6.5 Grendel VS 300 AAC?

[LRRPF52]

I was thinking about making a scout style rifle that could also be suppressed but I think I am going to step up to the 6.5 Creedmoor so I have a light weight general purpose rifle capable of taking game up to elk.

And no I am not going to use the suppressor for hunting I just want one because I am an American and I can.

The Creedmor will force you to move up to a larger action like the AR10. If you're going to do that, you might as well go .260 Rem and get a little more velocity, plus way more brass source options. Lightweight will be difficult to achieve though, since the AR10 action is much larger. Sure, you can profile down the barrel into a pencil, and use skeletonized stocks, but that pipe will heat-up really quick, and won't be fun to shoot so much, unless you use a deafening brake. This is why the Grendel makes a lot of sense:

* You can have a heavier barrel, and still have a light gun
* You can shoot it all day long, gaining more proficiency with it.
* You can suppress it and still have a lower-profile gun
* While not your first large game choice, the Grendel has successfully taken Elk out to 405 yards.

Another cartridge to look at is the 6.5x47 Lapua, but that puts you back into AR10 action territory again. You have to prioritize what you want to do with your rifle, and take it from there. The .300 Whisper is a totally different animal than the Grendel, with a totally different purpose: Run extremely quiet with higher BC bullets at the threshold of subsonic flight within a limited range.