Good afternoon. I will be going on a pig hunt here pretty soon and can't make up my mind on which rifle to bring. I have an AR Performance 6.8 or a Howa mini action 6.5 Grendel. Everything I've searched pretty came back to their the same out to 3 to 400 yds then the grendel takes over. I'm looking more for penetration and knock down power over bullet drop. Just curious what you might think. Thanks much
6.5 grendel or 6.8 spc for boar
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horsemen61
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Me I’m a 6.5 Guy I’d take the Grendel and that’s what I advise
I’m a Grendel fan, but it’s the only one of these I have. They will both work just fine assuming you have adequate ammo choices for both. In that case, I would let your preference for the rifle setup govern this choice. Which rifle do you like carrying? Which is setup better for the type of hunting you're going to be doing? Which do you shoot better offhand? Do you want a semi-auto for this hunt? Choose based on the answers to those questions, not the cartridge.
earlthegoat2
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I have both in ARs and I have used them both in boars….and sows.
If you flip a coin on it then the only thing you would need to worry about is getting hit in the eye with the coin.
I “prefer” the 6.8 but that is only because I found a bunch of ammo at a garage sale for next to nothing so I am well stocked on it and as such shoot and use it more.
If you flip a coin on it then the only thing you would need to worry about is getting hit in the eye with the coin.
I “prefer” the 6.8 but that is only because I found a bunch of ammo at a garage sale for next to nothing so I am well stocked on it and as such shoot and use it more.
Varminterror
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I’ve built dozens of each of these and have shot and hunted with both of these since they were released 20yrs ago. Even as someone who lives and breathes long distance shooting and lives and breathes data, I will absolutely plainly say, the “big” differencesbetween these two which folks try to talk about on forums largely only exists online.
Double Naught Spy
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I will tell you what! I have been shooting 6.5 Grendel almost exclusively for hogs for more than a decade and have killed somewhere upwards of 1500 with 6.5 Grendel.
I have hunted with plenty of people who hunt with 6.8 SPCII. I have done a lot of necropsies. From comparable bullets that are traveling at fairly comparable velocities, you get comparable terminal ballistics.
Since the OP is only going to 400 yards and the real benefit of the Grendel is going to be beyond that distance, Grendel doesn't have much of a reach advantage when the limit is capped inside the capabilities of both. Since we are talking inside 400 yards, I think the real difference in performance will come in bullet choice over cartridge. These really are that close.
Well, that could be said for .17 hmr as well, but the reality is that boar's they won't be able to tell the difference in a poorly placed shot, either, not between 6.5 Grendel and 6.8 SPC, LOL. I can tell you that after cutting bullets out of hogs, there have been times that we had to put a caliper on a bullet to determine if it was 6.8 or 6.5 mm...meaning we had trouble telling as well. A 6.8 120 gr. SST looks a lot like a 6.5 123 gr. SST.
Are you loading yourself or buying off the shelf? Grendel bullets tend to be slightly heaving (see SSTs noted above), but both cartridges will accept up to about 140 gr. bullets. I really think your issue here is going to be more with bullet selection than cartridge choice between these two.
I have hunted with plenty of people who hunt with 6.8 SPCII. I have done a lot of necropsies. From comparable bullets that are traveling at fairly comparable velocities, you get comparable terminal ballistics.
Since the OP is only going to 400 yards and the real benefit of the Grendel is going to be beyond that distance, Grendel doesn't have much of a reach advantage when the limit is capped inside the capabilities of both. Since we are talking inside 400 yards, I think the real difference in performance will come in bullet choice over cartridge. These really are that close.
Well, that could be said for .17 hmr as well, but the reality is that boar's they won't be able to tell the difference in a poorly placed shot, either, not between 6.5 Grendel and 6.8 SPC, LOL. I can tell you that after cutting bullets out of hogs, there have been times that we had to put a caliper on a bullet to determine if it was 6.8 or 6.5 mm...meaning we had trouble telling as well. A 6.8 120 gr. SST looks a lot like a 6.5 123 gr. SST.
Are you loading yourself or buying off the shelf? Grendel bullets tend to be slightly heaving (see SSTs noted above), but both cartridges will accept up to about 140 gr. bullets. I really think your issue here is going to be more with bullet selection than cartridge choice between these two.
I personally like the grendel better, but I'm 99% sure that's just because of the way it looks and the fact that it's not a 270......
As the other guys have said. In reality, I doubt you'll notice a difference if you choose The correct projectile for the task at hand.
As the other guys have said. In reality, I doubt you'll notice a difference if you choose The correct projectile for the task at hand.
Wow thanks a bunch all, great information. We'll definitely am leaning towards the little Howa in 6.5. I'm limited to Barnes pretty here and have had some great success with those in my 260. Forget the weight but remember ttsx. Thanks again all I really appreciate all the input
dh1633pm
Contributing Member
I like 6.8only because it’s what I have. I got a bunch of Remington 6.8 ammo years ago, enough to last a long time at a factory sale. And then there’s reloading. A Custom Mini rounds out the deal. Many a White Tail token with the 6.8.
Varminterror
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Eh, this is really detail dependent: the 6.5 Grendel is a shorter case, so it can fit a heavier bullet (ish) into mag length, but overall, the Grendel is a slightly smaller case (36.5 vs 35grn H2O), so for most of the bullet weights we can really use with these small cases, the 6.8 SPC will outrun the 6.5 Grendel. It’s only when we start shoving big 130’s into them that the longer SPC case leaves us encroaching faster into the powder volume. The SPC II (all modern chamber instances) also allows a higher pressure standard than the Grendel, 58kpsi vs 52kpsi, so we can end up with that much more potential energy packed into the SPC case. (Acknowledging, there’s plenty of load data out there for these two which reflect 16” barrels used for the SPCII and 24” barrels used for the Grendel, and the 125fps bonus that offers the Grendel tends to be enough to close the gap - but it doesn’t really reflect the actual relative performance of the two rounds).
Again, it largely amounts to a horse apiece for all practical uses for the two cartridges, but it’s only been the last few years where folks have been spinning the legend of the Grendel outrunning the SPCII.
adcoch1
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The fact that it's a .270... That decides it for me, Grendel all the way!
Joking aside though, to the OP, if you believe you'll see multiple hogs at once, I'd take the semi auto over the bolt gun any day. So in your case the 6.8.
westernrover
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Are you hunting the pigs for meat or is this a depredation hunt? Are you shooting one or two, or as many as possible?
jmorris
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My choice wouldn't be based on what caliber, between those two, rather what firearm, I could shoot accurately and quickly. The last time I shot a pig with a bolt action, I was going after squirrels and we happened to cross paths.
That said, I'm not out to kill just one of them.
That said, I'm not out to kill just one of them.
someguy2800
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Which rifle platform do you like better because there isn't enough difference between the cartridges to care about.
js8588
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The battle was fought a decade ago and the Grendel won. Thanks to the new ARC cartridges, it's not going to change. Plenty of support around for the Grendel. The 6.8, not so much. Just don't tell Constructor.
Varminterror
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The two have been around for 20yrs, and the SPC owned the first half - and it's fairly demonstrable that there's no longer any relevancy to any "battle" between the two...
The 6.8SPC dominated their market until they both were outshadowed by the 300 blackout, with the SPC still holding a long second place lead over the Grendel until the foothold of the 6.5 Creedmoor buoyed sales for the 6.5 Grendel right about the time of the Sandy Hook shooting and rolling into the Clinton/Trump election. The 6.8SPC gained some resurgence when the 22 Nosler and 224 Valkyrie were introduced, but failed to build the head of steam necessary to overtake the Grendel, but frankly, we've entered an era of irrelevancy for the competition between these two... When the Grendel and SPC were introduced, we were in the Henry Ford era - you could have an AR in any cartridge you wanted, as long as it was 223/5.56. Today, there are AR's available from manufacturers in a dozen cartridges, and dozens more cartridge offerings available online as turnkey options. We have wildcats and standardized cartridges based on multiple cartridge families in the Mini-length action of the AR-15, and there doesn't seem to be much slowing down. Fewer and fewer folks care about "mil-spec," and more and more folks are buying and building boutique and bespoke AR's than ever, with more and more folks owning AR's in non-223/5.56 cartridges as their ONLY AR's than ever before. The age of "everyone should have a 16" 5.56 as their first AR" is long over. Compared to the market of options 20yrs ago, today, we have 2.3" cartridges coming out of our ears!!
There WAS a generation of folks who all worshiped adoption of conformity, and for those greytops, I guess they can tell each other "the battle is over," between the Grendel and SPC because nobody is buying either any more, and one derivative cartridge 6 ARC, is outselling the other derivative cartridges, the 224 Valkyrie and 22 & 24 Noslers. But really, "the battle is over" for those greytops, as they haven't represented the majority firearm buyer for a decade or two already, and the battle between 2 of the 10 most popular AR cartridges really isn't a "battle" any more, if it ever was...
6.8 hunter
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I would probably choose the 6.5
Phaedrus/69
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Both are good cartridges in their own rights but yeah, they pretty most both lost. Outside of 5.56 I'd say .300 Blackout dominates with 6ARC and a few other oddballs making a good showing. Or at least, they used to (looking at you, .224 Valkyrie!). In the AR10 it seems that 6.5 Creed has made serious inroads into 7.62/.308 Win market but in the AR15 it's 5.56, then .300 AAC then everything else.
Varminterror
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I think a lot of folks assume the 6 ARC is highly popular because of the hype over covid era, but it really seems like more folks are buying 350L's so far than 6 ARC's, and I might acknowledge that the flood for 224 Valkyries was very violent when it hit, so at this point in time, there might still be more Valkyries running around than 6 ARC's yet - and were it not for the 22 ARC, that might not have ever changed.
But the mini-length cartridge market is what it is - we had a reality for a long time where we had 5.56/.223 was our only option, and then for several years, all we had was the SPC and the Grendel, with the Beowulf being even more obscure option than the Grendel from Wild Bill. Then we got the 458 soc and 450 Bushmaster, the 300 blk came around and that's all we did for a while, we rolled in a few easy ones like 7.62x39, 204 Ruger, 17 Rem, etc, then the "long range AR cartridges" in the 22 Nosler, 224 Valkyrie, and 6 ARC on the heels of the long range revolution, with the 350Legend, and now 400L. We picked up more easy ones like 22 ARC and 24 Nosler, 6x45, 25-45 Sharps, we have the WSSM's, 6 Hagar for a few hold outs, picked up a few oddities like the 300 HamR, and a hundred other wildcats from a dozen different houses all built to the 2.3" action length... And the last decade has seen a HUGE emergence of pistol cartridge lowers, rifles, and conversions to serve a market which simply didn't exist before....
We've entered into the age of parody where we can talk about mini-length cartridges in the same way we've debated "which is your favorite magnum cartridge?" or "what is your favorite short action cartridge?" and actually have enough players to almost be interesting. 25 years ago, if we talked about "what is your favorite AR?" the only aspect of discussion was barrel length... 20yrs ago, we were still cutting A2 FSB's and drilling and tapping to make AGB's, still cutting A2 handles off of uppers and screwing and pinning on scope blocks, and gluing carbon-fiber tube stocks onto barrel nuts to make free float handguards. Today, it's an entirely different spectrum of options...
We have ammo catalogs online with hundreds of options, we have reloading manuals with hundreds of cartridges - we've entered an era where mini-length cartridges have emerged as a sizable minority among them, and an era in which more and more shooters are finding interest in AR's which are NOT in 223/5.56, and don't feel the need to own a 16" 5.56 as their first AR, or even own one at all.
But the mini-length cartridge market is what it is - we had a reality for a long time where we had 5.56/.223 was our only option, and then for several years, all we had was the SPC and the Grendel, with the Beowulf being even more obscure option than the Grendel from Wild Bill. Then we got the 458 soc and 450 Bushmaster, the 300 blk came around and that's all we did for a while, we rolled in a few easy ones like 7.62x39, 204 Ruger, 17 Rem, etc, then the "long range AR cartridges" in the 22 Nosler, 224 Valkyrie, and 6 ARC on the heels of the long range revolution, with the 350Legend, and now 400L. We picked up more easy ones like 22 ARC and 24 Nosler, 6x45, 25-45 Sharps, we have the WSSM's, 6 Hagar for a few hold outs, picked up a few oddities like the 300 HamR, and a hundred other wildcats from a dozen different houses all built to the 2.3" action length... And the last decade has seen a HUGE emergence of pistol cartridge lowers, rifles, and conversions to serve a market which simply didn't exist before....
We've entered into the age of parody where we can talk about mini-length cartridges in the same way we've debated "which is your favorite magnum cartridge?" or "what is your favorite short action cartridge?" and actually have enough players to almost be interesting. 25 years ago, if we talked about "what is your favorite AR?" the only aspect of discussion was barrel length... 20yrs ago, we were still cutting A2 FSB's and drilling and tapping to make AGB's, still cutting A2 handles off of uppers and screwing and pinning on scope blocks, and gluing carbon-fiber tube stocks onto barrel nuts to make free float handguards. Today, it's an entirely different spectrum of options...
We have ammo catalogs online with hundreds of options, we have reloading manuals with hundreds of cartridges - we've entered an era where mini-length cartridges have emerged as a sizable minority among them, and an era in which more and more shooters are finding interest in AR's which are NOT in 223/5.56, and don't feel the need to own a 16" 5.56 as their first AR, or even own one at all.
LocoGringo
Member
As others have said, to me it depends more on the style of hunting you're going to do than the cartridge. If you're going to have the opportunity to shoot multiple hogs in one location and need to make quick follow-up shots, the AR would be far superior to the bolt gun. If you're going after 1 hog and you shoot the bolt gun better, that's the one.
I would also think it depends on how much/type of ammo you have available to couple that with the style of hunting/eradication you're going to be doing.
Regardless of cartridge, take the tool that fits the style of shooting/hunting/eradication you're going to be doing and which rifle you shoot best.
As for my preference, I have a 6.8 that I have set up for hog hunting/eradication and deer hunting that is ITCHING to have the trigger pulled on some hogs. It's already been successful on deer for both me and my son.
I would also think it depends on how much/type of ammo you have available to couple that with the style of hunting/eradication you're going to be doing.
Regardless of cartridge, take the tool that fits the style of shooting/hunting/eradication you're going to be doing and which rifle you shoot best.
As for my preference, I have a 6.8 that I have set up for hog hunting/eradication and deer hunting that is ITCHING to have the trigger pulled on some hogs. It's already been successful on deer for both me and my son.
Obviously this choice comes down to which rifle you shoot better in the field, given that both are of sound quality and well maintained. To open up a real margin of performance I would suggest an M&P 10 308 Win with its 18" 5R barrel or perhaps a chrome lined 16" Armalite AR10A4CB.
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