Re: Puget Sound Area Shooter's Group
Cybnew,
As long as we have you considering the 6.5 bores, you might want to look into the 6.5 Grendel, the 6mmx45 (5.56x45 nato necked up to 6mm/.243), and there is a variant of the 6.5 Grendel that is necked down to 6mm.
These rounds fit into the AR15 sized rifle receivers, and don't go transonic until well after 1000 yards. They excell at having low recoil, wind drift and elevation drop of around the 300 Win mag!
Things to consider:
1. The Grendel reaches out furthest.
2. The 6mmx45 requires only a barrel change to convert an AR15 to it. You an even use AR15 magazines. The Grendel and it's variants require Grendel magazines.
3. Any of these cartridges is a vast improvement over the 5.56x45 in terms of reach. Normal 5.56x45 cartridges go transonic around 600-800 yards depending on the bullet used. However, many people get the 5.56 to go much further by single loading rounds with heavy for caliber bullets. I'm referring only to cartridges that will feed from a magazine.
4. For practical rifle, or tactical type matches, these cartridges have great reach, very low recoil, yet hit plates much harder than 5.56x45 rounds will.
You will have to spend some time comparing the rounds to see which one best fits the type of shooting you want to do. I would look into wind drift, the distance at which the bullet goes transonic, and how much the various cartridge's bullets drop at 500, 750, 1000, 1250 yards. After you figure those three factors, you can begin looking at the cost for components to make ammo (unless you always buy factory), and cost to get set up.
Although I'm a true fan of the 6.5 Grendel, I think the 6mmx45 is an outstanding cartridge to consider. All you need is a different barrel, and can even neck up GI brass to load it. The powder charge for that round is essentially the same charge as you would use for a 5.56 bullet. However, you end up with a bullet that remains supersonic for a great deal more distance.
Depending on hour your duty and off time goes onboard your ship, you may have lots of time to crunch numbers.
