if you think the Grendel doesn't have an advantage over the 223, then I think it won't matter what you pick for a barrel.
And there is not a 223 wylde barrel, wylde is simply what chamber is cut into the barrel.
As to traveling with non factory ammo, I've done it all my life, though I"m only 52. I've yet to have an issue.
And if I had to buy ammo to win a match, well its very likely the ammo may not shoot well enough to win anyway...
I think your question is MUCH better suited to the folks that are winning the matches you compete in. I"m not being negative, just saying we always went to the winners of whatever we were shooting to learn... it served us VERY well over the years...
I can say I've never asked the questions you ask on a general forum. I've just asked top shooters whats working and then formed my own opinion and went from there. I think you would be much happier doing the same.
Hail rost495, praise be his name. That is a pretty condescending answer but I'll lend you some perspective.
Firstly, I said there is not a huge advantage had by the 6.5 Grendel/.264 LBC (firing 6.5 Grendel ammo) over the .223 Rem/Wylde/CLE/5.56x45mm (firing .223 Rem or 5.56x45mm ammunition). The Grendel pretty much mirrors my .308 Win in regard to exterior ballistics and neither has a huge advantage over the .223 with 73-77gn bullets. I would assume guys in your former shooting sport chose the .223 for the same reason since you don't see too many guys shooting the .308 in service rifle any longer.
Secondly, I get that .223 Wylde is a chamber design but when you buy a barrel stamped .223 Wydle you then have a .223 Wylde barrel because someone cut a .223 Wylde chamber into that barrel. I was specific about it because the barrel is free because I won it at a match, and CRA only offers a .223 Wylde chamber. I was trying to prevent the "get a custom throated Krieger from whoever, or by a Compass Lake with CLE chamber, etc." All of those are great ideas but I'm not doing it because it's not an option with this cert. Of the choices I have I can shoot .223 Rem/5.56x45mm ammo in a .223 Wylde barrel, or 6.5 Grendel ammo in a .264 LBC barrel, or 6.5 Creedmoor ammo in a 6.5 Creedmoor barrel.
Thirdly, the first team match I ever shot my ammo did not show up but luckily my partner had twice the ammo needed and we both had rifles chambered for .223 Wylde: same brand guns, same brand barrels, same chamber design, both shot the ammo he had well and we knew that from testing weeks before even though I was shooting a handload as my. Standardization saved the day. I was one of the first teams to field the XM2010 chambered for .300 Win Mag (guess what, doesn't use a .300 WM SAAMI chamber but I call it a .300 WM just like I call a .223 Wylde a .223 because everyone knows what I mean and vice versa) and nearly all MK248 Mod 0 was being sent overseas so we did all our train up with FGMM. One of our guys liked the bolt gun so much that he didn't even want to take the .308 gas guns when we decided what to take and what to leave. When we landed in Afghanistan and started drawing ammo, MK248 Mod 0 happened to be really rare there also and we got 200 rounds between three rifles. Luckily, I brought all the gas guns and we were swimming in .308 ammo. You'll have to forgive me if I don't want to travel with a gun that has a goofy chambering and limited (to impossible) odds of securing ammo locally.
That said, I have found that Hornady Match and FGGM both shoot well enough to be competitive in my guns. I have also shot matches using M118LR and Mk316 Mod 0. Using a MagnetoSpeed for MV and Litz BC values one could absolutely be competitive if they had to fall back on good factory ammo. That's exactly what I did for the match at Clinton House about two months ago because I had just been really busy at work and when I went to verify drops on the power-line there were Mexicans bailing pine needles. Scaring them off by sending rounds by them is a good way to lose access to my power-line range just like telling them to leave could do the same thing since it's how the landowner makes his income. Instead I strapped on the MagnetoSpeed and cracked off 10 rounds into the berm, loaded the truck, and drove until nearly midnight to get to SC. I finished in 5th place but it wasn't the ammo's fault. I shot one stage poorly (failed to see a pistol target past the dump bucket as I ran through the woods), shot another very mediocre and that is all it takes to lose a practical match.
Fourthly, I wouldn't exactly say I'm sucking dick for nickels in these matches. I've finished between 1st and 5th all year except where I had a catastrophic fail on a stage and finished 12th. In two matches the guys that won shot .223 gas guns, in several guys shot .308, and in all the rest they shot either 6mm Creed/Dasher/x47 or 6.5 Creed/x47. I've got a .308 so I think I'm in the ball park with my prospective choices being .223 Wylde and 6.5 Creed on the practical side and 6.5 Grendel as a consideration because it's popular enough you can find ammo at big box stores in a pinch. I would consider the 6mm Creed but until very recently it was a handload proposition only. I'm asking if there is something I'm not considering here since I'm not a gas gun aficionado and I don't REALLY need another upper. The other option is I just get another .308 barrel to replace my current barrel but it has less than 800 rounds on it right now.
I'm sorry I wasted your time by asking a stupid question on a general forum, and I'm equally sorry you took the time to type a response that didn't really address the question but I find you do that often.