Rifles

Remington recently began loading a new rifle cartridge, the 6.8x43mm SPC. It was designed for military use, but Remington will also offer a variety of commercial loads under the headstamp "6.8mm Remington SPC." A 6.8mm cartridge may seem an oddball caliber, but it translates to .277 in good old American decimals, the same bullet diameter as the venerable .270 Winchester.

The cartridge is based on a modified .30 Remington case, a rimless version of the .30-30 introduced by Remington in 1906 for use in its Model 8 autoloader. The use of this case for the 6.8mm SPC was not nepotism on Remington's part. The original designers of the cartridge simply found the dimensions ideal for their purposes and purchased cases from Remington some time before the company was brought onboard with the project. Remington has since strengthened the case head and increased the neck thickness to enhance performance.

Perhaps the most important story here is not the technical aspects of the cartridge but rather therealities that prompted a few soldiers to develop what they feel is a better cartridge for the changing face of warfare.

Their motives are unquestionable Friends and fellow soldiers were dying, and they still are. Most of these guys will tell you the 5.56mm NATO cartridge is a competent round for open warfare. You can pack a lot of ammo for long trips afield and deliver a sweltering barrage of firepower to keep the enemy's head down while big guns are called in. But as we have all seen, open warfare doesn't take long when the full might of the U.S. military is brought to bear. Once the bombing stops and the dust settles, the dirty work begins. Then the action is up-close and personal. Whether it's door-to-door searches or a roadblock in hostile territory, every second a bad guy stays on his feet is a second in which American soldiers may die.

The 6.8mm SPC was developed by members of the 5th Special Forces Group and the Army Marksmanship Unit for use in the M4 and Mk12 combat rifles. It's important to understand that this cartridge is not in existence due to a directive from military brass or some high-ranking government official. It did not come from the top down as do most military cartridges. Rather, its development came from the bottom up.

It was conceived, designed and tested by the men in the field, men who have been there, done that and likely will have to go do it again. To illustrate what I mean, the man who spearheaded the development of the cartridge--who walked into a local gun shop and bought the first 100-count bag of .30 Remington brass with his own cash to begin the initial loading and testing--holds the rank of Master Sergeant.

Remington was contacted in October 2001 with a request to formalize the cartridge and help in final development. It was a risky venture, considering the multiheaded beast the military is and the fact that none of the top brass had yet signed off on the project. There was no guarantee the cartridge would ever see use, and, even if it did, there was certainly no guarantee Remington would get a government contract to supply the ammo. But some of the grunts involved took a trip to the 2002 SHOT Show and had a sit-down with the guys in green, and the deal was made. Remington decided to invest considerable funds to see this grassroots cartridge become a reality.