Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Ask The Gunwriters 6mm ARC vs 6.5 Grendel

JB, if you read this you might have something to say....believe you have been using a 6 CM a bit. No doubt the ARC is not up to the CM in speed.

The ARC seems to be knocking on the heels of a BR. It will be interesting if they chamber this in micro-action bolt carbines like the Grendel has been. It would seem to make a dandy handgun round as well.

I would expect the 6mm to be a bit more popular than the 6.5 Grendel........in this capacity round.....at least for many purposes. Trajectory should be superior, not sure about wind drift. Energy downrange should also be similar.

Thoughts?

I'm not JB, but Hornady lists Howa as one of the manufacturers that will be chambering for the rifle. I would presume that it would be on the mini action? I like the Grendel and have another 6 wildcat that I really enjoy, but I'm pretty interested to see where this goes.

Pretty much a duplicate of the 6mm Predator from ARP. It should prove to be a bit better for long range shooting compared to the Grendel.

I was reading the Hornady announcement today on this cartridge. I get why the military would like this round, but why would a civilian shooter choose this over a 6CM?

Because it fits in the AR15, lighter, more rounds in the mag. You need an AR10 for the Creedmoor.

I love the 6x45... the 6ARC should be similar with the exception of STRONG factory support. I predict it will be a niche for a while, but Hornady won’t give it the Remington treatment (toss it out there and let it fend for itself.)

Don't see why it has to be "versus the 6.5 Grendel". There's room for both, maybe even right here.

If the figures are real, not created in a word processor, it comes pretty close to standard .243 factory ballistics. A deer should never notice the difference. Should be a great AR hunting round. Still, my Mini Grendel weighs about the same as my Alpine .243, so don't expect any lightweight miracles. I'm thinking that since MGM makes Contender barrels for the Grendel, maybe this one can sneak in too.

The Hornady manual data for the 6.5 Grendel with a 100gr bullet tops out at 2700fps, so I gotta wonder how they squeeze more velocity from a shorter case through a smaller hole at the same pressure level (AR platform). A little optimism with the figures wouldn't keep me from buying one though. I expect better support from Hornady than Nosler gives their .24.

Running the numbers a 108gr eld-m at 2750 pulls ahead of a 95gr bt factory fodder right at the 300 yard mark and stays ahead.

Grendel will carry more energy. Buck the wind more better. lol There is room for both.

Not according to the guy in the video from Hornady. If you listen to him the 6 ARC is the best thing since that area between a woman's legs.

The Speer data claims over 2600 with a 120gr Gold Dot over PP2000MR in the 6.5. I'll find out if that's a real thing when I get a LabRadar in a month or so.

The SAAMI drawing floating around shows a very tight neck on the ARC, .274, as opposed to .276 on the .243 and 6mm Rem, and IIRC .274 on the .24 Nosler. My .243 loads run about .271 in Hornady or Nosler brass.

Funny how they say it has "comparable" performance to the Grendel, not better. No matter, I like it, and it certainly outruns the others in it's class a bit. Hornady support is a big deal. Don't see it replacing the 6.5, but as a nice option for more fun. If the barrel life is really a lot better than bigger 6s, that'd be nice too.

Got lots and lots of .24 caliber bullets on hand.

Is the civilian AR market for a cartridge like this larger than that of the bolt gun shooters?

No information to back this up, but EVERY gun store I walk into is LOADED with ARs and accessories. Bolt guns are there but the crowds are around the AR's mostly.. AR's seem to fly off the shelves.

I’ve been in the loop on this cartridge for a few months and have a gun and ammo headed my way to test.

The benefit is the ability to push higher BC, heavy-for-caliber bullets within the constraints of the AR-15 magazine. One can not effectively use, for example, 140gr bullets in the Grendel without serious reductions in velocity.

Interesting fact is that the pressure levels were kept purposefully low for AR use. Bolt guns will be capable of higher pressure and increased velocities. When I was introduced to the cartridge, my immediate desire was to build a Compact/micro bolt action for deer hunting.

Agree, the Grendel is at best, IMHO, at 120-130s though for hunting the 100 TTSX can be nice to ranges where it expands.

Supercub, no doubt in a standard short bolt action, the CM is simply 'more gun' - but I might say bore life could be a concern for some. It's a nice round no doubt.

Good posts folks.

OK, that was funny. Glad I wasn't drinking a Dr. Pepper while reading it

Way different up here. We're not even allowed to own an ARs anymore here in Canada. All will be going before the courts to contest the ban.

Do you seriously think Hornady had Canada as a considered target market for this round? Laughing!

No, I seriously didn't! Laughing!