AR Sponsor
Posted: 12/25/2007 5:37:13 PM EDT
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im getting ready to build my second ar-15. im torn on caliber i have no idea what to go with i have one in .223 currently with a 22lr lower which will get its own dedicated lower soon. i want this one for mid size game deer/hog and home defense. i was going to go with 6.8 spc but the price of ammo kinda turned me off 17 a box. ima ammo whore and love to have atleast 5k of each caliber and enough components to reload that 5k twice. are there any other calibers i should look into. |
| The only calibers I like in the AR-15 platform are the .223 and 9mm. The 6.5 Grendel would be awesome if it was affordable and plentiful, but its not, same for the 6.8 as well. Are you set on a AR-15 and not maybe an AR-10? .223 is fine for mid-size game (mostly) but for boar, at least the ones I've seen taken around here, .308 is more suitable. Its also a bit more plentiful as its a military and NATO caliber, plus you can find many a rifle chambered in .308 which is more than can be said for 6.8 or 6.5 right now. |
I don't see any difference anymore. Brass was the only thing that was hard to get and that has been readily available for at least a year now. |
I'd stay with 6.8. SSA is expected to be coming out with a less expensive plinker round after the first of the year. As long as commercial demand remains steady, the big ammo companies will eventually get it through their beady little brains that there is a market for 6.8SPC. |
I'm with the above. $17 is not a lot for a box of shells! You can't find factory ammo from the normal manufactures (Remington, Winchester, Federal, etc) for .223 that is not at least 20 bucks. I wanted to go with the 6.8 when I made my second upper but it wasn't practical without having another lower and bolt. If you are going to consistantly shoot deer and hogs I would say that the 6.8 is you round you want. If you were to get an AR10 you then have a new gun whose components doesn't switch with those of your AR15. I haven't looked up 6.8 brass but I am sure that it can't be that difficult to find. The bullets are the same as those for .270 Winchester. I know that the reloading information is available. |
The 6.8 has much better mags, stronger bolts, and better terminal ballistics. |
i know im going with 458 socom. its a fairly short range round 150-250 yards but with hand loads i should be able to push it a little further |
I too am in process of a 2nd AR build. I have an extra .223 upper I want to swap out for either a 6.5grendal or .458 socom. I heard the grendal is a long range killer out to 1000yds and the .458 will knock down pretty much any game animal within 250yds. Plus they both dont require special mags like the 6.8 and the 50 cal. 6.5 has fairly readily available ammo with lots of choices unlike the 6.8. and the .458 is safe against any possible future 50 cal ban. I too am in the same bind 
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The 458 looks like a great round but it's $40 something a box 
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Might want to read up on that, California hasent even gone that far.... If the 50 beowulf is banned I belive the 458 socom will be on the same list |
You are going to be disappointed about the mags. Also although the 6.5G has very good ballistics you may want to take a closer look. Better do a bit more research. |
The 6.5 grendal bullets actually dont fit in the mags, I see that now. I was under the impression they did. Maybe that is just for the 458 socom... 6.5 has some serious good ballistics, still effective out to 1200yds and shoots flatter than the 6.8 |
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But the ballistics you are looking at are from 24-28 inch barrels. If you want one that long then go for it.If not then you may want to search out the more realistic ballistics. Not to mention the added cost of a more or less proprietary product where the 6.8 is in production by many sources. Brass is easier to come by and cheaper also. The 6.5 does have some impressive ballistics but in shorter barrels it begins to suffer badly. Just something to think about. |
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Is this for 16in, 20in, or 24in barrel? There are tons of new cartridges out. 6.8 SPC is too slow. But nice having a .277 (270 Win) caliber bullet. The 270 Win has a .30-06 sized case to hold the powder to push that bullet. 6.5 Grendel is a little slow. But not bad. I think it can hit 2700fps. http://64.233.169.104/search?q=cache:p1h8Icn4TtsJ:www.65grendel.com/graphics/grendelballistics.pdf+6.5+Grendel+ballistics&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=1&gl=us A bullet that flies at 2700-3000 fps is easier to hit the target at 100-350 yards. .223 Wylde, and .308 have nice ballistics for AR variants. M80 Ball ammo for 308 is 150gr at 2700fps. I also like .243 and .260 but not sure of their short barrel ballistics in AR. .243 does pretty well in Thompson pistol, so it should be okay in short barrel. .243 and 7mm-08 are based on .308. All very accurate rounds. 458 SOCOM is basically a .45-70 performance. .450 Bushmaster isn't much better. 2000-2400 fps with 250gr bullet. 100-150 yards effective range. If you want a non-mainstream(non-military surplus) round, make sure you understand the costs involved. Plinking and varmint hunting is pretty expensive with the short run cartridges. I haven't seen the bullets or reloading dies for .450 Bushmaster. But it looks like a nice moose/bear round. |
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You don't mention how far a shot you are looking at for hunting but 6x45 for longer range and 300 Whisper (for shorter, brush type hunting) both offer some advantages. You can use .223 brass to make both rounds, they both work out of a standard magazine, and both use the standard bolt. The bonus of 300 Whisper is that it is also great to suppress since you live in a NFA friendly state. Out of the other suggestions 7.62x39 is probably the cheapest out of the box upper and has the cheapest ammo if you don't reload. The only negatives are the magazines and possibly issues with some ammo if you don't modify your bolt or go with the MGI bolt. It would be fine to hunt with but you will still have to wait for a decent hi-cap magazine to come on the market. Good luck and let us know what you go with! editted to add I didn't see you picked 458 SOCOM when I posted, opps! |
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