guys believe that long range paper hunting equates to down range performance on big game. I’ve read some crazy threads on the long range hunting forum. Guys shooting elk at 800 yards with a 6.5 creedmore several times and the elk disappears, they are questioning their bullet choice instead of their cartridge choice. |
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Originally Posted By Ossian: The 6 arc excels at punching paper at long distance for sure. I’d rather go with a large frame ar with a cartridge that has some more power behind it for longer distance shooting and hunting. I would be comfortable with any of the 6x variants out to 350 yards for hunting deer and antelope. Some guys believe that long range paper hunting equates to down range performance on big game. I’ve read some crazy threads on the long range hunting forum. Guys shooting elk at 800 yards with a 6.5 creedmore several times and the elk disappears, they are questioning their bullet choice instead of their cartridge choice. Originally Posted By Ossian: Originally Posted By cttb: Not everything is a marketing ploy. Some cartridges really do perform better than others, either at something specific or in general. The shooters that are currently adopting small frame variants aren't, as a whole, a bunch of guillable newbs. They're going to skew more towards the expert end of the spectrum. They can probably figure out what cartridge suits their needs best without a marketing blitz befuddling them into a bad choice. Grendel hasn't had bolt, magazine, or reliability issues in well over a decade. My Grendels work as well as my 5.56es. It's a mature cartridge that works well in ARs. These threads invariably get a good bit of outdated and inaccurate information in them. My experience with 6 ARC comes from shooting Grendel alongside of other shooters using it in matches that stretch out to near 1,000. The difference in drop at distance is significant. My observations exceeded what I expected based on ballistics tables. While 6 ARC won't turn a mid-pack shooter into a top finisher, the edge is significant enough to make picking it over Grendel (and certainly 6.8) for distance target shooting an easy choice for someone picking their first small frame variant. Marketing isn't making that bullet shoot flatter. The 6 arc excels at punching paper at long distance for sure. I’d rather go with a large frame ar with a cartridge that has some more power behind it for longer distance shooting and hunting. I would be comfortable with any of the 6x variants out to 350 yards for hunting deer and antelope. Some guys believe that long range paper hunting equates to down range performance on big game. I’ve read some crazy threads on the long range hunting forum. Guys shooting elk at 800 yards with a 6.5 creedmore several times and the elk disappears, they are questioning their bullet choice instead of their cartridge choice. Pretty much To your point, gong shooting at distance also does go better with a harder hitter. A light little bullet hitting steel at 800 yards can easily be called a miss, even when it hits, unless you have someone really good woth heavy glass focusing on your target. A more resounding ring and movement, from a bigger round, helps on steel. Which, again, if I'm shooting 1000 yards, why am I using a light CQB gun for that? I mean, it's great to have multiple capabilities, but 6mmARC just filles a role I don't have for it. To me, Grendel is the better general purpose round. And yea, 6.8 is the better 100 yard SBR round - but I want longer legs then that. As to .300 BO - sorry, that is a widely overrated round who's popularity exceeds its utility - in my book. If your world is supressed SBR at 45 yard, great. Mine is not. |
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Originally Posted By lazyengineer: Pretty much To your point, gong shooting at distance also does go better with a harder hitter. A light little bullet hitting steel at 800 yards can easily be called a miss, even when it hits, unless you have someone really good woth heavy glass focusing on your target. A more resounding ring and movement, from a bigger round, helps on steel. Which, again, if I'm shooting 1000 yards, why am I using a light CQB gun for that? I mean, it's great to have multiple capabilities, but 6mmARC just filles a role I don't have for it. To me, Grendel is the better general purpose round. And yea, 6.8 is the better 100 yard SBR round - but I want longer legs then that. As to .300 BO - sorry, that is a widely overrated round who's popularity exceeds its utility - in my book. If your world is supressed SBR at 45 yard, great. Mine is not. From a 24" barrel, 6 ARC Hornady 108 ELDMs carry 931 foot pounds of energy at 500 yards. 6.5 Grendel 123 grain ELDMs carry 876. Ballistic coefficients matter a lot. They start significantly affecting downrange ballistics as soon as 150 yards. The 108 6 ARC is actually hitting the gong harder than the 123 Grendel by 100 yards out. The same goes for 6.8. Downrange ballistic performance tells more of the story than muzzle stats. As an example, many Grendel hunters reflexively gravitate towards 100 grain class bullets because of muzzle velocity. For the most part, 120 grain class Grendel bullets are carrying more energy by 150 yards, sometimes even 100, because of their higher BCs. The higher BC bullets usually have higher sectional density too. |
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Originally Posted By Gr0g: If it started with the SPC2 and had better marketing, it would have been more popular. A little more kick and a little less capacity but better terminal ballistics. I have no plans of getting rid of mine. Better terminal ballistics than what? |
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Originally Posted By cttb: From a 24" barrel, 6 ARC Hornady 108 ELDMs carry 931 foot pounds of energy at 500 yards. 6.5 Grendel 123 grain ELDMs carry 876. Ballistic coefficients matter a lot. They start significantly affecting downrange ballistics as soon as 150 yards. The 108 6 ARC is actually hitting the gong harder than the 123 Grendel by 100 yards out. The same goes for 6.8. Downrange ballistic performance tells more of the story than muzzle stats. As an example, many Grendel hunters reflexively gravitate towards 100 grain class bullets because of muzzle velocity. For the most part, 120 grain class Grendel bullets are carrying more energy by 150 yards, sometimes even 100, because of their higher BCs. The higher BC bullets usually have higher sectional density too. Originally Posted By cttb: Originally Posted By lazyengineer: Pretty much To your point, gong shooting at distance also does go better with a harder hitter. A light little bullet hitting steel at 800 yards can easily be called a miss, even when it hits, unless you have someone really good woth heavy glass focusing on your target. A more resounding ring and movement, from a bigger round, helps on steel. Which, again, if I'm shooting 1000 yards, why am I using a light CQB gun for that? I mean, it's great to have multiple capabilities, but 6mmARC just filles a role I don't have for it. To me, Grendel is the better general purpose round. And yea, 6.8 is the better 100 yard SBR round - but I want longer legs then that. As to .300 BO - sorry, that is a widely overrated round who's popularity exceeds its utility - in my book. If your world is supressed SBR at 45 yard, great. Mine is not. From a 24" barrel, 6 ARC Hornady 108 ELDMs carry 931 foot pounds of energy at 500 yards. 6.5 Grendel 123 grain ELDMs carry 876. Ballistic coefficients matter a lot. They start significantly affecting downrange ballistics as soon as 150 yards. The 108 6 ARC is actually hitting the gong harder than the 123 Grendel by 100 yards out. The same goes for 6.8. Downrange ballistic performance tells more of the story than muzzle stats. As an example, many Grendel hunters reflexively gravitate towards 100 grain class bullets because of muzzle velocity. For the most part, 120 grain class Grendel bullets are carrying more energy by 150 yards, sometimes even 100, because of their higher BCs. The higher BC bullets usually have higher sectional density too. Ever actually shoot at steel at distance? Energy doesn't mean shit - momentum does. 6mmArc sucks. Did I hit it? Did it move? Why don't i hear anything? .Creedmoor wins. |
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Originally Posted By Moondog: I saw that yesterday in an email from CDNN. While there's no shortage of 6.8 owners (as this thread proves) I wasn't aware Anderson sold 6.8 parts. Originally Posted By Moondog: Originally Posted By backbencher: https://www.cdnnsports.com/anderson-ar15-barrel-6-8-spc-ii-16-1-11.html I saw that yesterday in an email from CDNN. While there's no shortage of 6.8 owners (as this thread proves) I wasn't aware Anderson sold 6.8 parts. How good, or bad, are these barrels? I love my KoTonics 6.8 barrel. Not that confident in Anderson, but would I could afford 2 of these for my boys, IF they're decent. |
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Originally Posted By lazyengineer: Ever actually shoot at steel at distance? Energy doesn't mean shit - momentum does. 6mmArc sucks. Did I hit it? Did it move? Why don't i hear anything? .Creedmoor wins. Originally Posted By lazyengineer: Originally Posted By cttb: Originally Posted By lazyengineer: Pretty much To your point, gong shooting at distance also does go better with a harder hitter. A light little bullet hitting steel at 800 yards can easily be called a miss, even when it hits, unless you have someone really good woth heavy glass focusing on your target. A more resounding ring and movement, from a bigger round, helps on steel. Which, again, if I'm shooting 1000 yards, why am I using a light CQB gun for that? I mean, it's great to have multiple capabilities, but 6mmARC just filles a role I don't have for it. To me, Grendel is the better general purpose round. And yea, 6.8 is the better 100 yard SBR round - but I want longer legs then that. As to .300 BO - sorry, that is a widely overrated round who's popularity exceeds its utility - in my book. If your world is supressed SBR at 45 yard, great. Mine is not. From a 24" barrel, 6 ARC Hornady 108 ELDMs carry 931 foot pounds of energy at 500 yards. 6.5 Grendel 123 grain ELDMs carry 876. Ballistic coefficients matter a lot. They start significantly affecting downrange ballistics as soon as 150 yards. The 108 6 ARC is actually hitting the gong harder than the 123 Grendel by 100 yards out. The same goes for 6.8. Downrange ballistic performance tells more of the story than muzzle stats. As an example, many Grendel hunters reflexively gravitate towards 100 grain class bullets because of muzzle velocity. For the most part, 120 grain class Grendel bullets are carrying more energy by 150 yards, sometimes even 100, because of their higher BCs. The higher BC bullets usually have higher sectional density too. Ever actually shoot at steel at distance? Energy doesn't mean shit - momentum does. 6mmArc sucks. Did I hit it? Did it move? Why don't i hear anything? .Creedmoor wins. A 123 grain Grendel bullet has .146 kg•m/s more momentum than a 108 grain 6 ARC at 500 yards (using Hornady's ballistics for ELDMs). That doesn't make much difference on paper or in the field, but at least you finally found a measurable that disfavors 6 ARC, although it's the first time I've ever seen anyone mention momentum in the context of ballistics. Hits on steel out to 800 are easy (at least for me and everyone I've shot with) to spot with Grendel or 6 ARC. The only 1,000ish target I've seen shot with 6 ARC had a flasher. Have you ever shot a 6 ARC at 600+ or been present when that's happening? |
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Marketing does matter. The difference between 338 Spectre and 338 ARC is getting it SAAMI approved and marketed. Better yet, think 300 Whisper vs 300 Blackout. Literally the same thing. Also, sometimes marketing strategy can blend into logistics. ------------ Side story: As someone stuck behind enemy line (with those lines expanding every year it seems), I am often limited in what I can get shipped to me. I have avoided Bear Creek Arsenal for a long time, but they are one of the few vendors that sell and ship "affordable" bolt action uppers to most ban states (right now only NJ is completely restricted). So looking at their IN STOCK offerings (both bolt action and DI) as of the time I post this, they have 464 uppers in stock (it changes a number or two every few minutes). Click To View Spoiler When filtered by bolt-action, it drops to 96 IN STOCK and looks like this: Click To View Spoiler Now, it is BCA we are talking, but I do find it interesting that for both DI and bolt-action, there are five 6.8 uppers available. That is good. But it pales in comparison to the 6.5, and even more so to the onslaught of Hornady pushing ARC. The key here (for me at least) is parts. Either what I have or what I can easily get is important, so the ecosystem matters. I can't always easily get a JPE or Rexus or even a Faxon bolt....and I have very little faith in a hogged out BCA bolt, but I do have access to plenty of 5.56 bolts already on hand. Getting back on topic, it is clear 6.8 is still hanging around, it just never "blew up". To me if feels like its performance outpaced its acceptance. I'm a total 300blk fanboi, but I can actually understand how some folks could feel that its acceptance outpaced its performance, but I would say that it was boosted by its logistics and marketing. |
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Originally Posted By Moondog: 350L found it's niche in states with restrictions during hunting seasons (straight-walled cases in certain zones.) exactly. for a few months of the year there are huge piles of 350L at every brick and mortar. then they sell down until next " |
The deuce you say.
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Originally Posted By Z09SS: At one time the C-Products magazines for 6.8 were nearly the same price as USGI mags. The 25 rounders worked well. Then C-Products was no more. PRI was, at one time, the brand to avoid in 6.8. Nothing is completely static. Heck, at one time there were factory 5.45x39 AR's and available, cheap, magazines! huh? I might have missed a company sold to another company but... I have both C-Products and Dura-Mag and can buy either labeled at decent prices. most of them I've bought from SGAmmo. never had an issue with either. the 20rd "Dura-Mag" are like $18 from SGAmmo last i bought them. roughly in line with the pmag40 I use for 5.56. |
The deuce you say.
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Originally Posted By backbencher: https://www.cdnnsports.com/anderson-ar15-barrel-6-8-spc-ii-16-1-11.html ordered it Thursday, should be here Monday. there is a LOT of Anderson stuff that just hit the surplus market. wish I had more fun money loose right now, I've had GREAT experiences using Anderson parts. |
The deuce you say.
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Originally Posted By 9D1Alpha: I thought you needed mags too to feed well, yes. russian based cases need an ak banana shaped case or they have problems loaded anywhere close to capacity. 6.8 spc also needs a more curved magazine than 5.56 but not as bad as ak mags. the 20rd "Dura-Mag" has just a little section of curve once is exits the mag well. |
The deuce you say.
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Originally Posted By panthermark: Hornady didn't address the bolt issue when they introduced a "new cartridge". They just kept with the Grendel parent case and it was up to the industry to do something about the broken lugs and extractor issues from that parent case. Same goes for mag/feeding. AK bullet geometry doesn't flow so great in AR's, but Hornady is like "that is up to everyone else to figure out, send it!" ---- I personally thought 6.8 > 6.5 from an everyday use case (especially out of shorter barrels), and the stronger bolt was the big plus. But I think the 6.5/ARC ecosystem won out (between the two). Hornady did a better job of marketing than Vista/CSG IMO, although I still have my doubts on that parent case. 6.8SPC + 224V + (338Spectre wildcat) vs 6.5G + 6ARC + 22ARC + 338ARC this mirrors my research, I put more weight on the russian based cases having bolt breakage more frequently. after AmmoPocalypse 1.0 when there was zero 5.56 or 300blk available for months, all I saw on the shelves was 6.5g and 6.8spc and some of the variants of each. I found the Dolos takedown system (a few years before Cry Havoc existed) and got a plan together to have two guns that could shoot 4 different calibers with just barrel swaps. ~10 years later I used the spare 5.56 Dolos barrel to rebuild the first 5.56 I had assembled - M4 profile and set screw gb. went to diamond flute and clamp on gb. my "teotwawki" carbine. so the 300blk Dolos has only one barrel for it. it lives in my backpack that I carry to work every day. ~3 years in to 6.8spc I do not yet have 224v or other 6.8spc caliber barrel. yet. I will probably get a 224v barrel before I'm done. I'm not very interested in 6.5g at all. I never liked steel case even when I was blasting with my sks. even the non corrosive russian crap was still dirty as hell and I hated cleaning that crap. ar platform has been a blessing by comparison. so I was already biased against 6.5g when it was cheap - I was NOT going to shoot steel case russian crap in an ar, and the general quality and accuracy was bad enough in 7.62x39 I wasn't interested in either steel case or brass case 6.5g from russia. which meant that the ammo was NOT cheaper than 6.8spc. |
The deuce you say.
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Originally Posted By Moondog: I saw that yesterday in an email from CDNN. While there's no shortage of 6.8 owners (as this thread proves) I wasn't aware Anderson sold 6.8 parts. old surplus. I think Anderson had it as "out of stock" for quite a while. might have been nos kept as warranty replacements as needed. in fact, I think it might be already oos at CDNN. wasn't listed in today's sales email. the other Anderson barrels were. eta: they still have the 6.8spc in stock, they just didn't put it in the emails. 10pm 4/12/26 |
The deuce you say.
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Originally Posted By PirateNinja: I still have a LWRC PSD in 6.8 with an 8 inch barrel, shoots great and reliable. I thought 6.8 was supposed to be a nice intermediate round, also ideal for short barrelled personal defensive weapons. this is the actual reason I finally built up a 6.8spc. I had a YHM barrel for 4 years from a great sale price (it was not threaded - so I had a machinist friend thread it) before I had a functional 6.8 spc. then I bought a 11.3" Wilson barrel in and that was assembled into a pistol. because I saw that the zombies in the 2020 summer of love were sometimes wearing what looked like plate carriers. carrying a tripod bag into work drew questions like a rifle case would. so the Dolos takedown pistol arrived, then the 6.8spc pistol. I rarely put the 18" YHM barrel on the 6.8spc, just to function check the rifle length gas with different/new ammo. like I did yesterday! Druid Hill Armory 90gr arrived last week, just had to try it out! 50yd zero, using the TRex 25/50yd zero target, makes it easier to see the holes at 25yd. 
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The deuce you say.
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Originally Posted By glenn_r: How good, or bad, are these barrels? I love my KoTonics 6.8 barrel. Not that confident in Anderson, but would I could afford 2 of these for my boys, IF they're decent. if they were made by the same Anderson employees, machines, and using the same steel and finishing as the other 4 Anderson barrels I bought over the last 10+ years, it will be great. small sample size though. of all the complaints I've head about Anderson, barrel life/quality does not come to mind. |
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SD, USA
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Originally Posted By racer765: ordered it Thursday, should be here Monday. there is a LOT of Anderson stuff that just hit the surplus market. wish I had more fun money loose right now, I've had GREAT experiences using Anderson parts. Originally Posted By racer765: Originally Posted By backbencher: https://www.cdnnsports.com/anderson-ar15-barrel-6-8-spc-ii-16-1-11.html ordered it Thursday, should be here Monday. there is a LOT of Anderson stuff that just hit the surplus market. wish I had more fun money loose right now, I've had GREAT experiences using Anderson parts. The price is tempting but my next 6.8 purchase is an a2 upper from rock river. |
Joined:
Feb 2023
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830
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NJ, USA
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Originally Posted By cttb: From a 24" barrel, 6 ARC Hornady 108 ELDMs carry 931 foot pounds of energy at 500 yards. 6.5 Grendel 123 grain ELDMs carry 876. Ballistic coefficients matter a lot. They start significantly affecting downrange ballistics as soon as 150 yards. The 108 6 ARC is actually hitting the gong harder than the 123 Grendel by 100 yards out. The same goes for 6.8. Downrange ballistic performance tells more of the story than muzzle stats. As an example, many Grendel hunters reflexively gravitate towards 100 grain class bullets because of muzzle velocity. For the most part, 120 grain class Grendel bullets are carrying more energy by 150 yards, sometimes even 100, because of their higher BCs. The higher BC bullets usually have higher sectional density too. Originally Posted By cttb: Originally Posted By lazyengineer: Pretty much To your point, gong shooting at distance also does go better with a harder hitter. A light little bullet hitting steel at 800 yards can easily be called a miss, even when it hits, unless you have someone really good woth heavy glass focusing on your target. A more resounding ring and movement, from a bigger round, helps on steel. Which, again, if I'm shooting 1000 yards, why am I using a light CQB gun for that? I mean, it's great to have multiple capabilities, but 6mmARC just filles a role I don't have for it. To me, Grendel is the better general purpose round. And yea, 6.8 is the better 100 yard SBR round - but I want longer legs then that. As to .300 BO - sorry, that is a widely overrated round who's popularity exceeds its utility - in my book. If your world is supressed SBR at 45 yard, great. Mine is not. From a 24" barrel, 6 ARC Hornady 108 ELDMs carry 931 foot pounds of energy at 500 yards. 6.5 Grendel 123 grain ELDMs carry 876. Ballistic coefficients matter a lot. They start significantly affecting downrange ballistics as soon as 150 yards. The 108 6 ARC is actually hitting the gong harder than the 123 Grendel by 100 yards out. The same goes for 6.8. Downrange ballistic performance tells more of the story than muzzle stats. As an example, many Grendel hunters reflexively gravitate towards 100 grain class bullets because of muzzle velocity. For the most part, 120 grain class Grendel bullets are carrying more energy by 150 yards, sometimes even 100, because of their higher BCs. The higher BC bullets usually have higher sectional density too. If I need a 24" barrel on a small frame AR, I might as well step up to a large frame. |
| I've got a 20" 6.8 barrel that I go super cheap on an overrun sale but haven't put it on a rifle yet. I'm still having fun with the 6.5 Grendel and will have to have this one threaded, etc. Maybe later in the year but then its new dies, etc. |
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There is nowhere left to go... this is it.
Joined:
May 2004
Posts:
16360
EE: 100% (191)
USA
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This is old now, but I roasted this bull with my 12.5” suppressed 6.8 using 120gr MKZ handloads. Attached File |
"They who can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety, deserve neither liberty nor safety."
Ben Franklin
Ben Franklin
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Originally Posted By VeritatisUnus: This is old now, but I roasted this bull with my 12.5” suppressed 6.8 using 120gr MKZ handloads. https://www.ar15.com/media/mediaFiles/52686/IMG_1355_jpeg-3776303.JPG Nice! At what distance? One round? To where? |
There is nowhere left to go... this is it.
Joined:
May 2004
Posts:
16361
EE: 100% (191)
USA
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Originally Posted By parrisisland1978: Nice! At what distance? One round? To where? 40ish yards. Triple tap in one second. He went to his front knees, then just rolled over and kicked for a minute until death. Impact spread was less than a paper plate, all in lungs. |
"They who can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety, deserve neither liberty nor safety."
Ben Franklin
Ben Franklin
|
6.8 Fan for sure. My first build was with a 16 Kotonics barrel. Had to ream it to the SPC-II; 5k down that one and remains very accurate with my loads and SGK's. Doe great in shorter barrels but loud even with a Pig on the end. I built up a 6.8 16" barreled bolt action on a Predator action. Perfect lightweight deer rifle. |
Joined:
Jan 2024
Posts:
111
EE: 100% (15)
OR, USA
| I recently went with the 300 HAM'R after considering the 6.8 SPC. Main factors were bullet options and use of standard bolt. The HAM'R benefits much from 300 Blackout supersonic bullet and magazine technology. Suits my needs for 250 yards and in. The 6mm MAX based on the 350 legend case also looks interesting. |
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I just finished rebuilding my old 6.8 rifle today using NFA receivers and a griffin rail. 16" ARP barrel and bolt and an old school Young's NM carrier with a Triggertech drop in. Still gonna use the Primary Arms 4-14x44FFP in a Burris PEPR mount too lol. When originally built it was the most accurate rifle I had experience with. |
Whatever happened to 6.8? (Page 3 of 4)
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