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Posted: 9/18/2015 12:28:29 AM EDT
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I've been wanting a longer range SPR for a while now. Main reasons being, 1) better for coyotes at a distance, 2) I think they look cool. I never really had the want for one in a caliber other than .223/5.56 until the other day. I've been looking into the 6.5 Grendel. It appears that I could use it for the coyotes, but also take down bigger game animals, like deer. I've looked a little at 6.8 and 300 Blackout as well, but it looks like the 6.8 isn't anything special and the 300 doesn't have a lot of use past 200yds. I will not be suppressing this rifle. I'm not too worried about ammo popularity, because I can hand load if I need to. I'd like to use and 18-20" barrel and be effective out to 400yds, at least, on deer size animals.
What caliber would you recommend? Is there any down side to the 6.5 Grendel? |
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Lots of guys here shoot 6.5 Grendel, and I have talked with a few guys that shoot it. Overall, its a pretty good round capable of killing anything from coyotes to big midwest Whitetails.
That being said, a nicely built AR in shooting a good bullet like a 60gr Vmax is more than enough to drop a coyote, and Ive seen guys around here where the whitetails are big shooting then with 70gr GMX's. |
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From my research, it depends on how far you want to shoot it.
6.8 = under 300 yards 300 blk = under 300 yards and you want to run a suppressor or SBR 5.56 = up to 500yds (it can travel further but ballistics are meh) 6.5 grendel = more than 500 yards. The 6.5 grendel will have feed issues around the curve of normal mags due to case shape. The 6.5mm bullet has excellent ballistics but you're not getting a ton of advantage inside 300 yds. Also, while there are factory loads for 6.5, they are on the pricey side. If it were me inside 300yds I'd go 6.8. I am planning a grendel build with a 20" barrel for targets to see if I can hit at 1000 yds. |
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I had good luck with a CMMG WASP 6.8, SSA Barnes tsx in 110gr. Was plenty for a good sized (for WV) 170# whitetail. When I shot, I thought he was about 125yd, turned out to be closer to 175. He was DRT. Took another 4pt the next day. He dropped on the run.
I have since sold the 6.8, Back to bolt guns for the big game for now, got an AR10 243 on the short list. Obligatory pic 
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RedneckRampge!
love the screen name. Mojo ftmfw! Thinking of assembling a long range hunting upper. 6.8 seems to be the right choice. I would end up handloading for it since I would need a trustworthy cbs. Love my FAL but the scope mount is less than optimal for accuracy. Good for scaring range newbies though. |
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It is just personal preference, but at this point in time if I were going to build a hunting rifle for something 5.56mm was marginal on it would be 260 REM.
Everything is the same as 308 except the barrel. The DPMS GII platform looks like it would be ideal for a 260 REM hunting rifle. |
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