6.8 SPC Forums banner

Bad Experiences Thread

852 views 3 replies 4 participants last post by  Cavitation 
#1 ·
Hey Guys,

I'm new to 6.8 and new to hunting with AR's. I've been a bow and bolt gun guy most of my life

I have been reading a ton of positive results with the 6.8 on deer, hogs, yotes, and even black bear on this forum.

My biggest learning experiences hunting usually came from bad experiences (What ammo not to use, what shots not to take, what boots not to wear, etc.).

Anybody have any particularly bad experiences with the 6.8 on game they'd be willing to share? I think most of this will be ammo or shot placement related, but I am curious to see the full spectrum of the 6.8 experience and any tibbits of information about hunting with this round or hunting with an AR that a would help a newbie like me.
 
#2 ·
I don't have any bad experiences to relate, but my experience is that people like to talk about their successes and forget about their failures. I know guys that will go out and take a bunch of shots that are WAY to long for them, miss or wound a number of animals and come back and brag about the one long shot they made and forget to mention the rest. I've hunted with and guided lots of folks and it still surprises me when some of the stories get back to me, when I was THERE and know what actually happened. I quit reading most magazines after I realized that most of those contributors are FICTION writers. The problems start when someone inexperienced reads that Joe Shmo killed a T-Rex at 1200 yards DRT with a 6.8 and thinks its the perfect T-Rex gun. Regardless of how many Joe shot and never recovered.
 
#3 ·
My worst experiences have been 100% avoidable as they were Carbon Interface Unit (CUI) errors.

The first time I got a chance to hunt with one of my 6.8's I met a friend after work to hunt at a family property. It was a last-minute deal near the end of hunting season and I had already packed most of my hunting gear away. I grabbed my main hunting bag and rifle case on the way out the door in a hurry, and when we got out of the truck to go to the stand I realized I had moved all of my magazines and ammo into my range bag, which was back at the house. I got a doe with my buddy's 30-30 but kicked myself until next hunting season for that bone-headed move.

The next season I had an opportunity to hunt with another friend and pulled another stupid move. The first afternoon before we hunted we were shooting on his 200-yard range, and I was surprised at how low it was impacting so I adjusted my scope and patted myself on the back for double-checking my zero. That evening I had an easy shot on a doe right at 100 yards on the far side of a green field, shooting from a heavy duty permanent elevated stand. I took aim for a neck shot and saw the impact just behind the deer, over its back. It spooked and ran off, after I while I climbed down and looked for hair or any sign I had at least nicked her, but nothing. I was puzzled until I got back to my room, threw my magazine on the bed and then I saw it: the magazine I had been using at the range had my medium-velocity 110-gr target loads instead of the hot 95-gr TTSX loads I was hunting with. I adjusted my scope right out of the kill zone and that was the only deer I saw that trip.
 
#4 ·
The only negative I have found with the 6.8 or the AR platform was when I used S&B ammo marketed for thin skinned game. I suspect it was a Hornady 110 VMAX bullet. It was a shoulder shot at about 70 yards or so. No exit wound and both front shoulders were no good. It did drop the animal in its tracks.

AL
 
You have insufficient privileges to reply here.
Top