stag model 7 hunter 6.8 spc thoughts and opinions!

[Countryguy1982]

I am just curious to hear everyones thoughts on the stag arms model 7 hunter in 6.8 spc and its lethality as a whitetail on down hunting round. Reason i am asking is , My fiance just purchased me my first ar 15 rifle today . A stag arms model 7 hunter in 6.8 spc. 1/11 twist 20 inch barrel . along with a nikon monarch 2x8x32 scope with bdc reticle. hell of a present if you ask me. Scope seems to fit the bill for the gun just fine. .... Only ammo i could find for the gun was 120 grain hornady sst. So i got 6 boxes , ( wanted the brass really ) I have shot the sst for years in 243 and 30/06 with mixed but lethal results. some expand , some blew apart , some book mark perfect etc. Never really that accurate of a round, in any of my guns. Well I got this gun boresighted and hit the range. zeroing at 100 yrds. took 2 shots to get close to where i wanted. ( shooting off my bipod) I let the barrel cool down for bout 30 minutes and then shot a 3 shot group ( just off bipod ) with human error playing in . 3/4 inch TOTAL. gun clover leafed . I was like holy #$*@ no way. Well i gave the gun another 30 minutes to cool. Shot another 3 shot group off bipod . roughly the same , then i was like WOW! so we got out the gun vice, c clamped it down to eliminate human error and i shot 2 ( 3) shot groups with the hornady 120 sst that the 3 shot hole was no bigger than my pinky finger is around. I mean it was damn near 1 ragged hole. out of an auto with factory ammo????? is this common with this caliber? what about how it would perform on deer. our deer around this part of the world are not 300 lb live weight, a BIG doe is 100 lb and a big buck would max at 170 lb...... anyone use this caliber for hunting deer , hog ,,,, anything other than varmint , etc..??? whats everyones thoughts????

 

[Countryguy1982]

also anything bad or to watch out for with stag arms? like i said i am very green with ar 15 rifles. you know how it is, its hard to really voice a review, without trying anything else out to go by, my only gripe is the trigger i guess. Its got just a little bit of travel in it , before it starts to lock up. once you get past the creep to the point it wants to break, it breaks at bout 4 lbs , not horrible , but not perfect. can you make any adustments on the trigger to at least eliminate the creep? i could deal with the 4 lb break, if i could elimate the creep , especially if i am going to use it as a hunting rifle.

 

[68wj]

Lets start with the rifle. I don't own one and am only relaying what I have heard from users. Basically, you have a rifle with great accuracy potential and reliability. The Stag guns don't seem to get the respect of some others, but are solid. You have already noticed the limitations of the stock AR-15 trigger. This is easily remedied by a number of options that only your budget can hold you back (coated triggers, trigger jobs, lighter springs, drop in units).

In the 6.8 SPC, the only thing Stag has holding it back is the lack of "M4" feed ramps. The larger cartridge diameter means the bullet tip sits lower in the mag than a .223. Sometimes the shorter ramp can cause a feeding problem, but the Model 7 seems to be less effected by this. Newer models now include these ramps so yours already might, but they are easy to add if you ever experience problems.

For ammo, Hornady came out with their 120 SST last year and initial field reports have been fantastic on hogs and deer. Their factory loads have shown good groups and velocities, while the bullet itself expands well and holds together. For hunting, other factory ammo can be had from Wilson Combat, Silver State Armory, Remington, and several others.

You will probably want magazines too. ASC makes the cheapest reliable option (and probably made the one that came with the Stag). Barrett and PRI also have theirs available, and D&H and C Products Defense will be hitting the market shortly (it's a race to see who will get theirs out first).

Overall, it sounds like you have a good package. The scope seems ideal too. Since you mentioned wanting the brass, I assume you reload. If you want to stick with the 120 SST, try AA2200 or Rl 10X powders. With the 110gr bullets like the Nosler Accubond, those two powders will also be very good but you can add H322 to the list. On the lighter end of the scale (85 gr Nosler E-Tip or Barnes TSX, AA2200 is still a good option but use Rl 7 instead of 10x.

I will stop there. Enjoy the rifle!

 

[snakeman]

go for it!

 

[Countryguy1982]

Just got into the reloading recently, and i already see its potential. The accubonds would be pretty awsome in my opinion. Should hold together real nice. One thing i did notice late last night examining the brass. There is a lot of skin marks and small nicks in it. Maybe the bolt is grabbing everything a little rough. will this be a concern or is it something that will smooth out over time?

 

[kaferhaus]

All auto loaders are going to be tough on brass. The 6.8 will make a good deer round out to 125yds or so. About like the 7.62x39 in that respect.

Don't put a bunch of junk on it other than a scope and it will be a decent somewhat light weight hunting rifle. I use a carbine .223 for yote hunting. nothing on it but a light weight scope and it's easy to carry all day.

Once you start adding "accessories" to one of them they pretty much turn into pigs for hunting use as the weight and handling are both affected.

 

[madd trapper]

I hunt with my 6.8SPC . I've killed deer over three hundred yards with it.You need to visit 6.8 forums.com. You will find all kind of info there on the 6.8 SPC.The 6.8 SPC outperforms 7.62 x39 mm & 5.56 mm everytime.

 

[68wj]

There are several contact points on the AR that will cause cosmetic damage. When loading, the case is pushed the locking lugs and during extraction the case will be pushed by the ejector into two more locking lugs (may make vampire bites on the case neck). Not to mention that it flings the brass out and if it lands on anything rough will make more scratches. None of this is really an issue, but some have lightly smoothed out some of the corners on the offending locking lugs in the barrel extension.

Depending on the load, you can crunch the numbers and see that you will have adequate velocity for bullet expansion coupled with a ft/lb level that is more than adequate for white tail around 300 yards (some better).

 

[jeepnik]

Stags are good rifles. But, I'm not sold on the 6.8. There are just too many other rounds that will do a better job, when it comes to hunting. I will admit that the 6.8 is a much better antipersonel round than the 5.56. But, it's still much easier to find 5.56 ammo than 6.8.