6,8 SPC and 6.5 Gredel

[constructor]

I respectfully disagree with your opinion that the 6.5 Grendel is largely a target round. Yes, the Grendel's origins can be traced back to target shooting, but it is also an excellent hunting round with .308 class performance. Game of all sizes from prairie dogs to elk can be taken with the Grendel at ranges beyond what the 6.8 SPC can do. In 2007 Mark LaRue took down a bull elk at 400 yards using an AR chambered in 6.5 Grendel. The success of that hunt is what convinced him to start selling rifles chambered in 6.5 Grendel.

Both cartridges are very close in performance. There was a 5x5 elk taken with a 6.8 at 372 yards(ranged) the same year Larue shot the one at 400. In 2010 a guy shot a 8' Grizzly with a 6.8. The wild claims are usually made by people that have shot one but not the other.

[Todd.K]

It is beyond ethical range and or bullet selection for big game, before there is any significant difference between them.

It's just not worth arguing about when any reasonable person would pick a larger cartridge if they intended to hunt at longer range.

[PatEgan]

I respectfully disagree with your opinion that the 6.5 Grendel is largely a target round. Yes, the Grendel's origins can be traced back to target shooting, but it is also an excellent hunting round with .308 class performance. Game of all sizes from prairie dogs to elk can be taken with the Grendel at ranges beyond what the 6.8 SPC can do. In 2007 Mark LaRue took down a bull elk at 400 yards using an AR chambered in 6.5 Grendel. The success of that hunt is what convinced him to start selling rifles chambered in 6.5 Grendel.

Sir,
Fair enough and thank you for your response, but the vast majority of input on the Grendel that I read/have read has come from target shooters, or is in the form of raw statistical data, and not 'in the freezer' results. I don't doubt for a second that guys are out knocking down deer with the Grendel, but feedback sure seems weighted to the 6.8 side. As an aside, I've never understood the assumed rivalry between the end users of each. If you can afford it and they're both so great, why not have both? I'm aware that's a rhetorical question, but I just don't see the problem.

It is beyond ethical range and or bullet selection for big game, before there is any significant difference between them.

It's just not worth arguing about when any reasonable person would pick a larger cartridge if they intended to hunt at longer range.

I would tend to agree with you. We only hear about the successful hunts, not the ones where the animal limped off to die days later.

[brutus51]

Placed an order for the 6.8 SPC upper assembly for the following reasons.
1. Where I hunt 200 yard shots are the max.
2. Bigger bullets work better.

[Falshooter]

Oh boy here we go again.

All I'll say is both cartridges have their similarities and are an improvement over the 5.56. I researched both and bought the 6.5 Grendel and I have been completely satisfied. Both require different barrel, bolt and magazine than 5.56/223 AR-15.

Kind of reminds me of 9MM/40/45 pistol caliber debate.

[Moonlight Again]

There is an awful lot of partisanship in the 6.5/6.8 conflict, which obscures the fact that they are broadly similar cartridges. Back when I was a younker, we ran into the same kind of issue regarding the .270 Winchester and the .30-06, spending hours debating the merits (and weaknesses!) of the two cartridges.

I'm still "stuck" with the 5.56mm and the 300 BLK, but there's probably a 6.5 Grendel upper in my future. I settled on the Grendel for two inarguable reasons: first, the availability of the Wolf steel case ammo at considerably better pricing than anything available for the 6.8 SPC, and second, I've just been a fan of the 6.5mm bore size since reading "The Short Happy Life of Francis Macomber" and the exploits of Karamojo Bell.

If I had a hard time sourcing the Grendel components or ammunition, I'd be (almost) just as happy to go with a 6.8 SPC.

As constructor said above, "Both cartridges are very close in performance." Pick the one you like and go shoot the snot out of it.

[caporider]

Sulzer Firearms is also making a 6.8 receiver set for less than LWRC. I know nothing about that company’s track record, though.

MDWS is creating steel mags that will interface with Six8-sized receiver sets -- these mags will allow a COAL of 2.39" so expect 130gr bullets in the 6.5 Grendel to become much more useful (along with added MV for 100-123gr bullets, of course). I've loaded Grendel rounds using the Berger 130gr Hybrid Tac bullets seated to 2.37" with no issues in a Faxon 12" SAAMI barrel and a Brownells Grendel II barrel. These steel mags will also allow for proper cartridge stacking for reliable feeding, especially with the slightly bigger (than 6.8) Grendel cases.

MDWS apparently has a "major manufacturer" on tap to make Six8-sized billet receiver sets for substantially less than LWRCi is charging. These receiver sets take all standard AR15 parts other than a slightly modified bolt catch.