LWRC: 6.8 SPC is the New 300 Blackout

[Camp Cook]

Its about time...

I have two rifles in 6.8SPC = RA XCR-L & 23" T/C Contender carbine this maybe the reason for me to get my first AR.



LWRC: 6.8 SPC is the New 300 Blackout

http://www.alloutdoor.com/2014/01/20/lwrc-6-8-spc-300-blackout/?utm_source=Newsletter&utm_medium=Email&utm_content=2014-01-21&utm_campaign=Weekly+Newsletter

A while back, LWRC scored a large contract with a (friendly) foreign military for about 40,000 guns. The military in question is moving from 5.56x45mm NATO to the 6.8 SPC round, but they want to stick with the AR platform. So LWRC will be making a ton of 6.8 ARs for them, and the civilian market will also get semi-auto version in the form of LWRC’s new Six8 line.

LWRC’s Six8 line is basically a premium, piston-driven AR in 6.8 SPC, but there’s one wrinkle that I know many of you will be disappointed to hear: it takes a proprietary magazine.

The military buyer had some concerns about reliable feeding with the 6.8 SPC round, so LWRC produced a version for them with an enlarged mag well that supposedly helps with feeding. Magpul will be making the proprietary mags, so there should be plenty of them available. I don’t know how much they’re going to cost, though.

Now that LWRC has a ton of inventory in 6.8 that they’re looking to sell this year, it makes sense that they’re touting the round as the wave of the future and insisting that .300 blackout (a round that many have said will drive 6.8 SPC into obsolescence) will remain a popular but niche caliber.

The LWRC rep claimed that the US military is currently taking another look at 6.8 SPC and that they’ve stepped back from .300 blackout because soldiers are accidentally getting the larger ammo mixed in with their 5.56 and blowing up guns.

Between this foreign government’s move to 6.8 and the US military’s alleged revisiting of the round as a possible 5.56 replacement, it’s clear that LWRC, at least, thinks that 6.8 SPC is going to be huge. Ballistically it’s part way between 5.56 and .308, but it has a negligible weight increase over 5.56.

As for me, I think it’s a great hunting cartridge, but it’s still way to expensive right now at $1.00 per round. It’s also not clear to me whether increased adoption by the world’s militaries will make the round cheaper or more expensive. Reloaders may have a different perspective on the round’s price, though. I’d love to hear from you in the comments if you do.

As far as the civilian market goes, 6.8′s major competitor isn’t .300 blackout, but good old .308 Winchester. So-called AR-10 format guns are increasingly popular right now, and for good reason. You can take pretty much any game in North America with them, and while they’re significantly more expensive than an AR in 5.56/.223, the ammo is almost half the price of either 6.8 or .300blk. It costs more to get started with .308, but if you do any amount of shooting, then it pays for itself pretty quickly.

On the flip side, though, many hunters really don’t shoot very much at all. They may take a gun to the range once before hunting season just to check its zero, and then once in the field they’ll take maybe ten shots during the season. So a cheaper 6.8 SPC gun would save such a person money, especially if that person will have a hard time convincing their significant other to let them drop up-front $2,800 on a nice AR-10.

Either way, LWRC has placed their bet on 6.8 in a big way for 2014, so you’ll be reading a lot more about the Six8 line and the caliber that inspired it over the course of this year.

 

[vagrant]

6.8 as always been a better round for terminal ballistic than 5.56 and 300 blackout, the problem was always availability. For civilian shooting or maybe some rich police force, it was a good option, but as long as no military as it as its main ammo, it sgoing to stall. If indeed an Armed force somewhere did choose it, its a good thing and might be the launching pad it needed

 

[Camp Cook]

Couldn't agree more but as of now I am one of those hunters he is referring to in the article I don't go to the range or bush and just blast away so my bullet/component costs are basically the same as when I load 223 or anything else.

I load 95gr TTSX with AA2200 powder = 2880fps in my 1- 11" twist spec 11 barreled XCR-L this same load does over 3000fps in my saami spec but super long throat 1 - 10" twist T/C Contender barrel.

If conditions are right I wouldn't hesitate to take a deer out to 300 yards with either of the above combo's and they are my primary go to rifles for coyotes right now.

 

[C77]

I inspected three 5.56 mm rifles with 300 BLK jammed in the chamber. All three were destroyed.

 

[haun0002]

I inspected three 5.56 mm rifles with 300 BLK jammed in the chamber. All three were destroyed.

You have got to love people. I have no words for those who confuse the two cartidges. The only reasonable way I could see this ever happening was if you had 300BLK upper in your pack and were carrying the ammunition (in the form of loaded mags) in your rig along with 5.56. I would hope that you would label/ID your mags though...

 

[TRaTSeRiF]

I've always been a fan of those intermediate rounds. More adoption means more demand, which increases the supply and the overall economy of scale.

 

[Jamie]

i want a see a 300 blk necked down to 6.5 using a 123 gr bullet lol feeds out of normal p mags like the 6.5 whisper

 

[cr5]

I see both rounds having very good attributes. I have a 6.8 SPC II barrel for my ACR and am waiting for my bolt to show up so I can give it a try. The 6.8 will be a more effective hunting round compared to the 300BLK since if both are loaded with 110gr projectiles the 6.8 gets a good 500-600fps advantage over the 300BLK. Where the 300BLK shines is in it's ability to feed from standard 5.56 mags and use the same bolt, this is an advantage even if it isn't idiot proof and there will always be dipsh!ts that stick the wrong cartridge in their rifle. Having to use a 5.56 magazine with a different follower is definitely not an advantage in my books. The 300BLK also trumps the 6.8 in it's ability to run 110gr to 220gr projectiles without any changes to the rifle. this allows medium range supersonic shot placement as well as shorter range subsonic use. Another area the 300BLK has an advantage is it's use of 30cal projectiles which are easy to find anywhere you go and from any manufacturer you want.
I have an AR chambered in 300BLK and am very happy with it. Once I can get a barrel built in 300BLK for my ACR I will be adding it to the package.

I think both are excellent cartridges but they are good at different things. Just because a military chooses one over the other doesn't mean that it is better for civilian use.
I do think that it will help with getting more factory ammo on the market though which will help bring down prices which is definitely a good thing.
I'm hoping both cartridges catch on and explode in popularity. The more options we have the better off we will be.

 

[cr5]

I inspected three 5.56 mm rifles with 300 BLK jammed in the chamber. All three were destroyed.

Can't fix stupid.

 

[5440fight]

As much as I want to laugh at people that mix up 5.56mm and 300 blackout, I jammed a 7.62x39 snap cap into one of my AR's I was function testing (new mags). Embarrassing, but true. One moment of inattention is all it takes...

 

[2bad4u2]

I inspected three 5.56 mm rifles with 300 BLK jammed in the chamber. All three were destroyed.

Yeah? Where? Under what circumstances?

I think the 6.8 SPC is an interesting cartridge but that ship sailed some time ago. Even Remington wants nothing to do with it anymore.

I don't get the apparent .300 BLK vs 6.8 SPC rivalry. They're (2) different cartridges that are meant for separate but often overlapping needs.

I don't think it's a matter of which is "best" but which cartridge is most flexible given the weapons platform it is chambered in.

 

[Silverback]

I have an XCR and a Ruger Hawkeye Compact in 6.8 SPC, it is a cool little cartridge. Nosler just introduced a new 90 grain Bonded Performance bullet and loaded ammunition for the 6.8 this year and since Nosler acquired SSA we could see a fair bit more 6.8 SPC in the future. If you reload there is a large selection of bullets for it, many of which would be considered premium bullets.
I could see the point of the 300 Blackout if we could have suppressors but without them it loses a fair bit of cool factor in my books.

 

[cr5]

I have an XCR and a Ruger Hawkeye Compact in 6.8 SPC, it is a cool little cartridge. Nosler just introduced a new 90 grain Bonded Performance bullet and loaded ammunition for the 6.8 this year and since Nosler acquired SSA we could see a fair bit more 6.8 SPC in the future. If you reload there is a large selection of bullets for it, many of which would be considered premium bullets.
I could see the point of the 300 Blackout if we could have suppressors but without them it loses a fair bit of cool factor in my books.

Running suppressed is only a small portion of the 300blk. Yes, I agree that it would make it really cool to be able to run it suppressed but so far I haven't found subsonic rounds to be very accurate out of it. They are quieter than supersonic rounds though which is nice. The best things about the 300blk is it's ability to run all the same equipment other than the barrel. When you run it in a semi auto it uses the same mags, bolt, gas system, nothing but the barrel is changed. Also the ability to run 110gr-220gr bullets makes it very versatile.
I do like the 6.8 and think it is a better hunting round but it needs more modifications to the rifle to be able to use it and bullet selection is nowhere near that of a 30cal.
Both cartridges due to current limited ammo availability are pretty much a reloader only cartridge unless you have a lot of money and don't mind paying as much as it would cost to shoot 308win. At which point you may as well just shoot 308.

 

[Suputin]

i want a see a 300 blk necked down to 6.5 using a 123 gr bullet lol feeds out of normal p mags like the 6.5 whisper

Thats not "like" a 6.5 Whisper, it IS a 6.5 Whisper. The 300 Blackout/Whisper uses the same parent case as the 6mm and 6.5 Whisper rounds.


Dumbasses have been jamming the wrong ammo into guns since the brass cartridge was invented. If this is the best argument the 6.8 crowd can come up with against 300 BLK then they need to rethink the rational.

The 6.8 and 300 BLK are very different cartridges. IMO the benefit of the BLK is threefold. 1. It can operate from the same rifle with a wide variety of bullet shapes, sizes and weights. 2. The range and variety of .308 cal bullets cannot be met by any other caliber. Bullets are reasonably cheap and easy to get and run the gamut from plinkers to match grade. For the reloader this is happy days. 3. The BLK is not sensitive to barrel length and can run close to the same velocities from short barrels as it can from longer barrels.

So in these terms the 6.8 is NOT the new Blackout as it doesn't do a number of things the Blackout does.

For the hunters, the Blackout has been killing deer and hogs very effectively in the US. It just isn't a long range cartridge.

 

[Silverback]

One of the problems I could see with the 300BLK for hunting is the possibility that the bullets won't expand due to the low muzzle velocity. I looked on the Nosler web site and the Accubond which is a popular hunting bullet has a minimum optimum performance velocity velocity of 1800 fps, with the fastest 125 grain Accubond 300BLK load the muzzle velocity is 2159 fps and that is the lightest hunting bullet load so muzzle velocity only decreases from there as the bullet weight increases. A large bullet selection that isn't suited to the low velocity doesn't mean much for practical uses, 220 grain bullets at 1200 fps would be fine for shooting targets I guess.

 

[Camp Cook]

You guys do understand that 6.8mm = .277"/270 cal don't you?

There are more than enough bullets available from 85gr - 150gr that give excellent performance especially for hunting in the 6.8SPC cartridge.

There are folks that are using suppressed 95gr TTSX that are taking coyotes at 300 yards if you have any doubt check out the forum with the best source for 6.8SPC info

http://68forums.com/forums/forum.php

 

[cr5]

You guys do understand that 6.8mm = .277"/270 cal don't you?

There are more than enough bullets available from 85gr - 150gr that give excellent performance especially for hunting in the 6.8SPC cartridge.

There are folks that are using suppressed 95gr TTSX that are taking coyotes at 300 yards if you have any doubt check out the forum with the best source for 6.8SPC info

http://68forums.com/forums/forum.php

Agreed there are plenty of .277 bullets available but my manual only has data for 85-115gr bullets. All the rest up to 160gr seem to be pointless. I think the point that was trying to be made is that when it comes to bullet selection and availability nothing compares to 30cal.
I'm new to the 6.8 and so far like what I read but comparing the 6.8 and the 300BLK seems stupid, it's like comparing a 308 to a 45-70, they are completely different cartridges and while there is some overlap they were both designed to do different things.
The terminal performance of the 300BLK against deer is not much different than that of the 6.8, with propper bullet selection and staying within the effective range of the cartridge both will easily do the job. I haven't shot at a deer past 100yds in years so either cartridge will be a great hunting round for me.
I've been shooting an AR in 300BLK for a while now and am very happy with it. I plan to have a 300BLK barrel made for my non restricted ACR as well. I already have a 6.8 barrel for the ACR but am waiting on my bolt to show up. I just put together 50 rounds of 90gr sierra varmint and 50 rounds of 115gr Remington FMJ-BT to test as soon as I get the bolt.


I think there is room in the market for both of these cartridges and no one is going to win if we start arguing over which is better. Both are great in their own ways and both have +'s and -'s.

 

[Suputin]

One of the problems I could see with the 300BLK for hunting is the possibility that the bullets won't expand due to the low muzzle velocity. I looked on the Nosler web site and the Accubond which is a popular hunting bullet has a minimum optimum performance velocity velocity of 1800 fps, with the fastest 125 grain Accubond 300BLK load the muzzle velocity is 2159 fps and that is the lightest hunting bullet load so muzzle velocity only decreases from there as the bullet weight increases. A large bullet selection that isn't suited to the low velocity doesn't mean much for practical uses, 220 grain bullets at 1200 fps would be fine for shooting targets I guess.

Go check out 300BlkTalk.com. There is a dedicated hunting section and the BLK is taking all kinds of game with no trouble.

Subsonics def do not expand but the use of a very long bullet like the 208 AMAX causes the bullet to become unstable and tumble after impact, which results in a fairly impressive wound channel.

Here are a few pics from that forum. Notice how many of these are short barrelled rifles and yet still effective hunters.

This one was killed with a subsonic 220gr from 100 yds.

 

[2bad4u2]

.30 cal. bullets that expand in low to mid-range velocity bullets aren't hard to come by. Look at any Hornady XTP or other suitable pistol bullet, any .30-30 Win. bullet, Barnes 110's, Nosler 125 BT, and the list goes on. While a lot of these choices are not necessarily AR friendly, they are used quite regularly in other platforms chambered in 300 Blackout.

 

[One Lung Wonder]

Ammo availability to me is a non-issue. I reload, I shoot some oddball archaic rounds that were obsolete 50 years ago - and I get on just finer n' frog's hair.

As for the ballistic turd polishing - it will matter to the paper punchers at longer ranges I suppose, but in the hunting/combat arena the choice really doesn't matter. With intermediate cartridges keep the ranges short, use a well constructed bullet - and good marksmanship will do the rest! In the real world where shots are under 300 and most are under half that, any differences between the rounds is purely conversational.