11-16-2017, 04:23 PM
As one who is new to the 6.5 Grendel, I chose it over the 6.8 simply because it looked to have much better industry support (at least from my point of view) and better performance for hunting. I was completely impartial and unbiased without knowing the history of either round. I'm a dealer for BCA and they only offer one 6.8 barrel, but they have about 36 different 6.5 Grendel barrels. I'm also a fan of Odin Works out of Boise, ID. They don't offer any 6.8 barrels but have a number of choices in 6.5 Grendel. There was just a lot more for me to chose from by going with the 6.5 Grendel....
Within a 200 mile radius, I don't see any 6.5 Grendel or 6.8 ammo in stores. Since I'm the only FFL/ammo dealer in our little town of 100 people, I now keep some 6.5 Grendel on hand but nobody uses it yet except for me. The other ammo that I keep in stock are more traditional rounds (30-30, 308, 270, 30-06, 22lr, 9mm, 223). I sell more 45LC ammo than 300blk ammo.
I'm not kidding when I say that the second most popular deer round here is a 20 Gauge smooth bore single shot (both break and bolt action). The most popular being the 270. Talk about a ballistically poor choice. Why do they use a single shot smooth bore shotgun? Simple, Grandpa was able to mail order (and could afford) a Montgomery Wards bolt action single shot or NEF break action and it still works. It also doubles as a bird gun. People have brought in their third generation shotgun with a broken firing pin for me to fix so they can go deer hunting next week. I only charge them the cost of parts. When you only make about $20k a year, you have 5 kids to feed and you live in the middle of a national forest you use what you have.
The 6.8 looks like a fine round and I hope that it stays here for those that use it.
Within a 200 mile radius, I don't see any 6.5 Grendel or 6.8 ammo in stores. Since I'm the only FFL/ammo dealer in our little town of 100 people, I now keep some 6.5 Grendel on hand but nobody uses it yet except for me. The other ammo that I keep in stock are more traditional rounds (30-30, 308, 270, 30-06, 22lr, 9mm, 223). I sell more 45LC ammo than 300blk ammo.
I'm not kidding when I say that the second most popular deer round here is a 20 Gauge smooth bore single shot (both break and bolt action). The most popular being the 270. Talk about a ballistically poor choice. Why do they use a single shot smooth bore shotgun? Simple, Grandpa was able to mail order (and could afford) a Montgomery Wards bolt action single shot or NEF break action and it still works. It also doubles as a bird gun. People have brought in their third generation shotgun with a broken firing pin for me to fix so they can go deer hunting next week. I only charge them the cost of parts. When you only make about $20k a year, you have 5 kids to feed and you live in the middle of a national forest you use what you have.
The 6.8 looks like a fine round and I hope that it stays here for those that use it.