11-03-2013, 01:27 AM
nincomp Wrote:Oh no, XcountryRider, I see a storm a'commin'! Crap, crappity crap, CRAP, (thunder clap), crap. Drizzle
Well, there is your crap storm. I did not want you to be disappointed. :p
Seriously though, on this site, you are preaching to the choir. These days, the nastiness of the 6.8/6.5 rivalry is pretty much gone. The long-range advantage goes to the Grendel. Both cartridges use about the same amount of powder, but the Grendel can use bullets with higher BC.* At some distance, the Grendel will pass the SPC and retain higher velocity. Even when the full performance of the improved SPC (the SPC II) is exploited, the overall results will be the same. The performance of the SPC II will increase but the Grendel will eventually out-run it.** The distance at which the switch-over occurs will change, of course. Fans of each cartridge can nit-pick over the exact details, but the conclusion remains the same.
What really matters, though, is that both are excellent hunting cartridges and both can be used in modified AR15's. Most game is taken at less than 200 yards. Both cartridges excel at ranges like this. Both can be lethal to many animals at distances well beyond 200 yds, with the advantage going to the Grendel, all things being equal.
When it comes to long-range hunting, well, I agree with the comment that relatively few hunters have the ability to consistently make quick, clean kills at 300 yards and over. Even when buck-fever (or swine flue) comes into play, hunting ethics are still important.
That's my story and I's sticking to it.
* Look at the provenance of each cartridge. The Grendel directly relates to a long-range target round, the 6.5 PPCX campaigned by Arne Brennan. The SPC has a fuzzier lineage (30-30 maybe?) but more distinct combat-related goals including overmatching the 7.62x39 and being more effective than the 5.56x45 out of short barrels. The SPC is a Special Purpose Cartridge, but it was never intended to be a 1000yd round one.
These differences really do matter when shooting targets at long distance. For most hunting... not so much.
** The 6.5 Grendel and the 6.8 SPC were announced at about the same time, but the Grendel had the distinct advantage of Bill Alexander making sure that no one screwed up the design. As for the 6.8, well, let's just say that its developers uttered "No, you've got to be kidding me" when they discovered that the wrong drawings had been submitted to and accepted by SAAMI. Nevertheless, thee short-range / long-range characteristics noted above would apply.
I was expecting woohoo to jump in
