.223 or 6.8mm

[steverjo]

Related to my previous thread of CMMG vs Stag, what are your thoughts on .223/5.56 vs 6.8, the .223 is probably less expensive and easier to find, the 6.8 carries more punch.

Is there much of a difference?

 

[GunNut]

IMHO, get a 5.56 first. It's cheaper to shoot and everyone should one at least one.

After that you can always buy a 6.8spc upper.

I'd look into getting a Kot-tonics http://www.ko-tonics.com/ upper, as he uses a special rifling that allows you to get the most out of the 6.8spc.

 

[RockyMtnTactical]

I prefer .223/5.56.

Easier to find, and usually much cheaper. You can find 5.56 in the $.30/round range, and in large quantities.

6.8 is hard to find and I haven't seen it for less than $.50/round.

If you reload, it may be less of a factor, but replacement parts are much more common in 5.56/.223.

Remember, shot placement matters more than anything else.

 

[rbernie]

I will always have 223 rifles/carbines for GP use, for all of the reasons noted above. I have also moved to 6.8SPC for my HD and hunting weapons, due to the better terminal ballistics that it displays over 223/5.56NATO.

 

[GunTech]

Depends on what you want to do. 6.8 is legal for hunting in all states AFAIK, 223 is not legal in many states.

The only difference in parts between the two is bolt, magazine and barrel.

223 is far more common and cheaper.

 

[rkh]

Do you reload?

If so, go with the 6.8. There isn't a big difference in the cost of components.

 

[Hauptmann]

At this point in time, the 5.56 is a better alternative for anti-personel use. You can use 75gr Hornady TAP for very effective terminal effects, or if you want deeper penetration or want to shoot through windshields and other barriers there are good soft point loads out there like Winchester's bonded ammo. Plus, you will be able to easily find ammo as the 5.56 is in use by every wester power and even the Russians are starting to chamber rifles in 5.56. It will be the most popular military cartridge for at least another 20 years.

The 6.8 SPC is more effective all the way around, but it is more pricey and harder to find. Silver State Armory offers the best 6.8 loads out there:

http://www.ssarmory.com/

It is a superior cartridge for both anti-personel use, barrier penetration, and hunting versus the 5.56. There was a recent government testing project involving the 6.8 SPC which took three years to complete. It was finished during the summer and the results were released to authorized government personel at the end of September to coincide with the end of the fiscal quarter. Unfortunately, I don't have access to the report but rumor has it that the 6.8 once again did VERY well. It also did well in the initial testing in 2002, but no agency wanted to transition to it. I guess we'll see if there is any leaning towards 6.8 SPC adoption after this latest round of testing.

 

[rkh]

When will the results of the 6.8 testing be disclosed to the public?

Is there anything preventing a FOIA request now?

 

[Walkalong]

IMHO, get a 5.56 first. It's cheaper to shoot and everyone should one at least one.

After that you can always buy a 6.8spc upper.

That is my plan. The 5.56 is on the way.

 

[Hauptmann]

When will the results of the 6.8 testing be disclosed to the public?

Is there anything preventing a FOIA request now?

Gary Roberts got his copy of the report and I've been baggering him about the details. Unfortunately, he isn't allowed to tell anyone without authorization about it. All he would tell me is that "the 6.8 performed as expected", which coming from Dr. Roberts means that it did better than any other assault rifle cartridge available for ranges up to 400m.

He wouldn't comment on when it might be released to the general public.

 

[rkh]

Ask him what the title of the report is, and which entity was responsible for preparing it.

If you can find that out, I can get the FOIA request in the mail tomorrow.

 

[HorseSoldier]

The powers that be may prove me wrong, but I personally suspect that the first serious prospect for any change in caliber in service weapons will be if/when the LSAT project gets cased-telescoping or caseless ammo developed to an operational level.

If that happens, I'd think we'd be at a clean-slate scenario to the point where it would be possible to examine ideal caliber, velocity, muzzle energy, etc., without big picture economics and logistics dictating that "good enough is the enemy of best" and such. Presently, they seem to be looking exclusively at 5.56mm projectiles (though one of the bullet shown in the briefings on line looks like it must be around 90 grains), but there's no reason they couldn't bump the final product to 6, 6.5, 6.8, 7mm or whatever other caliber and bullet weight.

 

[Soybomb]

Do you reload and is this intended to be a self defense rifle at any point? If so the 6.8 performs very well and I would much rather rely on it than 5.56

If you don't reload and just want a gun to plink about with, I think I'd go cheaper.