.223 upper for 75-80gr. bullets or 6.8 spc

[j_22250]

i'm wanting to put together an ar15 and have pretty much set my mind on the 6.8, but am contemplating about getting a fast twist barrel in .223. performance wise on up to deer size game which do you guys think would be better? i also don't know if i'll run into feeding/mag issues with the heaiver .224 bullets.

 

[markr]

I shoot 69 gr SMK's and 75 gr Hornady BTHP's in my 223 with 1-9, both very accurate. If you go to the 80's and above you will need a faster twist and usually single load it. For the 6.8, try a Stag Arms upper.
Mark

 

[j_22250]

yeah, i was thinking about a 1-7 or 1-8 for .223, but since i am considering using on deer than maybe 6.8 spc would be a better option. do you know of a good place where i can get a stag upper, maybe a little cheaper?

 

[Johnboy]

just how fare are you going to be shooting.223 will work out to 200yrds with 75- 80 grain bullets.and thats body or head shots.anything after that go 308.you will have a better bullet weight choice,and the 308 should still do good out to 400-500yrds.just my opinion.
Johnboy

 

[HPMike800]

AR's feed heavy 75-77gr bullets fine. I'm not a avid hunter,but, I think any 223 is a little lite for a deer rifle. The 6.8 is probably an acceptable cartridge for deer, but, not much else IMHO. You might think about the 6mmAR or the 6WOA. An AR chambered in either of them would make a good target, varmint and ok deer rifle.

Just my 0.02.

 

[j_22250]

proly 200-250yrds max. i'm kinda favoring the 6.8 right now since i can stretch it out jst a little further if i need to,300yrds). i'm looking for a gun that can do the same job or better than a 44mag carbine, 7.62x39, .223, & 30-30. the 6.8 seems to fit the bill.

the only reason i was considering heavier bullets in .233 is simply cuz i already have brass and dies.

does anyone have opinions on what brand upper i should get? also does anyone know if the chambers in these uppers are spec II? right now i'm considering stag, rra & dpms,in that order). the stag seems to be the only one in my price range that has the 1-11' twist i'm after.

 

[j_22250]

from what i've gathered so far,bits & pieces from various places) all uppers in 6.8 spc that i've mentioned should have the spec II chamber. the faster 1-10' twist supposidly doesn't have any advantadge over 1-11'. however the 1-11' should allow up to a 75fps increase in velocity. i'm jst thinking that the 1-11; will handle 90-115gr bullets better and be able to push them faster if someone wanted to. so nothing too significant and i proly won't load them that hot anyways. so as of this moment i am now more interested in the stag 5h upper. if anyone has any opinions on any of these uppers i would really like to hear them. i've seen lots of pics of large texas hogs taken with the 6.8 and so that only makes me want one more. even though i'm confident a well constructed heavier grain .223 bullet will do the trick, why risk it.

 

[Rustystud]

My Suggestion would be use a AR10 action chambered in 243, 260, 7MM/08, 308, 338 federal, or 358.

Just my two cents worth..

Nat Lambeth

 

[j_22250]

there's a possibilty that i might end up with a .223 upper so i want to build on the ar15. don't get me wrong i love my bolt guns and i will reach for them first everythime when hunting anything, but this is gonna be like a brush gun to hunt deer and hogs in smaller places where shots wouldn't be longer than 100yrds. what i'm wanting to do is replace a mini 14, sks, and ruger deerfield 44 mag carbine. i want to have jst 1 semi auto gun like this, but still be able to hunt with it if i so desired and the 6.8 has better ballistics than those too. i'll still have a .223 bolt gun for varmints, but pretty much the mini and sks are jst in case brown stuff hits the fan. being as how you can't really shoot anything cheap any more i might as well have what i really want,ar15) and jst use it. i haven't shot some of these guns in 2-3 yrs and i'm jst trying to down size.

i don't know why i feel like i need to justify buying a new gun. well, i feel likes that's what i'm trying to do anyways, but i'm sure alot of you are the same. this might be a good deal. the time is right to sell these type guns and ar15 parts are starting to reappear, so if i do this right i'll have a new gun and possibly some $$$ in my pocket.

 

[Klong]

i22250, I know where you are coming from on this subject. I know people that have hunted for the last 30 years with only 1 rifle. That is fine with me, but I choose to use something different almost every year. I still own the rifle I shot my first 5 deer with. My brother barrowed it about 10 years ago and has killed many deer with it also. He still has it!

I like accurate rifles and have been working with semi-autos for hunting more the last few years. I believe that either caliber you are considering in your AR will work for deer. I do not own the 6.8, but have seen a few deer shot with them and they looked plenty dead. I think all were shot broadside from 75 to about 180 yards. I don't remember the bullet, but all were commercial ammo. I do own several 223 AR's and have killed deer and pigs with them. The deer were shot through the lungs with 63 gr Sierra bullets from 100 to 200 yards. None of the deer dropped dead in the tracks and none went over 60 yards before they were dead. The pigs were shot with 60 Nosler partitioned and 55 Sierra GK. 1 pig shot with the 55 gr was not recovered, due to a poor shot on my part. the pigs were under 150 lbs.

I have 223 rifles with 7 and 8 twist so I could use 80 grain bullets, but have not used them. The reason for that is because the 80 grain bullets with good velocity do not fit in the AR magazine. This makes the semi-auto a single shot. You can load 75 and 77 grain bullets at magazine length and still get good velocity so if you choose 223 those would be an option.

While the 223 and 6.8 are less expensive, you should look at the wssm uppers from DTECH the 6BR from BR Armament and the 6AR Turbo 40 degree from Robert Whitley at 6mmAR.com . All of these extend your range and give you some heavier bullet options that feed from the magazine.

Let us know what you decide. Good luck and good hunting. Ken

 

[j_22250]

good info, thanks. i have pretty much decided on going 6.8spc. i'm gonna reload, but like the idea of being able to buy good ammo. the sierra pro hunters from ssa looks good and it's almost as cheap to buy the ammo first and then reload. in an ar i feel the need to keep it simple. i've got the 22 & 6mm cals. coverd as well as 30cal. and a really sweet shooting 270wsm for any long rang stuff. i plan on this gun being my brush/doomsday gun....if i can get rid of what i have first.

what advice can offer about different manufactures?