6.5 Grendel vs 6.5x55

[Olympus]

I know this is a difficult comparison being semi auto vs bolt, but I'm still trying to sort this out. I'm considering the Grendel due to the availability of the cheaper Wolf ammo that could be used for practice and trigger time cheaper than any other caliber. I can also buy factory new Prvi brass much cheaper than say other 6.5 calibers like the Creed and the 260. The Radical Arms 20" upper has a stainless match barrel and I already have a complete lower minus stock sitting around. I'd be into the Grendel for $540 plus whatever stock I decided on. The stock choice will play a big part in total cost.

The 6.5x55 I'm looking at is the Tikka T3 Hunter. Again, looking at the cost of reloading components, the 6.5x55 is much cheaper with factory new Prvi brass available at about half the cost of Creed and 260 brass and there dies seem to be cheaper also.

Basically, I can build the Grendel with a Magpul ACS-L stock for the same price as the Tikka Hunter since I already have a complete lower laying around unused. Grendel can be shot with Wolf ammo cheaper than the Swede, but both can be reloaded for cheaper and easier than other 6.5 calibers. Each gun would serve as a target and hunting rifle.

 

[CarJunkieLS1]

Simple question would you prefer a bolt gun or a semi auto. But from a strict ballistic comparison the 6.5 Swede wins in every category especially for a handloader.

I have a Radical 20" upper in 6.5G and it's been great and accurate. I've got ~100rds through mine and I Love it.

 

[Olympus]

I don't really know that action type is a big factor for me. I would probably shoot the Grendel more, especially considering the cost of the Wolf ammo.

 

[justin22885]

i used to want the grendel as well because of cheap wolf ammo, the problem is the wolf ammo is not that good, only 100 grain bullet and not traveling as fast as it could be.. the ballistics are poor for 6.5 grendel and anything you handload as an improvement to those rounds you intend to use just for plinking will perform so much differently you might as well use .223 for plinking

6.5x55 in a modern rifle loaded to modern pressures can easily be a 1,000 yard cartridge, no issues with that but if its the more typical 6.5x55 performance youre after you can get this in a 6.5 creedmoor or .260 remington and it would be even cheaper to load since once fired .308 brass is fairly inexpensive

 

[BigBore45]

im gonna go with 6.5 swed since you mentioned hunting it your OP. its ballistics rival a .308 winchester and in most cases out perform it after 500 yards. and ballistic wise is 200-300 FPS over the Grendel with the same bullet. also a very inherently accurate cartridge. cheap shooting out of a semi auto vs. a bolt gun would be kinda hard to compare as i know every time i have a 20 rnd clip in a semi auto i shoot it more that the bolt guns.

 

[rayatphonix]

Up to about 200 to 250 yards both are capable hunting rounds. Past that the extra velocity of the Swede pays off. The Grendel will have less less recoil and is probably going to be more comfortable to shoot for extended periods.

Tikka also makes rifles chambered for the .260 Remington. Like Justin said .243/7-08/.308 brass is easy to resize and you'll have an endless supply of brass. Long term I think it would be cheaper to reload than the Swede. Disadvantage of the .260 is ammo is hard to find.

The rifles are so different it's hard to recommend one over the other. For me that would be a bigger factor than the cartridge.

 

[Olympus]

I knew this would be a difficult comparison.

Wasn't aware of the accuracy issues with the Wolf. If it's that different compared to what a handload would be, then I would get tired of having to re-zero my scope when switching between the ammo.

 

[Sunray]

A lot will depend on what you want to do with the rifle. A 6.5 x 55 will kill any game in North America. A 6.5 Grendel will not. It's a varmint/deer cartridge. Just a necked up .220 Russian.
Decidedly limited in the brands of rifle it comes in too. The name "6.5mm Grendel" was a trademark owned by Alexander Arms.
You will not find Grendel ammo in small places. You might find the Swede.
Accuracy issues with the Wolf are superseded by it being Berdan primed and steel cased, not reloadable. Wolf does load brass cased Grendel though.

 

[Olympus]

Well, in looking at reloading costs, I can reload the Grendel for $0.30/round for 120gr FMJ minus the initial cost of the brass. That's cheaper than the Wolf and likely I can get better accuracy with the reloads and not have such a big change in POI between range ammo and hunting ammo.

I already have a 270 so I could always go to that rifle if I needed the extra "umph".

 

[justin22885]

ive been considering letting my 8mm mauser supplies dry up and transition into another long range cartridge myself and one of the main reasons for this consideration is the really high costs of 8mm bullets for reloading (.35/bullet), so ive been considering the 7mm mauser, 6.5x55, and even the .270 myself, but realistically the difference between a short action cartridge and long action cartridge with the same bullet, powder, and pressure is incredibly minimal up to 24" barrel length and the short actions are much easier to reload for

 

[Pilot]

I am really sold on the .260 Remington, and would like to get my next bolt gun in that caliber.

 

[Olympus]

I am really sold on the .260 Remington, and would like to get my next bolt gun in that caliber.

Thought about that, but brass is fairly high and dies are sort of limited. At least in my area.

 

[Pilot]

Thought about that, but brass is fairly high and dies are sort of limited. At least in my area.

You can use .243, .308 and 7MM-08 brass and resize it. Dies are available on line. I will definitely reload for this cartridge.

 

[CB900F]

Olympus;

I've been dealing with the 6.5 Swede for quite some time now, over 20 years. The idea that reloading components are either hard to find or expensive is pure nonsense in my experience. Also, the idea that you need a short action cartridge to be accurate is a huge fantasy cooked up in somebody's marketing department IMHO. Then there's the fact that I own several Tikka rifles of which one is chambered in 6.5 Swede & have dealt with the cartridge in other branded guns for the multiple decades to provide me with some experience.

The Swede kills all out of proportion to it's bore diameter. The reason can be found in examining the sectional density and ballistic coefficients of the various bullets found in the marketplace. I happen to prefer the 140 grain bullets for hunting, the Sierra Gameking in particular. My gun gives me excellent accuracy and the bullet certainly puts game on the ground. As has been said, with a modern action the Swede can be loaded to provide modern velocity for it's bullet weights and takes a back seat to none of them. I happen to use Winchester brass, and find case life to be very good through multiple reloads. The only thing that's even a bit out of the ordinary about my reloading is that I do use a micrometer seating die. I've found that it really does make it much easier to accurately adjust seating depth, and that can absolutely lead to superior accuracy in bullet placement.

900F

 

[Olympus]

Never said the 6.5x55 was hard to find components for. I said that about the 260 and Creedmoor. The 6.5x55 is the easiest to find components for actually.

 

[d2wing]

The Swede is quite a bit more powerful and has much more reloading potential. On game it will have better performance at any range and greater range to boot, with proper soft point bullets.

 

[RPRNY]

Love the Swede. Love being able to toss 160 gr pills. Tikka Hunter is a great rifle.

But if you have a 270 Win bolt gun you're happy with and want something different then go-go Grendel!

 

[browningguy]

I like my 6.5G, but honestly the 6.5x55 is a lot more gun for the hunting part. But since you already have a .270 for hunting I would probably lean toward the 6.5G just because it's a very accurate and fun rifle to shoot.

 

[justin22885]

The Swede is quite a bit more powerful and has much more reloading potential. On game it will have better performance at any range and greater range to boot, with proper soft point bullets.

vs the 6.5 grendel you mean, right? because compared to the creedmoor or other .308 based cartridges people are talking about, performance between those and the swede is pretty much a wash

 

[CB900F]

Olympus;

Sorry, I didn't say that you said 6.5 components were hard to get. But there has been a persistent internet rumor that they are, which was the reason I posted as I did. You know, it's some weird "furrin" metric caliber and all that.

900F

 

[Swampman]

I really like the 6.5 Swede and I think it's far superior as a general duty hunting round compared to the Grendel. I also really like Tikka rifles.

The fact that you've already got a .270 makes that somewhat of a moot point though. Aside from reduced recoil, the Swede isn't going to give you much in the way of advantages over the .270 as a medium game hunting caliber.

The Grendel in an accurate AR on the other hand, might do just that.

I don't know if you hunt 'em, but I think it'd make an excellent hog rig.

The majority of the times that I go hog hunting, I don't see anything.

When I do spot 'em, I'm about as likely to see a sounder of 20 to 60 as I am a single hog.
Hog hunting is one of the few times that a 20 round magazine (plus a soft recoiling rifle with reasonable power & penetration) can actually pay off.

Unlike an AK or SKS in 7.62x39, you've got good enough accuracy, trajectory and terminal ballistics to make a 3 or 400 yard shot if you spot pigs down a power line or across a field.

Unlike an M1A with a 20 round mag full of .308, the rifle won't be so heavy that you're tempted to hire a gunbearer (or carry it in a wheelbarrow ).

This wasn't a problem 25 or 30 years ago, but M1A's these days are at least twice as heavy as they used to be. Oddly enough, the weight increase seems to have affected the Standard Model that I got back in the mid 80's as much as it does current production M1A rifles.

Originally posted by: Olympus
Wasn't aware of the accuracy issues with the Wolf. If it's that different compared to what a handload would be, then I would get tired of having to re-zero my scope when switching between the ammo.

Depending on your handloads, the Wolf may or may not have a different point of impact.

Even if it turns out to have a different POI, that doesn't mean that you'd need to fire a bunch of rounds to re-zero your scope every time you switch between the two loads.

Assuming that it's a decent scope with accurate, repeatable adjustments, once you know the difference in POI's for the two loads, you should be able to simply go "X" clicks up or down and "Y" clicks left or right to get your crosshairs where the bullets are hitting.

 

[rayatphonix]

One thing about Wolf Grendel ammo is that Wolf uses large rifle primers. Everyone else uses small rifle. You'll need to keep brass separated if you have any other brands. The PPC cartridges, which the Grendel is loosely based on, uses small primers. That's always kept me from buying any Wolf.

 

[Paul7]

A 6.5 x 55 will kill any game in North America.

That is a stretch, and to we 83% of shooters who don't reload, is clearly not the case. It is a 200-250 yard rifle. I have taken cow elk with my 6.5x55, but would go with my .30-'06 (35% more energy) for bull elk, moose, or oryx. I have an oryx hunt next week that my guide isn't letting me take my 6.5x55 on, I agree with him. You really want to go after a brown bear with the Swede, even with your reloads? For Eastern hunters hunting deer, hogs or black bear, it is certainly all the gun they need.

I know in Scandanavia they shoot moose with it, but they are smaller animals at generally shorter ranges.

 

[BigBore45]

That is a stretch, and to we 83% of shooters who don't reload, is clearly not the case. It is a 200-250 yard rifle. I have taken cow elk with my 6.5x55, but would go with my .30-'06 (35% more energy) for bull elk, moose, or oryx. I have an oryx hunt next week that my guide isn't letting me take my 6.5x55 on, I agree with him. You really want to go after a brown bear with the Swede, even with your reloads? For Eastern hunters hunting deer, hogs or black bear, it is certainly all the gun they need.

I know in Scandanavia they shoot moose with it, but they are smaller animals at generally shorter ranges.

i think you will find that the better ballistic coefficients of the 6.5 bullet will start out performing your 06' at great range and neither have a problem up close. dont know about factory rounds but reloads are right on par with a .308 winchester and out do it starting at around 500 yards. so if a .308W will do it a 6.5 swed will too.... i would hunt anything in north America with either the 6.5 swed or .308 without hesitation.

 

[stoky]

Ursus horribilis is in North America, but not in Kansas anymore. I wouldn't want to disturb one with a .308 or 6.5x55, but if that's your wont, by all means do so.
I'd go with the Grindel if I wanted an AR platform, which I don't. In a bolt gun the 6.5 x 55 would be superior in every regard (discounting the etherical magic of short cartridges).