The Firing Line Forums - View Single Post - 6.8SPC a flash in the pan or a long lasting round?

Geezerbiker · December 29, 2013, 04:45 AM

I'm not committed to anything and the 6.8mm is about to the end of it's curiosity for me. I have more than a dozen rifles but none of them particularity fit my 11 year old grandsons.

If I were more of a gunsmith and less of a mechanic, I would buy a couple savage Axis rifles in .223 and screw on 6.8mm barrels. This would be close to our price range and selling off the .223 barrels would offset part of the cost. I'm not up to trying this but I do like the idea...

Both boys are excited about deer hunting even though I've told them hunting around here is awful. Plenty of deer in the yard and none in the woods. The easy solution is to hold off on the hunt for a couple more years until they can shoot rifles I already own...

Anyway I'm thinking now of getting them Handi Rifles in .35 Remington. The one rifle I have they liked the feel of is my .45-70 Handi but neither of them is thrilled about shooting it and I can't blame them. I figure I could load premium .357 handgun bullets to around .357 max velocity and the recoil would be ok and we could load them warmer as the boy grow up...

I had forgotten how much trouble it was teaching their mother to shoot when she was that age. I think the recoil is more of a mental challenge than a physical one at that age. When my daughter was around 14 she inherited a Rem 78 Sportsman .243 from her uncle and I always talked about it being a light shooting round (for me) and she tried it and found it acceptable. Later on I told her my .308 only had a tiny bit more recoil and she did well with it.

Anyway I don't think I can head fake the boys that way...

Tony

December 29, 2013, 04:45 AM	#17
Geezerbiker Senior Member Join Date: March 20, 2011 Location: Willamina, OR Posts: 1,908	I'm not committed to anything and the 6.8mm is about to the end of it's curiosity for me. I have more than a dozen rifles but none of them particularity fit my 11 year old grandsons. If I were more of a gunsmith and less of a mechanic, I would buy a couple savage Axis rifles in .223 and screw on 6.8mm barrels. This would be close to our price range and selling off the .223 barrels would offset part of the cost. I'm not up to trying this but I do like the idea... Both boys are excited about deer hunting even though I've told them hunting around here is awful. Plenty of deer in the yard and none in the woods. The easy solution is to hold off on the hunt for a couple more years until they can shoot rifles I already own... Anyway I'm thinking now of getting them Handi Rifles in .35 Remington. The one rifle I have they liked the feel of is my .45-70 Handi but neither of them is thrilled about shooting it and I can't blame them. I figure I could load premium .357 handgun bullets to around .357 max velocity and the recoil would be ok and we could load them warmer as the boy grow up... I had forgotten how much trouble it was teaching their mother to shoot when she was that age. I think the recoil is more of a mental challenge than a physical one at that age. When my daughter was around 14 she inherited a Rem 78 Sportsman .243 from her uncle and I always talked about it being a light shooting round (for me) and she tried it and found it acceptable. Later on I told her my .308 only had a tiny bit more recoil and she did well with it. Anyway I don't think I can head fake the boys that way... Tony Last edited by Geezerbiker; December 29, 2013 at 04:50 AM.