300 Ham'r vs 6.5 Grendel

I want a new upper ,out of the two for hunting hogs and deer whitch would you pick? I'm thinking Grendel

 

Did you mean 6.5 Grendel?

 

I would do the grendel between those two. Not a fan of the ham'r. I just don't really get what it brings to the table that a 7.62x39 doesn't.

 

Grendel has better ammo availability. Great for deer. Probably good on hogs too, but i have never shot a piggie so idk.

 

Grendel

 

Depends.

Do you handload and are swimming in free range-pickup 5.56 brass? Ham'r makes a lot of sense.

Do you only shoot factory ammunition? Go Grendel.

 

Grendel for me.

 

^^ this

 

If you hand load and shoot a lot, I find 30 cal bullets cheaper...

 

More importantly, I find them more frequently as well.

 

Grendel, cheaper to,

 

id encourage you to review the ballistics and compare… examples with 16” barrels are:
7.62x39 (125 grn, 2365 fps/1552#)
300 blackout (125 grn 2175 fps/1313#, though I do run hand load 110 ttsx at 2404/1411#
the 6.5 grendel gets close with hornady 123 grn (2580 fps/1818#) but that’s with a 24” barrel versus 16”…300 hamr running a 16” barrel, 125 grn Speer Wilson factory load is 2500 fps/1735#

The thin wall on the bolt that grendel uses along with having to run much longer barrel for comparable ballistics for a hunting rifle imo makes this a no brainer…as said, imo, but barrel length to me is a big deal for a hog hunting rig

for long range target or a range rifle, the barrel length doesn’t matter much but you said you were looking for a hunting round..out of ar15 the hamr is top of the chart from what i’ve seen

It’s also very accurate and Wilson usually has a wide range of ammo choices.

my 18” barrel runs 130 grain speer hot core at 2531 FPS/1848 foot pounds of energy and is very stout for hogs

Imo literally what’s not to like about it?

 

My 16” 7.62x39 does 2600 with a 125 nosler accubond with a book load of CFE BLK

 

that’s impressive,..the info I posted was a based on a remington 125 grain factory load

 

I haven’t needed 24” to get 123’s up over 2550.

 

Have you considered the 350 legend, it is cheaper than either the 6.5 or 300 hamr and inside of 200 yards is a beast plus you can get 145 gr fmj plinking ammo from Walmart for $18 a box

 

I remember when the fmj stuff was under $10 a box

 

Not the ? you asked, but I think I would pick 350 legend. There seems to be plenty of it available, at least around here, at least for the moment. I guess it didn't catch on like the manufacturers thought (much like most new rounds). Of course, that could also give it an uncertain future. As for hogs, I have killed lots of them with 223- they really aren't that hard to kill. And- heresy- I have never lost a deer to 223 either, which I have used in NC and Fl. My go-to 223 round for hunting is 75 grain Hornady BTHP.

 

I have considered the 350 but ,I have a lot of
223 brass . For ease of reloading the 6.5 G
may be the best option.i like the ballistics!

 

You can’t make .350 legend from .223 iirc

 

Just stick with the .223. I like the 75gr Hornady BTHP. Shoots flat, hits hard, not too expensive! Match accurate!
I’ve got a 6.5Grendel upper, but for ease of loading, lack of expensive brass to loose, I vote.223!

 

I have a couple YouTube channels nearly totally dedicated to 6.5 Grendel Hunting, at least since 2015. I hunt mostly hogs, coyotes, and a few other varmints by request. Distances are usually around 100ish yards and generally around 75-200 with some shooting as close as 25 and some out to 360.
https://www.youtube.com/c/HornHillRange
The 2nd channel is dedicated to terminal ballistics...
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCnqJoGlKC2vGn33hGPI312w

I got into the Grendel from a .308 because I needed something with less recoil for a few weeks after abdominal surgery and I haven't looked back.

While I am a big fan of the 6.5 Grendel, I am not a fanboy. There are plenty of fine cartridges out there in this range and a lot of subtle differences in performance between cartridges that won't make a whole lot of difference at typical hunting distances inside 200 yards with a proper shot and decent hunting bullet. Ballistics-wise, if you are shooting greater distances, the Grendel has some real advantages over some, but that tends to be more beyond 400 yards and most people really don't hunt that far or very often. By and large, most US hunters are shooting less than 200 yards. There are quite a few notable exceptions, particularly out west, but also in some parts of the country, folks are doing good to have 50 yards of open terrain.

The Grendel is quite capable. You have a wide selection of bullets to choose from that will deliver a wide variety of terminal performance types on your intended quarries.

 

I have a 16" grendel and an 11" ham'r. I've shot a few pigs with the grendel, and a couple pigs and a deer with the ham'r. Shot placement is key. (Duh)

I'm getting about 2500 fps with 123grn bullets in the grendel, and 2200 fps with 125 grn bullets in the ham'r. I think I could bet to 2300 fps with a different powder and a hotter load.

It has been fun to shoot the hamr, but I don't know that it's better. Forming brass is neat. Cutting down 223 cases and necking them up. But it's a lot of work. Of course, trimming was tricky. Lee doesn't make a trim for it. I had to get creative and use a 30 herrett gauge and file the primer pin down a bit. And I had to buy a harbor freight mini chop saw, and a jig........ So while brass is free, the effort into making a case causes me to hunt for my brass aggressively. Also, a sized 223 case still fire forms to final shape. The sides straighten out some and the shoulder sharpens. It's a little like fire forming a 257 Rob into an Ackley. But not quite as dramatic. You pick up about a grain of capacity.

And the Wilson barrel, while superb (sub moa 11" barrel? Yes please) was $250. My grendel barrel was like $150 I think. It's a ballistic advantage, and maybe a 1-1.5moa barrel. Grendel mags cost a couple bucks more. If you reload and like reloading and tinkering, the ham'r is fine. But it was designed to mimic the 30-30. It's not a long range caliber. The grendel is probably more versatile and easier to feed.

The 6.8, 6.5, ham'r, x39, 277 wolverine, they're all about the same. Pick something that makes you happy and roll with it. I honestly think they're all a little light for hunting. They will kill, but I'd rather have a little more oomph.

If all my stuff was stolen, I'd probably abandon both ham'r and grendel and find one of those small frame ar10's and chamber it in 6.5 creedmoor (or a 7mm-08 would be nice) Less recoil than 308, more power than grendel.

At least, those are my early morning thoughts.

 

6.5 Grendel. I dislike of the Hammer for the same reason I dislike the Blackout. .308” 125gr bullets are flying dinner plates! They have horrible ballistics! No range, & no penetration. Just look at the BC & SD #’s on them.

 

This thread is the definitive work on the ham'r bill Wilson is very active on it. https://texashuntingforum.com/forum/ubbthreads.php/topics/7506626/43

He uses an 18" barrel and shows photos of how he is giving teddy Roosevelt a run for his money in his quest to kill every living thing larger than a wristwatch in Texas. He was very fond of the 135grn hot core bullets, and has recently gotten into some fancy (Leigh defense?) Copper bullets. Heck, I think Wilson combat bought the company making them. But I'm not going to buy fancy bullets. That was the whole point of abandoning the blackout in favor of the hammer. I could use a cheaper bullet that killed effectively. No more barns black tips for me! The 125 tnt seems to kill fine and is cheap. For the grendel, I'm thinking of abandoning the 123sst in favor of the 90gn tnt. I've shot straight through all my hogs with the sst. I want something that expands better. But again, shot placement is key. I've had more hogs run off, never to be found than just fall over. And while it's possible I'm missing them, often you can hear the bullet hit and they squeal and still run off. Now, after that first shot, shooting at a running hog off hand with a thermal scope on one power at 80 yards, I'm sure Ive missed
plenty