I read this article in rifle shooter magazine. The army was looking for a caliber bigger than a .223 to use. So remington joined the chase to find a caliber than was bigger in caliber than a .223 and that would fit and funtction in an M16 magazines. They cam up with a .30 caliber Remington case necked down for a special 115 grain .277 inch bullets. They came up with a 6.8mm SPC. They started loading it in hunting rifles and it's supposed to be enough medicine for deer up to 250 yards.Also they tested it for Caribou. It was an 11 pound rifle with the scope and it had only 5.4 pounds of recoil!!!

Just thought i would share this bit of info with ya

Its foing to be a great assest to our military troops,this new firearm. vangunsmith

Another government solution to a problem that don't exist. A 115 grain 270 bullet won't hold its velocity well, and it'll be subject to wind drift, so for long range its not going to be used. If it won't replace both the .223 AND .308 it ain't worth the time and money.

One of my customers has a 6.8 SPC on a Bushmaster lower. Pretty interesting gun . . . It is probably in the same niche, from a hunting round aspect, as the 7.62 X 39 or the .30-30 - good for medium game like deer at moderate distances. I don't expect to see very many of them out here in the west.

The problem that this round was designed to solve - lack of knockdown with the SS 109 NATO military round - wouldn't be a problem if we had better performing 5.56/.223 military ammunition. I had some Marines home on leave from Iraq down at my gunshop over the holidays. They say there is quite the black market over there for the regular 55 grain FMJ .223 ammuntion - Geneva convention legal - lots better knockdown than the 62 Gr. NATO penetrator stuff. And civilian police rounds like the Hornady TAP stuff . . . dead before they hit the ground.

I'm more of a fan of the 6.5 Grendel myself. It does everything the 6.8 can do but a heck of alot better and plus so much more. Plus you can buy ammo for it [8D]

I beg to differ on this one point...

A 62 grain .224" FMJ-BT similar to the M855 NATO load that is in current use by the U.S. military has a BC of roughly 0.307. The 115gr FMJ-BT .277" bullet slated for use in the 6.8mm SPC has a BC of roughly 0.325. In other words, the 6.8mm SPC's bullet is just as ballistically efficient as the current .224" mil-spec bullet. The 6.8mm SPC should have a MV of roughly 2,800fps in with the military loading, compared to the 3,100fps of the M855 green tip ball ammo, so the trajectory will not be quite as flat, but at the typical engagement ranges of modern warfare the slightly steeper long-range trajectory is irrelevant. If ranges become extended, it's a simple matter to make a quick elevation adjustment to bring zero the rifle. Of course, if the enemy is far enough away to need to adjust the sights with either cartridge, they are far enough away to call in a fire mission and let arty blow them SOB's apart first, then close with the enemy using fire-and-maneuver to kill whoever is left.

The biggest difference, and benefit, is that the 6.8mm SPC makes a bigger hole, which should mean the terrorists will get to meet Allah a little sooner...and the sooner the better!

Mike

One thing to keep in mind, the 6.8 SPC is just that, a Special Purpose Cartridge. It was never intended to replace the 5.56 Nato as a general issue cartridge. What it is designed to do is give more umph during urban warfare without too much limitation on range while still operating on the AR platform. Personally I think the Russians already had the perfect cartridge to do just that. 7.62x39mm is one hell of a combat cartridge.

driftrider i agree with everything you said. I have also read that the 6.8SPC outperforms the 5.56mm and the 7.62X39mm and holds a trajectory almost identical to the .308 out to 600yrds.

I as well wonder why they didn't choose the 7.62X39mm over the weak 5.56. Well i actually do know the answer but i still think they should have gone with the 7.62X39mm and maybe just loaded it with a lighter bullet.

What about the 6.5 Grendel?

Pretty good ballistics in the 6.5 Grendel, 123 grain bullet at 2600+fps at the muzzle. I'd doubt the use of the Lapua match bullet though, something similar to a 125 grain Nosler with a fmj would be more likely for government issue.