Home Forums Hunting & Shooting AR and Tactical Rifles Picking AR-15 Caliber

Thank you all so much for all of the advice and information y'all have definitely given me a lot to think about even somethings I didn't even know existed.

Yeah, try this one on for size then. Some guys are saying the 6.8 spc is better, try one that is necked down to 6mm. Its even mo betta. Others are talking about the x39 as well. Those are great options.

If you’d just read stuff 2x more than you thought you needed to, there might be better comprehension and your replies would make more sense.

....cuz the ‘truth’ is what the numbers and evidence reveal. Nobody s ‘hyping’ anything with regard to the 6.8. Is someone actually ‘hyping’ stuff with the Grendel?


‘Better’ is mostly subjective. Numbers ain’t. Necking down cartridges never makes them more efficient.

if necking down doesn't work then the 6.8 fails. Because its parent is the 30 Rem.....
6.8 works. So does the 6.5.

Of course there are folks that think the 270 kills better than the 30-06 while we know for sure that the 280 beats both hands down. Took magnifying glass and I can't recall how many gnats to figure that one out.

Carry on

Read again: efficient.

Efficient isn’t quite as critical with an ‘06 case as it is with stuff that fits in an AR15. It’s just a generality of load physics that explains why larger bore to case ratios often show more initial performance with less powder/pressure. Less efficiency doesn’t mean something can’t be better for a given purpose. It just means there’s sometimes a trade off. I’d actually like to play with a fast twist, trimmed 6x6.8 for giggles.....but it’d likely need >20” of barrel to get somewhere good.

Odd man out here, but for hunting purposes with no drama in the platform nor the killing, I'd be 300 Blackout running supersonics. Preference there is the 110 Barnes TTSX black tip. It simply works, with the emphasis on simply.

I'm with Hank on this one... Fairly new to the platform and digging it with farrr more time to theorize than shoot....

The 25-45 Sharps is easy to reload for. A simple run through the sizing die converts all my 5.56 LC found range brass into 25 Sharps brass. It shoots 87 grain Speer Hot Cors 2800 fps from an 18" barrel.

I also am shooting a 7.62x39 that does 125 Nosler ballistic tips at 2600 with a 16" barrel.

My current favorite pick is a 27 GPC from Mad Dog Weapon Systems. It is like an Ackley improved 6.8 SPC and can shoot 6.8 SPC if needed
I get 2675 with 130 grain bullets, 2800 with 115 grain Speer gold dots and 3100+ with 90 grain speer gold dots. 22" barrel.

6.5 Grendel and the rest aren’t even close. People want to make this hard. There’s only one of those that is light recoiling, good from muzzle to as far as one can shoot, has $14 a box easily available factory ammo for playing and $21 a box of excellent hunting ammo, very accurate, and fits in an AR15.









There is zero difference in terminal performance between them when using like bullets. One could lay out a hundred animals killed with both, with identical ranges, presentations, impact locations, and animal reaction written above the carcass and no one could tell which was which.

The 6.8 did have an advantage early on due to the bullets being designed specifically for that round for use against 200 pound mammals, however there are now bullets designed/optimized for the Grendel’s velocity range.


And the Grendel kills just fine beyond 300 yards on any deer walking.

I’ve got one, and those look like the best off the shelf option, too.....but I still don’t trust it as much as the faster, heavier 6.5/6.8 stuff, at least past 100-150......not saying I wouldn’t try it and expect it to work okay, in right conditions. Just normally pick one of the others for more versatility. For a 150 and in pig gun at night or the thick, it’s likely as good as most others.

Lol

I’ve seen plenty of difference in actual use on game, between the 6.8 and 6.5 at typical hunting ranges. I never said the 6.5 didn’t kill them, either. I said the 6.8 has shown more damage, which is often what I’d prefer for certain uses. Same bullet types and weight, also. It appears more about a velocity difference, under 150-200, which is where it matters to me for most use in an AR for hunting. I’ve laid plenty out and processed them from both. If one has to shoot an AR15 at deer past 300, then (by all means), soup up a long barreled Grendel. I have other stuff for that, better than either. I just prefer and have better experiences and confidence in other things then the Grendel version 6.5. Whatever gives you a warm fuzzy for what you do, go nuts. You can by SSA Accubonds for under $20/box and I bought a ton of xm68 for <$7 a box. It’s preference.

I haven't loaded that specific cartridge, but unless you get a screaming deal on dies you can load a hella lot of 6.5 or 6.8 for the difference in the cost of dies.
I shoot a 7.62x40 and I like it. But that's because I'm a yahoo with lots of 125gr 30cal bullets.

So what magic is .013” giving the 6.8 with bullets optimized for both?


What bullets in each, what animals, what distances?

Why would the 25-45 dies be so much more than any other dies? RCBS makes the dies. 25-45 uses the same bolt and magazines as 223/5.56. Only real change is the barrel. From the ballistics I see, under 300 yards they should do the job. Beyond 300 yards then you go with 6.5 Grendel, but it does require a bolt, and new magazine followers or new magazines. Lee also makes the dies, a 3 die set costs from $31-$38. Not bad.

Some states require your bullet size to be greater than .243, some greater than .25. Some states require straight wall pistol type cartridges, thus the 450 Bushmaster and now the 350 Legend.

300-400fps can show a difference. IF it was only 50-100 difference, and that’s what you see between a 6.5 and 6.8 in a 16” AR with the same weight bullets, then call the Grendel the winner. I’ve not safely seen it anywhere near that close. Since I’m not using it past 300, or with a longer than 16” in my hunting rigs, I’ll take the better numbers at 0-200. Better after that and using a longer barrel and higher BC bullet doesn’t concern me so much. My concerns may be the opposite of others’. ’

you will see the light one day, grasshopper

I have already. It’s why I use my 6.8 for MY type of hunting, more than my Grendel.

If all you want is the same damage from the Grendel,then pick the right bullet.

Both are the same for all purposes. Thats the point most of us are trying to make.

That said, I've killed lots of deer with 223 and out to almost 600 yards, so its always going to be the Indian and not the arrow.

As to 20 inch in 6/6.8... I run an 18. No clue what MV is. It kills just fine as far as I've tagged one with it which is about a bit past 300. I'venever had an issue with a dead deer with it, unless I hit an unseen limb... long story there on a gifted deer that just could not get shot.. LMAO. It wasn't the fact it was a 6/6.8. A 6.8 or 6.5 would have done the same exact thing.

Y'all get back to picking nits. I'm going to rest and hook em Tuesday and then take a ride and see if we can find a moose on short notice with a quick afternoon ride, and.... forbid... probably carrying a 30-30... LOL.

No flies on this either. Or the 950 FPS Lehigh rounds. Or the X39 with 125 ballistic tips.

LOTS of rounds work.

And don't let anyone tell you the bigger rounds do it quicker... 50 beowulf that we have does not kill deer any quicker than the right 223 bullet in the right place. I'm a bit more confident on the 50 for other things, like heavy hardcast for bear defense. But even running a flying ashtray like the barnes, that opens well on top of it, most deer are just going to run a bit. 223 or 50 or in between.

Have I ever mentioned how far a doe I shot with 50 bmg ran... with NO blood trail whatsoever and a hole through both lungs....lets just say appx 200 yards and it was easier to follow the path of the bullet into the ground through the brush than to find the doe. Seriously.

Have I said the 257 wtby sometimes fast 100 ttsx and 80 ttsx, now and then those deer go 200 yards plus. Same shot placement as others that rarely make 50.

have I said that 10mm Glock deer rarely make it out of sight...

You simply never know.