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Posted: 7/31/2024 10:58:36 AM EDT
I want a 6.8 SPC upper to hunt hogs and deer with. I have several AR-15 5.56 rifles. I found a PSA 18' Mid length 6.8 SPC II 1/11 Stainless Steel 1;11 twist rate 15 "Hex M-Lock upper with BCG&CH. Do I need a 6.8 SPC dedicated lower? or can I use my current AR-15 5.56 lower?. Do I need to purchase 6.8 SPC Magazines?. I am new to the 6.8 SPC caliber game. I appreciate your help and advise.
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Just use your lower. It will never know the distance.
Greg |
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You can use a standard receiver set, and the only difference between 5.56 and 6.8 is the barrel, bolt, and mags. For standard AR15 receiver sets I use the mags made by both ASC and PRI specifically for the 6.8 SPC.
LWRC has a custom Six8 receiver set for the 6.8 SPC (larger magwell), that uses special 10, 20, and 30 round Magpul magazines that won't fit in a standard receiver set. I've used them also, and they are nice. The only disadvantage is that the lowers aren't interchangeable with standard AR15 uppers. |
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Standard lowers work all day, buy 6.8 magazines for proper feeding.
Hornady SST or Winchester Deer Season XP |
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Bolt, Barrel, and magazines
I highly recommend WILSON COMBATS Lightweight 16” barrel |
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You need new mags, I’m not sure anymore which is the best steel mag but the LWRCI Six8 receiver and magazines are wonderful and if you can afford it get that.
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Originally Posted By Reddtv: I want a 6.8 SPC upper to hunt hogs and deer with. I have several AR-15 5.56 rifles. I found a PSA 18' Mid length 6.8 SPC II 1/11 Stainless Steel 1;11 twist rate 15 "Hex M-Lock upper with BCG&CH. Do I need a 6.8 SPC dedicated lower? or can I use my current AR-15 5.56 lower?. Do I need to purchase 6.8 SPC Magazines?. I am new to the 6.8 SPC caliber game. I appreciate your help and advise. View Quote You only need a 6.8 barrel, bolt and mags. PRI makes the best mags for standard lowers. The best bullets and ammo are Cavity Back Bullets MKZ 105gr and 120gr. If you reload the best brass is Sellier & Bellot. CBB carries that to. They also carry the PRI mags. |
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Originally Posted By jwlaxton: LWRC has a custom Six8 receiver set for the 6.8 SPC (larger magwell), that uses special 10, 20, and 30 round Magpul magazines that won't fit in a standard receiver set. I've used them also, and they are nice. The only disadvantage is that the lowers aren't interchangeable with standard AR15 uppers. View Quote Built one around that. Though nice as a matched set I ditched it for the reasons you listed. I turned a Noveske 5.56 into a 6.8 SPC after that. Like it much better. |
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ARP barrels from Blackstone Arms
Are the best |
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Blackstone arms barrel or upper and pri magazines are the way to go as has already been stated. 6.8 bolt also, Blackstone has a couple of options also. Cavity back bullets and Druid hill armory have higher velocity spc ii spec ammo. S&B fmj and hpbt ammo are go to range ammo, their brass is the best for reloading.
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Originally Posted By Yama_Raja: You only need a 6.8 barrel, bolt and mags. PRI makes the best mags for standard lowers. The best bullets and ammo are Cavity Back Bullets MKZ 105gr and 120gr. If you reload the best brass is Sellier & Bellot. CBB carries that to. They also carry the PRI mags. View Quote This. And listen to this guy. He's pushed 6.8spc II to the limits, and is as knowledgeable as anyone, more than most, when it comes to 6.8. Also, check out the 6.8 forums. Lot's of great info there. |
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There is nowhere left to go... this is it.
USA
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Originally Posted By Yama_Raja: You only need a 6.8 barrel, bolt and mags. PRI makes the best mags for standard lowers. The best bullets and ammo are Cavity Back Bullets MKZ 105gr and 120gr. If you reload the best brass is Sellier & Bellot. CBB carries that to. They also carry the PRI mags. View Quote I killed my last bull elk with a 12.5” 6.8 using 120gr MKZ. |
"They who can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety, deserve neither liberty nor safety."
Ben Franklin |
Thank you for the information. I will purchase magazines from the recommended sources. And reloading supplies. I do have another question. Is the US commercial market in danger of running out of 6.8 SPC II ammo? I do re load, but I also want the option to purchase commercially available ammunition. Thanks again.
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Originally Posted By Colt653: Bolt, Barrel, and magazines I highly recommend WILSON COMBATS Lightweight 16” barrel View Quote This, that's what i went with on my last one. Don't cheap out on the most important part. Wilson or ARP(or whatever the new name is). Attached File |
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Originally Posted By Reddtv: Thank you for the information. I will purchase magazines from the recommended sources. And reloading supplies. I do have another question. Is the US commercial market in danger of running out of 6.8 SPC II ammo? I do re load, but I also want the option to purchase commercially available ammunition. Thanks again. View Quote Factory loaded S&B ammo is available in waves. They make a 110gr FMJ, 115gr bthp, and 110gr poly tip…. All have been accurate in my rifles. |
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Anybody try the White Oaks 18" barrel?
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Originally Posted By Normlizer: Anybody try the White Oaks 18" barrel? View Quote I had the White Oak 16" before the Wilson Combat. It was excellent too, but I wanted something lighter for hunting Old pic |
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Originally Posted By Reddtv: Thank you for the information. I will purchase magazines from the recommended sources. And reloading supplies. I do have another question. Is the US commercial market in danger of running out of 6.8 SPC II ammo? I do re load, but I also want the option to purchase commercially available ammunition. Thanks again. View Quote S&B, ppu and federal make fmj/hpbt ammo. Hornady has the 120 grain sst and 110 vmax. Wilson combat also makes 6.8 ammo, various hunting rounds and a hpbt load. Remington also produces it but I wouldn’t recommend it. G9 defense has a 6.8 barrier blind hollow point offering as well. The 6.8 is popular and ammo will continue to be produced. |
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Originally Posted By Reddtv: Thank you for the information. I will purchase magazines from the recommended sources. And reloading supplies. I do have another question. Is the US commercial market in danger of running out of 6.8 SPC II ammo? I do re load, but I also want the option to purchase commercially available ammunition. Thanks again. View Quote As someone said, quality ammo is available, but not cheap, same as most non-GI calibers. That said, I don't know why anyone would plan on putting thousands of rounds through a 6.8. That's what your 5.56 AR is for. |
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I use a standard lower with the ASC mags made for the 6.8
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If you want to reload.
The Hornady SST 120 grain bullet is hard to beat. I load it with aa2200 powder. Large primer / small primer brass all seem about the same. Good Luck |
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Thank you for the response. I hope they still produce commercial 6.8 SPC in the future.
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17 And that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name.
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Starline makes brass now too, and it’s available and reasonably priced.
Sad that Nosler quit producing the Accubond bullet. It was exceptional. |
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There is nowhere left to go... this is it.
USA
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"They who can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety, deserve neither liberty nor safety."
Ben Franklin |
Originally Posted By Ossian: S&B, ppu and federal make fmj/hpbt ammo. Hornady has the 120 grain sst and 110 vmax. Wilson combat also makes 6.8 ammo, various hunting rounds and a hpbt load. Remington also produces it but I wouldn’t recommend it. G9 defense has a 6.8 barrier blind hollow point offering as well. The 6.8 is popular and ammo will continue to be produced. View Quote none of that is in stock anywhere except the Hornady Black 110gr vmax, ppu, and s&b. federal and remington were out of stock everywhere I looked. wilson might have it in stock but their sales weenie in chat refused to sell me a 11.3" barrel a few months back because "we only sell sbr barrels to ffl" so fuckem. bought the 11.3" wc barrel on sale from dvor last week. could have made an extra $50 off me if they hadn't been dumbfucks. stacking the s&b and collecting brass for reloading. everyone downloads it compared to the original spec. |
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The deuce you say.
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Originally Posted By racer765: none of that is in stock anywhere except the Hornady Black 110gr vmax, ppu, and s&b. federal and remington were out of stock everywhere I looked. wilson might have it in stock but their sales weenie in chat refused to sell me a 11.3" barrel a few months back because "we only sell sbr barrels to ffl" so fuckem. bought the 11.3" wc barrel on sale from dvor last week. could have made an extra $50 off me if they hadn't been dumbfucks. stacking the s&b and collecting brass for reloading. everyone downloads it compared to the original spec. View Quote The G9 round I’ve only seen on their website. If you want spicier ammo check out Druid hill armory and cavity back bullets, spc ii spec ammo. Druid hill loads for cavity back. Druid usually has hornady 120 sst and 110 vmax ammo spc ii in stock, a box of 50 rounds is cheaper than what a box of hornady ammo goes for. They also have a 90 grain tipped maker Rex bullet ammo at 3000 fps but it sells quick. Reloading is the best option for higher velocity spc ammo. That being said I have killed a few deer and antelope with standard pressure 110 pts s&b ammo and the animals dropped where they stood or ran a few yards and fell. The 6.8 is a good performer with factory ammo. |
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Originally Posted By Ossian: The G9 round I’ve only seen on their website. If you want spicier ammo check out Druid hill armory and cavity back bullets, spc ii spec ammo. Druid hill loads for cavity back. Druid usually has hornady 120 sst and 110 vmax ammo spc ii in stock, a box of 50 rounds is cheaper than what a box of hornady ammo goes for. They also have a 90 grain tipped maker Rex bullet ammo at 3000 fps but it sells quick. Reloading is the best option for higher velocity spc ammo. That being said I have killed a few deer and antelope with standard pressure 110 pts s&b ammo and the animals dropped where they stood or ran a few yards and fell. The 6.8 is a good performer with factory ammo. View Quote just snagged another 4 boxes of the green box s&b from lgs - they ordered it in and sold it for the same $ as online price but no shipping. just browsed the Druid Hill site, their 110gr Vmax load looks interesting. might have to order a couple boxes and see how the 11.3" likes it. |
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The deuce you say.
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Originally Posted By racer765: just snagged another 4 boxes of the green box s&b from lgs - they ordered it in and sold it for the same $ as online price but no shipping. just browsed the Druid Hill site, their 110gr Vmax load looks interesting. might have to order a couple boxes and see how the 11.3" likes it. View Quote Nice score, I haven’t seen s&b locally since 2021. Keep an eye on mmi ammo. They have the xm68gd 90 grain gold dot in stock. I picked up 300 rounds last month for $25 a box. The sale ended and it’s at $35 a box now. Their stock level hasn’t much since it went back to regular price, they will probably put it sale again sometime to get some more sales. Shipping is free on $250 order, they didn’t charge me sales tax. |
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Originally Posted By lokifox: Starline makes brass now too, and it’s available and reasonably priced. Sad that Nosler quit producing the Accubond bullet. It was exceptional. View Quote I buy the 110g Accubond projectiles when I can find them. Usually on gunbroker. I have around 750-800 now. Buy XM68GD when you can find it. I have a bunch from when PSA was blowing it out at $8 per 20rd box. I may have around 1500-1600 rds from PSA. Barrett 30rd mags are a good mag if you can find them. |
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I hated going to weddings. All the grandmas would poke me and say "You're next". They stopped that when I started doing it to them at funerals.
Sic semper evello mortem tyrannis |
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waiting on the Midwest shorty muzzle device to come in. last piece to arrive for my 6.8 spc pistol...
getting itchy. can't start assembling it until I get that last piece. muzzle ends about 1" inside the handguard. this will end about .1" past the hg. |
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The deuce you say.
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Originally Posted By Yama_Raja: You only need a 6.8 barrel, bolt and mags. PRI makes the best mags for standard lowers. The best bullets and ammo are Cavity Back Bullets MKZ 105gr and 120gr. If you reload the best brass is Sellier & Bellot. CBB carries that to. They also carry the PRI mags. View Quote View All Quotes View All Quotes Originally Posted By Yama_Raja: Originally Posted By Reddtv: I want a 6.8 SPC upper to hunt hogs and deer with. I have several AR-15 5.56 rifles. I found a PSA 18' Mid length 6.8 SPC II 1/11 Stainless Steel 1;11 twist rate 15 "Hex M-Lock upper with BCG&CH. Do I need a 6.8 SPC dedicated lower? or can I use my current AR-15 5.56 lower?. Do I need to purchase 6.8 SPC Magazines?. I am new to the 6.8 SPC caliber game. I appreciate your help and advise. You only need a 6.8 barrel, bolt and mags. PRI makes the best mags for standard lowers. The best bullets and ammo are Cavity Back Bullets MKZ 105gr and 120gr. If you reload the best brass is Sellier & Bellot. CBB carries that to. They also carry the PRI mags. |
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Originally Posted By 50cal: I buy the 110g Accubond projectiles when I can find them. Usually on gunbroker. I have around 750-800 now. Buy XM68GD when you can find it. I have a bunch from when PSA was blowing it out at $8 per 20rd box. I may have around 1500-1600 rds from PSA. Barrett 30rd mags are a good mag if you can find them. View Quote View All Quotes View All Quotes Originally Posted By 50cal: Originally Posted By lokifox: Starline makes brass now too, and it’s available and reasonably priced. Sad that Nosler quit producing the Accubond bullet. It was exceptional. I buy the 110g Accubond projectiles when I can find them. Usually on gunbroker. I have around 750-800 now. Buy XM68GD when you can find it. I have a bunch from when PSA was blowing it out at $8 per 20rd box. I may have around 1500-1600 rds from PSA. Barrett 30rd mags are a good mag if you can find them. The 100 grain Accubond was really great. I was able to get them exactly once… Wish I had taken advantage of the XM68 deal back in the day but I was on a “hand load everything” kick. Still have quite a few of the XM68 projectiles but their performance wasn’t as good as I had hoped. Another discontinued bullet, the Sierra 90 grain HP is a fantastic performer at 6.8 velocities. |
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I use a 16in ARP barrel on my deer gun, standard lower. I've looked at that PSA upper, but 18in is a little long.
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Barnes TTSX or TSX bullets are well regarded as well. I use the 95 grain TTSX over AA2200 in S&B brass.
All of the factory S&B loads shot very well for me. I only bought the ammo for the brass but their ballistic tip, 110 grains??, would suffice on deer. |
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The only hyphenated names I like are cartridge names......30-06, 30-40, 38-55 etc.
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The deuce you say.
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I put together a 6.8 with the 11.3” WC barrel. I thought the stainless barrel might bother me so I got a can of flat black
BBQ grill paint. After I assembled the upper it didn’t bother me so I didn’t paint it. Attached File |
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What you will find out with the 6.8 SPC is this.
It is the best do all caliber for an AR15. It has no feeding problems. It isn't finicky. It does not break bolts or extractors. At .421 diameter it feeds the same as the .375 5.56. Any bigger of a diameter does not feed well in an AR15 magwell. With the right bullets it is more than capable on deer sized game to 425 yards, Elk to 300 yards. It is very capable of 600 yard performance on target. Although its not touted as such it is in use in competition. Its also fun to reload for because there are performance returns loading to SPCII speeds. There is still a wide variety of projectiles available that are designed for the 6.8 SPC's speed range. PRI is committed to continuing the best 6.8 mags made. Cavity Back Bullets is committed to supplying the best bullets and brass for the 6.8. Bison, Wilson, ARP, White Oak, LWRC and others are all still committed to the 6.8. Its the caliber people stick with even when exploring other calibers. Why, because its the most reliable alternate caliber in an AR15 platform. Now in all fairness the 300BO is better for subsonic use. Which is what it was designed for. For anything but subsonic the 6.8 gets it done. Its not going anywhere. |
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three range sessions in with this pistol, all is good. love this round.
last session there was a table of newbies, all under 25. one kid had worked as an armed guard, he had the Glock and not enough ammo. since I was mostly looking for function check and round count, I let them try it out. Mr Glock owner had an ar, the other two had never shot one. well, they all had fun. now I need more ammo... |
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The deuce you say.
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Originally Posted By racer765: three range sessions in with this pistol, all is good. love this round. last session there was a table of newbies, all under 25. one kid had worked as an armed guard, he had the Glock and not enough ammo. since I was mostly looking for function check and round count, I let them try it out. Mr Glock owner had an ar, the other two had never shot one. well, they all had fun. now I need more ammo... View Quote What optic are you using? Accuracy? |
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Originally Posted By Ossian: What optic are you using? Accuracy? View Quote I used the Holosun 510 I have zeroed for the 300blk pistol, it's within about an inch of being zeroed for this 6.8 at 50yd. haven't shot the 11.3" barrel off a rest yet. the same upper with a 18" barrel on it shoots better than I do - 5 rounds touching at 100 using the S&B fmj. I was using a rest, and it had a spare cheapie Tasco 3-9x40 on it then. haven't bought the optic that I will dedicate to this one yet. AEMS is on the short list. |
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The deuce you say.
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I’ld recommend the 120 grain SST also. I’ve had good luck with the Barnes 95 grain tipper TSX too. I use an ARP 12.5” barrel on my 6.8. Since I built my first 6.8 back jn 2009 I bought a good bit of SSA brass. I think I have 700-800 pieces in bags still unopened.
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Better to have and not need than need and not have
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Originally Posted By racer765: I used the Holosun 510 I have zeroed for the 300blk pistol, it's within about an inch of being zeroed for this 6.8 at 50yd. haven't shot the 11.3" barrel off a rest yet. the same upper with a 18" barrel on it shoots better than I do - 5 rounds touching at 100 using the S&B fmj. I was using a rest, and it had a spare cheapie Tasco 3-9x40 on it then. haven't bought the optic that I will dedicate to this one yet. AEMS is on the short list. View Quote I have a strike eagle on my 18” arp 6.8. I need to upgrade due to holding zero issues. It’s a decent optic for quick snap shooting but I prefer a cross hair reticle for precision shooting. |
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Originally Posted By Reddtv: Thank you for the response. I hope they still produce commercial 6.8 SPC in the future. View Quote It’s being produced, but options are limited and not always in stock. I’d recommend if you want factory ammo to get S&B 110 FMJ for general use and S&B 110 PTS for hunting. A quick search first turn up much PTS for sale currently, so the next choice would be Hornady 120 SST. Realistically, I consider 6.8 SPC to be a reloader’s caliber these days. I’d suggest sticking up on brass from Starline or S&B brass from Cavity Back bullets. |
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Originally Posted By Ossian: Your barrel recommendations for 6.8 spc ii? View Quote I have 2 chrome lined from Daniel Defense that are very accurate. My one Yankee Hill Machine nitride barrel is amazing. All 3 barrels love XM68GD. The 2 DD barrels with my handloaded 90g gold dots will consistently hit 1 MOA and under sometimes out to 400 yds. That's as far as I fired those 2 guns. The YHM barrel sees nothing but my 110g V Max now that I worked a load for it. It's steady at .75 MOA all the time. The furthest I've fired it is about 450 yds. The former ARP made amazing barrels. But there are some that are just as good. A coworker has a White Oak Armament or Wilson Combat barrel, can't remember which one it is now that he shoots 110g Accubonds through. That barrel is a nail driver. But I think 200 yds is as far as he's fired it. |
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I hated going to weddings. All the grandmas would poke me and say "You're next". They stopped that when I started doing it to them at funerals.
Sic semper evello mortem tyrannis |
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