6.8

I own BOTH, the 300 BLK is great sub and super sonic, it has taken several pigs. My Grendel has taken several deer and hogs over the last 4-5 years.
Out to 150 yards both will work great, BUT if I had to have ONLY 1 hunting AR it would be my 20" Grendel. I will group well out to 300 yards. ( That is as far as I have shot it at paper targets.)

For under 300 yrds hunting I would choose 6.8 on hogs/deer. Youcan run them suppressed but the 6.8 does not cycle subsonic rounds well (neither does the 6.5 grendel). You said nothing about a suppressor so it might be a mute point regardless. A 6.5 grendal is going to be superior at longer ranges so if that is what you want it could be a good choice. I would seek out information on other forums and make a choice that fits what YOU need and want.

Here are some forums for you to look through.
Ar15.com
68forums.com
Arperformance.com
And do a google search on "300 blackout forums" & "6.5 grendal forums" and you will have more info than you probably can read through.

6.8 !

Yup this is my vote also.

I have and really like he 6.5 Grendel for hunting. Ammo costs you can find the Hornady loads for about $1 each. Load it up with a 123gr A-Max or 130gr Accubond and go hunting. Both of those have higher BC and sectional density then the common bullets used in the 300 Blackout. I have no reservations using it to 350 yards on deer or hogs. I also think it would make a great round in a youth rifle low recoil and very effective.

Third plus one.

totally different animals
6.5 is a GREAT long range round
300 BO is a good short range round.

If you want to shoot close range, supressed AND want to shoot subsonic rounds, the 300 BO is a good choice.

Be aware of the trajectory of subsonic 300 BO rounds..
A buddy (who is a very experienced shooter, competitor and hunter) missed a deer when he misjudged the distance, was in in the 100 yard range. He came up short. With a supersonic round there would have been a dead deer.

You can supress any of them of course..

My choice for running supersonic ammo (supressed or not) for a hunting AR15 is 6.8 SPC

For long range out of an AR15, then the 6.5G

Just different guns for different uses.

If you want CQB, reasonable kills under 100 yards and possibly suppressed, go 300BO.
If you want to reliably kill pigs and deer out to 300 yards, go 6.8 x 43.
I don't have any 6.5 experience so I can't say other than I would like to play with one!
I parked and sold ALL my 300 Blackouts after my first 6.8x43.
Best big pig killing round I've shot out of an AR platform but my exposure is limited to 223/5/56, 7.62x39, 300BO and 6.8x43.
If you do get a 6.8, do your homework and don't get an old SPCI chamber with fast twist as it is severely handicapped.

Don't quite understand the comments that the 6.5 is a good long range caliber but the 6.8 is a better hunting round. The 6.5 is good for hunting and the bullet choices are greater for the reloader, higher sectional density and better ballistic coefficients for the Grendel make it my choice for target or hunting, close in or longer range it works.

Kmon,

I should clarify
Of course the 6.5 is a great hunting round

I think the point is that in order to get the benefits of the Hogh BC bullets you need at least. 20 and preferably 24" barrel wheres the 68 is gets by find with a 16"

I haven't tried the 6.5 or 6.8 in the 16inch barrels but they are about even out to 300 yards for velocity and energy and after that the Grendel begins to take the lead at least according to Hornady data, even when both are listed as having 16 inch barrels.

Personal preference, I just do not see much real world difference between them in all honesty. Most critters are shot well inside 300 yards and I doubt a anything shot with either would be able to know the difference.

Your right, both will kill animals efficiently. It doesn't mean a hill of beans which one people buy 99.99% of the time. The 6.8x43 has more avalability in terms of barrel options and commercial ammo. To a lot of people those are big advantages. To others, not so much.

100 yards? It does not even reach its max point blank range to 230 yards.

300 BLK bullets expand to more than 50 caliber and have 24 inches of penetration at 300 yards. So you can hunt to at least 300 with a 300 BLK. The max effective range by Army M4 standards is 500 yards.



Here is it being shot at 750 meters (820 yards):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tgKjbySsAik&feature=youtu.be

Hunt what?

Animals that are about up to 400 lbs.

That is obviously supersonic loads right?

So you would honestly be ok with taking a shot on a 400 lb animal at 300 yards, with a 110 gr 300 blackout?

Just bought a 300 blk it shoots great . I'm gonna pick up a lower this weekend at the gunshow to build 6.8 first build. Will probably end up with a 6.5. My suggestion is buy which ever one you see first . You are going to end up with all three anyway

Yeah, mine shot great and accurate, just didn't work well on pigs.
Don't see many pigs made out of gel here in Texas and they generally don't hold quite as still.

And my .22 pistol has a range of 1 mile...says so right on the ammo box.

Just out of curiousity, what bullet were you using on the piggies?

I believe Vern was referring to the 6.5 grendel because all he shots now is the 6.8. Not sure on brand and size.

Don't know if it was mentioned, but you can use your .223 mags with your 300BLK. I have a 300BLK. Shoots like a 30-30.

I only hunt pigs so all my observations are from shooting pork - as for accuracy though, I had no complaints.
For piggies, I had the best luck with 110gr TTSX handloads in the 300BO.
As a side note, the 300 is slow enough that a 110gr VMax acted more like a cup and core than a varmint round so that should tell you something about it's "capability".
I tried lots of different bullet combinations over the year I tested the 300BO.
I really wanted to like it - it looks good on paper - but didn't live up to the hype in the real world.

The 6.8 x 43 with a 95gr TTSX is multitudes better than anything I shot out of the 300BO and shoots a lot flatter.

So I need a new bolt for 6.8, but what about mags? Are they different? What twist in a 16" 6.8 would be good? Thanks guys....