6.8 SPC 6.5 Grendal

6.8 should be just fine for deer. I have two 6.5 Grendels (both bolt action) and that's a great hunting round too, but the 6.8 is pretty close. I went with the Grendel because Howa chambered it in their Mini action, and because I can load heavier bullets than the 6.8. For hunting, I always like bullets on the heavy side for a given caliber.

I haven't shot a deer with my 6.8 but I did use a stripped upper from DD when I built it. No complaints.

As far as hunting I recommend checking out 68forums. There are some very recent posts about hunting.

Flip a coin, they are both good rounds for deer. Do you reload or buy ammo? Here in my part of Wisconsin the grendel is nonexistent but yet I can find several flavors of 6.8. If you buy factory ammo I would find which one you can buy locally with ease.

With that said, am building a 6.5 grendel but I also reload as well.

My wife has taken large buck deer at out to 225 yards with her WC Recon in 6.8 - boringly efficient. I am sure any 6mm family round will kill deer (and then some).

Converted one of my carbines to 6.8SPC. Had it in the blind 3 times, did not have a shot. I consider it very good to 300 yards.

Go to predatormasters.com and there is section on hunting with the 6.8. It appears that the 6.8 is preferred for hunting over the 6.5. Not that either one can't be used.
kwg

The one thing about grendel is it can support some pretty long VLD bullets that are available for the other 6.5mm rounds. However, you can't often fit these in a AR magazine.

I have zero experience with the 6.8

When I built a 6.8 it seemed like there were more "hunting" bullets for the 6.8 and more "target" bullets for the 6.5. I haven't kept up, but I think there are more 6.5 bullets suitable for hunting than there used to be. I have no business shooting at a deer over 250 yards or so and I think the 6.5 probably gains some trajectory advantage past that, so the 6.8 serves me well. I reload everything and all of the 6.8 bullets I have tried have been very accurate and effective on deer.

I like my 6.5 G had a 6.8 spc II Didn’t care for it that was years ago and it wasn’t near as popular as it is now

Not used a 6.8 SPC but I have used the .277 Wolverine. You know, the little cartridge that’s not quite 6.8 and not quite 300 BLK. It’s a nifty little cartridge, and since it’s not quite 6.8, the 6.8 should be just a little better. I would not be afraid to use it to 300 yards.

There have been those who have taken elk with both calibers. It seems one could think of it as a .270 with 200-250 yards less range. I have yet to hunt larger game with mine, but there are plenty who have with good results.

Here is one such instance, it’s old back in 2008, but still relevant today:

Bull Elk at 372 yards
6.8 SPC II, 110 gr. Nosler Accubond at 2,880 FPS (20” barrel) this was shot at high elevation which No doubt helped. (LINK)

This is a very accomplished 6.8 SPC II shooter, who’s done a lot of loads and shooting of said cartridge.

I've shot a couple deer and a bunch of hogs with a 6.8 SPC.



It works well enough.

I liked it for the most part. I got sick of stocking yet another cartridge (I have 7 cartridges that I stock besides that one, it used to be a dozen), at the time I always had to order ammo for it off the net and a buddy really wanted it. So I let it go.

I might get into another one at some point if ammo availability ever gets quite a bit better.

When they both launched, I was on the 6.8 side of the fence, and was firmly so until about 3yrs ago. Today, the Grendel makes a lot more sense, out of the two of them.

My “go-to” deer and hog AR is an 18” 6.8, but I honestly expect to hunt just as often with a 20” 6.5 Grendel. Flip a coin, they’re really too close to call.

Any difference on game like deer, hogs, and coyotes, or any difference in range shooting out to 1000yrds is trivial. But there’s a real difference in brass and ammo availability - the 6.5 Grendel has far more market support, and it’s looking like it will forever onward.

But both work on Deer, and are quite likely the most efficient cartridges available for such task, without any considerations for limited range or particular shot angle.

As was said above they really are close, with some differing factors:

-6.8 bolts are stronger, less material was removed from bolt face, 6.5 when pushing pressures have been know to break lugs
-6.5 does its work at less pressure than 6.8
-6.8 has better energies at 250 yards in with loadings
-6.5 has better BC bullets that overcome marginally the 6.8 at distance with energy, drop and wind
-6.5 feeding from mags has some issues, maybe someone can verify if this has been overcome
-6.5 has steel cased fodder if one wants to burn ammo
-ammo availability really is region specific, the 6.8 has better support where I’m at, however the 6.5 seems to be making ground.
-6.8 had the SPC/SPC II fiasco
-6.5 had the differing bolt dimension fiasco


It’s a give and take on the two, I landed on the 6.8 SPC II side and will stay there, as one can get military overrun loaded rounds from time to time as there are foreign governments utilizing it. And sellier and bellot has great brass that is very suitable for reloading. The 95 grain Barnes TTSX, 110 Nosler Accubond and the 120 Hornady SST are where it’s at for performance.

One has to decide for themselves.

brutus51 said:

I posted this on another forum.
After consulting with various reloading manuals I've found that the one limitation to the 6.8 SPC is bullet weight. Max recommended is 115grainers although Hornady makes a 120gr. bullet with a short ogive that will work.
As I understand it LMT makes a rifle dedicated to the 6.8 but requires it's own magazines that are wider to except longer cartridges.
SPC shoots 115gr. bullets to 2600fps. While the Grendel shoots 123gr. to around 2400fps. Think I'm better off with a 150gr. 30/30. View attachment 825722

Click to expand...

Not that the 30/30 is a bad choice but just for arguments sake
At 200 yards
Fed 150gr hishok is down to 1672 fps and has 931 ft lbs of energy.
By comparison fed fusion 115gr 6.8 is still going 2025 and has 1047 ft lbs and the fusion 120gr 6.5 is going 2094 and has 1168 ft lbs.

All three are just fine for deer

brutus51 said:

While the Grendel shoots 123gr. to around 2400fps.

Click to expand...

You’ll get a lot more than 2400 out of 123’s in the Grendel, unless you’re shooting a pistol barrel.

Hornady loads their 123 factory stuff to around 2450fps as I recall. My reloads are fairly hot and only do 2500ish out of a 16" barrel. To go much higher than 2400fps you really need a long barrel.

My take on the 6.8 vs 6.5 is that if you are shooting longer than 300yds and /or want a long barrel the 6.5 wins. Shot barrels and ranges under 300 the 6.8 hits harder.

My crystal ball predicts the 6.5 to remain popular, and bullet prices to come down some with the growing popularity of the 6.5 creedmoor. The 6.8 will not go away anytime soon, but will lose popularity UNLESS the army actually moved to a 6.8mm round like rumors sometimes indicate. Personally, I'd skip the 6.8spc in favor of the new 350 legend of you want to hit hard under 200yds, and the Grendel if you want to go farther.

I really like my grendel. Shoots soft and has dropped the couple critters I have hit with it right on the spot. (Though I will say the hog I hit with it was with a 123grn factory loaded sst that went right through the the heart and lungs, tiny hole in, tiny hole out. I was hoping for a more dramatic exit wound at 75yds.....but dead is dead I suppose.)

greyling22 said:

To go much higher than 2400fps you really need a long barrel.

Click to expand...

If I’m to be included in the “you,” then I will say, I haven’t needed a “really long barrel” to get over 2400fps with the Grendel.

I’m running 2560fps out of a 20” tube with the 123 ELD-m’s, which replicates the speed of the factory Black ammo in that rifle.

Exactly. Your barrel is 25% longer than mine. Longer barrel, more velocity. If you move to a 24" you can go north of 2600fps. And just to note, I said a long barrel, not a really long barrel.

Here is a chart ang guy made about velocity to barrel length all the way out to 10000 yds. It's about halfway down the page http://www.akfiles.com/forums/showthread.php?t=287599

I would count a 20” barrel as “long” on a handgun maybe...

I'm sorry
The 6.5 Grendel is the better cartridge. End of story.

Speer lists data for their 130-grain bullets, velocities top 2600 fps. Same loa as their lighter bullets.


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I've shot a few deer with 6.8 and some prairie dogs. You do feel a little more pop on your shoulder than 5.56.
If it is a way to get you legal with your AR great. I would try to get an 18" barrel and load it up with a chrono, try to wring out as much velocity as you can get safely. I always used the 110 Accubonds but other bullets are probably better.