6.8 spc ?

[BobT]

I recently came up with a 23" 6.8 SPC barrel, I'll probably pick up a couple of boxes of factory ammo to play with. Have any of you ever worked with this cartridge in a Contender Carbine? I'm looking for a decent deer hunting barrel and so far have struck out, mostly because I'm kind of an accuracy fanatic and have had mediocre results from a few different barrels so far. Just curious to see if the experts have had any good luck.

Thanks in advance!

[J A XSP]

I sort of reluctantly got into the 6.8 when a decent barrel trade came up and I've been really happy with the round. The barrel I have is an MGM 21" and is very accurate. I think the factory barrels in this round have been accurate so I bet you'll have good results.

I've only shot Hornady factory ammo. It's hit or miss in general when it comes to finding ammo on the shelves in any particular shop but it's been more available lately. The 110 grain V-Max Hornady ammo is quite accurate. All groups tested at 100 yards have been sub-inch and the velocity runs about 2700 out of that 21" barrel. Hand loads with that bullet and H4895 have stayed closer to 1/2 MOA but velocity is lower by at least 100 FPS. Any powder pushing that bullet has given me groups of 1/2 to 3/4 MOA. I haven't taken any game or done any terminal testing, but this bullet should work well for Central Texas deer.

I found a couple of boxes of the 120 SST Hornady ammo and though I haven't had a chance to shoot for group with those, a couple of rounds shot over a chrony at 50 yards showed sub-MOA accuracy. Velocity in my barrel was between 2550 and 2600. I expect that that's going to be quite a nice round for deer and hogs.

I ran some Hornady Superformance 100 grain CX ammo and that didn't shoot well at all. I didn't chrony those but I think the velocity is way up there. Might be an awesome bullet but simply didn't seem to work in my barrel.

When it comes to hand loads, case capacity works against you a little, it being an AR-platform round. Seating out to maximum is very helpful in gaining a little room for powder and easing pressures. The powders that seem to work well seem to push the pressure pretty high and in the Contender, I'm a little leery of that. H4198 is a go-to and will give good velocity and accuracy. It seems to like the high end of the ladder and will definitely push the limit in the Contender. H322 is great. H335 is very accurate but I always have trouble with temperature sensitivity. H4895 is a great powder for lower-pressure loads but it's been so hard to find I've had to limit the number of rounds that I'm willing to waste in testing loads with it.

As noted earlier, the 110 V-Max seems to be very easy to load with a range of powders. Also the 90 grain TNT has shot groups of 1/2" to around 3/4" with all the powders I've tried.

I have a lot of Varget and have had extremely good results in terms of accuracy. Being a slow powder, it's very hard to get enough in the case to burn efficiently but with a powder dropper and heavier bullets, it works pretty well. Playing around with 130 grain bullets, I've gotten great accuracy - one run of groups from 28.5 grains to 29.5 grains measured from .33" to .49". Velocity with those 130s and Varget is less than 2400 FPS.

Hope that's helpful. :)

[Nor Cal Mikie]

Found a piece of 6.8 SPC brass at the range. First time I'd ever seen one. Looked like it might be fun so I got into it.
Not too much info on that round for a bolt gun, everything was AR related.
Figured I'd build one on a Savage action. Ordered up a Pac Nor CM 26" straight pipe, got brass, dies and bullets on the way.
Loaded ammo ahead of time so I would be ready when the barrel showed up. I DON'T DO factory loaded ammo!!
Got it built and ready to go BUT when I got to the range, discovered I had left my ammo at home. (DUH???)
When I finally got the two together, (ammo AND rifle) turned out to be a bug hole maker. :cool: Bug holes at 100 and banging steel out to and past 400 with a little holdover. (no scope change) Bigger than a .223 and smaller than a .308. ;)
It was said that there wasn't enough of a variety of bullets available for the 6.8? Got a chart that showed about 25/30 different bullets to choose from so that point went out the window.

Got together for the first range time with my "know it all grandson" who had never fired an accurate bolt rifle. He and his "know it all" friends are the spray and pray AK types.
Sat him down, set him up and watched the smile form on his face when all 5 shots could be covered with a dime @ 100 yards. His smile got bigger as he hit steel out to 400 yards. Think he's hooked!!:cool::cool:
There are few shooters that are wildcatting the 6.8 SPC. I HAVE heard of a 22 SPC so the different rounds are endless.

[J A XSP]

It was said that there wasn't enough of a variety of bullets available for the 6.8? Got a chart that showed about 25/30 different bullets to choose from so that point went out the window.



I think in the early days of the round, bullet selection was an issue as pretty much every .277 bullet was made for the 270 Winchester. Lighter bullets just weren't as plentiful. These days there are a lot of good choices in the 90 to 120 range. Availablity can be spotty but the Hornady 110 V-Max seems to be everywhere and it'll do very nicely as an all-around bullet for the 6.8 SPC. :)

[BobT]

Thanks gentlemen! That sounds encouraging! I have a pretty good selection of bullets and powder from playing with the .277 Wolverine so much. I have several hundred of the 90 grain Gold Dots that have done really well for me on deer and I also have several Hornady V-max and a few pounds of H4895 so I should be set.

[sunnysmarine]

120gr SST and just under max H4198 :eagerness: IMR 4198 was a bit more accurate but was dirty burning in this barrel anyway

[BobT]

120gr SST and just under max H4198 :eagerness: IMR 4198 was a bit more accurate but was dirty burning in this barrel anyway

Thanks Sunny, I think I have both of the 4198s I'll have to grab some SSTs though.

[sunnysmarine]

110 Barnes TTSX shot just about as well as the 120 SST, just not as reliable as the SST on deer

[BobT]

110 Barnes TTSX shot just about as well as the 120 SST, just not as reliable as the SST on deer

I got a box of Barnes MPG 85 grain bullets with the barrel but I don't know anything about them. I have shied away from Barnes bullets generally after trying them in a few calibers and not having much luck accuracy wise.

[sunnysmarine]

These copper only bullets do or will shoot good you just have to figure out how fast they like to fly from your barrel, Accuracy wise Barnes has been the best for me, Hornadys GMX and NTX are in my opinion a bit more fussy but when they work they preform very well in my 30-06 with 150 gr GMX I have taken several wild pigs bang flop two were end to end most of the side to side shots the bullet was buried in the hide opposite, I have found if a what ever weight lead core bullet that shoots best in your barrel I first try the same length copper bullet not the same weight. The MPG are fragmenting to prevent pass through is what I understand I have shot 110 gr MPG in my 300 BO have not shot anything other than steel with them, I assume they would make a mess out of a coyote or ? those 85s should really scoot out of your barrel at least try them right now they are free !!

[FyrepowrX]

i got to missing the 6.8, its at JA's house & i bet he ain't turning loose of it, cause that one is a shooter, and i've always thought that was a neat caliber. I still had my loading stuff, & even some handloads, so a few months ago i put together an upper that was a 18" Wilson Combat stainless 1-11 twist (light contour). Zeroed it at 75 yards for duty as a pig patrol gun, as we've been over-ran with hogs this year...3 shots group was about 3/4" at that range, which is good enough for my piggies.

Loading some more test runs with some other assorted powders & bullets since i cant help but fiddle with things that aren't really broke, but isn't that part of the fun?

Reloder-10x did well for me with the first runs, but Alliant powders have gotten crazy in price & hard to source consistently, so going to ty some
Ramshot Exterminator, & i have a very old keg of IMR4895 i'm only halfway through, so hoping those will do well.

[J A XSP]

i got to missing the 6.8, its at JA's house & i bet he ain't turning loose of it, cause that one is a shooter, and i've always thought that was a neat caliber. I still had my loading stuff, & even some handloads, so a few months ago i put together an upper that was a 18" Wilson Combat stainless 1-11 twist (light contour). Zeroed it at 75 yards for duty as a pig patrol gun, as we've been over-ran with hogs this year...3 shots group was about 3/4" at that range, which is good enough for my piggies.

Loading some more test runs with some other assorted powders & bullets since i cant help but fiddle with things that aren't really broke, but isn't that part of the fun?

Reloder-10x did well for me with the first runs, but Alliant powders have gotten crazy in price & hard to source consistently, so going to ty some
Ramshot Exterminator, & i have a very old keg of IMR4895 i'm only halfway through, so hoping those will do well.

Yeah...I don't remember who talked who into or out of that one but it turned into a keeper around here pretty quick. :cool:
If IMR4895 is a little hotter than the H4895 as I seem to recall from research, you'd do well to try a case full under some 110 grain bullets. The H4895 loads that I have are stupid accurate but a little low pressure and lacking in velocity. It's a really nice pressure level for the Contender and might be a little underwhelming in a different platform. If the IMR develops a little more pressure, it could be a really sweet load.

[FyrepowrX]

I'm gonna try to cheat, i still have a good stash of 90gr TNT's for smacking varmints...and a dwindling stash of 90gr projectiles that i seem to recall being Federal 90gr bonded bullets that were an over-run offered some time ago.

hoping it'll like both well enough to where i can work up loads that shoot both to about the same POI, so i can go back & forth from stacking 'yotes to whacking deer with no re-zeroing. And in my fantasy world, it'll do so with the same powder for both. I know, a fellow can dream cant he? :p

[J A XSP]

I'm gonna try to cheat, i still have a good stash of 90gr TNT's for smacking varmints...and a dwindling stash of 90gr projectiles that i seem to recall being Federal 90gr bonded bullets that were an over-run offered some time ago.

hoping it'll like both well enough to where i can work up loads that shoot both to about the same POI, so i can go back & forth from stacking 'yotes to whacking deer with no re-zeroing. And in my fantasy world, it'll do so with the same powder for both. I know, a fellow can dream cant he? :p

I can't remember if I got more of those 90 grain TNTs last time I bought stuff from Midway but they're very accurate in that Contender barrel. I never tried them with the H4895 as the lighter bullets don't seem to develop enough pressure for the slower powders to burn consistently. H322 has been my go-to powder for that bullet. On any given day, a charge of H335 will be the most accurate but given the big temperature swings we can get, it's hard to know exactly what that charge weight might be. H322 is much more consistent across temperature ranges.

[BT]

I got my 14” Coyote 6.8 barrel back on a G2 frame today, so now I need to confirm where I’ve got it sighted in at. We’ll be doing some doe hunts shortly and I’m looking forward to getting the 6.8 back in the mix. I’ve still got a couple boxes of factory 120 gr SST’s, so I’ll use them. Just haven’t gotten around to any load work for this one and the factory ammo is very accurate.