6.8spc hunting

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The boy took these two critters this year with a 6.8 garage build. He just took the 3x3 this past weekend.
Ammo was Hornady 120gr SST for both. I've always had great luck with Hornady and wanted to give their 120SST a try.
Antelope was shot around 200 yards and was a complete pass through as expected. I found no fragments but she dropped like a rock in a plume of dust, so I'm guessing the spine was damaged by fragments but I found zero evidence of that. The lungs were mush.

The muley was hit at probably a little under 150 yards and the heart was destroyed and the the bullet did fragment. 2 pieces lodged right under the skin on the opposite side, it didn't have enough juice to exit. I'd guess less than half the bullet weight was retained in the two recovered fragments, but I didn't care enough to actually weigh them. This was definitely more fragmentation that I expected on a chest/rib shot and not penetrating was disappointing. He only took two hops and went down, no tracking at all which is always nice. There was a big bloodshot area on the ribcage on the opposite side of the entry wound. I should have taken pics but the bloodshot area was maybe 12" long by 6" high. Weird wound, usually the bloodshot area is just around the exit hole.

The boy likes hunting with the AR platform but I'm not thrilled the 120SST couldn't penetrate and did alot of internal damage. I'm thinking Barnes or ProHunters for next year.

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Originally Posted by Robb

The boy took these two critters this year with a 6.8 garage build. He just took the 3x3 this past weekend.
Ammo was Hornady 120gr SST for both. I've always had great luck with Hornady and wanted to give their 120SST a try.
Antelope was shot around 200 yards and was a complete pass through as expected. I found no fragments but she dropped like a rock in a plume of dust, so I'm guessing the spine was damaged by fragments but I found zero evidence of that. The lungs were mush.

The muley was hit at probably a little under 150 yards and the heart was destroyed and the the bullet did fragment. 2 pieces lodged right under the skin on the opposite side, it didn't have enough juice to exit. I'd guess less than half the bullet weight was retained in the two recovered fragments, but I didn't care enough to actually weigh them. This was definitely more fragmentation that I expected on a chest/rib shot and not penetrating was disappointing. He only took two hops and went down, no tracking at all which is always nice. There was a big bloodshot area on the ribcage on the opposite side of the entry wound. I should have taken pics but the bloodshot area was maybe 12" long by 6" high. Weird wound, usually the bloodshot area is just around the exit hole.

The boy likes hunting with the AR platform but I'm not thrilled the 120SST couldn't penetrate and did alot of internal damage. I'm thinking Barnes or ProHunters for next year.

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Nicely done!

As for bullet selection, my son took a doe (mule deer) a couple years ago with the 6.8 using 110gr Sierra Pro Hunters. It took two shots to drop her, but she traveled only a few yards. If I was looking for more penetration in the 6.8 I'd go with either 110gr Accubonds or maybe the new Hornady 100gr GMX monolithic bullets.

That Gmx is too pricy for me. I initally tried the SSA accubond and my rifle was all over the place with it, patterned like a shotgun. I may try more and see if the barrel being 'broken in' will make a difference. That was the nice thing about the 120SST, I could shoot a nice tight group I was really happy with.

That's the Super Shock Tip for ya. I see it as Hornady's version of the Nosler ballistic tip. On the one hand, it's hard to say it failed, because the deer is dead, but I like something with a little tougher construction. I have had nothing but good luck with Accubonds.

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Originally Posted by Robb

That Gmx is too pricy for me. I initally tried the SSA accubond and my rifle was all over the place with it, patterned like a shotgun. I may try more and see if the barrel being 'broken in' will make a difference. That was the nice thing about the 120SST, I could shoot a nice tight group I was really happy with.

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I've had great accuracy with the SST's in 30-06 (son and I each took a deer with them this year), but by far the most accurate hunting bullet (in my experience) with the 6.8 is the Sierra Pro Hunters. They are a traditional cup and core technology so nothing newfangled, but the price is among the lowest of any 6.8 bullets and their accuracy is equal to the Hornady match (OTM) bullets. There are 2 Accubond bullets that will work with the 6.8 - a 100gr and a 110gr. I haven't noticed either of them showing any accuracy problems, but neither of them are as easy to 'dial-in' as the SPH's.

FWIW

Nice animals. I always like to see people having success with the AR-15 platform. The more people who use it, the more widely it will be accepted in hunting circles. I appreciate the discussion on hunting bullets for the 6.8 SPC cartridge. I've been developing loads using Sierra Pro Hunters, Hornady SSTs, and Hornady V-Max. My home build seems to like them all. I haven't tried anything over 115 grains though. Where do you find 120 grain load data?

I had good luck with the 110gr prohunters and the 85gr Barnes TSX on coyotes and hogs, but I never went after anything bigger.

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Originally Posted by JohnnyDrama

Nice animals. I always like to see people having success with the AR-15 platform. The more people who use it, the more widely it will be accepted in hunting circles. I appreciate the discussion on hunting bullets for the 6.8 SPC cartridge. I've been developing loads using Sierra Pro Hunters, Hornady SSTs, and Hornady V-Max. My home build seems to like them all. I haven't tried anything over 115 grains though. Where do you find 120 grain load data?

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Lots of good information here: http://68forums.com

http://68forums.com/forums/showthrea...reloading-data

I'll use up my stash of 120SST's and use the brass to load up some Barnes TTSX, someday.