6.8 & 6.5 Deer rifle questions - Page 1

[ARCHIVED THREAD] - 6.8 & 6.5 Deer rifle questions

Posted: 11/12/2016 10:23:45 AM EDT

Pa legislators have past a bill to allow semi autos to be used for hunting. This bill must be signed by the anti gun Governor of Pa then put into play by the Game Commision.

Since I am now 65 and in poor health I was thinking about a lighter deer rifle. I have several ARs and one being a Factory Colt Commando 6933 SBR. I am looking at barreled uppers or building an upper. It seems ARP has a nice selection of barrels for a build.

What would be a good choice to use as a deer rifle, 6.8 spc II, 6.5 creedmoore, or a 6.5 grendal?

I want to keep the barrel to 14" to 16". Most of the areas that I hunt will be shots from 50 to 200 yards. When I was 12 I did get a 6 point buck at 400+ yards but I don't hunt that area anymore.

Your opinions and advice will Greatly be Appreciated!

Dane

Posted: 11/12/2016 10:30:20 AM EDT

[#1]

I love my palmetto state armory 6.8 spc. It's about the same weight of the 5.56 but with more knock down power. It's essentially a necked down .270 and is fairly flat shooting.

Check 68forums for anything you want to know about them.

Posted: 11/12/2016 10:32:10 AM EDT

[#2]

That's great news!

Go Grendel

Faxon was doing a group buy on barrels somewhere. I'll look for the link. Hopefully you didn't miss it.

http://www.65grendel.com/forum/showthread.php?10466-Faxon-16-quot-6.5-Grendel-Group-Buy

ETA Looks like that buy is done but if I were you I'd send them an email or IM. There could possibly be leftovers or extra stock. They're in the industry section here.

Posted: 11/12/2016 11:51:20 AM EDT

[#3]

Quoted:
Pa legislators have past a bill to allow semi autos to be used for hunting. This bill must be signed by the anti gun Governor of Pa then put into play by the Game Commision.

Since I am now 65 and in poor health I was thinking about a lighter deer rifle. I have several ARs and one being a Factory Colt Commando 6933 SBR. I am looking at barreled uppers or building an upper. It seems ARP has a nice selection of barrels for a build.

What would be a good choice to use as a deer rifle, 6.8 spc II, 6.5 creedmoore, or a 6.5 grendal?

I want to keep the barrel to 14" to 16". Most of the areas that I hunt will be shots from 50 to 200 yards. When I was 12 I did get a 6 point buck at 400+ yards but I don't hunt that area anymore.

Your opinions and advice will Greatly be Appreciated!

Dane

View Quote

Even if the bill is passed the game commission is on record saying that they wouldn't approve semi-auto's for big game. They would allow something like semi auto 22's for small game maybe turkey hunting but deer and bear aren't changing anytime soon. I kind of expect our governor to veto the bill anyhow because as you said he is anti gun and this would give those owning the evil black rifle another reason for owning them.

Posted: 11/12/2016 12:20:33 PM EDT

[#4]

Vast majority of the light weight ARs are still heavier than their light weight bolt action counter parts. I would look at a Tikka T3 in 6.5x55, 6.5 Creedmor, 260 Rem, or 243 Win. The rifle will weigh right around 6lbs out of the box. Throw a light weight scope and rings and you are looking around 7- 7.5lbs total weight.

Posted: 11/12/2016 2:32:36 PM EDT

[#5]

Quote History

Quoted:
Vast majority of the light weight ARs are still heavier than their light weight bolt action counter parts. I would look at a Tikka T3 in 6.5x55, 6.5 Creedmor, 260 Rem, or 243 Win. The rifle will weigh right around 6lbs out of the box. Throw a light weight scope and rings and you are looking around 7- 7.5lbs total weight.

View Quote

I was going to mention that but he's wanting an AR as his tool to fill the freezer.

'Murica, FUCK YEAH!

Posted: 11/12/2016 5:24:23 PM EDT

[#6]

6.8 spc and 6.5 grendel are both AR15 pattern

6.5 Creedmoor is AR 10

That said you should be fine with either 6.8spc or 6.5 grendel, both will require different magazines, barrel, and bolt carrier.

Posted: 11/12/2016 7:56:41 PM EDT

[#7]

6.8 spc. My Vortex handloaded 110s do MASSIVE damage.

Posted: 11/12/2016 8:15:23 PM EDT

[#8]

All of the cartridges you mention would be ideal for deer at all reasonable ranges...

The 6.8 is a nice cartridge. However, its got a slight bullet problem in that most bullets in that specific diameter are made for 270 Win. Any bullet that really works well in 6.8 is a bullet designed specifically for the 6.8.

The Grendel is a 6.5mm, and unlike the 6.8 SPC, there are already a whole bunch of modest, moderate 6.5mm cartridges. Lots of 6.5 bullets are therefore made for things like the 6.5 creed more, 6.5 Swede, 260 Rem, etc. And with the Creedmore rally catching on, you'll likely see more and more really good 6.5 mm bullets. The Grendel with a Ballistic Tip or SST would work very very well on deer. In addition, I suspect the Grnedel would be slightly better at longer ranges..

The Creedmore is a awesome cartridge. But you won't get it in an AR15 platform. Its a 308 sized (approximately) case, that won't fit into any regular 5.56 AR15 action.

Personally, I'd go Grendel

Posted: 11/12/2016 8:25:03 PM EDT

[#9]

Quote History

Quoted:

All of the cartridges you mention would be ideal for deer at all reasonable ranges...

The 6.8 is a nice cartridge. However, its got a slight bullet problem in that most bullets in that specific diameter are made for 270 Win. Any bullet that really works well in 6.8 is a bullet designed specifically for the 6.8.

The Grendel is a 6.5mm, and unlike the 6.8 SPC, there are already a whole bunch of modest, moderate 6.5mm cartridges. Lots of 6.5 bullets are therefore made for things like the 6.5 creed more, 6.5 Swede, 260 Rem, etc. And with the Creedmore rally catching on, you'll likely see more and more really good 6.5 mm bullets. The Grendel with a Ballistic Tip or SST would work very very well on deer. In addition, I suspect the Grnedel would be slightly better at longer ranges..

The Creedmore is a awesome cartridge. But you won't get it in an AR15 platform. Its a 308 sized (approximately) case, that won't fit into any regular 5.56 AR15 action.

Personally, I'd go Grendel

View Quote

Posted: 11/12/2016 10:01:06 PM EDT

[#10]

I have a few 6.5 Creedmoors and love them. Very light recoil and flat shooting. I shot an antelope this year at 200 yards and it went clean through. Bang flop. Under 200 yards, either of the 6.5s will work fine. I'm not a fan of the 6.8.

I have a Ruger American Predator that is a ton of fun to shoot. You might look at it. Fairly lightweight gun, and has a threaded muzzle to add a break to soften the recoil up even more.

Posted: 11/13/2016 1:28:49 AM EDT

[#11]

I went with 6.8mmSPC II

I hand load SIERRA 110gr pro-hunter soft points, they work very well on deer

wilson combat lightweight 16" middy barrel

PRI carbon fiber free float ( my paws like it for cold weather )

JP trigger

Posted: 11/13/2016 6:21:16 AM EDT

[#12]

I have 6.8 spc and it does very well on deer. Nothing wrong with the 6.5 Grendal either. Both will serve you well.

Posted: 11/13/2016 9:54:03 AM EDT

[#13]

Planning on getting a 6.8 upper to go on on my Rock River lower I am building.

Posted: 11/13/2016 2:55:58 PM EDT

[#14]

Any of these calibers are excellent choices for deer sized game. I went with 6.8 upper because I snagged one on deep discount from PSA.

However, as others have mentioned, everything I've heard points towards Pennsylvania state game agency not allowing semi-autos for deer hunting.

Howa makes a bolt action rifle in 6.5 Grendel, and Ruger makes a 6.5 Creedmore.

Either of these guns would still be legal for PA deer hunting and provide you a flat shooting, low recoil option.

Posted: 11/14/2016 7:50:28 AM EDT

[#15]

Thank You for the replies and suggestions.

Dane

Posted: 11/15/2016 1:48:35 AM EDT

[#16]

I use my lightweight Grendel for deer and it's perfect. It has taken 2 mule deer and 2 black bears, one bear being a 300lb bear that it dropped hard at 130yds with a 123gr sst. It has awesome performance on game animals and is capable of killing at 400yds. The whole rifle with a 4-16 scope weighs less than 7.5lbs.

The rifle now has a Christensen carbon fiber barrel.

Posted: 11/15/2016 8:13:18 PM EDT

[#17]

Just got 2 more with my 68 this weekend in MO. I LOVE my 6.8 for deer hunting.

Posted: 11/17/2016 11:35:48 PM EDT

[#18]

It's obvious choice if you want 14-16" barrel that a 6.8 is what you seek. 6.5 G and C need a longer barrel to get full performance.

Posted: 11/18/2016 11:43:19 AM EDT

[#19]

Doesn't howa have a reduced sized lightweight bolt gun in 6.5 Grendel? That would be an awesome choice. I went w 6.5 g but under 200 with a less than 16 inch barrel I might go 6.8.

Posted: 1/25/2017 4:42:41 AM EDT

[#20]

The 6.5 and 6.8 are great options for the AR. Keep in mind you will find an infinite number of opinions which is best the caliber between the two. This board is littered with purse fights on the subject. Such as the comment below...it is filled with a gentler amount of Derp. For the record the 6.8 does not have a slight bullet problem.

[i]The 6.8 is a nice cartridge. However, its got a slight bullet problem in that most bullets in that specific diameter are made for 270 Win. Any bullet that really works well in 6.8 is a bullet designed specifically for the 6.8. [/i]

I own a 6.8, I use it exclusively to hunt whitetail and the caliber has served me well.

Posted: 1/25/2017 4:49:01 AM EDT

[#21]

Quote History

Quoted:
It's obvious choice if you want 14-16" barrel that a 6.8 is what you seek. 6.5 G and C need a longer barrel to get full performance.

View Quote

Utter horseshit. If you can't back that statement up with facts (you can't), stop saying it.

Posted: 1/25/2017 4:52:12 AM EDT

[#22]

If everything goes through as you hope, either 6.5 or 6.8 will serve you well.

I chose 6.5 for higher BC and SD bullets, but on a whitetail inside 200 it makes little difference.

[ARCHIVED THREAD] - 6.8 & 6.5 Deer rifle questions

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