Badger: a question of calibre

[Triffid]

I like the idea of small, medium or large and I assume you're limited by the action length and bolt face. So that either means a .22 calibre to be a bit smaller than the 243 - 22-250 or 220 Swift would fit with a 308 bolt head/short action. Going up in size from the 308, options are rather more limited - .338 Federal or 358 Winchester.

Or how about getting a .22LR barrel for it and using it for ISU Prone shooting?

Triffid

[safetyfirst]

Is 300 win mag too dull?

[meles meles]

300 Win Mag and 300 Blackout sound interesting, or 7.63x39 for plinkin'

[meles meles]

Thinking about it, other than be a bit quieter, and feed through an Armalite, what does 300 Blackout do that 7.62x39 can't ?

[saddler]

Neither are up there with 6.8SPC.
Which is as close as we can get to EM-2 performance.
Readily available .277 bullets inc. several SMK & similar.

Ask SimG to tell you how accurate the round is.
Put him onto his Rem700 LTR...

[meles meles]

Paging Sim G...

(Should we put a pasty out as bait, saddler?)

[darrenhyland]

6.5 creedmore ......................... sure why not????

[saddler]

6.5 creedmore ......................... sure why not????

Ammo - none available in the UK
Brass - expensive factory option; converted brass is an option
Dies - presently hard to find

.260 is a much easier 6.5mm cal option & is already time proven.

[Sim G]

Saddler had been banging on about the 6.8spc for months..... Surprising as he rarely has his attention focused for so long....

Anyway, I thought it would be very much unobtainable as I didn't want a straight pull AR, despite it being very similar to the platform it was originally designed for. At the time we thought Saddler might have had the only Rem 700 LTR in the UK as when the gun became available he was working for Edgar Bros and he knew that only one had been brought into the country. He also knows that the rifle imported was the one lent to Pete Moore of Shooting Sports for a review and he also knew that he had bought that rifle!

He has remembered a conversation with a dealer a couple of years previously who had actually advertised an LTR in 6.8mm and by chance he called the dealer and he still has it! So a deal was done and I had the second known example....

The 6.8 Rem SPC is an interesting little cartridge. Designed to give more performed and terminal ballistics than .223/5.56, but still run in a STANAG magazine, hence the OAL of 2.260". At the top end of the load data, 6.8 makes UK deer legal. It gives some 400ft/lbs of energy more than .223 and in the region of 400fps faster velocity than a 7.62x39 using 115 grain bullets.

Bullet diameter is 0.277" and usable bullet weight from 85 to 130gns are available. .277 bullets can be obtained heavier, but 135gn SMK are about the heaviest that the caliber will take. Lee even make a 135gn mould in order to cast your own.

BC isn't great, given the little squat bullets. But, performance isn't bad at all! I've used 110gn Hornady which were OK, but have a strange, long spire point, and loaded to max COL, the case mouth sat just where the point used to angle in sharply. Didn't make for great feeding, but the flat base gave some impressive groups.

115gn SMKs were the way to go! My little loves these bullets. I've had done great performance as well, on particular good day was giving genuine half MOA, 5 round groups at 200yds!

The third bullet I've used is the 115gn Relcom FMJ. This bullet was obviously designed for a semi/military rifle. That said, they were cheap and would give some decent performance, knocking over fig 11 and 12s on an ETR, to around the 500m mark, which is about as far as I've taken the cartridge, albeit not to print paper for groups.

Recoil is very mild, as is blast and report. As said, I was surprised how readily available bullets are and with averaging 28gns of powder per round, it's not going to break the bank.

We do know where a third LTR in 6.8 is, but it's fair to say, there's not many rifles full stop, chambered in this cartridge.

[saddler]

....almost. Must be using the clean notebook!

Had my LTR well before I was at Edgars....but did check while there & was surprised that mine was the only 6.8 LTR officially imported. Found mine by pure fluke as Roger at SYSS knew a good thing & had it on his personal FAC.
SimG's LTR was a gey import from Germany, which I'd been made aware of several years ago. Yip, in his case definitely not "grey"

Oh....yor furryness. If Michaela ever stops scratching you long enough for you to read up on barrel rifling twists & profiles,
a barrel blank could then be sourced....as we have an SPC II reamer! (Loan of which could be possible)

It's a very cute cartridge & uses .223 levels of powder....so cheap to load for & commercial ammo is available too.
S&B, Hornady, Remington, Federal, etc.