6.5 Grendel vs 6.5 cm in a 12" barrel

zeroz

3m ta3
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Minuteman
Feb 13, 2017
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South central, co
Added this question into another one of my threads but didn't get much so I figured I'd make a new thread with this being the focus.

Is there much advantage to going 6.5 CM over 6.5 grendel in a 12"? Am I just going to burn up more powder, have more recoil and not much performance advantage? On top of that its a CM, LOL. The gun will mostly be for short range whitetails and hogs the I head south but will the CM give me enough more that I consider taking the lighter package on bigger hunts? I'm not getting any younger and the idea of a shorter lighter gun on big hikes is appealing. I killed a bunch of critters up to and including an elk, this year with a grendel, so I know it can do it, but would a CM suit me just a little better? It'll be suppressed so the extra muzzle blast on a shorty CM isn't that big of a deal.

I was about to pull the trigger on a 12" Elf Owl pistol in 6.5G. Then I found out I have to tool up for 6.5 CM to load for a nephew since his dad bought him one but is a turd when it comes to buying him ammo. That made me wonder if I should just go with the CM in the shorty to squeeze out more velocity. I have had no need for the man bun in my life and have always been a .260 man, but now that I have to tool up anyway, does it make sense to go to the dark side with this shorty? It opens up the option of the Christensen MPP as well, so there's that. Its lighter, looks sexy and I can have it tomorrow instead of in 6 weeks. Really I was pretty set on the grendel but if there are compelling reasons to go another route Im not unreasonable. Decisions decisions.
 
I know this is late and you have probably already made your decision. I have a 6.5 CM although it's a 22" barrel. I also have a 12" Grendel with a Faxon barrel on a pistol build responsible for the deer shown. It was taken at 221 yards with a factory Fusion 120 gr load. I don't think you would gain much from a CM in that short of a barrel other than an ability to use heavier bullets. But you also have more costs and bigger muzzle blast. And the added size and weight.

I have a pretty beat up body from years of sports and activities causing injuries. Add that to being 68 yrs old and I too consider weight and practicality a lot more now. That said, I think the Grendel is a lot more effective for it's size than the CM in a short barrel. I haven't shot my Grendel past 300 but I don't think a CM would be much of a gain at that range or shorter.


grendel buck.jpg
 
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