Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Ask The Gunwriters New Army cartridge announced to replace the 5.56 in service rifles and SAWs

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Absolutely correct. Bullets are the key here, not shells shapes. In the early days of the debate between those that like the 6.8SPC and those that like the 6.5G, the 6.8 had a number of good quality hunting bullets available and the 6.5 had about 1. The 125 grain Nosler Partition.

Since that time the 6.5 has gained a lot of popularity and there are quite a lot of hunting bullets that work well in the 6.5G now days. The largest reason the 6.8 out killed the 6.5 was the fact that 10-13 years ago almost all the kills made with the 6.5 were made with target bullets and the 6.8 was being used with hunting bullets. This coupled with the fact that the larger bore size did give a bit larger diameter wound channels. Any bullet when it expands to perfection goes to 2X it's unfired diameter. That's the "perfect standard". So a .277 expands to .554 and a 264 expands to .528 in the 'perfect world".

In the real world however, the target bullets of the 6.5 were not expanding reliably at all, often bending or breaking up and with a great numebr of wounds veering off to give wound channels in deer where the shooter didn't want to make them. So I think the deck was stacked against the 6.5 from the onset.

Personally speaking, I prefer the 6.8SPC to the 6.5G, but I don't say it's vastly better.

I have no need or desire to own a mid-power cartridge that flies well enough to make hits at 800 yards. I don't shoot that far at game... ever. I can, but I refuse to do it. I shoot at 1000 and 1200 fairly often at non-living targets, and I know how to do it. I do it pretty well, but I personally think it's unethical to do it on game animals.

I have been involved with the 6.5 cartridge since it first came out and I was making cases out of 30 Remington and even 30-30s with the rims turned off and a groove machined into the head. So you can say I have been around it from the get-go. But I also got interested in the 6,.5 Grendel not long after that, and I have made and used them, several times too. Overall I rate the 2 cartridge as being similar.

I have seen faster kills with the 6.8 at closer ranges, out to about 200 yards then I have with the 6.5G. At 250 out to about 350 I see no difference at all when used on deer and antelope. At 400 and out, the 6.5 seems to do well and maybe a bit better then the 6.8. So I have a good respect for the 6.5G but after making many of them, and using them for a few years, I sold them all and kept my 6.8s. That's just my personal preference.

I like the fact that MOST of the kills I have made with my 6.8s have been "bang-flops" So far I have killed 36 head of game with my 6.8s and of them all, only about 5 were not "bang-flops"

I have never seen a long run with a deer or antelope shot with the 6.5G, (most go about 15 to 20 yards) but I have only seen one "bang-flop" with it, so this is why I say what I say. I agree with the Army and USMC in their findings.

I saw it 2 more times just 2 months ago. My friend Randy came out from Nevada to hunt antelope and he brought a 20" 6.5 G. He made 2 excellent hits on 2 antelope with 123 grain Hornady bullets, and neither went more then about 20 yards after the shots, but neither one dropped at the shot either. Randy also owns several 6.8 SPCS and he is the only man I personally know that has killed more game with the 6.8 then I have, (Last count he had killed 38 head of game with his 6.8s) and he also tells me most have been 'bang-flops"
The 6.8 seems to drop the game a bit faster at short to mid ranges. (which constitutes about 90% of the kills in the real world) At room clearing distance out to about 200 or maybe 250 the 6.8 SPC just kills faster.

If I were limited to one auto-loading rifle for hunting my 1st choice would be an AR-10 size light weight (8.5 pound) rifle in 7-08.

If that was not available and I wanted to stay in the AR15 size I would go with the 6.5G because it kills well enough for me to not worry about long blood trails, and it does out-fly the 6.8 at the ranges from about 375 to 500 yards.

But I can own more then one. And I do.

So I choose the 6.8SPC and if I want something for longer shooting I own a 25-06 a 6.5X54 M/S, a few 270s and also several 30-06s, two 308s, an 8X57, a 300 Magnum, a 9.3X62, a 9.3X74R and a 375H&H, ALL of which tromp on both AR cartridges badly.

So the idea that the small gain I can see for the 10% of the shots I take with the AR15s by using the 6.5 over the 6.8 is not based in reality. The 90% favor the 6.8.

But for someone that wants a "deer gun" in an AR, and doesn't have a safe full of other options, the 6.5 G may be the round that covers the bases a bit batter. You really can't go far wrong with either one.