Military round comparisons

[Guardsman26]

Compared to 6.5 Grendel, of course.

Guardsman and others* want a true general purpose cartridge, and consider 6.5 Grendel to be not quite powerful enough for that mission.

(Tony Williams - who else?)

Absolutely right, Stan. Thank you for pointing that out. And the SF community is seriously interested in a weapon in a calibre that can deliver the associated benefits.

The Canadian paper study presented at Shrivenham last year showed just how effective the Grendel could be - when fired from a weapon with a 24" barrel. It has done much to re-ignite the calibre debate in military circles.

However, as soon as you fire the existing 6.5 Grendel from a weapon with a 16" barrel, retained energy levels drop-off alarmingly - to the point where the Grendel offers no appreciable difference versus 5.56 mm. This has been tested and validated by at least two mainstream manufacturers. (It may also explain why Dr. Gary Roberts gel tests were inconclusive). Hence my view that a slightly longer cartridge with increased powder capacity would easily overcome the problem and provide a true GPC round.

One of the other things I've been looking at is whether an extended version of the 6.8 mm Remington SPC case would be a better alternative to an extended Grendel case. While it would create a longer, more slender round, as LRRPF52 points out, the Grendel case can take more pressure. So, the 39 mm 11.3 mm case is the right one to extend IMO.

I like everything about the Grendel round except case length. A long case with a less pronounced shoulder would also facilitate easier feeding.