6.5 Grendel vs 6.8 SPC

Status
Not open for further replies.
joneb

joneb

Member
Joined
Aug 18, 2005
Messages
5,720
Location
Oregon
I have been interested in these cartridges for some time now. I recently wound up with a AR rifle in .223 Rem. If I were to get a upper chambered for another cartridge what should I consider?
The 6.5 Grendel and 6.8 SPC seemed like good options, your thoughts are welcome.
 
Since ~2012 and onward, the 6.5 Grendel is the one to get between the two. The first ~10yrs of their life together on the market, the 6.8 SPC had the upper hand for market support and availability, but once Will Bill released the trademark for SAAMI compliance standardization and riding both the boom of the AR following Sandy Hook and the coattails of the 6.5 Creedmoor and the long range shooting boom, the Grendel has flown past the 6.8 SPC for market support and popularity.

I have been a big fan of both since the beginning, and still have two 6.8 SPC rifles, but if I didn’t have such an abundance of brass, and if I hadn’t converted all of my 6.5 Grendel brass over to 243LBC, I’d abandon the barrels to the back of the safe and swap both rifles over to 6.5 Grendel… or 6 ARC.

Ballistically, there is really no practical difference between the two, and the lines about “6.8 SPC is better for hunting, Grendel is better for long range,” or “SPC is optimized for short barrels, while Grendel needs longer barrels to perform” are all just tired, tired, tired exaggerations which mean little more than absolutely nothing. I’ve hunted with both, shot 1,000yrds with both, had both in short barrels and long barrels… it’s easier to feed the 6.5 Grendel, and more, better bullets are available…

But the market support is overwhelmingly in favor of the 6.5 Grendel, which is what makes the real difference between the two for owning either. Better bullets, more availability of brass and bullets, more options for barrels, bolts, and mags all favor the 6.5 Grendel, and will remain so for the foreseeable future.
 
troy fairweather said:
What would you be using it for
Click to expand...
Mostly for fun, I have family in Texas with Hog problems, maybe deer in Oregon but I have better options for those.
Not sure how the 5.56x45 became a military cartridge, I think it is better suited for varmints JMHO.
 
Varminterror said:
Since ~2012 and onward, the 6.5 Grendel is the one to get between the two. The first ~10yrs of their life together on the market, the 6.8 SPC had the upper hand for market support and availability, but once Will Bill released the trademark for SAAMI compliance standardization and riding both the boom of the AR following Sandy Hook and the coattails of the 6.5 Creedmoor and the long range shooting boom, the Grendel has flown past the 6.8 SPC for market support and popularity.

I have been a big fan of both since the beginning, and still have two 6.8 SPC rifles, but if I didn’t have such an abundance of brass, and if I hadn’t converted all of my 6.5 Grendel brass over to 243LBC, I’d abandon the barrels to the back of the safe and swap both rifles over to 6.5 Grendel… or 6 ARC.

Ballistically, there is really no practical difference between the two, and the lines about “6.8 SPC is better for hunting, Grendel is better for long range,” or “SPC is optimized for short barrels, while Grendel needs longer barrels to perform” are all just tired, tired, tired exaggerations which mean little more than absolutely nothing. I’ve hunted with both, shot 1,000yrds with both, had both in short barrels and long barrels… it’s easier to feed the 6.5 Grendel, and more, better bullets are available…

But the market support is overwhelmingly in favor of the 6.5 Grendel, which is what makes the real difference between the two for owning either. Better bullets, more availability of brass and bullets, more options for barrels, bolts, and mags all favor the 6.5 Grendel, and will remain so for the foreseeable future.
Click to expand...



What @Varminterror said sums it up well as a guy who has both I’m in the Grendel Camp firmly
 
Last edited:
6.5 Grendel is the only one of the “boutique” AR cartridges that you can readily get cheaper steel case ammo for. That was the main selling point for me over the 6.8 and the 6 arc. The terminal performance is so similar that other factors between them, cost, brass availability, bullet selection etc, had much bigger impact on my choice.
 
6.5G was still pretty new with not a lot of commercial support when I bought my 6.8SPC upper. If the 6.5 had the same commercial support as the 6.8 at that time, it would have been a real toss up on which one I would have bought.

One thing that hurt the 6.8SPC was the chamber issues on early rifles. The original SPC chamber had some issues which were corrected with the SPC II chamber. Hotter ammo could cause problems in the original SPC chamber.

While the 6.8 SPC does not get the industry support it once did, it is far from a dead cartridge. 6.5 Grendel wins simple due to the industry support and the availability of ammo on store shelves.

Either will suit you just fine.

PS; I've had my 6.8 since 2012 and recently wanted something different. I started looking at the 6.5 Grendel and the 6mm ARC. I ended up keeping the 6.8 SPC and built another upper in 6 ARC.
 
Last edited:
I would own a 6.8 SPC II again before I owned another 6.5 Grendel.

However both of them slightly suck, with the 6.8 sucking slightly less.

Forced with the choice between 6.8 and 6.5 I think I would choose an M&P 10 in 308 Win. and get a 200 round case of the newly restocked Hornady Black 155 or 168 gr. A-Max ammo. An 8.5 lb. 18" M&P 10 or 20" Ruger SFAR will launch those 168 grainers faster than a 7.5 lb. Grendel launches a 123.

Allows me to comfortably avoid this debate altogether.

I can't recommend eithe 6.8 SPC or 6.5 Grendel on deer after what I have seen. They are the same class as 7.62X39 in terms of hunting.

Now the 224 Valkyrie is cool for coyotes and such because that is more akin to a 22-250.
 
Last edited:
I'd choose the 6.5 Grendel.

It's a more flexible round due to bullet selection.

But I also feel that both catridges make too many compromises in the name of trying to stuff more potent rounds into the smaller AR chassis. I'd take a standard. 308 AR every time over either of those.
 
I have had my Ruger SR556 in 6.8 SPC for over a decade, and it's a wonderful rifle, though a bit heavy for what it is. The recoil is light, it's superbly accurate and reliable. I shoot 130s out of it and reliably hit my 18" gong at 600 yards with it. I can't speak to it's performance on game but I certainly trust it as a battle rifle. I really don't think you'd go wrong with either. That being said the only reason I would choose it over my SR762 or SFAR (guess I have a thing for Rugers) is for the lower recoil, which isn't a factor for me, but is for my wife and kids.
 
If you're committed to switching to one of the two, I'd go with 6.5 Grendel simply for the availability of ammo as has already been stated. I own 2 6.8 SPC rifles...1 SBR AR-15 and another 16" barreled AR-15. I handload for both. The SBR is a home defense rifle and the 16" is a hunting rifle that has taken 2 deer...1 by me and the other by son this year for his first deer. Fortunately, I have enough reloading supplies to keep me in ammo for a while, but if I didn't handload and have a good supply of brass already, I'd be worried.
 
I’ve killed piles of pigs, deer and coyotes with both. Performance is too close to choose a clear winner, but I prefer the 6.8 SPC. I’ve seen more feeding issues from 6.5 Grendel rifles and I can only chalk that up to the steep shoulder of the 6.5 G case. 6.5 G is definitely going to be easier to get ammo and components for.

As far as 6.8 SPC, 6.5 Grendel and 5.56 killing deer sized game, they are all adequate. Period. I’ve killed too many deer and pigs with all three to believe any different. It’s pure ignorance to argue otherwise.
 
mshootnit said:
I would own a 6.8 SPC II again before I owned another 6.5 Grendel.

However both of them slightly suck, with the 6.8 sucking slightly less.

Forced with the choice between 6.8 and 6.5 I think I would choose an M&P 10 in 308 Win. and get a 200 round case of the newly restocked Hornady Black 155 or 168 gr. A-Max ammo. An 8.5 lb. 18" M&P 10 or 20" Ruger SFAR will launch those 168 grainers faster than a 7.5 lb. Grendel launches a 123.

Allows me to comfortably avoid this debate altogether.

I can't recommend eithe 6.8 SPC or 6.5 Grendel on deer after what I have seen. They are the same class as 7.62X39 in terms of hunting.

Now the 224 Valkyrie is cool for coyotes and such because that is more akin to a 22-250.
Click to expand...

what have you seen hunting with a 6.5 Grendel? I have several deer on the ground due to a 16” and 18” Grendel and a Speer gold dot handload. Full pass throughs with good exit and humane, swift dispatch.
 
I have cut open hogs shot with 6.5 Grendel and 6.8 SPC, similar weight bullets of the same style (123 and 120 gr. SST) and you really could not tell the difference in the wound tracks.

I am a Grendel fan (not a fanboy). There are a lot of good calibers out there and several in this 6.5 Grendel and 6.8 SPC range. There is so much overlap in performance that to say one is better than another means cherry picking which traits you want to claim matter the most.
 
I prefer the 6.8 SPC simply because that is what I have. I bought the 6.8 so I felt no need for a Grendel. Ballistics are similar like you said. If I bought a Grendel years ago, I would have no desire for a 6.8.

6.8 SPC has a slight advantage with short barrels. The 6.5 Grendel has a little better ballistics past 300 yards. For hunting, I don't think either is great for medium game much past 250 yards.

No animal will be able to tell the difference between the two. Neither kills them deader than the other.
 
I just wish the 7mm Valkyrie took was around when I got into 6.8 SPC long ago. It would have been the route I would have taken.
 
mshootnit said:
I would own a 6.8 SPC II again before I owned another 6.5 Grendel.

However both of them slightly suck, with the 6.8 sucking slightly less.

I can't recommend eithe 6.8 SPC or 6.5 Grendel on deer after what I have seen. They are the same class as 7.62X39 in terms of hunting.

Now the 224 Valkyrie is cool for coyotes and such because that is more akin to a 22-250.
Click to expand...

What have you seen that causes you to believe that the 6.5 Grendel and 6.8 SPC II aren’t adequate for deer size game my wife has killed 3 deer in a row last 3 years with a CZ 527 chambered in 6.5 Grendel that 100 grain Barnes TTSX is no slouch I have a brother that has double digit kills with the 6.8 SPC II and has never lost a deer to it



as for the 224 Valkyrie it was DOA because federal screwed up the twist rate and ammo at the launch it will never have the following of the first 2 mentioned
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Similar threads

T
  • Locked
6.8 Spc
2 3
Replies
70
Views
7K
JesseL
J
A
  • Locked
Da..it, Don't shortchange me! 6.5 Grendel vs. 6.8 SPC
2 3
Replies
61
Views
6K
Zak Smith
Zak Smith
U
  • Locked
Better performing round: 6.5 Grendel or 6.8 SPC
Replies
23
Views
2K
Tirod
T
W
  • Locked
Bolt action in 6.8 spc?
Replies
6
Views
773
shield20
S
K
  • Locked
An end to the 6.5 vs 6.8 debate.
2
Replies
28
Views
3K
Sunray
S
Back
Top