5.56, 6.5 Grendel, or x39? I like the idea of a short handy AR platform for hunting hogs, deer etc.  no extreme distances or anything out of ordinary. Pick one of the listed options or add you own input. And why?

Are .308/large frame pistols worth the thumping I imagine they give out?

I have a 12” 6.5 Grendel and am completely satisfied.  Way less blast than a short 5.56 and less drop at distance than the 7.62 x 39 or 300 BO.   Here is a picture of my two short centerfire rifle cartridge platforms, 30 rounds of 5.56/223 in Tavor or 24 rounds of 6.5 Grendel in my PSA pistol lower with Monster barrel upper I assembled myself.   I can’t decide which optic I like best on my 6.5 Grendel pistol but since I have 16”, 18”, 20” & 24” 6.5 Grendel rifles with scopes I decided to run the E O Tech on the 12”.







12” PSA  SS with LabRadar.  (Chronograph results posted by other forum members)


123gr Hornady American Gunner bulk HPBT = 2201 FPS ave with SD of 14.7
123gr Hornady ELD-M Black = 2265 FPS ave with SD of 13.2
123gr Hornady Custom SST Factory= 2277 ave with SD of 11.8


12” Faxon

Wolf steel case at 2364 Avg. SD was 9.7.

6.5G without a doubt.  
From a 12" barrel, the Hornady 123gr SST should expand reliably out to ~275 yards, and will stay supersonic past 700 yards.

5.56 because it’s what I have.

10.5” upper w/ F marked front sight
Knights carbine RAS
Trijicon MRO
TROY BUIS
Magpul grip
SBA3 brace

Define pistol:


Are you talking 8 inches or 10.5 inches or +12 inches?  

Is it for HD? Hunting?  Plinking?  All around?

How will it be equipped? Red dot and white light?  IR?  Scope? Iron sights?

Any state laws that you are concerned with?  

Will it be suppressed?

Are you trying to stay within the proposed brace rules?  

I'm a huge fan of .300blk.  I have barrels in 7.5", 8.3", 8.5", 9", and 10.5".
One of my favorite pistols is a 10.5" 5.56 barrel that has the gas port sealed off, and it runs a .22 conversion kit (with just a thread protector).
I also have a 12.5" 5.56 that will no longer be a pistol (as-is) under the proposed brace rule if I keep a brace on it.

I can't have a suppressor, so muzzle flash/blast is a concern for me.

If you are looking at stuff around the 12" mark and longer, and will run a suppressor, I think 6.5G, 6.8spc, 350L and .300Ham'r are all good options.  So is 5.56.   (Trash can caliber stays in trash can )

You say for short distances for hogs and deer. I would pick the 7.62x39 as the larger bullet diameter allows heavier bullets than 223 or 6.5 Grendel in the AR platform. Heavier bullets just hit animals harder than lighter bullets.

Also, larger bores are less affected by barrel length loss than smaller bores.  I think you should add 350 Legend to that list.

6.8spc 12.5"

It hammers deer and hogs,longest shot was 250yrds,8pnt #220    DRT

When you say "no extreme distances" can you narrow that down to say, a max distance?  Many of the AR cartridges begin to show the major differences at around 200 yards.  Things like 6.5 Grendal, 30 AR, 6 ARC are your power houses in terms of energy, and out to long distances (300+).  Pretty much everything else is beginning to die between 150 and 300 yards.  Deer and hogs are two pretty disparate animals when it comes to punching them.  Deer drop pretty readily with almost anything, hogs are nature's little tanks.

Personally, I'm not a fan of 7.62x39 for a hunting round.  Because of it's odd bullet size, there aren't nearly the bullet choices that you'll find for mainstream calibers.  It's kind of the rifle version of the 9mm Makarov.  It's there, it's on par ballistically to several other rounds, but just doesn't set itself apart enough.

I get a 30 cal is a bigger diameter than a 6.5, but we're talking, literally a millimeter. The Grendel more than makes up the difference in velocity (i.e. energy).   If you're down on velocity or energy, then you need to go a lot bigger in diameter to make up for it.  When you go big, then you lose BC and range, so it's always a trade off.  For example, 450 Bushmaster, 350 Legend, punches a big fat hole, but the stubby bricks for bullets don't hold their energy for much past about 150 to 200 yards.

Max distance somewhere around 250, maybe.  I don’t regularly take shots that far anyways, so having a shorter barrel rifle would definitely keep me inside of that range.

Still waiting on my first suppressor to clear so yes it will eventually be suppressed.  I’ve already got a 18” 6.5 Grendel that I love. Didn’t know if the 6.8 spc or the x39 had advantages over it.

No, they don't.

You could go with a 12.5" Grendel and still maintain 1,000 ft-lbs of energy out to 300 yards because of the BC of those longer, sleeker bullets.