I'm thinking about a 6.8 upper. Should I be?

[9mmkungfu]

I should be picking up my first 6.8 upper in the next month or so. What led me to the 6.8 was...
1) Better ballistics. I've been on hog hunts with the 5.56 that didn't turn out so great, and I want to be able to hunt deer which in Florida is prohibited with .22 caliber rounds.
2) Better projectile selection. Some could argue that given #1 above I should just use my AK. Maybe, but the AK is pretty limited in terms of factory ammo while the 6.8 has a very broad range of loads.
3) Efficiency. The better ballistics and projectile options mean that a 6.8 can perform as well as, or better than, a 5.56 with a shorter barrel. I'm opting for a 12.5" barrel which should equal the performance of a 16-18" barrel 5.56.
4) Precision. At the same time as I was looking for a more lethal option for hunting I was also looking for a precision option for static position shooting. I was shopping 18" 5.56 uppers, but given #3 above...
5) Economy. Yes, I said economy. When I started looking for #4 I also started shopping ammo for same. What I found was that better quality 5.56 loads cost pretty much the same as the 6.8 loads I was shopping. I also figured that one upper, which I would be buying anyway in 5.56, that would do the same duty as the hunting rifle I was going to buy anyway, would make for a less expensive solution to my two problems.

This would be effective in a comparison of 5.56 to 6.8, but I was comparing it with 7.62x39 in my AK platform. It narrows the differences a bit more. I do sub-200 yard shooting, so the flatter-shooting 6.8 wouldn't matter. For precision, the 7.62x39 itself is actually pretty decent, but in my AK platform, not so great. And economy would be more difficult to weigh in the 6.8 over the 7.62x39.

After it's all said and done though, for an SBR, I think I'm going 6.8 lol

[DHart]

With a year plus beyond the last post... How have the 6.8 prospects turned out? Also interested in follow up to the earlier question about Bison's 6.8 offerings?

I am thinking about an upper in 6.8 as well.

[superman07]

I had built 14.5 6.8 and 7.62x39 AR's using the PWS Mark 1 piston designs (similar to the diablo's). Using Surefire MB's the recoil is pretty light and I love both of mine. The 6.8 is reserved for Defense, I shoot the crap out of the 7.62x39 though. Shooting 50 and 100 only I don't see any difference outside the 6.8 ammo is simply better quality.

[DHart]

I had built 14.5 6.8 and 7.62x39 AR's using the PWS Mark 1 piston designs (similar to the diablo's). Using Surefire MB's the recoil is pretty light and I love both of mine. The 6.8 is reserved for Defense, I shoot the crap out of the 7.62x39 though. Shooting 50 and 100 only I don't see any difference outside the 6.8 ammo is simply better quality.

Superman07, I have similar intentions, 6.8 reserved for defense and shooting the crap out of my 5.56/.223. I am planning to go with a BattleComp BABC comp.

[carbinero]

It's an intermediate caliber (depending on how you define). If you want that, you should also consider the new 300 blackout.

[DHart]

It's an intermediate caliber (depending on how you define). If you want that, you should also consider the new 300 blackout.

Yeah, intermediate is fine for me... it's just a defense gun not much for hunting.

Wouldn't 300 blackout be much more obscure? As if 6.8 isn't obscure enough?

I must add that I know very little about rifle calibers...

[500grains]

That's true. I forget that people want to hunt with the round. I tend to get locked into the notion of a long range fighting gun.

Yeah, for me the 6.8 is a decent mid range deer caliber which allows use of the AR15 platform. For long range, the 7.62 is much more suitable, as the 6.8 gets a bit weak beyond 300 yds.

Maybe the 6.8 is what .mil should use. And maybe the Garand should have been chambered in .276 Pedersen. The reality is that a Garand in .276 Pedersen would be nearly impossible to find ammo for, and the 5.56 outshines the 6.8 by 100,000 to 1 (or more) in terms of being able to get your hands on some ammo in a pinch.

[ccoker]

under 300 yards I take my 6.8
if expecting shots past that my 308

have not had a single deer or hog walk away from a 6.8 hit