Ballistic Coefficientsīallistic coefficient, or BC, measures a rounds ability to overcome air resistance in flight. Within 500 yards, all three loads - Grendel and both 5.56 loads - drop within 4.3" or less of each other. At 500 yards, 5.56 drops about 10% less, or approximately 5.1". It is here that 5.56 NATO shows its surprising ability to out-shoot 6.5 Grendel, although it's not by much. Grendel quickly shows its advantage at 300 yards and beyond, where it only shifts about 7" compared to 5.56's 11.6" and 10.6" of drift, respectively. It is only within 100 to 200 yards that all three cartridges remain comparable, here. The Grendel cartridge provides almost 50% less wind drift at 500 yards compared to 5.56 NATO's two most common 55-grain and 62-grain loads. The competition isn't close here, either. Where 5.56 NATO is producing about as much energy as a lightweight 9mm cartridge at 500 yards, Grendel is still providing almost 900 lb.-ft. There's little to be said here: 6.5 Grendel provides much more power and energy, especially downrange. Of course, a longer barrel is required to achieve optimal velocity, so let's look at ballistic specs and compare further. Grendel maintains a base diameter of 0.439" compared to 5.56's 0.377", allowing for all that extra powder to burn. Except Grendel's higher case capacity - which is about 22% greater - provides that extra velocity for its heavier bullets. They maintain the same overall height, similar max pressures - 5.56 NATO reaches just 3,000 more PSI - and Grendel's bullet diameter is just 0.04" wider. Physical Specs ComparedĪt first glance, these two cartridges don't appear so different. Although both cartridges use the same brass with identical measurements, 5.56 NATO barrels are cut with a 0.125" longer throat, (the area past the chamber which holds the bullet in front of the rifling) and the round develops more chamber pressure than. Think of 5.56 NATO as a hot-loaded or "+P" version of. 264 LBC, or "Type 1 Grendel", while official ammo and parts are often labelled "Type 2 Grendel." This is merely an identifier made up by the original clone manufacturer, Black Hole Weaponry, to differentiate between the two. ![]() To get around this, some manufacturers took to building a knock-off, or clone, that is essentially identical while requiring a different extractor to avoid trademark infringement. ![]() That means any other ammunition developer or gun barrel maker who wants to build Grendel bullets or parts needs to pay a royalty to Alexander Arms. The Grendel cartridge is officially trademarked by its original manufacturer, Alexander Arms. We'll get into the nitty-gritty of ballistics soon. That's about double the accuracy of your typical 5.56/.223 load, and it manages all this while providing more muzzle energy and thus, more energy downrange, too. What kind of distances are we talking? Most Grendel loads are capable of providing good accuracy up to 800 meters downrange. That's fancy talk for a bullet with better wind resistance, a flatter trajectory, and thus more hit probability at longer distances. ![]() 223 Remington (about 2,500 to 2,900 FPS) with a heavier bullet that provides a higher ballistic coefficient. 224" bullet with a bunch of extra powder in the casing, providing velocities equal or similar to 5.56 NATO and. 6.5 Grendel in a NutshellĪs an AR owner, you can think of 6.5 Grendel as a "fat" 5.56 NATO, or even a hyper-accurate version of an AR chambered with AK-47 loads. 223 Remington, for that matter) be a better choice for certain applications even still? We're comparing. But is it worth the upgrade? Are there any downsides to using this faster, more powerful round? Might 5.56 NATO (and. The 6.5 Grendel cartridge fits quite easily in the AR-15, and most agree that it provides better performance than 5.56 NATO.
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