Betamaxed
There’s a real battle brewing over the better caliber: The 6.5 Grendel v. the 6.8 SPC. I could do a death match but Tam and Colt CCO done did it. Says Tam:
In other words, 6.5 is already shaping up to play Mac to the SPC’s IBM.
Says the Coltster:
“Betamaxed” describes in one word just about how I see the future of the 6.5 catridge, with the parallel that the Betamax itself was actually ‘better’ then VHS, as the 6.5 is the more accurate, at least potentially. Likewise, 6.5 has the “Holy Damn, that’s expensive” sticker shock to go along with it. Your average consumer sees a $900 6.5 Grendel upper, and buys a 6.8×43 SPC.
Well, that and ammo availability are major factors. Sure, your 6.5 Grendel will shoot the tits off a gnat. But the 6.8 is compatible with mil-spec uppers and I can find ammo for it. And it comes in at about half the price.
February 6th, 2007 at 10:18 am
If he wanted to complete the Betamax analogy, he’d have had to show how the 6.5 comes in magazine capacities of 3, 5, and 7.
February 6th, 2007 at 12:12 pm
Now Wolf has 6.5 Grendel Wolf Gold ammunition in the US at $10.99 a box. They will have cheaper steel cased 6.5 Grendel ammunition 2nd Quarter 2007. There are now 6.5 Grendel tactical uppers in the $500 range as well. 6.5 Grendel is also compatable with all 5.56 AR15 components except the bolt (uses 7.62×39 bolt), barrel (needs 6.5mm duh!), and magazines (5.56 mags will work but only feed 3-5 rounds reliably).
This goes a long way to make the 6.5 Grendel a Sony Playstation III which is late in the game but running strong rather than a betamax!
February 6th, 2007 at 3:53 pm
Yea, right.
So explain to me again why a 6.5 Grendel upper costs an extra $200 to $300?
February 6th, 2007 at 6:08 pm
Basically, because Bill Alexander is the gun version of Steve Jobs. Makes it a huge pain to make stuff in ‘his’ caliber.
Oh, and rumor has it that the 6.5 and 6.8 mags are interchangeable.
February 6th, 2007 at 6:47 pm
I see the big ammo guys tame wildcats all the time. What’s the big deal with the Grendel license? Best guess is that he’s got a design patent. The standard mischief here is to do the “improved” cartridge route. All you need to do is blow the shoulder angle out a bit more and create a new cartridge. Because it’s “improved”, it will chamber and headspace the $1+ Grendel factory fodder just fine, fireforming the brass upon use.
So if I get reamers the reamers made up first, it’s gonna be called the 6.5 Mischief Improved™
February 7th, 2007 at 3:21 pm
Kristopher apparently missed the comment that a 6.5 Grendel upper can be had in the $500 range as well.
Most of the Grendel uppers have expensive barrels by Walther. Others have fairly expensive barrels by Satern Manufacturing. The expensive barrels probably are a large contributor to consistent 1/2 MOA accuracy among all the Grendels being sold. However, the expensive barrels do result in the cheapest 6.5 Grendel being about $100 more than the cheapest 6.8 SPC.