6.8

[Pathfinder]

From what I have read, (no personal experience with either round) it is not so much a case of one round being "better" than the other,  But useful for different applications.

Exactly, Tom.

Generally, from my research (not from shooting them, damn it!) the Grendel (6.5) is a longer range cartridge, the 6.8 Rem packs more power up to 500 yards than does the 5.56x41. I decided to go with the 6.8 as most CQB in the last few decades seems to typically have been within 3-400 yards.

Need to order that 6.8 upper, which is why I was interested in what brand upper, barrel, etc.

OBTW, the Grendel is also a proprietary cartridge from Alexander unless something has changed in the last 6 months.

[kilopaparomeo]

I researched both the 6.5 Grendel and 6.8 SPC pretty heavily and initially decided on the Grendel. It seemed to have all the terminal ballistic advantages of the 6.8 but with better exterior ballistics. I bought an AA Overwatch upper and built an 18" SPR.

Building the upper was a nightmare...what with many delays and difficulties in getting parts (I only bought top-end parts for it). Brass was expensive, reloading info was scarce. In the end, accuracy was good but not mythical like the caliber has been built up to be. That is with factory and many variations of reloads.

I realized I was trying to get a lightweight, handy CQB caliber with better performance than the 5.56 as well as a great long range caliber. While not completely mutually exclusive, it is difficult to do both. I still think the Grendel is an interesting caliber for what I REALLY WANTED TO DO (better ballistics, terminal out to 500 yards) the Grendel wasn't it. I sold the uppers and built a 6.8 upper.

It is showing very good accuracy (hovering right around MOA), has better terminal effect than 5.56, can hang with a 308 for the distances that I'm interested in and has the advantage of much wider distribution. Grendel needs to be less "exclusive" if it wants to make up the gap.

I've also decided that if I want a long range rifle semi-auto rifle, I should build a long range semi auto rifle...probably a AR10 in .260 Rem or 6.5 Creedmore.

I had a very long phone conversation with John Holliger of White Oak Armament. There's a lot of talk about the SAAMI vs. SPC-II chamber and the pressures created in each...his view is that it is a lot of hoo-haw about nothing unless you are trying to hot rod the cartridge and make it into a .270 Win.

Here's my 6.8 SPC AR that I built to thumb my nose at the Obamessiah

• DPMS 5.56 lower
• Stag/CMT M4 upper
• Badger Gen II TacLatch
• RRA 2-stage NM trigger
• VLTOR stock
• WOA 18" SS SPR profile barrel and bolt
• PWS FSC30 flash hider / comp
• YHM front sight
• Brownells HK-type rear sight
• ERGO grip
• Magpul triggerguard
• MI low profile gas block
• YHM FF rifle-length quad rail handguard
• MI sling mounts
• EoTech 511 (now with a 4x magnifier)
• PRI mags

[Big Frank]

Exactly, Tom.

Generally, from my research (not from shooting them, damn it!) the Grendel (6.5) is a longer range cartridge, the 6.8 Rem packs more power up to 500 yards than does the 5.56x41. I decided to go with the 6.8 as most CQB in the last few decades seems to typically have been within 3-400 yards.

Need to order that 6.8 upper, which is why I was interested in what brand upper, barrel, etc.

OBTW, the Grendel is also a proprietary cartridge from Alexander unless something has changed in the last 6 months.

Good cheap factory ammo is being made by Wolf for less than half the price of Alexander Arms ammo. Now if only Federal, Remington, and Winchester would get on board...

[tombogan03884]

Good cheap factory ammo is being made by Wolf for less than half the price of Alexander Arms ammo. Now if only Federal, Remington, and Winchester would get on board...

Have you tried any ? AR's don't seem to like Wolf.

[kilopaparomeo]

Have you tried any ? AR's don't seem to like Wolf.

I've used 5.56 (both green and gray) Wolf in my AR15s with no problem.  It is dirty and not overly accurate but works fine.

However, I tried the 6.5 Grendel Wolf Gold in my Alexander Arms-built Overwatch upper.  It was pure CRAP.  Even though the barrel had M4 feed cuts, the ammo would not feed reliably...less than 50% (hung up on the front of the bullet).  This was with all magazines...AA, CProducts.  When it would feed, it was very disappointing accuracy (2-3 MOA).  Finally, the brass bulged upon firing at the case head on all cartridges.  These cases could not be resized in my dies...they all had to be thrown away.  This did not happen with AA or Norma brass.

I found the Wolf Gold to be not worth my time or $$.

[Sponsor]

[Big Frank]

Well, maybe it's not good cheap ammo. I was just going by what I read online. They said it's good enough for target shooting and varmint hunting. But I guess not if it only has 2-3 MOA accuracy. The brass bulging sounds really bad too. I'd be woried about it blowing up even if it did feed okay. BTW, I have never used Wolf ammo of any type and will never buy the steel cased stuff unless I buy an AK or SKS to shoot it in.