I will throw in my support for the 6.5 Grendel. It is a bit limited in the AR platform, but in the Encore, you can load it to it's true potential.
Do you get expanded primer pockets if you use your Encore loads in an AR?
I have not shot any of my Encore loads in an AR, but if I was to do that, I would be worried about the bolt. The PPC-sized bolt face diameter doesn't leave a lot of meat around the AR bolt and the early versions were prone to breaking if you hot-rodded them much above the 52,000 PSI SAAMI spec. I have gotten some primer pocket looseness on a couple of pretty hot Grendel loads on my Encore, but I found that I didn't have to push them to extremes to get great results in both accuracy and terminal performance.
If you search through my previous forum posts, I have posted pictures of the results of the 105 Cavity Back bullets on a good-sized Axis buck that I killed. I am convinced that for 2-300 yard stand hunting for whitetail sized game, the Grendel definitely punches above it's weight class.
