6.5 Grendal vs 6.8 SPC

I haven't owned a Grendel yet, but I did take a few deer with an 18" 6.8. That carbine was relatively easy to maneuver in a cramped climber, I didn't care at all if it got rained on, and the 110gr Accubonds it launched at 2,660 turned the lights off pretty quickly. It really struck me as an excellent deer thumper for woods duty. I sold the 6.8 off and bought an AR10, but the handling wasn't the same and if course it was heavier.

I think the SPC and Grendel are about the best you can do in an AR-15 intended for deer and hogs. I don't think it will matter at all to the deer which of the two you use.

This is all my humble opinion fwiw. Neither one is a magic cartridge. For practical hunting purposes, they are similar and both rounds currently have brass and bullets to reload with. Decent ammo is available for both. Similar recoil and not substantial difference in power up to 300-400 yards. As Varmintterror mentions, there are more Grendel choices on hardware currently than 6.8 SPC. The apparent success of the .224 Valkyrie however will keep bolts and magazines being made for the 6.8 which are important to keep that round viable.

Get either but if buying ammo from a bricks and mortar store or getting a specific brand of rifle is important--buy what they stock. I went with a 6.8 SPC build because it performs a bit better with a shorter barrel and the Grendel was hot at the time so got very good 6.8 SPC components cheaper than comparable Grendel ones. Have a bolt for a Grendel (used the carrier for something else) and might build one in the future simply for range fun but it will have at least an 18-20 inch barrel. Personally have no interest at 500-1000 yard type shooting and where I live ranges with such distance are few and far between so the whole Grendel superiority starting at 400 yards plus at long range over the 6.8 SPC has no practical importance to me. If that was so important, I would build a .224 Valkyrie which is even better at the long range target game than the Grendel.

Alternative cartridges are also useful if we have another great ammo shortage from panic buying. Boutique rounds hang around a bit longer on the shelves than the popular stuff initially but are often slower to recover after the panic stops as ammo production lines are concentrated on getting the biggest bang per buck ammo out first.
But, if I was hunting medium game with restrictions on ammo (3-5 rounds), I prefer a bolt action myself in traditional hunting and military cartridges--.308, 6.5x55, 7x57, .303. .30-06, etc.

6.5 vs. 6.8 again!
If the "rumor" is true that army picked 6.8 as the next common military round, not necessarily 6.8 SPC, the 6.8 will be much more affordable to shoot. Personally, I'm waiting on 277WLV go SAAMI!
https://www.armytimes.com/news/your...oth-fire-this-more-accurate-and-deadly-round/

Given the distance your looking for, easy choice to me is 6.8 due to its better performance in shorter barrels-I greatly prefer the 16” barrel and at that length the 6.8 will outperform the 6.5 until it’s well past what if ever use it for.

I have a 6.8 in a Barret Rec 7, and it’s excellent and very well made.

HankC said:

6.5 vs. 6.8 again!
If the "rumor" is true that army picked 6.8 as the next common military round, not necessarily 6.8 SPC, the 6.8 will be much more affordable to shoot. Personally, I'm waiting on 277WLV go SAAMI!
https://www.armytimes.com/news/your...oth-fire-this-more-accurate-and-deadly-round/

Click to expand...

If that is true I think it is great news

HankC said:

6.5 vs. 6.8 again!
If the "rumor" is true that army picked 6.8 as the next common military round, not necessarily 6.8 SPC, the 6.8 will be much more affordable to shoot. Personally, I'm waiting on 277WLV go SAAMI!
https://www.armytimes.com/news/your...oth-fire-this-more-accurate-and-deadly-round/

Click to expand...

Well it definitely isn't the 6.8 SPC based on the reports so far. They are developing a new cartridge for the 6.8. Of course, that is a multi-front problem, developing a new cartridge with all the trials and tribulations and modifying and developing platforms to function properly with a cartridge that is under development. Given previous military advancements with developing new weapon technology, you can probably expect the benefits of less expensive 6.8 bullets in 1-2 decades, LOL. Since they apparently won't be using 6.8 SPC, don't expect the 6.8 SPC to actually become less expensive.

Double Naught Spy said:

Well it definitely isn't the 6.8 SPC based on the reports so far. They are developing a new cartridge for the 6.8. Of course, that is a multi-front problem, developing a new cartridge with all the trials and tribulations and modifying and developing platforms to function properly with a cartridge that is under development. Given previous military advancements with developing new weapon technology, you can probably expect the benefits of less expensive 6.8 bullets in 1-2 decades, LOL. Since they apparently won't be using 6.8 SPC, don't expect the 6.8 SPC to actually become less expensive.

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I wonder if it's the 6.8 MPC?

[meaning they took something like the 6.5 MPC and figured out a way of stuffing a 6.8 bullet in there]

Apparently the 6.5 MPC does well out of short barrels which the military has a thing for and uses standard mags.

http://www.defensereview.com/ssk-65-mpc-best-assault-rifle-cartridge-for-21st-century-warfare/

knowing the government they have probably decided to design something themselves that is identical in performance to 6.8 spc and at great expense to the tax payer. Then they will change their mind and cancel the project because someone gave a bunch of money to their congressman to keep the status quo.

drmajor said:

Looking to convert my AR15 to 6.5 Grendal or 6.8 SPC... for deer and hog hunting. Deer < 180# and hogs 100 to 250#.

Distance- 100 yds. or less...

What are the advantages and disadvantages of each.??

Knock down power?

Choice of hunting ammo?

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Of those 2, I would choose the 6.5. They are almost identical, but the bullet selection is lopsided. I agree with some of the others that 7.62x39 would be better inside 100. But then you are back to a slightly limited bullet selection.

I choose the 6.8 since I was able to get a cr*p load of ammo from my friend who works at "The Arms". I went with the Ruger and then sent it to ASI for the whole package. Its a shooting machine.

I'm with you in that I love the .277 WLV. If you're a reloader then it's an easy wildcat cartridge to support. Similar to 300 BO in that you only need to replace the barrel. Uses 5.56 bolt, 5.56 magazines. Two manufactures have factory brass, a ton of community support, and .277 specific dies and tools are readily available. Even a couple of manufactures of loaded ammunition. It has almost no felt recoil, performs well out of pistol to rifle length barrels, sub sonic capability, all while reaching out further than the 300 BO, to nearly 300 yards with enough velocity to penetrate, expand, and kill game. As has been mentioned 6.8 SPC and 6.5 Grendel will perform well and likely have no difference in outcome at 100 yards. If you plan on pushing out beyond 300 yards with game I'd suggest 6.5 Grendel hands down.

HankC said:

Personally, I'm waiting on 277WLV go SAAMI!

Click to expand...

Either will work, and the differences are well discussed here. For hunting inside of 100 yards depending on where you live the .450 Bushmaster would be a contender for most game inside of 150 yards.

-Jeff

6.8 hits harder at shorter ranges. grendel has longer legs.

I built a 16" grendel as an antelope gun. Just got back from it's first hunt. shot a youngish one on the run at 200+yds. it was headed mostly away and my shot went in essentially the butt and took out the liver, a lung, a kidney etc. Missed the heart, but he dropped like a rock. I'm impressed with the grendel so far. Low recoiling, and the report sounds deeper and less offensive than 223. I was able to stay on him while I shot and missed a couple times at 6x. I was using a hornady 123grn sst. Whatever that factory load is.

I have a baggie of about 100 6.8spc cases I have picked up. It's popularity has waxed and waned over the years. It was fading out in favor of the grendel, but with the Valkyrie now on the scene and using the same mag and bolt, I suspect is may make a comeback.

I could not find my bullet. I assume it was hiding in an internal organ. But the photos of other recovered bullets show it expanding. See below. Not my photo.

Grendel throws high enough SD and BC bullets. 6.8 does not.

Grendel has cheap steel case ammo availability. 6.8 does not.

The only thing the 6.8 has over the Grendel in this scenario is provide a bigger launchpad for inferior projectiles.

I wouldn't base anything on what the military might do. They might do a lot of things which never make it out of the evaluation phase.

What the military does do is stick with 5.56. You could make a strong case for just using 5.56 if your work truly is limited to 100 yards.

The 6.5 and 6.8 will outperform the 300 on deer. If the 300 didn’t perform, it was user error, but the 6.5/6.8 will do better.

drmajor said:

Do the SST expand, or do they fragment?
See mention of them everywhere.

With 30/06 Deer Season, they fragment..messes up some meet but puts them down, But not the hogs. Often takes two shots..

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Based on what I have seen with 6.5G and 6.8SPC, the answer your question is YES and YES.

Any round will take 2 shots if you don't shoot in the right place on hogs. If you don't hit the CNS, preferably high CNS, expect the hog to run. The hog may go 10 yards or 200 yards depending on where you hit it. I have shot the heart on a hog and had it run 70 yards. I have see shots that basically liquify the lungs and the hog goes over 100 yards. Hit just one lung or a liver shot and they may go a couple hundred.

honestly, if i was doing it all over again, for hunting, i'd just do an ar10 in 308. it's just a better cartridge than anything in the ar15 platform if you want to kill something.

I’ve been coming around to the idea of deer hunting with an AR15. I’ve been reading load manuals and snooping around on the internet to see what results people are getting with these two and concluded they are not going to do anything for me that the 7.62x39 I already have does for my typical 75 yards wood hunting. I know that’s not the power factor I want for deer but I might take it to fill a doe tag and I think I’ll build a 450 bushmaster upper for next year.

Inside 300 yards - 6.8 > 6.5
6.8 SPC (16” test barrel), 110 gr Accubond) = 2,700 FPS, 1,780 ft/lbs
6.5 Grendel (24” test barrel), 123 gr SST = 2,580 FPS, 1,818 ft/lbs


Inside 150 yards - 7.62x39 > 300 Blackout
7.62x39 (20” test barrel), 123 gr SST = 2,350 FPS, 1,508 ft/lbs
300 Blackout (??” Test barrel), 110 Barnes TTSX = 2,350 FPS, 1,349 ft/lbs

These numbers are all taken off manufactured websites for their products. I tried to take the best hunting ammo that I hear reports of one each cartridge for comparison.

As one can see with 8” LESS barrel length the 6.8 SPC is right there with the Grendel in energies. So for the same length barrelthe 6.8 SPC will have an energy advantage at hunting distances. However, the Grendel’s bullets greater BC will start to take over at ~400 yards or so.

Really it doesn’t matter much between the 6.8 vs 6.5 what this thread is about when talking about hunting. But in my research I recognized there was a distinct advantage in energies with the 6.8 in hunting distances which is why I went with it among some other bolt design and cartridge advantages.

Take home point of the day: “Don’t get weighed down in the minutiae of the different cartridges as one can see at hunting differences around 100 yards the game is not going to tell whether it was hit with a 6.8, 6.5, .277, x39, or 300 bo. Now if you shot it with a 450 bushmaster I think he would be deader than the rest.”

I’m out west so distances grow.