So you are saying a 6.5 Creedmoor in an AR10 platform would be a thing of beauty and the best of both worlds.

It would be if you can deal with the additional weight and bulk. The AR-10 platform isn't for everyone. I wouldn't own one in any chambering, but one of my friends totes one around and loves it. Not trying to talk you out of it, but you may want to handle one (if you haven't before) before you make any decisions.

I've handled AR10 in 308 a few times I agree not fun to tote around but great for stationary hog hunting from a blind or ridge

Correct.

If you want the very slight additional weight of that platform. Minus suppressor, my LR 308 is not very heavy. They can be made into fairly light weight rifles. I'm not enough of a gas gun guy to justify a 6.5 Creedmoor, since my .308 and .223 gas guns are plenty. But, hey, if you want a gas gun in 6.5 Creedmoor, I can't blame you. It would be cool!

Out to 500 yards, CHOOSE A BOLT ACTION IN 7MM MAG, 264 WIN MAG, 300 WIN MAG, 338 LAPUA, ETC, ETC, ETC,

Anything you chose to 'kill' at 500 better have plenty gas when it gets there.

Yep. Punching paper, go with the Grendel. If you plan on hunting anything bigger than a coyote, I'd make 300 yards the max for either.

*1449 ft/ lbs @ 500 yards.

-1424 ft/ lbs @ 500 yards.

*6.5 Creedmoor 140 gr. 2810 MV

-7mm-08 162 gr, 2635 MV (20" barrel)

How tough are the animals you're shooting?

I really like the Grendel cartridge and have a couple rifles chambered for it and thinking about changing the AR 24 inch barrel to a 18 inch light weight barrel, or another upper for that since it would be much lighter and easier to carry around. The Grendelized CZ 527 is as good as a whitetail and hog gun for the way I hunt as any rifle I have ever used and I have used plenty of them one deer or hogs. Great balance of power/low recoil/handy rifles/accuracy and shootability as I have ever used. (IIRC 32 different calibers for deer and hogs over the years).

For comparing 6.5 Grendel, 6.5 Creedmoor and 6.8 SPC look at a few things for comparison.
Case capacity Grains if H2O to overflow case and Max SAAMI pressure
6.5 Grendel 37.50gr 52000PSI
6.5 Creedmoor 53.50gr 63091PSI
6.8 SPC 34.01gr 58740PSI
7.62X39 35.50gr 51488PSI

The Grendel has more case capacity then the other of the small cased cartridges and lower operating pressure than the 6.8 and all have way less than the Creedmoor. Yet it and the Creedmoor are the only legit 1k rounds of the bunch mainly due to the high BCs of the bullets but in the three smaller rounds the common bullet weights are very close for common use and the Grendel does have a little more case capacity. Suffice to say the first 3 on the list are good to 300 yards for deer and the 6.5s do better past that with the biggest advantage at longer ranges going to the largest and it operates at the higher pressure which also gives it the edge especially with heaving longer high BC bullets, but it will not fit in an AR-15.

Trajectory wise if you know the 308 with 168gr match bullets you pretty much know the Grendel, according to ballistic calculators there is about .7 mills difference at 1k yards between them which is easy for the knob turners. With similar BCs the wind drift is close also. Cannot say that for the 6.8.

As to the Grendel being a necked down 7.62X39, not really though you can size and fireform cases from the 7.62X39 both cartridges share the same basic parent being the 220 Russian which is the parent of the PPC family or cartridges, one of the PPC cartridge developers provided input into the Grendel cartridge to Bill A and the Grendel is very close to the PPC with the shoulder pushed forward a little for more case volume which is taken up in part by using larger bullets that limit case capacity some hut offer better BC.

As far as it being a 500 yard hunting gun, there are those that get it done that far and beyond on deer and pronghorn. Heck there are records of the Grendel being used on elk to 400 yards with good success though I would want more gun for that size animal. I have used cartridges with less power at the distances I shot deer with than the Grendel has at 500 with very good success though shot placement was where it needed to be.

Another advantage of the Grendel to me is due to good cases available there are reports of Lapua cases being retired after 20 firings from an AR without trimming or annealing which makes the expensive brass seem cheap. In the boltie I am only to 5 firings but still looking good sofar. The low operating pressure helps lead to the longer brass life. Some are pushing 60k psi from their bolt action and single shots and are reporting 5 to 7 firings before scrapping the brass. Think I have said before I hate trimming cases

Barrel life with less operating pressure and burning less powder expect 2 to 2.5 times longer barrel life from a Grendel than a Creedmoor which to me is another plus.

Bottom line I like the Grendel but inside 300 yards flip a coin between it and the 6.8 SPC both will get the job done on deer and hogs. Use the bullets Hornady developed for the Grendel's compound throat 123gr A-Max or SST, 129gr Nosler accubond LR or Berger 130gr VLD and you have an effective hunting cartridge with the Grendel further than most of us should be shooting game.

*1449 ft/ lbs @ 500 yards.

-1424 ft/ lbs @ 500 yards.

*6.5 Creedmoor 140 gr. 2810 MV


-7mm-08 162 gr, 2635 MV (20" barrel)

How tough are the animals you're shooting? [/quote

Thanks for adding the 7mm-08. Point is, at least for me, should I be shooting a Texas size game animal like deer, hog, exotic, and really say I;m going to take shots to 500 yards, I'd want something that has as much energy as possible at that range for a quick ethical kill than the published minimums. Didn't include the 50 BMG, obviously. But at 500 yards, I'd opt for a long action rifle, lots of powder, lots of bullet weight, lots of energy/trajectory to get the job done.

Good post kmon1.

Three hours ago we were wearing out steel at 800 yards. This shooter had a great rifle, with great hand loads. Any hits not centered were wind drift. But the round made a perfect horizontal line, therefore showing terrific consistentcy in flight, and maintaining the same MV shot to shot. I'll take a pic of the hits tomorrow.

No argument on wanting as much oomph at the 500 yard line. But to say a guy HAS to burn 65+ gr of powder to hunt with is not exactly correct. When I go Mulie hinting in December, I will be carrying the 7 Rem Mag loaded with a hot load, to your point. But my short actions CAN do it, if that's all I had.

I think it would be better in an FNH SCAR-17. That's just my opinion.

Please don't try to make a Grendel or a 6.8 in to a long range hunting round. Step up to cartridge with powder capacity similar to a 308.

Of the 4 shots I have tried on game over 500 yards 3 have been with the 7mmSTW with 160gr partitions 2 of which were clean kills the third wound up hitting muscle in the offside right below the chest and was given a yardage 70 yards shorter than the shot wound up being, last I saw that bull he was running across a large pasture about 1.5 miles away, the hit was in the offside front leg on a slightly quartering away shot. Those shots were after busting a bunch of rocks at distances out to 600 yards.

If going on one of those hunts now it would be the 264 WM or 6.5-284 making the trip but if all I had was the Grendel I would dang sure go hunting instead of staying at home.

There is a video of a young lady in her mid teens shooting her first bull elk at 397 yards with her Grendel, she did shoot him 3 times but the bull was dead and didn't know it yet from the first shot, but on those tough critters shoot them until they are down. Like a lot of African PHs direct their clients shoot until the animal is down or cannot see it, don't just stand there admiring the shot. That was I think her 3rd or 4th elk with that rifle but her first bull, IIRC.

Here is a chart of game shots from around the world with the Grendel on everything from mice to elk and bear with the Grendel. Over 400 critters, distance of shot and distance traveled after the shot plus a column of bullet weights used. Some of the lighter weight bullets on this are of GMX bullets modified to less weight by machining them off the solid back of the bullets.

it can be fun to try and push their limits

Yup. An unreliable, inaccurate rifle is what I'd go with.