I shot a big buck at a little over 100-150 yds shot landed in the ribs behind the shoulder. This made a solid thump. Buck humped up and walked slowly down a hill about a hundred feet and stood there. Never fell down. Second shot put him down. This was with a 16" carbine and factory 110 gr. ammo. Another deer shot at 50 yd. ran less than 100 feet and keeled over with a shot clean through, same rifle and ammo.
In my experience the cartridge is not "impressive" though it is adequate for most hunting. I am not convinced that it is any better than 5.56. I have never seen it do anything I could not have done with a 5.56.
I am not trying to disuade anyone from a 6.8 if you want one go for it. They are accurate. If you plan to hunt larger game than smallish deer at close range, I believe its best to go with a 20" barrel and handload 120 gr. bullets as fast as you can safely do it. From what I have seen there are substantial gains in velocity with a 20" barrel versus a 16" in this cartridge. This cartridge needs every foot per second you can give it.
