[patriotpower]

First of all I want to say Great Site! Well organized, and usefull information. Ya'll (I'm in Georgia) seem to be very helpfull.

I chose the 6.8 because I had to sell most all of my guns except 1 to raise funds. My 6.8 seemed to be the one rifle to keep. My only issue is that after reading your discussions, I realized that my rifle needs some work. I have a DPMS upper with a 20" Model 1 Sales barrel. Wrong chamber and twist. I don't know if I should bother getting in line for the reamer or just sell the upper and go extreme. Money is real tight around here. Anyway, I wish I would have found ya'll sooner. I look forward to the education and discussion. Thanks for having me.

Jim

 

[ron169]

Welcome Aboard Patriot, What part of the peach state do you call home?

 

[ArtFWTx]

First of all I want to say Great Site! Well organized, and usefull information. Ya'll (I'm in Georgia) seem to be very helpfull.

I chose the 6.8 because I had to sell most all of my guns except 1 to raise funds. My 6.8 seemed to be the one rifle to keep. My only issue is that after reading your discussions, I realized that my rifle needs some work. I have a DPMS upper with a 20" Model 1 Sales barrel. Wrong chamber and twist. I don't know if I should bother getting in line for the reamer or just sell the upper and go extreme. Money is real tight around here. Anyway, I wish I would have found ya'll sooner. I look forward to the education and discussion. Thanks for having me.

Jim

Welcome. If you're tight on funds right now and your brass isn't showing signs of over pressure with commercial loads, just keep your rifle as is. Sure there are better barrels and more performance available with some loads like the SSA Tactical loads, but seriously if your rifle is shooting the commercial loads just enjoy having it. You can upgrade later.

Your current set up still runs circles around the 5.56, and you still have solid capabilities at the range and in the field if you go hunting. Now if your brass is showing signs of over pressure, you may have to rethink your options sooner rather than later.

Look at the barrels Bison Armory is ordering. They are only $200 and offer the improved SPC II chamber, 4-groove 1:11 twist, and stainless steel. That might be an economical upgrade for you down the line. Just do a barrel swap when you're ready. You already have the rest of the setup.

 

[patriotpower]

Welcome Aboard Patriot, What part of the peach state do you call home?

I live between Athens and Atlanta. Every time I click on your photo links, I get a "You are banned" message. What's up?

Thanks for the welcome.

It would appear that paulo is an outstanding resource.

 

[patriotpower]

Welcome. If you're tight on funds right now and your brass isn't showing signs of over pressure with commercial loads, just keep your rifle as is. Sure there are better barrels and more performance available with some loads like the SSA Tactical loads, but seriously if your rifle is shooting the commercial loads just enjoy having it. You can upgrade later.

Your current set up still runs circles around the 5.56, and you still have solid capabilities at the range and in the field if you go hunting. Now if your brass is showing signs of over pressure, you may have to rethink your options sooner rather than later.

Look at the barrels Bison Armory is ordering. They are only $200 and offer the improved SPC II chamber, 4-groove 1:11 twist, and stainless steel. That might be an economical upgrade for you down the line. Just do a barrel swap when you're ready. You already have the rest of the setup.

Clearly the limited info I had when I bought the upper was outdated. With the current chamber and twits rates do the 16" barrels still perform as well as the 20"? It seems from the discussions here that an 18" with mid-length gas system is optimal now. What do you think? I can almost afford a $200 upgrade if I don't have to replace handguard and gas system.

I have all the fired brass. What is it exactly I am looking for as signs of over pressure?

 

[jasonpeterson]

Welcome to the site!!!

I still hunt with a Remington 700 with the below par specs. It's always with me when I go to the farm. With non combat loads it still shoots very well. There are better options now, but I wouldn't worry about changing things until you need or want the extra performance. There are several guns with the old chambers that shoot very well. Have fun with what you have, you can always upgrade down the road. So many options.

 

[ron169]

I live between Athens and Atlanta. Every time I click on your photo links, I get a "You are banned" message. What's up?

Thanks for the welcome.

It would appear that paulo is an outstanding resource.

That was just me goofing around, I need to change it here soon.

 

[coldair]

welcome aboard

 

[ArtFWTx]

Clearly the limited info I had when I bought the upper was outdated. With the current chamber and twits rates do the 16" barrels still perform as well as the 20"? It seems from the discussions here that an 18" with mid-length gas system is optimal now. What do you think? I can almost afford a $200 upgrade if I don't have to replace handguard and gas system.

I have all the fired brass. What is it exactly I am looking for as signs of over pressure?

Here's the recent 6.8 barrel testing performed by Tim_W from Titan Armory, Constructor from AR15Performance, and HTR. There's some good info here for you to learn about the barrel configurations and pressure testing including analyzing your brass for pressure signs. I resource this report often.

http://m.b5z.net/i/u/6132121/i/6.8_20SPC_20Performance_20Testing_20Report_1_.pdf

The report has some pictures of over pressured brass for you to view. As far as your fired brass you're looking at the base and primer areas. Swipes are deep semi-circular indentions in the base that are one sign of over pressure. You can also have popped primers. Very deep extractor marks on the edge of the base can also be signs of over pressure. If the primer appears flattened or like it has flowed to the edges of the primer pocket that can also be a sign. Basically if the bottom of the brass appears damaged or scratched severely is an easy way to tell you what to look for. Minor marks are normal, but if it looks more severe then you are showing signs. You could post a few pictures for the guys to look at and tell you for sure if you want to.

Barrel lengths are a personal choice. The 16 inch barrels are by far the most popular choices because you have maybe 90% of the 6.8's performance in a compact lightweight carbine with a 16 inch barrel. For example, SSA's 85 grain TSX load hits over 3000 feet per second from a 16 inch barrel and even 2800 from a 10 inch barrel. That's a lot of velocity from a carbine length barrel. The 18 will get you 50-75 or so, ballpark guess, additional. The 20 a little more. You can see the benefits of going to longer barrels with the 6.8 isn't as beneficial as going from a 16 to 20 in a 5.56 which is very significant.

The 16 or 18 from Bison for $200 will give you a significant reduction in pressure and allow more velocity. As I said previously, go shoot yours and enjoy it. You can upgrade it when you're ready. If commercial ammo isn't showing any pressure signs, then you're good to go.

Again, welcome to the forum.

Art