6.8 SPC AR on the range

Best 6.8 SPC Magazines

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The 6.8 SPC is a less-known round for the AR-15 when it comes to the general public. But, it is a favorite among professional marksmen and precision shooters alike. Why? Because the 6.8 SPC was built to exceed the standard AR-15 platform capable of firing 223 Remington or 5.56x45mm NATO rounds at extended ranges.

You can upgrade your 5.56 AR-15 to a 6.8 SPC model with a new upper receiver for better long-range accuracy from your AR-15. But you will also need high-quality 6.8 SPC magazines to complete the modification of your weapon.

A 5.56x45mm NATO magazine may hold 6.8 SPC bullets. Although not all 5.56x45mm NATO magazines are compatible with the various 6.8 rounds. Investing in high-quality 6.8 SPC magazines is essential if you want to maximize the dependability of your new AR-15.

If you’re still undecided about upgrading your AR-15 to the 6.8 SPC round, this article will explain why the round is so fantastic. First, we’ll go through the buyer’s guide before recommending the best 6.8 SPC magazines available on the market today.

Without any further ado, let’s begin!

C-Products AR-15 6.8 SPC Magazine
  • Lifetime warranty
  • Teflon coated for superior rust and corrosion resistance
  • Stainless steel construction
  • No 30-round option
$29 Shop NowClick to read my review
LWRC International SIX8 6.8 SPC Magazine
  • Chambers and shoots the .224 Valkyrie rounds
  • Full 30-round capacity
  • Impact and crush resistant polymer construction
  • Expensive
$35 Shop NowClick to read my review
Best Budget Pick
D&H Industries AR-15 6.8 SPC Magazine
  • Durable anti-tilt follower
  • Built to exceed mil-spec standards
  • Accepts .224 Valkyrie rounds
  • No 30-round magazine option
$28 Shop NowClick to read my review
Top Pick
Precision Reflex 6.8 SPC AR-15 Mags
  • Made with durable material
  • Reliable feeding for a long time
  • Ideal reliability for the 6.8 SPC
  • It might be difficult to remove the floor plate to clean it
$43 Shop NowClick to read my review

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Why The 6.8 SPC Round?

The 6.8mm Remington Special Purposes Cartridge, also known as the 6.8x43mm, is an intermediate rimless bottlenecked cartridge. The United States Special Operations Command, the United States Army Marksmanship Unit, and Remington Arms developed the 6.8 SPC cartridge. They made this cartridge a possible replacement for the standard 5.56x45mm NATO round fired from the short-barreled AR-15 cartridge.

6.8 SPC has not officially replaced the 5.56 round. However, it has gained a following among precision shooters seeking a more powerful round for the AR-15.

In contrast to the.270 Winchester, the 6.8 SPC uses the same bullet diameter as the popular .30 Remington. It is meant to be somewhere in between the 5.56 and the .308 Winchester in terms of performance.

The 6.8 SPC was first created as a replacement for the 5.56 NATO round because of the perceived shortcomings. As a result, manufacturers developed an entirely new round. It helped bridge the gap between 5.56 and the AR-10’s .308-caliber ammunition. The makers made modifications to the.30 Remington cartridge case, so shooters can fire the round from an AR-15 without replacing the lower.

For the best mix of penetration and accuracy at longer ranges, the makers added a 6.5mm projectile to the new round. The new cartridge may outperform the 7.62x39mm and 5.45x39mm Soviet Union standard cartridges (and now Russia).

They named the new caliber the 6.8 Remington Special Purpose Cartridge. It used a .270-diameter bullet projectile and a shortened.30-caliber cartridge casing.

Shorter barreled AR-15 rifles better suit the 6.8 SPC than longer ones. The 6.8 is supposed to function as well as a 20-inch AR-15 with a 10.5-16-inch barrel. This is because longer barrels offer superior bullet velocity and accuracy. Because of this, you’ll be able to shoot more accurately at long distances while operating your weapon easily in small spaces. Home defense and deer hunting in dense underbrush benefit from this capability (the 6.8 SPC makes for an excellent deer hunting round).

How to Use the 6.8 SPC Magazine with the AR-15

You can use the 6.8 SPC with the AR-15: just swap out the barrel, bolt, and muzzle device in the upper receiver. However, you can buy complete 6.8 SPC upper receivers instead of separate components to expedite the process. To convert a 5.56 AR-15 to a 6.8 SPC, all you need to do is remove the 5.56 upper and install the 6.8 uppers, allowing you to continue to utilize the 5.56 lower.

You should be able to use 5.56 magazines with the 6.8 SPC round. Magazines designed exclusively for the 6.8 SPC caliber exist because not all 5.56 magazines work consistently with the 6.8 SPC bullet.

Can You Ever Have Too Many Magazines?

In a word: nope.

You may be wondering about exactly how many 6.8 magazines that you should stock up on. One? Two? Five? Ten? Twenty?

Well, it’s up to you, but the truth is the more magazines you have, the better. Think about it this way: what if the magazines you currently own are the only magazines that you could have for the rest of your life?

The AR-15’s most frequent round is the 6.8 SPC, but it isn’t the most popular. Magazine prices may skyrocket if the supply of magazines were to dry up in the future (as occurred in late 2012 and throughout 2013). And it could be a long time before you could get any more.

In the case of a big calamity (such as a large economic collapse or recession, natural disaster, EMP strike, etc.), you should store up on several magazines since the supply would dry up even more and not return to normal levels for many years. Additionally, bear in mind that your magazines might get damaged, worn out, or misplaced.

That’s why stocking up on a lot of magazines now to last you for the rest of your life would be wise. Owning between five and ten magazines for your 6.8 SPC rifle would probably be an excellent goal to set.


Buyer’s Guide To Finding The Best Magazines For Your 6.8 SPC Rifle

These are the most important factors to consider when looking for new magazines for your 6.8 SPC rifle or carbine:

Durability and Materials

Go for a durable magazine. Check the body, the follower, the spring, and so on. The two most common material options for magazines these days are aluminum and polymer. So, when it comes to the body, and both are good to go.

Aluminum magazines are more durable and long-lasting, but they can add weight. However, it doesn’t mean that polymer magazines aren’t durable because they are.

It’s up to you to decide what you want. But if you opt for a polymer magazine, it’s best to look for one with a steel spring to ensure proper functioning and reliability.

Mil-Spec Standards

A good way to know if a magazine is “good to go” out of the box is to be officially built to mil-spec standards. Mil-Spec means that you can load it into just about any AR-15 lower on the market. Mil-spec standard magazines are highly reliable and durable.

Permit Lock Back

The bolt of your AR-15 should lock back and stay locked back after you’ve shot the final round. This will alert you that you have already fired the last round. It will only work if the bolt’s support spring is sufficiently powerful. To try this in your AR-15, drop the bolt on the empty chamber and insert an empty magazine. Check to see whether the bolt catch is fully engaged by reversing the charging handle backward.

To tell whether the AR-15 will perform consistently, you need to look at the magazine’s ability to keep the bolt locked back on an empty bullet. It most certainly will not be as long-lasting as a magazine that does allow the gun to lock back when empty.

Ejects Empty

Pushing the magazine release button on your AR-15 should cause the magazine to fall out of the weapon with no resistance. Using your hand to remove the magazine is a strong indication that the magazine is too big and not made to mil-spec requirements. However, it is also conceivable in this situation that the lower receiver of the AR-15 has not been built to mil-spec standards.


The 4 Best 6.8 SPC Magazines

Now that we have covered the merits of the 6.8 SPC round and what to look for in a magazine for the round, here are our picks for the top three best 6.8 SPC magazines today:

C-Products AR-15 6.8 SPC Magazine

C-Products AR-15 6.8 SPC Magazine

Available at a relatively affordable price for a 6.8 SPC magazine, the C-Products AR-15 6.8 SPC magazine boasts a stainless steel build. It has Teflon coating over the surface for superior rust and corrosion resistance. Since stainless steel is already a very rust-resistant material, you know that you’re buying a magazine where encountering moisture and humidity is not going to be a problem.

Each magazine also features an anti-tilt follower with quality springs, which are features that C-Products includes on each of their magazines. They also come with a lifetime warranty from the manufacturer.

The C-Products 6.8 SPC magazine is available with five, ten, twenty, or twenty-eight round magazines available. However, thirty-round magazine options are not available, which some people may find to be disappointing.

Overall
C-Products is a company that specializes in making magazines, so they know what they are doing. Their products are also all made in the USA, and these 6.8 SPC magazines come durable and rust-resistant from the factory without an outrageous price either.

Pros
  • USA-made
  • Lifetime warranty
  • Teflon coated for superior rust and corrosion resistance
  • Stainless steel construction
Cons
  • No 30-round magazine option

LWRC International SIX8 6.8 SPC Magazine

LWRC International SIX8 6.8 SPC Magazine

The LWRC International SIX8 6.8 SPC Magazines are built to exceed the most rigorous military performance specifications.

These magazines are built out of polymer, which is one of the few polymer 6.8 SPC magazines in existence. They are also both impact and crush resistant. The springs in the LWRC magazines are made out of stainless steel. There’s also an over-insertion stop located on the spine to ensure that the magazines will never over insert to cause feeding or reliability issues.

Additional neat features of the LWRC magazine include the aggressive non-slip texture on the body of the magazines and the durable floorplate design that will ensure positive magazine handling.

Overall
The only fault with the LWRC magazines, if you can call it a fault, is that they are very expensive for an AR-15 magazine. But that extra expense is a direct result of the fact that these magazines are built to very high standards and with a number of impressive features that other 6.8 SPC magazines are simply lacking.

Pros
  • Chambers and shoots the .224 Valkyrie rounds
  • Full 30-round capacity
  • Impact and crush resistant polymer construction
  • Lighter weight due to polymer build than steel magazines
  • Built to exceed rigorous military performance specifications
  • Over insertion stop located on the spine
  • USGI-spec stainless steel spring
  • Very durable floorplate design
Cons
  • Expensive

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D&H Industries AR-15 6.8 SPC Magazine

D&H Industries AR-15 6.8 SPC Magazine

D&H Industries have a reputation for making some of the highest quality AR-15 magazines in existence. Not only are their magazines some of the most durable on the market. But the company will actually take random samples from each batch of magazines, and run them through a torture test to make sure they are functioning properly.

These magazines come with a standard twenty-five-round capacity, and in addition to the 6.8 Remington SPC round, you can also load .224 Valkyrie rounds into them as well. Each magazine is built at the same factory as the Bushmaster magazine, and to exceed the standard mil-spec standards.

Overall
The D&H Industries 6.8 SPC magazine is an overall excellent option and a superb value. Each of their magazines are built to survive the various torture tests they are run through. The fact that these magazines can also chamber and shoot the .224 Valkyrie round is an added bonus.

Pros
  • Durable anti-tilt follower
  • Built to exceed mil-spec standards
  • Samples from each batch of magazines go through a rigorous testing process
  • Will work with any AR-15 that accepts STANAG magazines
  • 100% USA-made
  • Accepts .224 Valkyrie rounds
  • Made in the same factory as Bushmaster magazines
Cons
  • No 30-round magazine option

Precision Reflex 6.8 SPC AR-15 Mags

One of the best magazines available is the Precision Reflex 6.8 SPC AR-15 Mags. These magazines are made of hardened steel that is extra-durable. The steel quality is excellent, allowing it to run smoothly even in extreme use. Another advantage of this magazine is that it is easy to attach, the magazine inserts and ejects are quite sleek, making it very convenient to use. This magazine has tempered feed lips for increased dependability, so you won’t have to worry about it breaking easily.

Pri Mags are versatile because they can accommodate longer cartridges. Not all mags have this feature, so I can say this mag is amazing. It’s US-made, and its quality is supported by a lifetime warranty which is a plus. This mag is compatible with.224 Valkyrie and.22 Nosler cartridges and it is available in 10, 15, and 25 round options.

Overall
The Precision Reflex 6.8 SPC AR-15 Mags has a lot of features for a low price. Also, it does not add to the overall weight of the gun, making it very comfortable to carry. I can say that this magazine is good and that you should check it out.

Pros
  • Made with durable material
  • Reliable feeding for a long time
  • Easy to install
  • Ideal reliability for the 6.8 SPC
  • Compatible with other calibers
  • 100% USA made
  • Comes with affordable price
Cons
  • It might be difficult to remove the floor plate to clean it

Wrap Up

The magazines are just as important as guns because, without a quality magazine, it doesn’t matter how high quality your firearm is and you’ll only encounter jamming problems and a myriad of different problems.

Our top pick is the LWRC International SIX8 6.8 SPC Magazine. It’s highly durable and has lots of many excellent features. The only downside is that it’s expensive, but you get what you pay for since the quality of this magazine is top-notch. But if you’re on a budget, we recommend the Precision Reflex 6.8 SPC AR-15 Mags. As mentioned earlier, it’s one of the best 6.8 SPC magazines available. It’s feature-packed and versatile. It’s a bit costly, though. But with the quality and features you’ll get with this magazine, you probably won’t complain about its price in the end

Fortunately, each of the 6.8 SPC magazines that we have covered here today in this article will be a solid choice for your 6.8 SPC rifle and should each last you for many years of continuous use.

You might also like to read:

Featured image by Ammoland

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2 comments
  1. Thanks for the write up. However, aren’t these LWRC International SIX8 6.8 SPC Magazine only compatible with LWRC SIX8 recievers? I was about to buy a box based on this article, but…elsewhere the internet says that they may not fit regular mil-spec AR lowers.

    1. The LWRC mags are only compatible with LWRC Six8 lower receivers, due to their increased width. They will not work in a mil-spec lower.

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