Considering building a 6 x 6.8

R

Ricky Bobby

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I need to know the good & the bad before taking the plunge! Going to be a dedicated coyote night hunting rig. What gr and type of bullets should I be wanting to shoot? Can I find dies or should I expect to have to use a Redding type S and then do a two step bushing down process? Who makes a good 24” barrel in this chambering? What powders are best in this round and where do I find good load info for it?

Any info is greatly appreciated!
 
Originally Posted By: Ricky BobbyI need to know the good & the bad before taking the plunge! Going to be a dedicated coyote night hunting rig. What gr and type of bullets should I be wanting to shoot? Can I find dies or should I expect to have to use a Redding type S and then do a two step bushing down process? Who makes a good 24” barrel in this chambering? What powders are best in this round and where do I find good load info for it?

Any info is greatly appreciated!

Ritch kills em dead with 58's and 70's. CH4D may have some dies on the shelf as they have been making them off and on for several years. They were furnished the primes by me.

Ritch would be the fellow to contact for a barrel made to the real 6X6.8 chamber design. I think you'll be pleased on it.

The negatives on it? I don't know of any major negatives other than there is no OTC ammo but then in today's market there is very little OTC stuff anyway. . It is a well balanced cartridge that fills a niche for song dogs and deer that is an easy shooter and they are very accurate across the board.

Loading data? I have enough to sink a small skiff with the stuff since I helped develop it. I have four build on AR's of various lengths and have shot a Savage bolt gun in 500 yard F-Class matches with good effect. There are a ton of guys on here with them that would also help you out based on past discussions.

Greg
 
GLS, would you have any contact info on the CH4D dies? I think my 1st step will be making sure I can get my hands on some before ever moving forward with anything else.
 
CH4D is 740-397-7214

You will have to call them. You want the 6mm SPC dies. They work well but while I have them I still prefer the Reddings as I can adjust for neck thickness and spring back on multi-fired brass. Really the making up the brass only takes an additional 20 minutes/100 for forming then after that it is the same amount of time.

I use the standard Redding 6.8 Type S bushings on my 6.8 based variants from 6.5 down to 20. All my chambers have the same shoulder height so it is just a matter of swapping out the right bushing n my fired cases.

Greg
 
No factory support on anything right now. 6x6.8 or 6 DTI is the way to go if not jumping to .243 in an ar10. I'd let the gun pick the bullet. 70 BT's at 3270 work fabulous in my 10 twist 22" TO barrel. I have 3 6x6.8s but not a one will shoot 58s to my liking. Both TO barrels shoot the 70's at 2.300" oal. My BHW 22" 10 twist is darn picky but it will shoot 55 varmageddon hps very well. I need to try Sierra 60hp's sometime. We switched to those in our AR10's and they seem to do the trick without grenading the hide.
The 6 ARC is designed to shoot high bc heavy bullets which isn't what you want for coyote hunting imo. I preach fast and flat with rapidly expanding bullets. The key to killing coyotes is to hit them. We all know too well how a coyote has the ability to become skinny and elude bullets lol. When your brain shuts down at the moment of truth you want to be able to hold on fur and not do ballistic calculations in a mind that has just gone blank due to a coyote actually coming in
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At night judging distance becomes difficult once the coyote gets out around 200 yards. It becomes hard to tell if he's at 225 or 300. Being able to hold high on fur at 300 and not be too high at 200 is what you want.
 
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I built one back in 2018. Bought a 20" barrel from Ritch. Greg was very helpful with every aspect of information from dies , loading and mag questions. I would be willing to bet with those two guys for data there is no other wildcat you could build that would go easier. I got in on the Hornady group buy for dies, but also use the bushing dies. I use H322 and a 58gr Vmax at 3409 fps for Coyotes. It'll shoot .5s all day. I have faster loads that shoot better but they are a little rough on brass. I think the 6.8 is a remarkable parent case my Stagg Hunter 7 will shoot 5 shot .93 at 200yds with factory Hornady 120 SST and have shot several sub moa 10 shot groups at a 100. It appears the 6.8 spc is like a 6 BR it don't care what you shove in it, it's gonna shoot good. I'm getting ready to retire and devote all my time to shooting and guitar pickin, it may be time to look into building a 22X6.8.Good luck with your choice!
 
I got a BHW barrel from Ritch a couple years back. It is picky but found a load with H322 and 58 VMAX's that it really likes. Mine was occasionally having cartridges sticking in the chamber, but I think that was my fault, I believe my brass needed more sizing and trimming.
 
I received a 20" within the last month from Ritch. I'm very happy.
I've shot some tiny groups with 55gr Nosler SPs at around 3450. 70 gr BT at around 3250 and 87s vmax at 2950. Those aren't necessarily max. Just what I'm happy with. I shot my first coyote a couple days ago with a 70bt. I really like it.
Greg can get you started with data. I've compiled a spreadsheet of data from around the net if you need more. You can use 6woa and 6dti data to get you close. Of course start a little low and work up.
I have a bushing die but was also able to call CH4D and get their 6spc die.
I debated the ARC and may get one one day but it has a downside. It's mainly with bolts. You have to keep pressures low or may break bolts or have brass problems, which I'll be honest and say I know I'm not good at.
Good luck with whichever you choose
 
On the dies I have received some information that the 6X6.8 dies from CH4D are on the shelf as of mid-week last week. Apparently they decided to make another run of them earlier than planned. That tells me the demand is there as they hate to just have stuff setting on the shelf.

As for bolt breakage loading sanely it won't be an issue. A smart shopper will buy one of the bolts from Young Manufacturing as his are "enhanced". The lugs and heavier and a bit more wall in the bolt face. He calculates a 20 % increase in strength from the upgrade. I talked him in to making them along with the Grendel and 7.62 bolts and none have come back broken to him. I got to test all three as soon as they came back in from the platers and are the only bolts I'm buying now. He actually sold out of all of them at least twice now and had a new batch of 6.8's coming in about three weeks ago.

I've been shooting one in my 22-NXS and swapping it around to my other variants and I am not being parsimonious on the powder in those loads and it is taking everything I've thrown at it over the past two years.

Greg
 
I can vouch for those Young bolts, I have one for the Grendel cases and it's a seriously good piece of hardware. I no longer have any builds based on that case but that bolt remains in the parts drawer for if/when another comes along. And that's after breaking 2 cheap bolts and fighting with a 7.62 bolt from Underground Tactical that was out of spec, 2 of them in fact.

I have a 6x6.8 also and it's a good shooter also though the chamber is off center or crooked. I haven't worked with it much honestly but 58's are about 3350 and 85's 2850 from the 18" tube. I may have to call ch4d on those dies, although the bushing die works fine also.
 
I bought one of Rich's 18" 6x6.8 barrels a few years ago and it really likes 55 gr. and 70 gr. Nosler BT. I'm getting over 3500fps with the 55s and over 3100fps with the 70s.

The guys on here really helped out choosing the right barrel and suggesting the right dies. I got in on the Hornady group buy and I also have the Redding bushing dies. I like both.

Did I mention the barrel is accurate?

 


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