[flatlander43]

I am going to try switching my eight-year-old great-grand daughter from the 243 to the six8. All of her hunting is at fifty yards or less and I am considering the 120 Hornady SST. Florida deer are far from huge so my thoughts are a load that produces a velocity of around 2100 fp From an eighteen inch barrel, there are multiple powders for the job, but for pressure/recoil I was leaning toward H4198. Any thoughts?

 

[erdyalx]

Your basically duplicating the 25-35 and the 25 Remington. At that distance the bullet should still expand. I would use it if needed.

Sent from my SM-G990U using Tapatalk

 

[just_me_mongo]

If you can find it, I would use AA2200 or Re10x.

TC

 

[flatlander43]

If you can find it, I would use AA2200 or Re10x.

TC

I happen to have two unopened canisters of 2200.
thanks I will check into that

 

[Bebe]

If your 6.8mm is an AR, just be sure you're getting enough "ooomph" to feed, fire and function (3F).

 

[just_me_mongo]

Which chamber do you have? SPC or SPC II? That will make a big difference with your loads (Bebe nailed it above).

Load data below:

https://accuratepowder.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/09/WesternLoadGuide1-2016_Web.pdf

TC

 

[NC TX]

My 8yr old son got his first deer this year with his 6.8 spc II 18” barrel and 120sst. I would also recommend 2200. For his rifle I loaded 25.6 gr 2200 (Alliant book max is 27.2) bullets seated to mag length. At this charge and even lower there is plenty to cycle the action and we have not had any issues with either of our 6.8. He shot his buck at 73yards , hit him right behind the shoulder in lower vitals. Buck ran about 10 yards. Internal damage was incredible just a handful of lung was left. I don’t have a chrono but by my best guesstimate should be around 2390fps. He has absolutely no trouble with handling the recoil and burning through ammo.

 

[Guts]

I am not criticizing, just curious. Why such a light load? Even with hot 120 grainers the SPC has considerably less recoil than a 243. I can definitely see how a 243 would develop a flinch in an 8 year old, it can with some adults.

 

[flatlander43]

the 243 she is using is the same one I gave her dad when he was ten. I "soft loaded" for it with a 100 gr Sierra Pro Hunter for the past years he hunted with it. He now shoots a 270 Remmy 700 that I got him for his 16th birthday. The A2200 loads I ran today were at 25.5 gr. and produced a five shot average of 2370fps and a SD of 17.6. I think with the short shooting distances and the bullet weight/ velocity the 6.8/120SST will outperform the 243. Also fits her MUCH better. She is very tiny for eight y o

 

[flatlander43]

My 8yr old son got his first deer this year with his 6.8 spc II 18” barrel and 120sst. I would also recommend 2200. For his rifle I loaded 25.6 gr 2200 (Alliant book max is 27.2) bullets seated to mag length. At this charge and even lower there is plenty to cycle the action and we have not had any issues with either of our 6.8. He shot his buck at 73yards , hit him right behind the shoulder in lower vitals. Buck ran about 10 yards. Internal damage was incredible just a handful of lung was left. I don’t have a chrono but by my best guesstimate should be around 2390fps. He has absolutely no trouble with handling the recoil and burning through ammo.

I don't know why I did not go with 2200 from the get-go. It was always considered one of the top powders for the six8.
I think your velocity gueesstimate for your load is spot on.

 

[NC TX]

Hey I’m glad it worked out for y’all both. One thing I like better than hunting is taking the kids to go shoot or hunt. I’ve came across an educated guess formula since I don’t have a chrono and it’s always been really close for me. I’ll take book listed min/max fps and divide that by the respective min/max charge to get a number that you can plug in for the charge weight you wind up using. In this case in particular I used 93.45 multiplied by my charge of 25.6 = 2392fps. Best of luck to y’all and hope your granddaughter has a great hunt!

 

[Frost84]

If your 18” barrel has midlength gas then the recoil impulse will be very mild. One of the softest shooting loads I have tried was Sierra 110 Pro Hunters over H322.

 

[flatlander43]

If your 18” barrel has midlength gas then the recoil impulse will be very mild. One of the softest shooting loads I have tried was Sierra 110 Pro Hunters over H322.

fully agree....this was my first choice for test since it was one of the bullet/powders I had on hand,
I think the recoil thing will take care of itself. She's a tough little country kid.

 

[WVHunter1s1k]

It will do it. But, I'm not sure about how many exit holes you'll have? 120gr SST is a cup & core. It may fragment allot. Good luck to her!

 

["Follow Me!"]

I have an 8 year old son and he has no problem shooting any of my 6.8 loads and they are on the warm side. 6.8 spc in an Ar15 doesn't recoil that much more then 5.56. Maybe load some lite loads and work up to heavy and have her try each.

 

[flatlander43]

Thanks for all the input guys. I think we will be going with the 110 Accubond. we have plenty of porkers sharing our deer hunting spots, and knowing her she will drop the hammer on one of it walks in front of her.