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6.8, 6.5 or .300BLK?


Nebwake

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I have a non-competitive shooting trip coming up in TX and just found out they don't allow .223 in the event so i need to build a new upper. I have parts galore (stocked up a few years ago:)) so really all I need is a barrel and gas block. What would you guys recommend? It seems like 6.8 and 6.5 barrels harder to find now days compared to 300 blk being all the rage... i am looking for terminal energy effectiveness and overall ballistic performance of the 3 compared.

Edited by Nebwake
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Having shot quite a few Texas hogs, I can assure you that Texas doesn't care what you shoot them with! with that said the blackout is much less than stellar in sub-sonic loadings. I would use full on 300 Blackout ammo, Grendel or 6.8. All are about the same in effectiveness. I have seen quite a few pig downed with 55 gr. 223 ammo, but all the ones I've seen shot with sub-sonic 300 blkout, have all required multiple hit and even then most ran off never to be found.

I usually use an AR-10, but as of late I built up a 458 SCOM and it has become my favorite...no not because I am worried about getting charged or any of that nonsense, but Where I shoot them the brush is very thick and everything has big old thorns on it. I just don't want them running off.

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Having shot quite a few Texas hogs, I can assure you that Texas doesn't care what you shoot them with! with that said the blackout is much less than stellar in sub-sonic loadings. I would use full on 300 Blackout ammo, Grendel or 6.8. All are about the same in effectiveness. I have seen quite a few pig downed with 55 gr. 223 ammo, but all the ones I've seen shot with sub-sonic 300 blkout, have all required multiple hit and even then most ran off never to be found.

I usually use an AR-10, but as of late I built up a 458 SCOM and it has become my favorite...no not because I am worried about getting charged or any of that nonsense, but Where I shoot them the brush is very thick and everything has big old thorns on it. I just don't want them running off.

Yea I'm sure TX doesn't care, I guess the ranch does though... They did say I could shoot .223 but would have to use that RIP ammo. RIP's website gives a pretty decent accuracy guarantee of 2" at 25m :surprise: and at $40 per box, I'll pass... I'm guessing this place is just like you described being full of thorns and nasty cover. Its slightly east of SA. First time going for hogs so I'm pretty excited to say the least! Luckily we don't have any here in Nebraska.

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It is all about shot placement. Don't shoot them like deer, just behind front shoulder as it will be a gut shot. In a line from earhole to eye is perfect. DRT every time. Hornady TAP ammo is what I use in .308 or .223. Never had one run off.

But to your question, for hogs, 6.8 frm Bison or Wilson would be pretty damn good.

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Welcome to Texas :) That said, shooting hog here is an eradication effort. Please come and kill as many as you can. You can shoot them with anything that will kill them, up to an including sharp sticks, rocks, twin particle phalanx.....

You ain't got to be fancy, regular old cheap 223rem wolf or tula works fine within reason. That Remington Hog Hammer with the barnes TSX bullets is nice, maybe does a little better, but expensive per shot. But if you wanna get a little more reach without stepping up to a bigger gun, that little 6.5grendel will probably fit the bill.

Hope ya have an AWESOME time :)

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I was just having this same basic conversation with myself, in the end I went out and bought an economy 308 bolt gun for less than I could build/buy an upper and I have much more power to boot.

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Not really a hunting thread. Just wanting opinions on 3 calibers and pros/cons of them. Easy enough to kill the hunt aspect of it....

Sent from my SM-G860P using Tapatalk

Edited by Nebwake
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In that case you'll have to state your intended use before anyone can offer you any useful insight. The three cartridges have entirely different purposes. The 300BLK specializes in being suppressed and taking just a barrel to be up and running. The Grendel qualifies as the most long range capable factory cartridge you can fit in an AR. The 6.8 is a fantastic example of an attempt at Tacticool turned commercial failure!

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Sorry, edited OP to conform to forum rules.... I do like the 6.5 for sure but like the ease of swap for the 300 blk. You need different mags for a 6.5 though dont you?

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Edited by Nebwake
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Sorry, edited OP to conform to forum rules.... I do like the 6.5 for sure but like the ease of swap for the 300 blk. You need different mags for a 6.5 though dont you?

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Yup, you need 6.5 specific mags. IIRC magpul made some 6.8 specific mags too because 223 mags didn't work as well as advertised.
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In that case you'll have to state your intended use before anyone can offer you any useful insight. The three cartridges have entirely different purposes. The 300BLK specializes in being suppressed and taking just a barrel to be up and running. The Grendel qualifies as the most long range capable factory cartridge you can fit in an AR. The 6.8 is a fantastic example of an attempt at Tacticool turned commercial failure!

How in the world do you think it was a commercial failure?

There is a lot of 6.8 ammo on the market and more coming out all the time from major players.

At least in Texas, it is a LOT more popular for hunters than the 300 or 6.5.

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In that case you'll have to state your intended use before anyone can offer you any useful insight. The three cartridges have entirely different purposes. The 300BLK specializes in being suppressed and taking just a barrel to be up and running. The Grendel qualifies as the most long range capable factory cartridge you can fit in an AR. The 6.8 is a fantastic example of an attempt at Tacticool turned commercial failure!

How in the world do you think it was a commercial failure?

There is a lot of 6.8 ammo on the market and more coming out all the time from major players.

At least in Texas, it is a LOT more popular for hunters than the 300 or 6.5.

Maybe it's a regional thing, the 6.8 is unheard of around here, the rifles don't sell and the ammo collects dust on the shelves. Not so with the other two. Also AR's haven't become extremely popular for hunting yet in my area.
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I can't understand it's existence personally, it's not much more powerful than the 6.5, and even if there where high BC bullet options you couldn't load them because of brass length relative to mag allowable space. The high BC 6.5 bullets show the 6.8 the taillights once they get downrange.

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Long range (out of a longer barrel) and the 6.5 wins, SBR out of a sub 10" barrel the 300 wins, 12-16" barrel the 6.8 wins.

I am talking effectively putting down hogs which are tougher than deer.

All good.. Just match the intended use.

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