Most versatile 6.8 round available?

[worldskipper]

Doc,

There are quite a few bullets coming online for the 6.8 finally, Art over at Silver State is bringing some pretty impressive loads to market (and seems to be getting the bullet makers to adjust to this great cartridge). Do you see any one load that stands out as the most versatile for the 6.8 cartridge? Something along the lines of the old 150gr SP out of a 30-30? The reason I'm asking, is I would like to settle on two bullets (instead of the 6 I currently have on my reloading bench) one for practice/plinking and one for everything else.

Right now it looks like for those of us not worrying about shooting through car doors and such are:

110gr Accubond
100gr Accubond (Art said soon on this one)
110gr Pro-hunter
110gr TSX
85gr TSX
115gr Sierra OTM

Thanks,
Worldskipper

[Marcus L.]

If you are wanting a load to just shoot people, then the 115gr OTM would be ideal. It is accurate, fragments well, and will pass FBI protocol tests through commonly encountered barriers......even windshields in which the 5.56, 5.45, and 6.5 Grendel cannot do with fragmenting bullets.

If you are wanting a load to hunt with and shoot people, then a good soft point like the 110gr Sierra Pro Hunter might be better. It would not cause as tramatic of a wound as the OTM, but it would preserve meat better for taking game. Keep in mind though that exposed lead SPs will foul up the ramp and action of your rifle after a couple of hundred rounds and you'll likely start getting some functioning problems. That's why loads with no exposed lead are better in terms of reliability for rifles that you expect to fire more than 100rds before cleaning.

[DocGKR]

If I could only have one 6.8 mm load, I'd probably pick the current Hornady 110 gr OTM.

The Barnes 85 gr TSX is also nice, as is the Remington 115 gr Core Lokt.

The 110 gr Pro Hunter is another good option and I have have high hopes for the 100 gr Accubond.

[Grendelizer]

If you are wanting a load to just shoot people, then the 115gr OTM would be ideal. It is accurate, fragments well, and will pass FBI protocol tests through commonly encountered barriers......even windshields in which the 5.56, 5.45, and 6.5 Grendel cannot do with fragmenting bullets.

Interesting claim regarding the 6.5 Grendel . . . could you please cite your data source?

John

[Marcus L.]

I have never seen a standard Grendel OTM test in which the Grendel penetrated up to 12" while still maintaining a good level of fragmentation. One good example would be Dr. Robert's testing in which you can see on page 15 of this presentation:

http://www.dtic.mil/ndia/2008Intl/Roberts.pdf

Perhaps it has something to do with large hollow cavity in the nose which might degrade barrier penetration? Perhaps Dr. Roberts can give us insight on these tests and his opinion of the Grendel in OTM format. Do you have evidence to counter my claim?

[vicious_cb]

I have never seen a standard Grendel OTM test in which the Grendel penetrated up to 12" while still maintaining a good level of fragmentation. One good example would be Dr. Robert's testing in which you can see on page 15 of this presentation:

http://www.dtic.mil/ndia/2008Intl/Roberts.pdf

Perhaps it has something to do with large hollow cavity in the nose which might degrade barrier penetration? Perhaps Dr. Roberts can give us insight on these tests and his opinion of the Grendel in OTM format. Do you have evidence to counter my claim?

http://www.65grendel.com/forum/showthread.php?t=840

[Marcus L.]

http://www.65grendel.com/forum/showthread.php?t=840

We've all seen those tests, vicious_cb. Unfortunately, they are not what I consider trustworthy in comparison to Dr. Robert's testing. The Grendel testing with that green dye was NOT conducted by CCI Speer as was mentioned on that thread. It was performed by an independent Speer ammunition distributer and if you contact CCI Speer, they will tell you flat out that they have never tested the 6.5 Grendel. There are numerous problems with the observed pictures and lack of any evidence of proper calibration to ensure proper gel consistancy. A pre test and post test BB(at the minimum) would be clearly visible in the gel which we see none.......not to mention dyed gel is NOT to be used in FBI protocols. Improperly calibrated gel can result in much different performance and one load that does poorly in standardized FBI testing, appears to do much better when the gel is left to warm up which is often the case when tight controls are not maintained on the gel. I see no indication if they had been keeping those blocks in the sun or not, but as usual the density could have been confirmed with an additional BB test in which we see none. Duncan MacPherson goes over this in detail in chapter 5 "Tissue Simulation" of his book "Bullet Penetration: Modeling the Dynamics and Incapacitation Resulting from Wound Trauma".

Unfortunately, the internet is full of random gel tests and the results are very suspect due to extreme inconsistance performance and obvious deviation from FBI protocol testing. However, when you look to professionals in the field of wound ballistics that have their career and reputation on the line like Dr. Roberts, you know that his data will be more honest and accurate. At this time, I find it much more logical to accept Dr. Robert's test results on the Grendel and to take the ammo distributer's results with a truck load of salt.