Home Forums Hunting & Shooting AR and Tactical Rifles 6 arc or 6.5 Grendel AR for hogs

All the replies. Pretty much sums up which new toy do you want most?

Of course thats always they way we have bought. Research a bit. And yup, thats what I want to play with next and make the move.

Good luck.

Edited... FWIW I've shot the 6.5 ppc a lot at 600 especially in early testing of the round for Arne. It has no flies at 600 though it may not be quite like the ARC on paper it shoots very well at 600 and better in the wind than the 223 obviously.
My take from your post is you should go 6ARC.

Side note. Buddy always thought it took so much to kill a pig. he would hunt with 45-70 7.08 etc... and I walked with him on our lease. I'd let him shoot first and when they scattered and stopped I would ding one in the lungs with a Ruger Mk2 and an HP. We would get his, gut it, then go look for mine and gut that one. Of course I would let them go a bit before following up. Stories of old timers shooting deer with 22 short and such, and learned that if you go small, give them time before looking. It actually really applies to most shots as animals don't die as quickly as you think most of the time. Unless you are lucky and hit a major vessel

My personal preference is the 6mm ARCin a mini Bolt action. Though for your intended use distance, & if factory ammo is a factor the 6.5 Grendel may edge out the 6mm arc. Pricing & availability of a variety of loads in 6mm ARC is simply, pushing the 6.5 Grendel to the better supported side.

As a bolt action die hard reloader guy, the 6mm ARC may arguably be better supported.

Well if you are depending on factory ammo lately I have seen equal amount of choices for both. I have only used a 6MM very similar to the ARC on raccoons and carried it a bit coyote hunting. The Grendel however has gotten the full workout from me and I like it. Running 120 grain Ballistic Tips currently and 129 gr. Hornady interloks in the past along with the 90 gr. Speer TNT, the 123gr. ELDM I am at a loss to find a bullet that didn't do the job well. I was killing hogs in a neighborhood hired by the HOA manager and I used the 90 gr. Speer TNT to limit penetration. Killed quick and pushed to 2700 fps was totally satisfactory unless you cared about blood trails. This said you can get the 87-90 grain bullets to go that fast from an ARC. I really had pretty good luck with the 223 as long as I made neck, head or spine shots and used a bullet that could provide the penetration. Other hits let them run a ways and in the dark that sucks. I got my first Catahoula to track down hogs that got out of sight and she was a great dog for it. However I recommend you get both. Figure out what works for you best.

I was hog hunting in Texas last week. I used a Remington ADL in .243. It was serious overkill and excess penetration. I picked up a 7mm08 Ruger compact in December. Next year that will be my hog gun with 130 grain soft points down around 2500 or 2600 fps depending on accuracy. My longest shot was 50 yards. I didn't need a 90 grain bullet going 2900 fps for that.

kwg

Edit to add: I would take the Grendel.

kwg

And you think the 7/08 will penetrate less than the 243?

Of the 2 options you listed 6mm ARC.

But for a lot of other reasons, mainly cost of ammo & bullets for plinking or serious shooting in a variety of situations, I'd still stick with 223.

62 gr. Barnes TSX is pretty strong pig medicine, with lots of cheaper bullets for everything else.

JMHO

MM

I plan on loading it down. I'm just saying I didn't need the load I used. It was too hot for the short distance.

kwg

Gotcha. For my take there isn't much pig wise the 223 won't do. From 40 vmax up to 62 barnes and 75 bthp etc...

I was using a 223 AR for hogs for a while. It worked Ok, but not great. Finally I decided I needed something a bit more effective, and it came down to the 6.8 SPC and the 6.5 Grendel. I went with the Grendel since I had some of the reloading bits and pieces for it. I shoot the 123 gr SSTs these days, and they do a fine job knocking down hogs. Way better than the 223. The 95 gr V-Max worked on a few hogs too. At Grendel speed, they don’t seem to act like a varmint bullet, but I was neck shooting them, not shooting them in the chest.

I would of used a .223 with 63 grain Sierra semi points but the owner of the property didn't like the .223 for pigs. He said he saw too many get away to die somewhere else. It's his place so I will respect his demands. I think the 7mm with a heavier bullet and a larger cross section would be the better choice. It's either that or an 8x57.

kwg

Yup. Gotta respect the owners for sure. FWIW hit in the same place there will be as best I can tell, zero difference in the mentioned rounds.
I am not going to say I've killed more than the owner has, with a 22 LR pistol, or suppressed 10/22, because I have no way of knowing, but lets just say I'm fairly certain my 22lr pig number is north of 100 and up to about 300 pounds appx.

Your logic is sound rost but it's not my property. You know the rest.

kwg

Exactly. The way times are you would think the owners would want weaker rounds for liability issues. Rather than stronger. A lost pig is nothing to us, though I try to avoid it, I think anything 4 legged deserves a quick human death. And I prefer not to waste meat If I can avoid it.

There are zero flies going bigger.

And if we don't follow landowner rules, we are no longer invited.... our current one won't allow blackpowder, muzzleloaders, or archery. He has not realized I supposed, that he has not disallowed handguns. I'm not sure of the reason but is what it is. Follow the rules or loose.

My cousin that lives in the "Low Country" of SC started me into the 6.5 Grendel madness with tales and pictures of pigs, coyotes and whitetails dispatched with his PSA 6.5 Grendel and factory Hornady ammunition (123 gr. AMAX & SST). He came up to visit pre-COVID and we took his rifle out to the range and checked zero and then shot groups at 200 & 300 yards; I was surprised and impressed. I asked him lots of questions afterwards while we were cleaning rifles; specifically, about the PSA 20-inch upper and did he have any issues with the gun or the factory Hornady ammunition. He has taken a dozen or so deer out to 250 plus yards; and a few coyotes and pigs to about the same distance on his farm.

Since I already had 6.5 bullets on the bench (as I already load for 6.5x55 and 6.5 Creedmoor) I decided to give the Grendel a try and bought the same PSA 20-inch Upper with a SS barrel. This led to a Howa Mini and a LaRue Upper with an 18-inch barrel. Haven't cut flesh with them yet but Lapua 123 Grain Scenar groups sure do make me happy.

If I wasn't already invested in 6.5mm I may have given the 6mmARC close look.

YMMV

StarchedCover

PSA has been good. We own a horrible bear creek POS upper -LOL. Plus have shot 3 others. Our POS has never bobbled. It shoots factory around MOA. All of our reloads under MOA. For the 229 dollars it cost its been a good deal. Its an easy 200 yard gun and 300 isn't hard. The 6.5 ppc is a good round.

My vote is for the Grendel.
I am probably biased as I have 4. I have a 20” M4 that groups 2.5” or less at 400 yards consistently with Hornady black. A ruger American predator that shoots .25 MOA with the same factory ammunition. I have just had such good fortune with that cartridge, so I don’t deviate. There is a huge difference when the bullet impacts steel at 400,500,600 yards over the 223. It’s just an efficient, flat shooting and much harder hitting cartridge in an m4 platform. That’s what I would use.

If the 6.5 grendel is so good, logically wouldn't the 6.5 creedmoor in the Ruger SFAR be perfection then? That's what I'm strongly considering. Was going to buy one today but went home with a 224 Valkyrie that I just couldn't say no to. If it doesn't work on pigs though, the SFAR 6.5 CM will follow me home for testing.

I need to pick up a 200 buck Valkyrie upper too some day I suppose.

Having shot 5 hogs with the Grendel and 1 with the 223 the other day and having em travel same distances... although I think the Grendel suppressed is quieter than the 223 and that may make a difference in follow up shots.