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Got a 20" barreled AR in 6.8 spc and plan on doing some big game hunting (most likely next year due to time restraints and no idea where to go and have luck).

What's every one's no b.s. assessment?

-Deer....bullet weight for mulies or black-tail? I've seen a 280 deer fold up after taking a 55 grain .223 round through both shoulders, and personally dropped a deer in a firearm restriction gmu years ago with 00 buck at 70 yard (head/neck shot mostly) with a 12 gauge, so I'm pretty confident 6.8 will drop even the biggest deer I'll ever encounter.

-Elk?....got enough power?

-Black Bear?....got enough power?

-Antelope?....longest realistic range I should be shooting at them? (thinking of doing an out of state hunt next year)

Not really looking to get ballistics charts and arm chair commando opinions. Would like to hear from someone that's actually hunted with a 6.8 and see what they think of it. Thinking about picking up a 6.5 grendel next year and trying that for elk and maybe black bear.
 
Deer you would be just fine. I would say elk if you have a good close shot and your placement is good. Still, I would prefer a bigger, harder hitting round. Bear, I dunno. Antelope you would be GTG if you can get in close enough. I thought 6.8 was pretty decent to 300yds. after that I dunno. Its been a while since I read up on the round. Got kind of turned off after looking at the costs.
 
I happened to come across the right price rifle at time I was looking for another AR, and a hunting rifle at the same time. I figured, why not. I enjoy shooting it. Hoping to get some hunting in with it. 6.5 grendel really seems to impress me but the cost of putting together a rifle, or picking up one from saber defence or alexander arms, is just too costly at the moment. Plus, 6.8 is fairly readily available. Most gun shops I wander into stock it. I got 9 boxes of it at the moment (which is a lot for a "hunting rifle" for me) and I'm debating getting a bunch more now, or waiting in hopes it'll build more popularity and go down in price.
 
I've being shooting a 6.8 sense they first came out and it's a great round for most game animals but I would look for something with a little more umph for elk.
I've killed deer and alot of coyotes with mine.
 
bear are ridiculously tough! ive seen them take a shot to the heart and lungs and tare the **** out of everything around them. they are extremely dangerous and should be pursued with caution.i would not chance an encounter with a bear with a 6.8. even with good shot placement there is a real chance that bear could maul you.its mainly this chance thing,i try not to take any.
 
What about the 6.8 in general? As a shtf rifle? I could assume that the round isn't as common as the .223 or 5.56.

thats a bit of an understatement. When you have a gun that shoots a round that costs nearly a buck a shot for loaded ammo. Its a decent compromise round for an AR. Gets you more oompf out of a shorter barrel than the 223, but after a certain distance (300yds IIRC) its kind of blah from what I remember. For SHTF, unless you have a pallet of ammo to drag around it would be an ok option for the short term, but long term I dunno. You can swap out uppers on the AR which makes it a bit more nice. But after handling a 6.8 bolt I don't think that I would want to do one. The ID of the bolt face is opened up a ton and I would be concerned about breakage with as thin as it gets by the lugs. If it were me, I would just get a gun set up for 300fireball/whisper and roll my own.
 
This season I personally watched a black bear take three hits while charging the shooter that had just squarely hit him with a .30-06 flying 165 gr. corelocks. Granted the bear was over four hundred pounds, but I can attest to the fact that when your within 15 yrds. of an appex preditor that wants to exact a measure of revenge that you want something capable of putting him down NOW! I'm not kicking the 6.8, but when your quarry is an elk sized target,, you owe it to the animal to use the right caliber, let alone an animal that can and will fight back. Just my two cents.
 
They should of been using 180 gr bullets instead of 165 gr imho.

I would want a 180gr for bear myself.

To the OP. I wouldn't use the 6.8 for elk or bear. With both animals your going to want a round that will give you a better chance of a one shot stop. I do believe you could get the job done with a 6.8 given great shot placement and within 250 yards.

As to the 6.8 as a shtf caliber. It really depends. I think a rifle in 308 would be your best bet, but since you already have the rifle. I would get a 5.56 upper/mags that way you can always find ammo for it.

__________________
bulk 38 special ammo
 
Agreed, 180 gr. would have been my choice. The young man was hunting deer and was using 165's which is very powerful medicine for blacktails. The point was and is, even when using the 115 gr., which is the heaviest bullet made for the 6.8,, it is just not enough of a cartridge for anything above a deer/antelope sized target. Personally,,I like my 250 grain nosler out of my .338 win.mag for just about everything larger than a timbertiger!
 
please don't hunt Elk with a 6.8 . thanks to the growing cougar population due to libtards outlawing the use of dogs. the population of deer and elk is shrinking. No since in sticking a elk with a small bullet that will most likely only wound and will die days later and just end up not feeding you but coyotes and cougars


get the right tool for the job . the 6.8 is fine for deer

if you want to hunt with Ar style rifle the best choice would be a ar10 .308 type rifle which is also fine (not best choice ) for hunting elk and bear as well

I knew a guy that hit a running bull 4 times with a 7mm magnum before it dropped.
 
You can take elk fine with 6.8. Just do it closer than if your hunting with .308. It will do the job just as effectively as any .30 .30. It's heresy to say it, but it will take it down. It's that pesky shoulder that could ruin a good day at longer ranges. Use a Barnes TTSK and you will do fine. If an archer can take it humanely, you can too if you hunt it correctly. If you expect to take it like your hunting with a .300 win mag, you might get disappointed. My family has taken elk for 70 years with 150 gr .300 savage. Some would argue that is not enough. Just do the animal right and get the right shot placement at reasonable range. You will be fine.
 

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