6.8SPC conversions?

rdt · Mar 11, 2011

i just read about the 6.8SPC round and i am curious:

1) what is the likelihood/timeframe of this round becoming a new "common" caliber? (adopted by military/police organizations, arms manufacturers, the gun buying public etc)

2) what little i have read seemed like the development focus was on the AR platform with an eye to retrofitting, and i know ruger offers a Mini in 6.8, but what about retrofitting other common battle rifles? like ak, sks, cetme/hk91, etc? would there be any advantages to using one of these platforms instead of AR or Mini (cost of gun, cost/availability of ammo, short/long range accuracy/lethality, hunting, SHTF, etc)

seems to me the sks chamber is part of the barrel so "just" a new barrel, bolt & mag follower would do the trick? maybe different recoil & op rod springs? not as familiar with the ak or cetme designs. . .

Blitzkrieg · Mar 11, 2011

I see it as the next 10 MM.. it may be a good idea and it may hang on but I doubt it will ever be a major military round

I can't see the value in swapping out a 7.62 x 39, and especially x 51 for it

Guilty · Mar 11, 2011

The 6.8SPC is already popular IMO with gun enthusiasts, hunters and LEO's. You might not see police dept's or military using 6.8 as the standard, but officers who supply their own rifles definitely see the benefits of the 6.8. Look at all of the ammunition manufacturers who offer 6.8 today as compared to 2 years ago. Also, the number of manufacturers offering 6.8SPC has steadily grown over the last few years. Will it ever be as common as 5.56? Most likely not, but it can still be considered popular within certain groups and market segments.

DirectDrive · Mar 12, 2011

Blitzkrieg said:
I see it as the next 10 MM.. it may be a good idea and it may hang on but I doubt it will ever be a major military round

I can't see the value in swapping out a 7.62 x 39, and especially x 51 for it

I would agree with this.

If you don't reload you pay about $1.00 per round and if that's the case I would look at a more interesting wildcat such as one of the 6mm's like 6mm DTI
A trip to the range with the 6mm DTI - PredatorMasters Forums

The Cheese · Mar 12, 2011

the whole point of the round was to give more oompf, but still fit in an AR sized platform using AR mags (now its modified AR mags specific to the 6.8). Other than the mini, some bolt guns and a couple other odd ball semi autos that use AR mags there aren't any other folks making 6.8 guns. Doing a Cetme or a HK91/g3 type rifle makes no sense. Those are 308 and it would be a down grade IMO, besides 308 ammo and reloading components are way cheaper than 6.8 as well as more available. Ballistically the 6.8 is close enough to the 7.62x39 round that it would be pretty pointless to do a retrofit to an AK or SKS IMO. Not to mention very expensive by the time you develop a new bolt, have the barrels made, tune the gas system and make new mags. Realistically it will just be an AR oddity and will probably never really catch on like military calibers have. Especially since brass is $.50/rd and loaded ammo is around a buck a round or so. It does get a little cheaper in bulk, but still not enough to really justify it to the bulk shooter. If you want a somewhat better round for the AR and don't mind reloading, look at the 7.62x40 or I think wilson combat picked it up and its going to be the 7.62x40WT. Just a cut down 223 case with a 110-125gr 308 bullet. This is on my list. About on par with the 6.8, maybe edges it out on some things. But you can us standard AR mags, and bolts. I think this would probably catch on faster than the 6.8. But who knows.

DirectDrive · Mar 12, 2011

.30AR sounds similar to 7.62 x 40
Remington Introduces new 30 Remington AR Cartridge « Daily Bulletin
It does OK with a 125 grain but just not enough powder capacity for a .30 in an AR to excite me.
I like the 6mm wildcats within the AR platform....they get close to .243 Win/6mm Rem.

rdt · Mar 16, 2011

thanks yall, the thing about 308 is obvious, except it wasnt to me when i wrote the post! the little bit i had read about 6.8 mentioned that it was developed by the US military to address the deficiencies of the 5.56, so i was curious if it was going to be adopted and therefore go down in price etc. seems unlikely though.