hey AR guys ans gals , do any of yal use the 6.8 spec as a primary hog gun, I was wondering how it stacked up against the /39 mini 30 I been using. would I gain any real killing power with the 6.8 on paper don,t seem to be that much difference, most of my hunting is within a 150 yards been using hornady 123 grain sst ammo groups well out of my 30 but don't seem to knock pigs down like I would like, have a AR in 5.56 already. was looking at getting a 6.8 upper,any more than 150 yards and I would most likely go to one of my bolt guns , and the ammo I been using and the 6.8 don,t seem much different have 5.56 and mini 30 with Russian ammo for plinking, would the 6.8 improve my killing power or do I need the go to a ar 10 for what I need, I really like the light AR 15 platform for a fun hog and varmit killer as I like my mini 30 to just looking for a bit more ummmp . have bolt gund for primary deer guns but may carry cabine when doing close up cull , spike, doe permit work, whats yals feeling any of you have past knowledge of both the 6.8 looks like a decent round and more like a hunting bullet bring it on folks

Whew! That sentence was a mouth full.

I believe Glenn Guess is running an AR in 6.8. He's a member here and has killed a hog or two in his life.


Chupa

Both are up to the task. Just depends on how much your willing to spend on ammo to shoot hogs.

6.8 ammo being more expensive

If I were you I'd try a tougher bullet in the 7.62x39; you might get better results. The SST is a pretty lightly-built and I wouldn't think it would penetrate well on hog shoulders.

The above comments sum it up pretty good. Cost per bullet and bullet selection will be the biggest factors for success.

When I was shooting pigs with the 7.62x39 from an AR, the SST was king and did well on shoulder shots but was precision enough for head shots when required.
You just need to know the target area on pigs and it's pretty easy.
I have since moved on to 6.8x43 and have been successfully using them for over a year now.
The 6.8 has a much better bullet choice for shooting pigs also.
85gr TSX shoots lazer beams for longer range out to 300 or so.
95gr TTSX for out to 250.
120gr SST for all around closer range use and surgical accuracy.
SSTs are also about half the price of the TSX/TTSX.

The 120gr SST dropped a 358 pound pig for me out of a 16" 6.8 ARP barrel at 125 yards.

what kind of penetration did u get vern with the sst,s in /39 . the longest I have shot is around 70 yards ant had a pass thru yet all hogs have ran on average 50 yards. I think I will study the kill zone a bit more am still going to use the mini when out shooting and hanging out, my research also points to the 6.8 as having much better bullet seletion, am a horady guy and am mainly wanting to shoot inside a 150 yards so am interested in the sst,s I already reload them in my 7 mag with good results , the price of the 6.8 hornady and the hornady /39 ammo is not a lot and I can get a set of dies and can of powder and cut cost in half, I am talking with a local dealer on building me a 6.8 upper for my armilite AR , also the AR will be more accurate for percision shots, any reccomendations on uppers, and I love the barnes bullets but in my opinion way to costly for hogs, and that's a hell hog a hog vern

I meant hell of a hog haaa haaa

also seems the best ammo available for the /39 is cor bon which is very high

6.8 is a hog killing machine
I have killed a ton of deer and pigs with one over the last 6 years or so...

I have ran just about every bullet and ammo available for it and have been handloading the 95g Barnes since before they were publically realeased.

The testimonials of the Hornady 120 SST factory load were enough to warrant trying some.
Spoke with a guy who eradicated pigs and he said he is having better terminal performance than the TTSX

I got a few sample boxes from Hornady and they grouped very well..

Decided to buy 5 boxes and dial my scope in for them.
I like reloading but time is sometimes hard to spare.

Yeah, I've had similar results.
The 95gr TTSX was my goto bullet for a while.
Then I started shooting more and more pigs and they were getting expensive.
I tried some of the 120gr SSTs and they grouped better than the TTSX from my guns and were cheaper.
The grouping diffence was really not a concern as they both shot MOP (Minute Of Pig) quite well.
I have killed more with the TTSX but the SST is catching up.

One thing you need to be aware of is the barrel fouling differences with SST and TTSX.
If you shoot one, then switch to the other, your accuracy will suffer until the barrel acclimates to each bullet.
In other words, if you were shooting SSTs and switch to TTSXs, they will spray 4 or 5 shots until the TTSX fouls the barrel the way it likes it, then settle down to good groups.
It's the same switching from SSTs to TTSXs but the SSTs seem to settle down after less shots.
Best suggestion is to clean your barrel between solid copper and standard cup-n-core bullets.
Check zero while firing some fouling shots and it should settle in.
Another plus for the SST is you can shoot it and most other cup-n-core bullets like the 115gr Nosler Custom Competition for target/plinking and not spray the first few but they do shoot different POIs in my guns.

I also do a cold bore zero since I hunt mostly with single shots from a blind these days and want the first shot on target.

Find one you AND your gun like and stay with them cause if you switch back and forth, you could be chasing zero.

yep, I always clean a barrel and shoot a few fouling rounds whenever I change any ammo component, powder or bullet.
Definitely with the Barnes bullets.

For hunting, the most important shot is from a cold bore

Love my 6.8. Wear the hogs out with it. Good ballistics out to 300 yrds, and a huge improvement over 5.56.

Well then y'all are having better experiences with the SSTs then I had. For a time, I loaded them for deer in my .270. IMO, they were built too lightly. Great expansion, but the bullets fragmented badly. Changed over to the Interbonds, much happier.

I could see where the TTSX's are killing machines in the 6.8.

Doesn't take much gun to kill big pigs if you put it in the right place. My favorite hog gun is my .22-250, right in the base of the ear with a 53 gr TSX.