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The lethality of the 5.56 NATO/223 Remington rifle cartridge has been a topic of heated debate since its adoption by the US military during the Vietnam War. When fired from a 20 inch barrel, the terminal performance of the 5.56 is quite impressive, however problems arise when a shorter barrel length is used.
During Operation Iraqi Freedom, the US Army started fielding the M4 carbine with a 10.5” barrel, as a short barrel was ideal for close quarters battle (CQB) as it was more maneuverable. However, the shorter barrel negatively affected the terminal ballistics of the 5.56 and soldiers later reported enemy combatants taking multiple hits while remaining combat effective.
The search for a new rifle cartridge was on, as US Special Operations Command (SOCOM) wanted something that could outperform the 5.56 in CQB conditions with a short barreled rifle (SBR).
One such cartridge was the 6.8 Remington Special Purpose Cartridge (SPC). Developed as a joint operation by Remington and the Army Marksmanship Unit, the 6.8mm SPC showed a lot of promise as it had impressive terminal effects at CQB ranges while experiencing a full powder burn in an SBR.
Although the 6.8SPC was not adopted by the US military, it has found a home in civilian AR platform rifles as a hunting cartridge and self-defense round.
The 6.8 SPC Is one of those rounds that had a massive failure to launch thanks to Remington botching the release by not having the rifle chambers built correctly. This caused slightly higher chamber pressures that the military balked at thanks to the issues during the release of the M16 and 223 Remington in Vietnam. Instead of fixing the chamber, Remington criminally underloaded the ammo which did not meet the expectations of the military.
Although the 6.8 SPC II has resolved these issues, the damage was done and Remington was out of the running. However, civilian shooters love the 6.8 SPC for its increased kinetic energy and effectiveness against medium to large game at closer distances. The 6.8 SPC gives AR-15 hunters an option for both whitetail and hogs that the 5.56 NATO simply cannot offer.
Sadly, ammo availability is a major issue for the 6.8 SPC as you aren't going to find a lot of this at your local gun shop or sporting goods store. On the other hand, 5.56 is one of the most popular centerfire rifle cartridges on the planet and you can easily find ammo at any store, online retailer, or gun range across North America.
Our recommendation is to stick to the 5.56 NATO unless the 6.8 SPC gets a major revival, as there's no worse feeling than having a rifle you can't shoot!
Read more about 6.8 SPC vs 5.56 HERE: https://ammo.com/comparison/68-spc-vs-5.56