The military isn't interested in either of them for standard issue, especially looking at 5.56 NATO M855A1 performance.
The sniping community in several of the services within SOCOM and USMC have shown interest in 6.5 Grendel because:
Higher hit probability than M118LR from shorter barrels with longer barrel life for courses, half the recoil, fits in the SPR or M4 profile, much better solution than SR25/M110/SCAR-H.
More rounds can be carried for the Sniper/DM duty positions, whereas you can go Black on ammo very quickly with 7.62 NATO.
There has been more focus on .260 Rem and 6.5 Creedmoor for SSRs, while they are also looking for a 6.5mm Assault LMG within SOCOM, no mention of anything .277 currently.
For the civilian side, Grendel exceeds 6.8 SPC II performance from the same barrel lengths with the same bullets from the same companies, then really leaves it in the dust when looking at 129gr ABLR.
Doesn't matter if it's SBRs, 16", or 20", you see velocities within a few tens of fps of each other, with substantially higher BCs from 6.5mm, lower working pressure, and the availability of affordable steel case ammo for Grendel.
I get called a liar over and over, so I did one of my searches....again for specific SPC II speeds from 16" barrels, including the most efficient powders recommended by Harrison.
Everything was 2470-2500fps from a 16" SPC II barrel with hand loads under the 120gr SST, which is a fine bullet for hunting with the 6.8-nothing wrong with it at all. Affordable, deadly within parameters, accurate.
I'm not a hater for pointing out that the 123gr SST, with the same construction and expansion envelope, at the same speeds or even slower speeds, exceeds the terminal performance of the 120gr SST in 6.8 SPC II non-standard chambers meant for maximum horsepower.
It's not my fault the BC is almost a full value higher with one than the other.
It's not my fault that one has way better sectional density.
It's not my fault that one is spinning faster when it hits the animal, with faster impact speed, with more retained energy, more penetration, and equal or more expansion.
This makes me a liar though for some reason...really odd.
I'm cherry-picking the data.
It's funny to see someone who I know can read and do basic logical deduction or addition even claim that out of the "10,000 bullets for 6.5 Grendel", most of them are target bullets and the few hunting bullets for 6.5mm require .260 Rem speeds to expand.
The majority of the hunting bullets on the market for 6.5mm were never designed for .260 Rem speeds. They were designed for 6.5x55 Mauser speeds from surplus actions, where chamber pressure had to be kept down in the mid 40ksi region.
Everything 85-130gr expands very well at Grendel velocities, with a few exceptions. The premium Barnes 100gr TTSX is one, but it still has expansion range for common hunting distances within 275yds.
First I'm told that who needs all that long range performance when shooting animals within 200yds, then I'm told that the 100gr TTSX is crap because it only expands out to 260yds from a 16"??? Scratching head....
If you want to do an addition test, go count all of the 6.5mm bullets that are for hunting, and all of them that are for target. I've been doing it for years.
Last I checked, there are significantly more hunting bullets that expand just fine within Grendel muzzle velocities within common hunting distances.
Not good enough. I'm a liar, you see.
I just counted the inventory of Midway's site, for example. 68 of 98 are hunting bullets in 6.5mm.
You see a similar breakdown when you look at the entirety of the available 6.5mm bullets on the market.
In our shameless quest for profits in the firehouse reloading handbook market, when we put together Volume II, we came up with an even longer list of bullets.
Most of them are hunting bullets. All of the loads in Volume II are for hunting bullets.
All of them will expand within common hunting distances.
The 100gr and 120gr NBTs do even from shorter barrels.
The TSX and TTSX do.
The SSTs do.
The Pro Hunters do-even Sierra specifically says the 120gr Pro Hunter is meant for slower muzzle velocities or longer range from a faster cartridge, and will fragment at .260 Rem speeds at close range.
Same for Hot Cors, Partitions, and about every hunting bullet you can find for 6.5mm.
Nope, I'm lying. Target bullets are more prevalent, because 6.5 Grendel is meant for target, not hunting. Hunting is 6.8 SPC's sole domain of horsepower dominance.
The basic math and open facts simply don't support any of these blatant falsehoods. Anyone can look it up and see, don't trust me.
The sniping community in several of the services within SOCOM and USMC have shown interest in 6.5 Grendel because:
Higher hit probability than M118LR from shorter barrels with longer barrel life for courses, half the recoil, fits in the SPR or M4 profile, much better solution than SR25/M110/SCAR-H.
More rounds can be carried for the Sniper/DM duty positions, whereas you can go Black on ammo very quickly with 7.62 NATO.
There has been more focus on .260 Rem and 6.5 Creedmoor for SSRs, while they are also looking for a 6.5mm Assault LMG within SOCOM, no mention of anything .277 currently.
For the civilian side, Grendel exceeds 6.8 SPC II performance from the same barrel lengths with the same bullets from the same companies, then really leaves it in the dust when looking at 129gr ABLR.
Doesn't matter if it's SBRs, 16", or 20", you see velocities within a few tens of fps of each other, with substantially higher BCs from 6.5mm, lower working pressure, and the availability of affordable steel case ammo for Grendel.
I get called a liar over and over, so I did one of my searches....again for specific SPC II speeds from 16" barrels, including the most efficient powders recommended by Harrison.
Everything was 2470-2500fps from a 16" SPC II barrel with hand loads under the 120gr SST, which is a fine bullet for hunting with the 6.8-nothing wrong with it at all. Affordable, deadly within parameters, accurate.
I'm not a hater for pointing out that the 123gr SST, with the same construction and expansion envelope, at the same speeds or even slower speeds, exceeds the terminal performance of the 120gr SST in 6.8 SPC II non-standard chambers meant for maximum horsepower.
It's not my fault the BC is almost a full value higher with one than the other.
It's not my fault that one has way better sectional density.
It's not my fault that one is spinning faster when it hits the animal, with faster impact speed, with more retained energy, more penetration, and equal or more expansion.
This makes me a liar though for some reason...really odd.
I'm cherry-picking the data.
It's funny to see someone who I know can read and do basic logical deduction or addition even claim that out of the "10,000 bullets for 6.5 Grendel", most of them are target bullets and the few hunting bullets for 6.5mm require .260 Rem speeds to expand.
The majority of the hunting bullets on the market for 6.5mm were never designed for .260 Rem speeds. They were designed for 6.5x55 Mauser speeds from surplus actions, where chamber pressure had to be kept down in the mid 40ksi region.
Everything 85-130gr expands very well at Grendel velocities, with a few exceptions. The premium Barnes 100gr TTSX is one, but it still has expansion range for common hunting distances within 275yds.
First I'm told that who needs all that long range performance when shooting animals within 200yds, then I'm told that the 100gr TTSX is crap because it only expands out to 260yds from a 16"??? Scratching head....
If you want to do an addition test, go count all of the 6.5mm bullets that are for hunting, and all of them that are for target. I've been doing it for years.
Last I checked, there are significantly more hunting bullets that expand just fine within Grendel muzzle velocities within common hunting distances.
Not good enough. I'm a liar, you see.
I just counted the inventory of Midway's site, for example. 68 of 98 are hunting bullets in 6.5mm.
You see a similar breakdown when you look at the entirety of the available 6.5mm bullets on the market.
In our shameless quest for profits in the firehouse reloading handbook market, when we put together Volume II, we came up with an even longer list of bullets.
Most of them are hunting bullets. All of the loads in Volume II are for hunting bullets.
All of them will expand within common hunting distances.
The 100gr and 120gr NBTs do even from shorter barrels.
The TSX and TTSX do.
The SSTs do.
The Pro Hunters do-even Sierra specifically says the 120gr Pro Hunter is meant for slower muzzle velocities or longer range from a faster cartridge, and will fragment at .260 Rem speeds at close range.
Same for Hot Cors, Partitions, and about every hunting bullet you can find for 6.5mm.
Nope, I'm lying. Target bullets are more prevalent, because 6.5 Grendel is meant for target, not hunting. Hunting is 6.8 SPC's sole domain of horsepower dominance.
The basic math and open facts simply don't support any of these blatant falsehoods. Anyone can look it up and see, don't trust me.
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