03-28-2023, 05:32 PM
Hornady has talked about the 6mm ARC vs 6.5 Grendel quite a lot.
Background: Basically, they wanted highest lethality against humans at ranges well beyond 600m and up to 1000m. Their definition of "lethality" includes retained velocity, trajectory, low wind drift as well as dispersion. For the Military they apparently only consider expanding or fragmenting lead-core bullets like the 106gr TAP.. They did not consider the 6.5 Grendel to have long enough legs and went to 6mm which could gain some BC and muzzle velocity. They claim a 0.580 G1 BC and 2625fps from an 18" barrel for their LE/Military 6mm ARC TAP and a 0.512 G1 BC and 2800fps from a 24" barrel for the 103gr ELD-X hunting load.
For a design goal, they compared to a 16" 308 AR. They claim the 18" 6mm ARC barrel is comparable in handiness to a 16" 308 to justify 18". They are also big on self spotting and claim that one of biggest benefits of the 6mm ARC is low enough recoil to see your own bullet trace. This is seen as critical for Designated Marksman who generally don't have spotters.
The second, "podcast" video about the 6mm ARC is cued up to where they discuss issues with a 30-cal DMR rifle and the interest in the 6.5 Grendel. They mention the Grendel again shortly after 14:10.
6mm ARC and Hunting: In the second video at 21:11, the host talks about "devastating" terminal performance on a deer at 505 yards with the ARC. At 40:30 they even discuss the 6 ARC with a monolithic bullet as being sufficient for black bear and elk.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=os3x5Rg-BJw
https://youtu.be/GtZUxn2Je-8?t=452
Background: Basically, they wanted highest lethality against humans at ranges well beyond 600m and up to 1000m. Their definition of "lethality" includes retained velocity, trajectory, low wind drift as well as dispersion. For the Military they apparently only consider expanding or fragmenting lead-core bullets like the 106gr TAP.. They did not consider the 6.5 Grendel to have long enough legs and went to 6mm which could gain some BC and muzzle velocity. They claim a 0.580 G1 BC and 2625fps from an 18" barrel for their LE/Military 6mm ARC TAP and a 0.512 G1 BC and 2800fps from a 24" barrel for the 103gr ELD-X hunting load.
For a design goal, they compared to a 16" 308 AR. They claim the 18" 6mm ARC barrel is comparable in handiness to a 16" 308 to justify 18". They are also big on self spotting and claim that one of biggest benefits of the 6mm ARC is low enough recoil to see your own bullet trace. This is seen as critical for Designated Marksman who generally don't have spotters.
The second, "podcast" video about the 6mm ARC is cued up to where they discuss issues with a 30-cal DMR rifle and the interest in the 6.5 Grendel. They mention the Grendel again shortly after 14:10.
6mm ARC and Hunting: In the second video at 21:11, the host talks about "devastating" terminal performance on a deer at 505 yards with the ARC. At 40:30 they even discuss the 6 ARC with a monolithic bullet as being sufficient for black bear and elk.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=os3x5Rg-BJw
https://youtu.be/GtZUxn2Je-8?t=452