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The 6 ARC will give you better accuracy, longer barrel life, more bullet choices, and is just as effective in making the kill at further distances. That is why I leaned towards the ARC. The Grendel is a fine rifle as well, but if doing a bolt action I would say the ARC is a better candidate.
The ARC has a very good barrel life, it rivals the .223. It is said that the ARC will get 10,000 rounds plus out of a barrel. I have one with 4000 rounds through it with no real signs of wear or erosion, fire cracking.Actually, the barrel life is shorter.
Not shorter enough to bother factoring it into the equation.
People say that about a whole bunch of chamberings. They are full of shit too.The ARC has a very good barrel life, it rivals the .223. It is said that the ARC will get 10,000 rounds plus out of a barrel. I have one with 4000 rounds through it with no real signs of wear or erosion, fire cracking.
What does it look like near the chamber end?
That first picture looks like the angel cut at the lead. Would be about as impressive at 4k rounds, as the gas port erosion.What does it look like near the chamber end?
Not sure.. hard to tell where that is for me other than the gas port one.That first picture looks like the angel cut at the lead. Would be about as impressive at 4k rounds, as the gas port erosion.
6.5 Gr barrel life is really good, probably up there with .223 and .308. I don't see any possibility that a 6 ARC would have better barrel life than a 6.5 Gr all else being equal.The 6 ARC will give you better accuracy, longer barrel life, more bullet choices, and is just as effective in making the kill at further distances. That is why I leaned towards the ARC. The Grendel is a fine rifle as well, but if doing a bolt action I would say the ARC is a better candidate.
Buy the one you can get ammo for and know you made the right choice. If there is an intrinsic accuracy difference, most shooters won’t be able to shoot the difference. Over the life of a barrel, you’ll spend an order of magnitude more money on ammunition ( regardless of the choice).
I have a 6.5 PRC..... so have the Grendel's.... very , bigger... big brother.Purpose should drive your decision. If you're more interested in hunting with it, I think 6.5. If target would be more useful, I'd run the 6.
IMO both are good, because both are basically the same thing. Similar powder charge, pressures, projectile form factors. All else being equal, the ARC with it's smaller bore should have higher chamber pressures, which would usually indicate faster throat erosion. Neither round may be hot enough in the end to make this argument worth having. You could drive both harder in the bolt, and both would benefit from that somewhat over the 52k limit in the DI platforms.
I'd maybe build a long-throated Grendel in a bolt. 2.400ish OAL opens a ton of new bullet seating possibilities, and being able to run it at higher bolt gun pressure too? Lots of additional potential, low recoil, long barrel life, down range performance, but shorter brass life.
The ARC holds the edge atm for on the shelf factory ammo, because Hornady is hell bent on supporting "their" 6mm Grendel, and are pumping it's proprietary caliber harder, for now. Understandably. I wouldn't hesitate to hunt with their "Match" ARC ammo, either. You could always build a 6ARTurbo and buy ARC ammo and just fire form... (Don't do this. But you could...?)
I don't think there's enough difference in real world terms to decide one way or the other. Which one do you want to run?
Personally if I was going to run a bolt 6mm, especially in the 30-ish grain capacity, I'd run a BR/A/X and easy mode it. If I wanted more speed, I'd run GT or Creed, or even 243Rem. If I was doing a 6.5mm bolt, I think I'd be too tempted to move up to a larger case. There's just so much more potential available in the longer heavier bullets moving faster. x47/.260/even x55 for the old school appeal...
It would be fun to see a 6.5GT. It could be like AMC in their hay-day. We could even use their naming system - call it the '65GTM, for #GayTigerMagnum... It could have a rainbow colored, Javelin-esque hot rod on the box with a stylized GTM badge on the hood and rear quarters. Then, next year we could bump the shoulder angle and make GTA. Then GTX. (I think we're on to something here, guys. Somebody needs to get George on the horn)
Ok... decision made. I just couldn't get my head around a couple of points to buy the 6 ARC.....
1. I have 500 rounds of 6.5 Grendel Ammo
2. The Grendel case is larger than the 6 ARC.
3. I have the option to shoot .7 BC bullets in the Grendel
The last 48 hours I have searched everywhere for a 6.5 Grendel gun... Ended up finding one local and pulled the trigger.....
Howa 1500, 22" 1-8 twist barrel
DIAMONDBACK TACTICAL 4-16X44 FFP
Honestly, I sure wanted the Savage 110 Switchback, but wanted the Grendel more.
Hornady has a 147 gr, .698 and a 153gr, .704....
I'm will single feed, so not worried about fitting in a mag.
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Hornady has a 147 gr, .698 and a 153gr, .704....
I'm will single feed, so not worried about fitting in a mag.
Betting I can get 2,300fps with the 153 and if so.... it is still running 1,000 fps at 2,000 yards at my range at 5,000 feet elevation.
........
Yeah.. we will have have to see what the Chrono says.....
I have those two bullets on order to use with my 6.5 PRC... and am going to try them in the Grendel.
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6 ARCThis is a question for a bolt action rifle.
I am stunned that the 6mm ARC is still running at over 1,000 fps at 1,800 yards. The Grendel does over 1,000 fps at 1,600 yards, but a bigger and heavier bullet.
Which would you choose?
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