Which of these two calibers in a T/C for this use?

[Dr. Tad Hussein Winslow]

Which caliber would you run with, for a 10" T/C Contender pistol (and why), which will have these purposes:

Primary: Woods carry as a sidearm during spring turkeys for shooting coyotes & feral dogs out to 100 yards, and
Secondary: Fun, very accurate range gun
Tertiary: Maybe a whitetail hunt from a tree stand

My choices are:

1. 6mm PPC

OR

2. 6.5mm Grendel

Or some other suggestion? I plan to get a 6.5 grendel bbl for the XCR, so I'm leaning towards that one, but OTOH, I've always wanted a gun in 6mm PPC. Do you think the recoil would be unmanageable with the 6.5 grendel?

I put this in rifles (sorry if incorrect) instead of general handguns since it's a precision handgun, more like a rifle.

 

[matrem]

The only extensive experience I have with a 10" TC bbl was in 7mmBR,& that was " a while ago".I will say that with 120gr bullets,it didn't kick bad at all & I'd not hesitate to shoot a whitetail (or anything smaller) with it at 100yds.

 

[gvnwst]

Well, my choice would be a 6mmAR (turbo or turbo 40 also) barrel. Less recoil than the 6.5, with better ballistics than the 6ppc. You do reload, no? While not the same loads as you would run in that XCR, same brass, and it is really improved 6ppc, so you win many ways.

 

[db_tanker]

IIRC the PPC cartridge might be pushing the frame strength. Don't quote me on that. Not sure about the Grendel, though.


If it does, then I would look at the 6mm TCU. take a 5.56 cartridge and neck up to 6mm and blow it out. Also there is the 7mm TCU but I have been lusting for a nice 18-20" carbine in 6TCU to play with.

 

[Dr. Tad Hussein Winslow]

Here's a related discussion:

http://castboolits.gunloads.com/showthread.php?t=12748

So let's expand it a little bit to:

1. 6mm PPC
2. 6.5 Grendel
3. 6.8 SPC
4. 6mm AR
5. 6x45mm (same as 6mm AR?)
6. 6mm TCU
7. What else?

Pros & Cons of each? Particularly for principal use of yotes & feral dogs?

Yes I do reload. I'm thinking I should probably eliminate the 6.5 grendel and 6.8 spc from the mix, as they are a little bigger and more powerful that what fits this use. Probably a 6mm of some flavor - which one of the 6.0's has cheapest Contender barrels, brass, etc., since their ballistics are gonna be about the same? If it matters, I'd probably be sticking with 70-75 gr bullets for this rig, possibly 60s or 65s.

 

[gvnwst]

6mm TCU is the IMP version of the 6x45, the 6mmAR and brothers are based on a necked down 6.5g case. So, a really improved 6ppc. It gives flatter trajectory with less recoil than the 6.5g (important in handguns) and is easy to form. See here for details. Oh, wait, i really don't know if contender barrels have the 6mmAR... i will have to look that up.... But see this site for good 6mm cartridges that i am sure (some of um) are in contender barrels: http://bratrifles.com/

 

[matrem]

If your primary purpose is "yotes & dogs",Why consider anything over .224? You're only sacrificing trajectory & recoil!

 

[gvnwst]

not really, the 6mm bullets have really good BC and aren't all that heavy.

 

[matrem]

"not really, the 6mm bullets have really good BC and aren't all that heavy."
Even at that 100yd mark?

 

[ilike223s]

I think if anyone has a T/C should check these folks out,they'll make anythng you want or need for any T/C and stand by there work,,

bullberry.com

 

[Dr. Tad Hussein Winslow]

Anyone else help compare/contrast these for my purposes:

1. 6mm PPC
2. 6.5 Grendel
3. 6.8 SPC
4. 6mm AR
5. 6x45mm (same as 6mm AR?)
6. 6mm TCU
7. What else?

Thanks. I'm pretty sure I want to run with a 6mm, not a .224, and not anything larger either.

 

[gvnwst]

Did you check the link i put up there?(post #6) The 6mmBR looks good too.

 

[Dr. Tad Hussein Winslow]

Update

Well, I went in a little bit different direction. I bought a 10" contender barrel with dies, brass, & loaded ammo today in .218 Bee! My reasoning being that a 10" barrel is not gonna burn nearly all the powder of a .223, 6 PPC, 6 TCU, etc. I came *this* close to grabbing the K-hornet 10" bbl before getting the Bee instead. I think this'll be a good match for my purpose here. Thanks for all who helped. P.S. I still need a frame/grip/forend pistol for the bbl - looking for a bargain used one if anyone knows where to refer me on this.

P.S. Is the .218 Bee derived from the .25-20 case? That's what the T/C guy said.

Special thanks to gvnwst for excellent info.