Future of the Remington 6.8 SPC

It has already gained acceptance in the civilian market. Bullets, brass, and ammo remain available in common markets. It’s not as popular in new firearm sales as it once was, and most other cartridges aren’t either.

It’s not going anywhere. I can have 25-20 ammunition drop shipped to my door within 48 hours... the 6.8 SPC is an order of magnitude more popular than many other cartridges which are still surviving in the market.

The ocean is wide and deep. Forget this silly notion that all sharks are great whites, or that all fish must be sharks...

I think it falls into a similar category as 10mm Auto. It has a faithful if smallish following that is just big enough to keep a variety of gun manufactures occasionally making guns in the cartridge. Maybe not always but frequently enough that there will always be a few on the shelves if you willing to look hard enough. I have seen 6.8 SPC ammunition on shelve sporadically throughout this current high-demand period.

mcb said:

I think it falls into a similar category as 10mm Auto. It has a faithful if smallish following that is just big enough to keep a variety of gun manufactures occasionally making guns in the cartridge. Maybe not always but frequently enough that there will always be a few on the shelves if you willing to look hard enough. I have seen 6.8 SPC ammunition on shelve sporadically throughout this current high-demand period.

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It's not even remotely close to a similar category as 10mm.

For factory-chambered rifles, Davidson's offers ZERO options in 6.8SPC. RSR offers only 2 options in 6.8SPC. Compare that to factory-chambered 10mm guns, Davidson's offers 45 different options. RSR offers 62 options in 10mm. And I don't think you want me to start comparing factory ammunition choices between the two calibers.

6.8SPC is probably more similar to the 30AR cartridge from Remington and slightly trailing the 6.5 Grendel. Will it go anywhere? It will fizzle, but won't fade completely out. It might be on its last legs in terms of factory rifles, but their will always be aftermarket barrels being made.

I think its DOA, honestly. Just my opinion.

twarr1 said:

The 6.8 SPC is similar to the 300 AAC Blackout, though they have different parent cases, 30 Remington and 223 Remington respectively.
I’m baffled that the 300 BO is wildly popular while the 6.8 SPC kind of sits on the sidelines. The 6.8 has better range, better terminal ballistics, and is flatter shooting. Plus, it won’t fit in a 223/5.56 chamber.

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The 6.8 has always had stacking issues when forced through a standard AR lower magwell, which the .300 doesn't, so theres that.

Olympus said:

It's not even remotely close to a similar category as 10mm.

For factory-chambered rifles, Davidson's offers ZERO options in 6.8SPC. RSR offers only 2 options in 6.8SPC. Compare that to factory-chambered 10mm guns, Davidson's offers 45 different options. RSR offers 62 options in 10mm. And I don't think you want me to start comparing factory ammunition choices between the two calibers.

6.8SPC is probably more similar to the 30AR cartridge from Remington and slightly trailing the 6.5 Grendel. Will it go anywhere? It will fizzle, but won't fade completely out. It might be on its last legs in terms of factory rifles, but their will always be aftermarket barrels being made.

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{rambling}

It's no were near as dead at 30 Remington AR. There has not been a new rifle chambered in 30 RAR in 9 years and the cartridge is only 12 years old. No one ever made a rifle or ammo in that cartridge but Remington and that Remington no longer exists in any meaningful way. RemArms is way too FUDD to ever touch an AR again, not while the current leadership is there. It's worst than a coil flip odds that Vista owned Remington ammo will continue to support the cartridge. No one else has ever touch the cartridge as a product, rifle or ammo. There are likely some pin fire cartridges that have more life/support in them than 30 RAR. So much of the R-30 30 RAR rifles were proprietary you couldn't build a new R-30 right now if you wanted, not without employing a capable machinist and a lot of reverse engineering. That poor redheaded stepchild of a cartridge doesn't even share a rim diameter with any other current SAAMI cartridge making converting other existing guns that much more of a pain in the butt. On the other hand with 6.8 SPC given the barrel, bolt and magazine are the only proprietary parts I can still build a 6.8 with relative ease (Bison, Wilson, YHM and other are still offering barrels and bolts, magazines are still being made) even if there are not a lot of makers currently offering complete rifles in the cartridge. 6.8 SPC might not be super popular right now but its no were as dead as 30 RAR. And I ramble all that as a fan of 30 RAR and I probably have one of the last built (built in early 2020) from scavenged and old new stock parts from the demise of Remington.

{/rambling}

None-the-less I agree 10mm Auto is currently more popular in absolute terms. But 6.8 SPC and 10mm Auto are both similar niche cartridges that will ebb and flow in popularity. 10mm is on a bit of a rise while 6.8 SPC is not but IMHO both cartridges will never go completely away but also never rise to the popularity levels of big boys like 9mm & 45 ACP or 5.56 & 308.

twarr1 said:

The 6.8 SPC is similar to the 300 AAC Blackout, though they have different parent cases, 30 Remington and 223 Remington respectively.
I’m baffled that the 300 BO is wildly popular while the 6.8 SPC kind of sits on the sidelines. The 6.8 has better range, better terminal ballistics, and is flatter shooting. Plus, it won’t fit in a 223/5.56 chamber.

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300 AAC Blackout is setup to and works much better suppressed than 6.8. I think the flexibility of 300 BO is why its more popular despite not being as capable with super sonic loads as 6.8 SPC.

I think the 30AR was a great round on paper but timing and lack of support from Rem sealed its fate.

The SPC will be around but I would only get into it if it filled a niche I didn't already have a solution for now.
The market is fickle and bad timing or a bad platform and launch can end a good round.

How many current models are available on the market in the US for 6.5x55 swede?
How about 7x57 Mauser?
257 Roberts?
8mm Mauser?
416 Rigby?
505 Gibbs?
404 Jeffrey?
17 Mach IV?
221 Fireball?
32-20? 25-20?
32 H&R?
475 Linebaugh?
7.62x54R?
444 Marlin?
375 Win?
7 Dakota?
30-378?
300 Norma?
25 Creed?
6 Dasher?
45-90?
17 Rem?

This ain’t a “coke versus Pepsi” conversation, fellas... it’s more like a conversation of how many types, cuts, textiles, and colors of shirts are available on the market... on a spectrum between chain mail tunics and plain white T shirts, 6.8 SPC is a lot closer to a blue button down than it is to bronze armour...

The long and short of it is that 6.8/270 rounds will never be as popular as the 6.5 rounds no matter what platform they're fired from. So the 6.8 has that working against it already. Couple that with the 6.5 Grendel which has extremely close ballistics giving an apples to apples comparison, and which starts edging out the 6.8 when used from longer barrels, the fact that the Grendel is still being supported and has started being picked up in bolt action platforms, the 6.8 has very little chance of ever making any kind of comeback or even being remotely popular. For all intents and purposes, the caliber fall from memory like so many other calibers. I predict in the future you'll have to really have a "want" for a 6.8 rifle and you'll have to build it yourself.

It’s here to stay it will have a loyal following and it will not disappear in my lifetime is my best guess

twarr1 said:

The 6.8 SPC is similar to the 300 AAC Blackout, though they have different parent cases, 30 Remington and 223 Remington respectively.
I’m baffled that the 300 BO is wildly popular while the 6.8 SPC kind of sits on the sidelines. The 6.8 has better range, better terminal ballistics, and is flatter shooting. Plus, it won’t fit in a 223/5.56 chamber.

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You're basically asking why mopeds are so popular when you can't haul plywood on them.

You can make 300 Blackout out of .223 brass, it suppresses well, and it feeds out of an AR magazine without meaningful trouble. It shoots flat enough at the ranges that people actually shoot at.

Why I got this amazing rifle relatively cheaply :

Incidently Nightlord the LWRC lower pictured is subtly modified to feed 6.8 and I must use the MagPul 6.8 magazines to get 100% feeding

Gordon said:

Incidently Nightlord the LWRC lower pictured is subtly modified to feed 6.8 and I must use the MagPul 6.8 magazines to get 100% feeding

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What does the other side of that lower look like, is the bolt stop ambidextrous like the mag release?

Only thing I did to get 100% proper feeding is buy some PRI mags. The walls don’t flex like might happen with a standard AR mag.
Barrett makes good mags as well

mcb said:

What does the other side of that lower look like, is the bolt stop ambidextrous like the mag release?

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The other side is ho hum no ambi bolt release. The left side mag release works well .

Ya got me going on the 6.8 and my new 6.8 16" carbine. I soon will have a suppressor that will service it . So in the future I will save about 60 rounds of the Remington 6.8 110 grain I have and reload the cases with Lee Mold 135 grain flat points with out a gas check and with enough Trail Boss ( which I have a ton of for cowboy action ect.) to get 1000 fps out of my 16" barrel. If I could get this piston action rod carbine to cycle all the better I heard it should just over 1100 FPS with 130 grain Game KIngs . The flat point is shorter and softer and blunter . I think it will feed well in that polished Lietner Wise action rod gun . Although not a 200 grain plus bullet weight as a .300 Black out, which I have two of, 135 grain should be a useable load for fun and pests.

I LOVE 6.8spc

I handload everything, but last time I went to Academy sports, they had 6.8SPC on the shelf

I also like 41 magnum, and with my trusty Dillon, don't really care about what's popular

I own a WC Recon 6.8 SPC II; it is a deer killing machine. I will turn 67 in a bit, I don’t think that I have to worry about 6.8 availability.

Never have had any feeding issues with my 6.8 or the 6.5 x 6.8 wild cat that I built years ago. I run ASC 6.8 mags on both of them.
White Oak makes one of the most accurate 6.8 barrels you can get, that's what I use. It's a pig killing machine!

I've got 6 AR's chambered in 6.8. So, yeah, I'm a fanboy. Reload about 2-3K rounds of it a year.

There's so much wrong in this conversation I will address one issue - 6.8 vs 6.5 as a comparative arguement were NEVER considered apples vs apples. The 6.8 users knew it was a DOD project to get 50% more power down the short barrel of the M4, and the longest range was close to 300m. 6.5 was based off the precision shooting case of the AK, meant for 20" + barrels, for long distance shooting, where it did well. Fans constantly barraged conversations with reams of charts and graphs not only showing it was far superior to 6.8, it even exceeded .308 ballistics. Nobody who shot 6.8 ever made a claim like that.

It was when the market demanded shorter 6.5s and wanted to use it in SBR's or AR pistols that tales were told "it's just the same as 6.8 but better!"

It seems there are still a few who try to make that claim. No, 6.8 was meant for more power at shorter ranges from shorter barrels, 6.5 was a long range precision round. Then .300 BO showed up based on renaming the .300 Whisper and the ".30 Cal is Gospel" shooters took it up. There is a notable divide in American tastes, some like metric, some abhor it and demand Inch Only. Goes to why we see so many new cartridges in Inch, to sell more widely across the market. It doesn't make any cartridge deliver foot pounds better or worse, it's just marketing to popularity..

Well, Biden sure was popular, 81 million votes.

The 10mm comparison may be inapt; perhaps comparing to 22-250 or .280 might be better. In that the the users will do what it takes to feed their desires.
There's never a way to solve the "which rifle is better" argument. And, in reality, it's a bit like asking which is the best flavor of ice cream in a 31 flavors shop--there will always be a person wanting that 35th flavor . . .