Don't go by what the army says, go by what the army does. They promised me a new M7 rifle back in 2002 and when I joined they promised me a G11 if I passed SFAS. When I got out, they were still promising it. Then it was something else. Now they have a few things in the works. SF does a lot of shit that other units don't do, and if it works well for them, it starts to trickle down to other units, usually as something special. Like how SDM's would up with M110's when in the beginning we had to make do with standard M4's with acogs and bipods. The new collapsible round is an idea, it's something they want or think they want and someone has enough clout to make it this far. I doubt it'll get adopted for several reasons (I'm sure something better will come along first). G11 was another wonder weapon and it fired 4mm caseless ammo. Iv'e seen one, it's pretty slick and still futuristic. Now US army is NOT adopting 6.8 OR 6.5, they ARE adopting 6.5CM as a stop gap for now and the intention is to purchase uppers for both M110's and Mk20's. In fact, they're dream Mk20 looks just like --another AR. Yep. They want the collapsible stock, FF tube more like an AR, etc. I thought it was one the first time I saw it. Then there's the .300 Norma Mag. MG they want. It's not gonna replace the 240, it's just that the army has woke up and built a better logistics system that can handle specialty calibers like this in a theater of operations.
As to Grendel being "dead"? Are you shitting me? There's more brass and bullets available for it than ever. It DID get adopted by the army, just not the US army (it's Indonesia or Malaysia or some fucking place in that general armpit of Earth). It's being used as a specialty round for many units around the world in many armies. In the US, it's commonly ranked as the best round for the small platform AR, as recently as this year by one publication. Ranked number one. That's not bad considering how many rounds there are for that platform. 6.8? It's claim to fame will be as the parent case for the .224Val.
Then Satern, they have FIVE barrels in stock vs. one .223 (if you're interested in a NICE Grendel, go there and pick one NOW before he runs out, because custom orders through them take YEARS!). I have one, it's not to be underestimated, it's the only barrel I have that can do consistent .33MOA groups. You can also get an entire Grendel upper from PSA for $299, so they're even being made for cheap budget builds. When I started using it, it was a wildcat but I've seen it change over the years to a SAAMI spec cartridge that really has no peers in it's class.
Finally, there are a lot of posts about building these on here all the time. And if Grendel does die, it'll have to at least wait until after me because I ain't dropping it.
www.powdervalleyinc.com
