Resized AR optimized for the Grendel

[Tacti-square]

Reading about LWRC's new line of rifles that better accommodate the 6.8's feed geometry, I started thinking about expanding on the idea.

How many of you would be interested in a conventional DI gun optimized for the 6.5 G? Nothing different from say a 6920 except the fact that the magazine, upper and lower are designed for the Grendel.

[SomeOtherGuy]

Once you have anything that is non-standard relative to an AR15, why not go all the way to a really good option? The 6.5 Grendel is a compromise to fit into the AR15 platform. If you want outstanding ballistics are are flexible on the platform, the .260 Rem and 6.5 Creedmoor (very similar to each other) just blow away the 6.5 G with their capabilities, and are a plug and play option in any of the .308 AR platforms. And the .308 AR platforms are becoming more numerous, better, lighter, and cheaper, with the S&W one looking especially good at the moment. Or you could buy an off the shelf Armalite or DPMS with a .260 Rem barrel, or buy a LMT MWS and get a .260 or 6.5 CM barrel for it (5 minute DIY change on the MWS).

I'll be curious to see where the LWRC 6.8 platform goes, but suspect it will mostly be export military sales and maybe one or two police agencies that are swimming in spare cash.

[Zane1844]

I do not know much about the caliber, actually anything at all, but what first came to mind is what the price is.

On Gunbot the 3 places that have it in stock, have it at 1.20. I am not sure about its normal price before the panic.

But another deciding factor for 5.56 is price and availability.

[caporider]

I'll be curious to see where the LWRC 6.8 platform goes, but suspect it will mostly be export military sales and maybe one or two police agencies that are swimming in spare cash.

Since LWRC will be selling stripped upper/lower combos of their Six8 platform, you could throw on a Grendel barrel and bolt and experiment with how the rounds feed out of the Six8 Magpul mag. FWIW all 20+ of my C-P 6.8 mags feed my Grendel rounds just fine.

[SomeOtherGuy]

I do not know much about the caliber, actually anything at all, but what first came to mind is what the price is.

On Gunbot the 3 places that have it in stock, have it at 1.20. I am not sure about its normal price before the panic.

But another deciding factor for 5.56 is price and availability.

Before the panic quality 6.5G ammo was $1 and up a round (generally also true for 6.8 SPC, and for most 300BLK loads except the UMC 115gr FMJ). Wolf Gold was available for about 75 cents/rd but got mixed to poor reviews.

[CC556]

Once you have anything that is non-standard relative to an AR15, why not go all the way to a really good option? The 6.5 Grendel is a compromise to fit into the AR15 platform. If you want outstanding ballistics are are flexible on the platform, the .260 Rem and 6.5 Creedmoor (very similar to each other) just blow away the 6.5 G with their capabilities, and are a plug and play option in any of the .308 AR platforms. And the .308 AR platforms are becoming more numerous, better, lighter, and cheaper, with the S&W one looking especially good at the moment. Or you could buy an off the shelf Armalite or DPMS with a .260 Rem barrel, or buy a LMT MWS and get a .260 or 6.5 CM barrel for it (5 minute DIY change on the MWS).

I'll be curious to see where the LWRC 6.8 platform goes, but suspect it will mostly be export military sales and maybe one or two police agencies that are swimming in spare cash.

Nailed it. The 6.5G was intended to fit a "decent" 6.5mm round into a standard AR15. I really don't see the point in going to some intermediate specialized rifle between the AR15 and AR10 platforms to eek just a little more performance out of the 6.5G when it would be easier and give you way more performance just to step up to the AR10 type rifles and shoot 6.5 Creedmoor, .260 Rem, .243 Win, 6XC, or any similar round that handily beats the 6.5G.

[caporider]

Nailed it. The 6.5G was intended to fit a "decent" 6.5mm round into a standard AR15. I really don't see the point in going to some intermediate specialized rifle between the AR15 and AR10 platforms to eek just a little more performance out of the 6.5G when it would be easier and give you way more performance just to step up to the AR10 type rifles and shoot 6.5 Creedmoor, .260 Rem, .243 Win, 6XC, or any similar round that handily beats the 6.5G.

The Six8 isn't really about performance, it's about reliability. They built the larger lower around a PMAG that optimized the stacking characteristics of the ATK 90gr ammo for reliable feeding on full auto.

As for the Grendel... With just a bit more headroom in the mag, you could load the 130gr 6.5mm bullets at good MV, which in turn gives you a package that is the same weight and size as an AR15 but with much better downrange capability. Sure, stepping up to 6.5 Creedmoor or .260Rem is a possibility, but at the price of added weight and recoil.

And just like the current crop of 16" AR308 guns is proving that you don't need a 22" barrel to get good results, so too does a 16" Grendel offer a great deal of capability in a compact package.

If you're just shooting off a bench, a bigger gun with a bigger round always makes sense. If you have to carry your rifle around or actually try to shoot against a timer, the smaller AR15 platform -- optimized to a great extent when chambered for 6.5 Grendel -- represents a very good tradeoff.

[Tacti-square]

The Six8 isn't really about performance, it's about reliability. They built the larger lower around a PMAG that optimized the stacking characteristics of the ATK 90gr ammo for reliable feeding on full auto.

If you have to carry your rifle around or actually try to shoot against a timer, the smaller AR15 platform -- optimized to a great extent when chambered for 6.5 Grendel -- represents a very good tradeoff.

This is exactly what I was getting at, thanks. The great thing about the Grendel is that you don't have to step up to a significantly heavier platform to accommodate it. I feel like if someone made slight changes to a rifle line, they could optimize it for the round so the shooter doesn't have to sacrifice nearly as much maneuverability/weight when compared to bigger systems.

[ra2bach]

my line of thinking goes two ways - maximize the package that can be fired from standard AR bolt and magazine, or maximize the next package in the next larger platform. creating a special platform for a package that exceeds the former but not the latter doesn't make sense to me...

[CC556]

...
If you're just shooting off a bench, a bigger gun with a bigger round always makes sense. If you have to carry your rifle around or actually try to shoot against a timer, the smaller AR15 platform -- optimized to a great extent when chambered for 6.5 Grendel -- represents a very good tradeoff.

Surprisingly, I've actually done this. I've carried and shot competitively at long range both a 6mmAR (6.5 Grendel necked down to 6mm) and an AR10 platform rifle in 6XC. The weight penalty for the bigger rifle is about 1 pound if you configure the rifles similarly. Using a lightened carrier and tuning the gas system on the 6XC rifle resulted in a setup with negligibly more felt recoil than the 6mmAR (as well as the lightened carrier shaving a little weight off the total package.) The massive improvement in external and terminal ballistics that the larger platform allows is worth far more in my experience than the ~1lb weight penalty and the slightly increased length due to the longer receivers.