08-25-2017, 02:20 AM
(This post was last modified: 08-25-2017, 02:45 AM by Kswhitetails.)
I get a kick out of the debate of 308 vs Grendel. Who came up with this? When was the Grendel ever intended to compare to the full-length cases of 7.62, 6.5CM, .264USA...? That comparison is laughable, mainly because for what the Grendel is, it competes pretty damn well given the disparities in case size and platform limitations.
But what difference does that make? Pick an average guy, sit him at a bench and ask him to throw 200 accurate 308 loads to 600m. Then, ask him to give you 200 more from the Grendel. Then ask him if he wants to come back tomorrow and do it the other way around. You'll see real quick that the arguement is over, that the Grendel is awesome after all, and that there is no real reason to belittle the little 6.5 lightweight from the back church pews...
The reason Grendel is so great isn't because it out performs any other cartridge (of which there are a few); But that it's performance speaks for itself. Especially when it starts doing things that an AR15 platform based weapon shouldn't be able to do; and with authority! I have watched guys next to me shooting the Sig 716, or a 7.62 AR10 while I'm shooting my Grendel. I'm hitting that same plate of steel at 200, and just as hard, and I'm putting rounds on faster, more repeatedly, and with the same DING and swing as their MUCH louder, more blastiferous, more mule-kicky 7.62. I have had guys on more than one occasion ask to shoot, and afterward they ALL say that they can't wait to look into Grendel. Again, not because it's better, but because it is every bit of what they want in their rifles, even if they're dialing in another minute or two of angle. (The fun part comes when they pick it up off the bench, and compare the size and weight to their ar10, and sigh...)
The real kick is that they never mention wind deflection at these ranges and beyond. Its always that easily calculated drop number... It makes me wonder just how much shooting folks have done when they fail to account for the deflection because windage is almost always the harder call, and a general advantage to the smaller diameter, higher SD projectiles. But I digress...
Back before Grendel entered my stable, I once watched a guy with a brand new ar10 show up with three 20 round mags. He proceeded to load up all three mags with his American Eagle 175s and proceeded to blast away. He had some kind of 3-9 on it, which should have told me more than it did... He got through that first mag, into the second; had it printing about 12 inches, and was flinching so bad that he moved a couple inches on one trigger break and the round didn't even go off... and quit. He looked red faced, was obviously upset, and after someone asked him why, he said that this particular rifle was obviously jacked "because it shouldn't kick that hard". He bought a great weapon, bought great ammo, bought great magazines, and still failed to enjoy his new gun. All because he wasn't ready for the recoil associated with his fancy new 7.62 patrol.
I'll be honest, ever since the first time out, I never looked forward to shooting dad's 1903. The first two clips were great, but after that it was like a punishment to stay on at 200.
When I do get Dad to try the Grendel, I hope to do so on one such 03 Springfield day. And to witness the smile when we move to 400 for the first time, watch him repeat steel with Grendel, and to allow myself a snicker as his grin grows, and he at last understands the JOY of the surprise in the authority with which the Grendel slings its projos onto target at range.
It's not a 308 or .264USA. Fine. The guy's right. But I think you will have a lot more fun with your Grendel at reasonable distance than most will ever see with a 308. And let's remember, inside 500, Grendel kills as well as any large rifle cartridge. (Disclaimers galore, IMHO, YMMV, IIRC, etc...)
But what difference does that make? Pick an average guy, sit him at a bench and ask him to throw 200 accurate 308 loads to 600m. Then, ask him to give you 200 more from the Grendel. Then ask him if he wants to come back tomorrow and do it the other way around. You'll see real quick that the arguement is over, that the Grendel is awesome after all, and that there is no real reason to belittle the little 6.5 lightweight from the back church pews...
The reason Grendel is so great isn't because it out performs any other cartridge (of which there are a few); But that it's performance speaks for itself. Especially when it starts doing things that an AR15 platform based weapon shouldn't be able to do; and with authority! I have watched guys next to me shooting the Sig 716, or a 7.62 AR10 while I'm shooting my Grendel. I'm hitting that same plate of steel at 200, and just as hard, and I'm putting rounds on faster, more repeatedly, and with the same DING and swing as their MUCH louder, more blastiferous, more mule-kicky 7.62. I have had guys on more than one occasion ask to shoot, and afterward they ALL say that they can't wait to look into Grendel. Again, not because it's better, but because it is every bit of what they want in their rifles, even if they're dialing in another minute or two of angle. (The fun part comes when they pick it up off the bench, and compare the size and weight to their ar10, and sigh...)
The real kick is that they never mention wind deflection at these ranges and beyond. Its always that easily calculated drop number... It makes me wonder just how much shooting folks have done when they fail to account for the deflection because windage is almost always the harder call, and a general advantage to the smaller diameter, higher SD projectiles. But I digress...
Back before Grendel entered my stable, I once watched a guy with a brand new ar10 show up with three 20 round mags. He proceeded to load up all three mags with his American Eagle 175s and proceeded to blast away. He had some kind of 3-9 on it, which should have told me more than it did... He got through that first mag, into the second; had it printing about 12 inches, and was flinching so bad that he moved a couple inches on one trigger break and the round didn't even go off... and quit. He looked red faced, was obviously upset, and after someone asked him why, he said that this particular rifle was obviously jacked "because it shouldn't kick that hard". He bought a great weapon, bought great ammo, bought great magazines, and still failed to enjoy his new gun. All because he wasn't ready for the recoil associated with his fancy new 7.62 patrol.
I'll be honest, ever since the first time out, I never looked forward to shooting dad's 1903. The first two clips were great, but after that it was like a punishment to stay on at 200.
When I do get Dad to try the Grendel, I hope to do so on one such 03 Springfield day. And to witness the smile when we move to 400 for the first time, watch him repeat steel with Grendel, and to allow myself a snicker as his grin grows, and he at last understands the JOY of the surprise in the authority with which the Grendel slings its projos onto target at range.
It's not a 308 or .264USA. Fine. The guy's right. But I think you will have a lot more fun with your Grendel at reasonable distance than most will ever see with a 308. And let's remember, inside 500, Grendel kills as well as any large rifle cartridge. (Disclaimers galore, IMHO, YMMV, IIRC, etc...)