Need help picking a caliber for my hunting AR build

[smtimelevi]

6.8 SPC works for me out of a 16" barrel. Ammo is available at Academy and most places. Grendel is beginning to catch up with factory loads. Dropped several Texas deer with 115gr Federal Fusion. 2 were DRT one made it 30 yds before collapsing (mature buck).

 

[epwrangler]

I am thinking of either 6.5 Grendal or 6.8 Remington SPC. Which one would you pick and why?

I just went 6.5 grendel. It is awesome.

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[epwrangler]

I picked 6.5 grendel. Awesome! Yoiu won't be sorry.

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[ed308]

A couple of more thoughts...

Cheap ammo. The Grendel has cheap steel case Wolf ammo available. That may be a benefit for some but isn't for me. I would never run that ammo in any AR I cared about. I will run that ammo in my beater .223/5.56 ARs but not my better ARs.

Broken extractors and lugs have been common with the Grendel, especially in the past. This is due to the design of the cartridge and inability to handle higher pressures that the 6.8 SPC II can handle. If you go with a Grendel and want your bolt to last, buy a quality bolt don't load hot. I don't think I've ever heard of a 6.8 breaking a bolt or extractor. And as mentioned, the 6.8 SPC II can also be loaded at much higher pressures.

I've also read on other forums from people who own both, the Grendel is a little more finicky to reload. That may be due to the shoulder angle. I reload 6.5 Creedmoor and do find those bullets to be slightly more difficult to pickup and balance on the case compared to the fatter 6.8 bullets. But I have the same problem with 5.56 bullets.

If I lived out west with long unobstructed shots, I'd probably pick the Grendel with a long barrel. I'd also go with the Grendel if shooting off a bench and punching paper. By going with a longer barrel, you'll get every bit of performance the Grendel has to offer. But for hunting and home defense, a 16" 6.8 SPC II just makes more sense. It a great hunting AR thats lightweight, easy to carry in the field with excellent bullet selection for hunting. I've not hunted with my 6.8s since moving to Texas. But I did hunt with them extensively in Florida. And I've never had a hog run on me when shoot with one my 6.8s. Everyone has dropped where I shot them. And I've shoot them from 20 to 150 yards. I suspect the Grendel would be the same.

If you decide on a 6.8, consider AR15 Performance barrels and bolts. Inexpensive and easy to load to .5 MOA. His 6.8 super bolts are the best you can buy. If you buy the barrel and bolt, he'll also headspace it for you. (His shop is currently close while he relocates the business from TN to FLA. He's suppose to reopen in early November.) I've replaced the barrels on most of my ARs with ARP barrels, in .223, 6.8, 270AR and .308 caliber. All shoot .5 MOA except for a 18" .223 3 Gun barrel that shoots a little less than .75 MOA. He also does Grendels if you go with one. He's also got a Six5 that is a 6.8 wildcat thats a 6.5 bullet on a 6.8 case. Same performance as the Grendel but with the stronger 6.8 bolts.

If you're looking to go with more power than either the 6.8 or the 6.5 Grendel, consider the 270AR or 7mm Valkyrie. Both are wildcats based off a 6.5x47 Lapua case and which work in the AR15. I have a 270AR. Not a joy to reload since it's a wildcat. But a lot of power for the AR15. ARP sells the 270AR.

 

[smtimelevi]

I have a 6.5 Grendel that is more accurate than my 6.8 but I think that has to do as much with the rifle as it does the round itself. they both should do a pretty goo number on Texas deer and pigs.

 

[Mike_from_Texas]

There is so much information about the Grendel in this post. Its balistically identical to the 6.8 to 300 yards or so. Same weight bullet produced nearly identical velocity and energy as the 6.8. I’ve never seen the fascination with the 6.8 and yes I owned a high end 6.8.

6.5 Grendel works just fine in 16” and even shorter barrels; you just give up some of the long range benefits. Since Alexander released their death grip on the Grendel patent and gettin SAAMI listing there’s tons of barrels, mags and ammo available for it. As for the bigger hole comment you are talking .264 vs .277.......seriously?

There is reasonably priced Ammo available. Hornady Black can be found at Academy for the same price as Winchester 223 hunting rounds. If you want to high volume shoot Wolf makes a steel case round for under $5/box.


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[ed308]

I’ve never seen the fascination with the 6.8...

I've feel the same way about the Grendel. When it comes to a SBR, the 6.8 excels over the Grendel no matter how the Grendel crowd likes to spin it. Building a Grendel will probably cost more compared to building a 6.8. Broken bolts and extractors? Be careful loading your Grendel past 50k or even Western Powder's 52k limit. The brass, bolts and extractors will begin to fail due to pressure. The 6.8 SPCII can be safely loaded to 58K, which is why your seeing a bunch of 6.8 cats being developed. Seen any Grendel cats lately?

Up until a couple of months ago, I probably would've picked the Grendel for punching paper at long range in a AR15. Both the 270AR and 7mm Valkyrie 6.8 cats actually smoke the Grendel at long range. They're only wildcats for now so you go through the process of forming the brass. The .224 Valkyrie (another one of those 6.8 cats) will have brass already made and will be hitting the market as earlier as next month. It's a SAAMI cartridge that also beats the Grendel at what it does best, long range. With the .224 Vakyrie, you'll get less drift, less drop and less recoil compared to your Grendel. What's not to like?

About the only advantage with a Grendel is cheap steel case ammo. But that cheap .25 steel ammo shoots 2-3 MOA. Compared that to inexpensive FMJ 6.8 ammo that can be had for as little as .45 a round but shoots 1 MOA or less. Spend a little more and you can get good hunting ammo for .50 that shoots .5 MOA. You get what you pay for.

For a cartridge that has no manufacturer pushing it like the Grendel or 300 BLK, the 6.8 continues to be one of the best AR15 cartridges. Kinda takes the shine off that Grendel, now doesn't it?

 

[Mike_from_Texas]

I’ve never seen the fascination with the 6.8...

I've feel the same way about the Grendel. When it comes to a SBR, the 6.8 excels over the Grendel no matter how the Grendel crowd likes to spin it. Building a Grendel will probably cost more compared to building a 6.8. Broken bolts and extractors? Be careful loading your Grendel past 50k or even Western Powder's 52k limit. The brass, bolts and extractors will begin to fail due to pressure. The 6.8 SPCII can be safely loaded to 58K, which is why your seeing a bunch of 6.8 cats being developed. Seen any Grendel cats lately?

Up until a couple of months ago, I probably would've picked the Grendel for punching paper at long range in a AR15. Both the 270AR and 7mm Valkyrie 6.8 cats actually smoke the Grendel at long range. They're only wildcats for now so you go through the process of forming the brass. The .224 Valkyrie (another one of those 6.8 cats) will have brass already made and will be hitting the market as earlier as next month. It's a SAAMI cartridge that also beats the Grendel at what it does best, long range. With the .224 Vakyrie, you'll get less drift, less drop and less recoil compared to your Grendel. What's not to like?

About the only advantage with a Grendel is cheap steel case ammo. But that cheap .25 steel ammo shoots 2-3 MOA. Compared that to inexpensive FMJ 6.8 ammo that can be had for as little as .45 a round but shoots 1 MOA or less. Spend a little more and you can get good hunting ammo for .50 that shoots .5 MOA. You get what you pay for.

For a cartridge that has no manufacturer pushing it like the Grendel or 300 BLK, the 6.8 continues to be one of the best AR15 cartridges. Kinda takes the shine off that Grendel, now doesn't it?

Explain how the 6.8 beats the Grendel in SBR. My 6.8 was a Noveske 12.5”. It shot 95 grain bullets about 2500’ish fps. I have a friend who has a 12.5” Grendel, with 123 grain bullets it shoots 2300’ish fps. So if you drop the Grendel down to a 95 grain bullet, it will meet or exceed the 6.8 in the same barrel length. Ive been shooting the Grendel for at least 10 years, I push it hard, I’ve never had a bolt or brass failure in thousands of rounds so either folks are buying cheap junk or I don’t know what else.

I’ve not looked into wildcats off the Grendel case but I expect the performance would be similar. They are nearly identical in case capacity.

We can sit here and piss back and forth over it but you can only fit so much powder in an AR that has limited capacity. In the end it comes down to Bullet performance rather than caliber performance and there is no sought the sleeker 6.5mm with its better BC and higher SD with outperform many of the others.


I will readily admit, the 22 Valkyrie really interests me. We will see if it lives up to the hype.


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[Younggun]

I'm looking at a hunting AR build for my daughter in the spring.

Probably go with something based on the .223 case simply for parts compatibility. .243-.223 (6X45 for the heathens) is at the top of the list for easy brass forming, component selection, close to mid range hunting, and fair paper punching ability at longer distances.

 

[seeker_two]

7.62x39?

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[Texas42]

The differences in 6.5 Grendel and 6.8 spc are so minor you probably won’t tell the difference. Game won’t tell the difference between 110 grain bullet in 6.8 or a 123 gran 6.5.

Really.

They aren’t a 308, but they will kill deer.

Both have highly publicized kills on big game at >400 yards by above average shooters.

I probably will pick 6.5 Grendel because a cheaper SBR sounds like fun to blast with Wolf ammo, but if I run into a deal on 6.8 spc.....

 

[Younggun]

7.62x39?

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Might as well go with 300BO and not have all the possible issues and parts/components everywhere.

But OP said he didn't want 300BO.

 

[ed308]

I'm looking at a hunting AR build for my daughter in the spring.

Probably go with something based on the .223 case simply for parts compatibility. .243-.223 (6X45 for the heathens) is at the top of the list for easy brass forming, component selection, close to mid range hunting, and fair paper punching ability at longer distances.

Take a look AR15 Performance's Yote Smoker. Its a 5.56x42 wildcat based off the 6.8 cartridge. Brass is easy to form with simple neck down of plentiful 6.8 brass. 200 fps faster than a 5.56. 75-80gr pills run 3000-3100 out of a 20" barrel. The .224 Valkyrie coming out is obviously based off this cartridge. The only real difference is a slight bump back which allows the .224 Valkyrie to use 90 gr bullets.

http://www.ar15performance.com/inc/sdetail/38010/47239

ARP's Tac6 is another 6.8 cat. Dies will likely be available to form the brass. Limited little recoil. Very accurate.

http://www.ar15performance.com/inc/sdetail/38010/48383

 

[Younggun]

Rather have .223 based brass. It's plentiful because I have bags of it laying around. If I were to run out I could get more free brass by inviting someone with an AR out to shoot.

Takes all the same parts as my other ARs except for the barrel.

Would shoot the same bullets as my .243.

 

[Younggun]

Not saying it's better or worse than any others, just looks like it will be a good fit for what she will be doing, the platform she will fit her best, and the parts and component availability I prefer.

 

[ROGER4314]

I select cartridges based upon good selections of reloading components and the cost of those items. Choices earlier in this thread offer dismal cost and selection options.

We've done a lot of experimenting around here on the 458 Socom and 375 Socom cartridges. Either round works with no modifications to the lower or to the magazine.

Stepping into more costly components, SBR performance and subsonic suppressed performance are splendid with 375 and 458 cartridges! Either cartridge turns the AR-15 into a shoulder cannon! Our hunters want one shot kills and these cartridges deliver!

Reloading components are expensive for the 375 Socom right now but the 458 Socom is economical to load using 300 grain Hornady or Sierra projectiles intended for 45-70 cartridges. New brass is available for reasonable prices.

300 Blackout is another choice and reloading that cartridge with 150 grain bullets makes it very economical to load as you use the same bullet as 30-06 and 308 cartridges. Those are easily acquired and cheap. Our Pig hunters have had spotty results with the 300 BLK. Some spent the night lost in the woods looking for a wounded pig shot with a 300 BLK.

That's how I choose my cartridges. You can do as you wish.

Flash

 

[popper]

Our Pig hunters have had spotty results with the 300 BLK. Some spent the night lost in the woods looking for a wounded pig shot with a 300 BLK. What ammo were they shooting?
One could try the 7.62x40WT, closer to x39 performance. Personally I do like the BO. This one was from a 40sw but I hit a did hit a fast southbound tail with 180gr cast in BO. Didn't find it but it did leave a good but spotty blood trail. Also offhand @ 50 with BO pistol. Target was leaning forward so it wouldn't go down with 150 & 155gr like it would from the 308. I did try the 180 cast on this one, 0.30 in, 0.45 out in the gut, just broke the shoulder on a forward shot. BO will do MOA and perform well with a good shot, but a 45/70 will do the job on a poor shot. My normal BO carbine load is 145gr cast @ 2100. Oh upper group is me, lower group is buddy that never shot a BO pistol before.

 

[Gummi Bear]

I am a fan of the 300 BO. Been shooting one for several years. Hundreds of pigs and varmints to its credit.

Most people have issues with it due to poor ammunition choice. I use the 110 gn TAC-TX, and have had extremely positive results out to 300 yards.

Subsonic ammunition has no place for hunting. It is a novelty at best.


I am saving up to build a Grendel, I love 6.5 caliber and I’m excited about it.

My brother is building a 6.8, and I’d like to some day as well


A brand new cartridge that I’m interested in is the 224 Valkyrie.



I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately...

Henry David Thoreau

 

[ed308]

I'm interested in the .224 Valkyrie as well. I've almost pulled the trigger on ARP's 5.56x42 Yote Smoker so many times. The 90 gr bullets have pushed me over the edge on the Valkyrie. Got all the part ready. Just need a barrel.

 

[diesel1959]

I'm interested in the .224 Valkyrie as well. I've almost pulled the trigger on ARP's 5.56x42 Yote Smoker so many times. The 90 gr bullets have pushed me over the edge on the Valkyrie. Got all the part ready. Just need a barrel.

I'm really looking forward to the .224 Valkyrie as well. One of the things that I love about it is that it's based on the 6.8SPC case--and I've got several LWRC Six8 firearms (four from the factory and two that I built using their receiver sets), so using the Six8 Pmag with the Valkyrie is going to be great. I've got one bare Six8 upper right now and as soon as barrels become available, I'll be building it up.