6.8SPC or 6.5Grendel

[Gunfighter.45]

What would you guys prefer? 6.8SPC or 6.5Grendel as far as to reach out and touch someone.Which one of the two choices would you guys go with?

[Stephen_H]

I have chosen and recommend 6.8mm SPC due to lower operating costs, availability of factory loaded ammo, spare parts, and complete weapons. The longest range that I have regular access to is a touch under 500 yards at which distance both rounds are still neck-in-neck performance wise.

Stephen

[C4IGrant]

What would you guys prefer? 6.8SPC or 6.5Grendel as far as to reach out and touch someone.Which one of the two choices would you guys go with?

For distance, the 6.5 kicks most other cartridges in the butt.


C4

[Gunfighter.45]

For distance, the 6.5 kicks most other cartridges in the butt.


C4

Man... you really said it boss, as much as I have been researching and asking. I know I want to go with the 6.5 Grendel,that round to me is very very versatile especially out an AR platform.Iam Thinking 18in Satern barrel,Vltor upper,Sun Devil lower,Magpul PRS stock,Larue 11in hangard,Timney trigger,and maybe a nice NightForce scope.Man Iam getting excited just thinking about this project.I feel like Chevy Chase in Christmas Vacation, the scene when he daydreams of his pool, with that little song in background.lol

[Spurholder]

6.5...

http://www.alexanderarms.com/grendel_ballistics.pdf

[DocGKR]

The 6.8 mm upper eval done at TOS tested out to 650 yards. The best uppers offered an overall average group size of 0.99" and shot 0.95 MOA at 650--seems pretty good to me...

[jmart]

The 6.8 mm upper eval done at TOS tested out to 650 yards. The best uppers offered an overall average group size of 0.99" and shot 0.95 MOA at 650--seems pretty good to me...

A well put together 6.5 will match that and shoot flatter along the way. Neither is considered "flat", but the 6.5 is "flatter".

And using performance at 650 to separate the two is pretty pointless. Unless you do a hell of a lot shooting at 650, in which case it would make far more sense to pick a different platform that truly enables performance at that range.

[caporider]

If you want to reach out and touch someone, 6.5 Grendel is your cartridge. However, Grendel is still a fairly experimental platform and lots of tweaking continues, both among manufacturers and among shooters.

First off, the VLDs like the 123gr Scenars want as much muzzle velocity as possible to do their work. This, in turn, means that Grendel only starts to shine with barrels 18" and longer, preferably 20" and longer. And by shine I mean shoot flat, hit with sub-MOA accuracy, etc. Bill Alexander is testing a 10.5" Grendel upper, but this seems like a bit of a waste of the round's potential since muzzle velocity is so low.

Grendel is also picky about barrel harmonics and other rifle configuration issues that can affect accuracy. Grendel is also picky about which bullet you use with which length of barrel - e.g. shorter barrels get the 108s, longer ones the 123s, etc. If you go over to the Grendel forum, you can read about how a beautifully made cut-rifled Satern barrel gave Bill Alexander the fits because it would not shoot worth a wooden nickel.

AA is now bedding their gas blocks and barrel extensions using Locktite 2440 to deal with the barrel harmonics issue. I've never heard of any other AR needing this for accuracy.

Oh, and let's not forget about barrel twists, which vary from manufacturer to manufacturer. And the fact that there is 6.5 Grendel, and a bunch of "compatible" 6.5 barrels that are not Grendels but will shoot the available 6.5 ammo, but don't have AA's unique progressive chamber.

Bottom line, is that if everything aligns correctly and the stars shine favorably on you, you can pound steel all day at 900 yards shooting Grendel out of a 20" barrel with sub-MOA accuracy. If things don't go well, you will be starting on a long and possibly frustrating journey to make your rifle as accurate as it can be.

I have a 6.5 Grendel and I like what it does, but the platform is not plug and play quite yet. Be prepared to tinker...

(Yes, I do know 6.8SPC has it's fair share of teething problems, but I talked about 6.5 specifically because it is the better long range cartridge until someone comes up with 120gr bullets for 6.8 with a BC higher than .400 and load to mag length).

[DocGKR]

jmart,

I referenced the testing, as it is public domain info that clearly demonstrates that the 6.8 is more than capable of making accurate shots at ranges that are at the limit for most typical assault rifle or DMR uses. It was also interesting that ALL the 6.8 mm uppers in the test were reasonably accurate. Personally, if it is beyond 500 or 600, I'd be reaching for a .338 Lap Mag or even better calling in other assets in a military situation.

[septic-tank13]

i've shot many, but i'm building an SPRish rig on the 6.5G. i have most of the build complete. only having used a couple 6.8s i'd give the nod ballisticly to the 6.5G no doubt. it does a better job IMO all the way around. ammo availability seems to be fine thus far and wolf has been sending quite a bit into the US as well.

for reloading purposes the 6.5G has the 6.8SPC beat hands down. the availability to super 6.5 projos can't be denied. whether you want to punch paper, hunt deer, or be on the defensive, the 6.5 has some super bullets available. more so than the 6.8 anyway. this may change in time, but i kind of doubt it.

$.02