I am looking to punch paper out to 5-600 meters ,plus hunt coyotes, hogs, and deer with the cartridge. It seems as though the 6.8 will fulfill those needs quite well. I have looked at the 6.5 Grendel, but decided against it due to production ammo selection.
What do you guys think, an why?
For long range work, the advantages of the 6.5Grendel are well established. I’m not sure what you have against factory 6.5G ammunition but, the Lapua stuff is very good and Wolf is good for cheaper blasting. Factory ammunition production quantity issues seem to be a thing of the past with good quantities available from several sources.
Coyotes and Deer will humanely go down to either at reasonable ranges. For hogs, 6.5G penetrate very well well. Premium 6.8SPC loads work well at reasonable ranges but, ammo choices are more restricted.
A quick search of factory loaded 6.5 ammo turned up limited results compared to the 6.8 rd. I do not want to search for ammo, and I have no intention of reloading at this time.
I have the distance available to hunt past 300 meters in North, AL. I believe that either of the previously mentioned rd’s will perform well out to that distance.
For out to 600 I’d use a .308 if you don’t want a 6.5 Grendel.
What Robb said.
Even the most efficient 300BLK loads are subsonic or transonic at 600 meters, with some falling subsonic at less than 500M. And I think it would be marginal for hunting midsize game past 200-250M.
I say this as a fan of 300BLK who just completed building an upper in that caliber.
6.8 SPC has a little more energy, but not a lot - it would be marginal at best at 600M, and not a good hunting choice past maybe 250-300M.
.308 is your friend for those distances and uses, and 6.5G would be worth a look. 6.5 Grendel is apparently now SAAMI accepted and ammo options should be improving. You still have the relatively weak bolt head issue due to the rim size, and it’s a better cartridge for reloaders than someone who wants to use exclusively factory ammo.
In the past six months I have not had any problem getting 6.5 Grendel ammo from a variety of online sources. The Hornady 123gr Amax load is very good and is widely available. The Wolf Gold 120 MPT is a step up from blasting ammo, very reasonably priced, and not hard to find, either. I also have no intention of handloading 6.5 Grendel and I do not have concerns about ammo availability.
Once you starting pinging steel at 600 with a Grendel, you will be hooked.
FWIW, here is my 16" Grendel carbine:
What Rob and the other guy said… 300BLK great but not for the application you describe.
I think the 6.8 is an excellent choice for what you want. It is a proven hunting round, and has taken every game animal in North America, including elk, deer, and hogs at 400+ yards. There are also a dozen factory hunting loads out there. As for target shooting I prefer the Hornady 110BTHP or 110VMax. The Hornady factory load(s) are still kicking along at ~1400fps at 600yds and decent handloads or the Wilson Combat load is still up around 1600fps at that range—from a 16" carbine. Many people including myself have had good luck shooting the 6.8 to 600yds+. A good rule of thumb is that its trajectory will match any mag length 5.56 loads at range from an 18" or shorter barrel and carry 1.5 times the energy.
I would look at the 6x45 for your intended use. It will have better exterior ballistics than either the 6.8 or the Blackout at 600 yards and loading for it costs roughly the same as 5.56.
Sproing!!
I’m loving that rifle. I’m tossing around some ideas…I’m stuck between an .300 BO or a Grendel as my next build and that Grendel is right up my alley.
Specs please…especially barrel manufacturer and BCG?
Tell me also please a little about how she shoots.
Very nice.
I really enjoy my Grendels and am halfway contemplating a 12.5" SBR build…
Here are the specs on the Grendel “recce”:
And here are 10 rounds rapid fire off a bipod at 50 yards, Hornady 123gr Amax factory ammo. I zeroed the scope at 50 yards to match up fairly closely with the published specs for the BDC.
Very nice, thank you.
Now did you SBR the lower because the barrel length? I see you lost a 1/2 inch due to re-threading.
Im thinking now that the Grendel is a SAAMI cartridge, there are going to be some other barrel manufacturers stepping up to the plate as well. Also ammo prices are really getting down there on Grendel stuff as well which is nice.
Damn, decisions decisions…guess I’ll just build both.
I went with the 15.5" barrel because I already had SBR lowers in my possession. If I had all Title 1 guns, I’d cut an 18" down to 16" and rethread. I hope AA gets with the program and revises their bbl specs to include 5/8x24 threading vs the loopy 9/16x24 for which there are very few good muzzle device choices.
I do know AA is producing CHF chrome lined 6.5G barrels in various sizes, to be available early next year.
You’re right about ammo prices… $17.12 per 20 for the Hornady Amax, $12.95 per 20 for the Wolf Gold 120MPT, and much less for the Wolf 110gr steel cased ammo.
It is not enough of an improvement over 5.56mm in anything to justify its existence.
For 500-600 Meters I would just get a 308/762 rifle.
Between the 6.8 or 300 BLK, I own rifles in both ctgs and right now I am digging the 300 BLK. The fact I can use unmodified mags and get 30 in a AR15 mag that also use for my 5.56 ammo is why I like it that best between the two. The TROY mags have been the best in my experience for the 300 BLK ammo and I use them for my 300 BLK rifle just because. For hunting 250 yards and in, I think either the 6.8 or 300 BLK will do just fine. I just enjoy the 30 cal holes “that” much more.
LOL, you have no idea 
Have you ran any PMAGs or NHMTG mags with the 300 blk ammo? If so, did they not run as well as the TROYs?
I’ll second this.
Between the 6.8 and .300 for what you’ve specified the 6.8 will do just fine, the .300 will be underpowered.
I’ve had zero issues hitting targets at 600+ yards with my 18" 6.8 using 110gr VMAXes. Moving targets in the 400-500y range were also not a problem.
If not the Grendel for the long range stuff I’d definitely get the 6.8 spc. It’s a great round and a real killer when it comes to hogs and deer.
Min hunting bullet diameter, maybe?