The 8.6 BLK is a cartridge designed for speed and superior performance. Although it shares a designation with 300 BLK, it’s important to note it’s not the same. If you’re interested in getting your hands on a gun chambered in this hard-hitting, fast-moving cartridge, take a closer look at the Faxon Firearms line of 8.6 BLK guns.
Faxon Firearms released the following details about their 8.6 BLK line of guns:
At the core of each firearm are Faxon’s amazing 1:3 twist barrels, machined 100% in-house at their Greater Cincinnati, Ohio facility.
With three AR-10 and three Bolt Action configurations (bolt action coming later this summer), you can put the game-changing 1:3 twist to the test whether you’re on the hunt or on the range.
The company added:
The 8.6 BLK round was imagined and developed by Q.
When imagining 8.6 BLK, a good starting point is to think of 8.6 BLK as 300 BLK’s “Big Brother.” However, it’s much more than just an upgrade on 300 BLK.
8.6 BLK is re-imagining “energy on target” by employing a fast 1:3 twist rate (compare to common 1:7 and 1:8 twist for calibers like 5.56 NATO or 300 BLK).
The lineup of 8.6 BLK guns from Faxon Firearms includes AR pistols, AR-10 rifles, and bolt-action rifles. Various lengths of barrels are also available from the gun maker.
Complete firearms include:
- Faxon Overwatch Hunter Bolt-Action 16 inch
- Faxon Overwatch Tactical Bolt-Action 16 inch
- Faxon Overwatch Tactical Bolt-Action 12 inch
- Faxon Sentinel AR-10 16 inch
- Faxon Sentinel AR-10 Pistol 12 inch
- Faxon Sentinel AR-10 Pistol 8 inch
AR-10 barrels include:
- Faxon 8 inch Big Gunner
- Faxon 12 inch Big Gunner
- Faxon 16 inch Big Gunner
Remage barrels include:
- Faxon 8 inch Modified Light Palma Profile
- Faxon 12 inch Modified Light Palma Profile
- Faxon 16 inch Modified Light Palma Profile
As mentioned above, perhaps the most fascinating thing about this cartridge is the 1:3 twist rate it’s made for. Kevin Brittingham, the cartridge’s designer, sat down with AR Build Junkies and said these are a few things you should know about this cartridge:
8.6 is still a 6.5 Creedmoor shortened case, blown out for a .338 bullet…For supersonic, the lightest bullet is going to be between 150 and 160-grain. Out of a 12″ barrel, we’ll be able to get somewhere close to 2,400 feet a second with that. We’ll have subsonic up to about 360 grain.
One of the first two offerings of this for supersonic is going to be a Barnes 210-grain bullet. It’s about 2,000 feet per second out of a 12″ barrel. It’s a 1-3 twist, so we’ve settled on the twist. We’re using some of the energy that is wasted, converting that to kinetic energy now by spinning the bullet faster. So in supersonic, it is more kinetic energy on target by spinning the bullet fast.
Discreet Ballistics did a great video that did a split screen where the only difference is that one is a 1:7 twist and the other is a 1:3 shooting gelatin. You can see that the 1:3 is two to three times the initial wound cavity…same muzzle velocity, same barrel length. Everything was exactly the same.
The product line from Faxon Firearms includes complete rifles, barrels, and the various parts needed to do your own 8.6 BLK build. Are you interested in adding one to your gun collection? Tell us what you think in the comments section below.