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Hunting & Fishing Anyone used 6.8 SPC on deer?

500grains

Private
Full Member
Minuteman
Nov 20, 2008
399
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dirt nap
Has anyone used the 6.8 spc cartridge for deer hunting? I curious to know (a) does the bullet hold together well enough to penetrate to the vitals at close range, and (b) does the cartridge have enough for longer shots, say out to 600 yds?

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Left to right: 6.8, 223 and 7.62x39

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Re: Anyone used 6.8 SPC on deer?

600 yards? With a rifle that isn't even equal to a 243? IF you feel you have to shoot a deer at 600 yards and IF you can hit first shot on an 8" target at 600 yards from a real world field position EVERY TIME, regardless of wind, mirage, huufin and puffin,
THEN you might want to consider an appropriate caliber like a 7 mag or 300 win mag. IME I have yet to meet the deer, antelope or elk that cannot be approached within 400 yards.

6.8 is a nice little cartridge, right up there with the 25 Remington.(it is after all a shortened 30 remington with less powder capacity). Suitable for deer sized game within 150 yards with carefully placed shots. Stick with the Barnes, they always work and will break a shoudler if you're off a bit.

If you're gonna carry a rifle and are recoil sensitive, a 260 Remington is a far better choice. 6.8 has a place as an AR upgrade for people shooting but absent military adoption, it will be as dead as a dodo in a decade.
 
Re: Anyone used 6.8 SPC on deer?

Yeah, I know cuz I have shot lots of deer with 7 mag, 300 mag, 270, 3006, 6mm, 2506, 358, even 338, 375 and 45-70. But I was wondering if anyone has actually shot deer with the 6.8, and what their experience has been. Thanks.
 
Re: Anyone used 6.8 SPC on deer?

I have heard it will do well on deer but I have never shot one with it. I too am curious as to the capiblity of the round on deer. But from what I have read the deer needs to be within 300yrds or the bullet doesn't have that much punch.
 
Re: Anyone used 6.8 SPC on deer?

I have womdered myself and I wish I could say from personal experience but I can't. I think from the ballistic charts it looks to be pretty similar to a 7mm-08. I have only seen bullet weights around 115grs for the 6.8 SPC. And the largest I have had for my Odd 8 was 140 gr. I was not happy with the bullet performance on a Coues Whitetail that I took in AZ. It was not shot placement because the heart was jellyfied and that damn deer would not die. I chose a ballistic tip and I just don't think the construction was very strong. I would suggest shooting a Coyote or a hog as a test subject and use a heavy constructed Partition type bullet. It must have something to it for the DOD to consider relacing the 5.56 with the 6.8 SPC. Just my .02
 
Re: Anyone used 6.8 SPC on deer?

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: 500grains</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Yeah, I know cuz I have shot lots of deer with 7 mag, 300 mag, 270, 3006, 6mm, 2506, 358, even 338, 375 and 45-70. But I was wondering if anyone has actually shot deer with the 6.8, and what their experience has been. Thanks. </div></div>

I've killed 3 so far with mine. 2 in the last month. First one I killed at 210 yards last season with a speer 100 grain sp. The bullet wasn't super accurate but I still hit the boiler room.

The last two were at 75 and 160 yards using Sierra 115 grain SMK's. Not a hunting bullet but still very effective. The shot at 75 yards had one entry hole and exploded the heart. The 160 yard shot was an almost clean pass through with good expansion. The bullet expanded, took a good channel out of both lungs, and I found a piece of copper jacket on the outside of the exit wound, but no lead spray from fragmentation.

I'm switching over to Sierra 100 grain Pro-hunters and try out some Nosler 110 grain accubonds this summer(both bullets I hear are very accurate and very effective)
 
Re: Anyone used 6.8 SPC on deer?

500,

My brother and I have used a 270 Win with a 100 grain SP at 3498 fps, and it suprisingly holds together great. In the SPC, it should do very well also. I don't know about 600 yards well, but effective with a well placed shot. The 110 V-max would also be a great choice.

Chad
 
Re: Anyone used 6.8 SPC on deer?

600 yards is too long for a 6.8 SPC, I personally wouldnt take that shot without a great deal of fear that I would wound an animal that would run off, suffer and die without ever filling my belly. No deer to shoot here (only feral hogs and goats) but a quick look around the 68forums brought up these posts with pics...

http://www.68forums.com/viewtopic.php?f=11&t=6176
http://www.68forums.com/viewtopic.php?f=11&t=5676
http://www.68forums.com/viewtopic.php?f=11&t=3305
http://www.68forums.com/viewtopic.php?f=11&t=4181
http://www.68forums.com/viewtopic.php?f=11&t=4677
http://www.68forums.com/viewtopic.php?f=11&t=4717

Note one was taken with a LWRC M6A2 with 10.5" barrel.
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Re: Anyone used 6.8 SPC on deer?

Both were taken with 6.8
600 would be too far for hunting although I have punched paper out that far with it. The 110gr Pro hunter is a good deer bullet all around, the 90gr TNT is has a thin jacket and will fragment but I've taken 1 deer and a pig with it. Tougher bullet would be the 85-11gr barnes.
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Re: Anyone used 6.8 SPC on deer?

Nice Bucks. As you said I think bullet construction is very important and obviously shot placement. I also don't believe that a 600 yard shot is very ethical. Many may argue what is or isn't acceptable range for taking a longer range shot depending on the markmans ability. I just think that too much could go wrong at that distance. Sure would be a cool story to tell your buddies how far away that buck of a lifetime was when you shot him but think of the crap you'd get for wounding that same buck and never finding your trophy.
 
Re: Anyone used 6.8 SPC on deer?

I did forget to mention in my post I wouldn't shoot a deer beyond 400 yards with the SPC. Not enough umph at that distance. And if I'm shooting 600 yards I'm using my 8x57
 
Re: Anyone used 6.8 SPC on deer?

Well, I like the idea of using an AR for deer hunting, but I really do not want to artificially restrict my ability to take long shots. So I guess I am still thinking about it. Maybe I can convince a friend to buy one, and then try it out.
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Re: Anyone used 6.8 SPC on deer?

As this is still a relatively new cartridge for sporting purposes, I am not sure if anyone has tested the 6.8 on game out to 600 yards. With that said, it SHOULD do the job. It has proven effective on two legged targets in sandy environments past 600 yards, but I would peg that distance right at about its maximum effective range.

Just FYI, with the SPC II Chamber, the limits of the 6.8 are still being tested. With proper handloads, guys are getting over 3000 fps with no pressure signs. Check out 6.8forums.com for the latest envelope.
 
Re: Anyone used 6.8 SPC on deer?

armalite makes an ar10 that shoots the 300saum. that should get the job done.
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Re: Anyone used 6.8 SPC on deer?

I haven't killed any Deer with mine as of yet, but I did kill ten nice sized hogs with it last month in Texas. They were between 150 and 350 yards out, and the gun made quick and accurate work of them. I was shooting an LMT MRP with 16" barrel. Remington fmj bullets (all I could find locally), and wouldn't recommend for any real game animals. We were doing clean-up on an area that hadn't been hunted too heavily for a while, and the gun did the job just great. I think the best shot was on a running pig about 325 out, it took me a couple of walk it into him, but when he went head over heels it felt pretty good.
My buddy was shooting his AR in .225/5.56, and I can tell you, that the hogs don't react the same between the two rounds. The extra punch from the 6.8 was significant when it came to putting them down.
I'm hoping to do another hunt next month - hopefully before it gets too hot in So. Texas...
 
Re: Anyone used 6.8 SPC on deer?

I have killed several deer with a 6.8.My 10 year old daughter killed 2 deer this year with one.