6.5 Grendel vs 5.56/223 Remington Comparison & Analysis

Name: 6.5 Grendel vs 5.56/223 Remington Comparison & Analysis | Open Video
Uploaded: 2024-05-10T18:24:56+00:00
Duration: 24 min 6 s

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Hi there, I'm John McAdams, founder of the Big Game Hunting blog, and in this video I'm
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going to do a detailed comparison of the 6.5 Grendel to the .223 Remington
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slash 5.56 NATO cartridges. Now I think that most shooters and hunters, but
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especially those who like using modern sporting rifles, probably agree that the
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.223 Remington and the 5.56 by 45mm NATO are effective cartridges in certain situations. At the same time, the shortcomings of those
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cartridges are also very apparent to many people. This has led to the
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development of cartridges like the 6.5 Grendel that are designed to improve
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upon the performance of the .223 and 5.56, but still function in an AR platform
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Now the AR platform is currently one of the most popular firearms in the United
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States and is widely used by gun owners. That is not surprising because the AR
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platform offers many inherent advantages for hunters and shooters, and this has
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helped spur continued improvements to the AR-15 platform itself. Now the popularity of the AR-15 has also resulted in the development of
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additional cartridges that offer distinct advantages over the .223 slash 5.56 cartridge, while also still functioning in an AR-15. Now the 6.5
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Grendel is currently one of the most widely used of those cartridges. As good
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as it is though, the 6.5 Grendel is not perfect and there are some downsides to
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using it. So for that reason, this episode is a detailed comparison of the
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6.5 Grendel versus the 5.56 and .223, where I discuss the strengths and
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weaknesses of each one, so you can decide which cartridge is best for your
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particular hunting situation. So first we'll talk a little bit about the
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history of these cartridges. The US military began searching for a replacement for the relatively new M14 rifle and 7.62x51mm
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cartridge during the 1950s. They eventually settled on the M16 rifle and
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the high-velocity 5.56x45mm cartridge, which was derived from the .222 Remington. Remington saw the potential for a tremendous commercial
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opportunity and developed a civilian version of the new cartridge that was extremely similar, but not quite identical to the 5.56 NATO cartridge
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Formerly standardized with SAMI as the .223 Remington in the early 1960s, the
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new cartridge was capable of firing a 55 grain bullet at muzzle velocities
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approaching 3,300 feet per second. Now the 5.56x45mm NATO cartridge had very similar ballistics and the original 5.56 M193 ball load fired a
2:38
.224 caliber 55 grain full metal jacket at 3,250 feet per second. Now
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unfortunately the 5.56x45mm NATO cartridge and M16 rifle got off to a very rough start in service with the US Army and Marine Corps in
2:54
Vietnam. Modifications to the rifle and ammunition solved most of the reliability problems that plagued the system during the war. Large numbers of
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people in the US military still had very serious concerns regarding the stopping
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power of the little cartridge though, especially with the new M855 load
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adopted with the M16A2 rifle. Now incorporating a new bullet design with a
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steel penetrator, the M855 load fired a 62 grain full metal jacket bullet at
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3,025 feet per second. Now the M855 penetrates much better than the M193
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but complaints about terminal performance of the new 5.56 cartridge from soldiers grew even louder after the new ball load saw use in combat in the
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1990s and early 2000s. Now civilian hunters who adopted the AR-15 and the
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.223 Remington cartridge during the last couple of decades of the 20th century
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shared many of those concerns. Now that rifle and cartridge worked extremely
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well for predator and varmint hunting and target shooting but the .223
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Remington also developed a reputation for unsatisfactory performance on bigger game like deer. However the AR-15 platform did offer a number of
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advantages to shooters and eventually became very popular in the United States
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So with this in mind, gun designers with their finger on the pulse of the American
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hunting and shooting communities understood they were looking at a potentially massive opportunity. Realizing that many people love the AR-15
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as well as the fact that the .223 Remington cartridge was not the best
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choice for hunting big game, designers set about developing a number of larger
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bore cartridges that were more powerful than the .223 Remington but would still
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function in AR-15 rifles. Among others this list includes cartridges like the
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.300 Blackout, the 6.8 Remington SPC, the .450 Bushmaster, the .458 SOCOM and the
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.50 Beowulf. Now Bill Alexander developed the .50 Beowulf as a big bore
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alternative to the .223 Remington in 2001. He also designed the 6.5 Grindle as a
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medium bore option in the same market niche in 2002. By modifying a 6.5 PPC
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case, which is itself descended from the .220 Russian and the 7.62x39mm
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cartridges, Alexander was very successful in building an efficient, accurate and sweet shooting cartridge that functioned very well in the AR platform. Capable of
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firing a 120 grain bullet at 2,600 feet per second, the 6.5 Grindle cartridge is
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also significantly more powerful than the .223 Remington. The 6.5 Grindle cartridge is also extremely versatile and works extremely well for long-range
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shooting, tactical, law enforcement, varmint hunting and big game hunting application. Now the cartridge did initially struggle to gain widespread
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acceptance in the shooting and hunting communities for a variety of reasons, one
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of which was the fact that Bill Alexander trademarked the name of the cartridge. However he relinquished that trademark in 2011 when the cartridge
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gained SAMI approval, thus allowing other companies to manufacture ammo, barrels, etc. bearing the name 6.5 Grindle. Since then the 6.5 Grindle has gained
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traction as an effective hunting round with more and more hunters who appreciate the improved performance it offers over the .223 and 5.56 NATO and
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have adopted the new 6.5 cartridge accordingly. So let's talk about why
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that is the case and we will start with the relative sizes of the .223, 5.56 and
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6.5 Grindle. As you can imagine there are some big differences in the sizes of
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those cartridges. So first they use different diameter bullets .224 caliber for the .223 Remington and 5.56 NATO and .264 caliber for the 6.5 Grindle
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Most 6.5 Grindle ammo typically has bullet weights in the 90 to 130 grain
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range with 100 grain, 110 grain, 120 grain and 123 grain bullets being the most
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popular. On the other hand the majority of .223-5.56 factory loads shoot bullets in the 35 to 77 grain range and of these 55 and 62 grain
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bullet weights are by far the most common. Both cartridges are designed for
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use in an AR-15 which can only accommodate cartridges up to 2.26 inches
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long. So the .223 and 6.5 Grindle each have the same overall length of 2.26
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inches which is the maximum size that you can use in an AR-15. However even
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though the .223 Remington has a longer case the 6.5 Grindle has a slightly
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larger case capacity that can hold more powder since it is a larger in diameter
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Now on the other hand the .223 Remington has a slightly higher maximum
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semi-authorized pressure of 55,000 psi versus 52,000 psi for the 6.5 Grindle
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Those differences in the external dimensions of those cartridges do translate into some very interesting differences in their ballistic
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performance. This is illustrated when you compare Federal and Nosler factory ammunition. The 6.5 Grindle loads in this case use a 120 grain soft point with a
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.340 BC and 120 grain Nosler ballistic tip bullets with a .458 BC
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Now Federal produce both of the 5.56x45mm factory loads that we're going to talk about here to roughly mirror the performance of the 55 grain
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M193 ball load with a .246 BC and the 62 grain M855 ball load with a .349 BC
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Both of those like I said mirror what was and is used by the military. Now the
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.223 Remington factory loads use a 62 grain soft point with a .310 BC
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and 55 grain Nosler ballistic tip with a .267 BC. Now not surprisingly there's a
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significant difference in the bullet trajectories of these cartridges. As you would probably expect the 6.5 Grindle has a significant edge in terms of
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kinetic energy at all ranges. Now with the exception of that 62 grain FMJ bullet
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used by the M855 5.56 load, both of the 6.5 Grindle loads use bullets with a
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higher ballistic coefficient and the 6.5 Grindle also uses bullets that are about
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twice as heavy. So the 6.5 Grindle starts off with significantly more energy at the
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muzzle between 22 and 73 percent more depending on the exact load and this
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advantage in retained energy grows as the range increases to between 30 and
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139 percent more all the way out at 500 yards. Now on the other hand the .223
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and the .556 loads do have a flatter trajectory with less bullet drop at all
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ranges. However with the exception of that 62 grain M855 load, the 6.5
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Grindle outperforms the .223 Remington and .556 NATO in terms of wind deflection
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at all ranges. Now that difference is relatively small with the federal 6.5
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Grindle load but the 6.5 Grindle has a much bigger advantage with that Nosler
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load which has 9 to 12 inches less wind deflection than the other three .223
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slash .556 loads all the way out at 500 yards. Now let's talk about recoil
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Specifically I compared the recoil produced by hand loads that are very
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similar to the Nosler .223 Remington and 6.5 Grindle loads when fired from
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identical rifles. Well the .223 Remington has significantly less recoil than the
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Grindle and depending on the exact load the 6.5 Grindle has approximately twice
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as much recoil and that's really saying something too because the 6.5 Grindle is
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a very relatively mild recoiling cartridge itself. Now all things considered most hunters should be able to handle 6.5 Grindle recoil without much
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trouble. That said the .223 Remington just has an extremely mild almost
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non-existent recoil so the .223 slash .556 does have a big advantage in this
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respect especially for smaller or more recoil shy hunters. What about accuracy
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though? Now the .223 Remington in particular has seen extensive use in the
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hands of competition shooters and has a outstanding reputation in that area
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However the 6.5 Grindle also exceeds in that area as well and if we're being
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honest both cartridges are capable of tack driving accuracy in the right
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hands. Though the exceptionally mild recoil of the .223 Remington does give
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that cartridge an advantage at shorter range like 150 yards or less the 6.5
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Grindle has a longer effective range and a big advantage at ranges past 200 yards
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because those heavier and more aerodynamic bullets retain more energy and are less susceptible to wind deflection. So where do we stand with
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each cartridge? Well the 6.5 Grindle fires larger diameter, heavier and more
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aerodynamic bullets than the .556 NATO. The 6.5 Grindle has significantly more
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retained kinetic energy than the .223 slash .556 at typical hunting ranges
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However the .556 NATO and .223 Remington have higher velocities, much less recoil
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and a flatter trajectory. When comparing these cartridges it's important to remember that the 6.5 Grindle was designed to offer better performance out
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of an AR-15 ballistically than the .223 Remington and as you can see Bill
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Alexander was very successful in accomplishing that goal. All told the 6.5
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Grindle is a moderately powerful, mild recoiling and relatively flat shooting cartridge that's also pretty resistant to wind deflection. This is especially
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remarkable considering that the cartridge packs that level of performance into a very small package that can still fit into the relatively
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tight constraints of the AR-15 platform. The 6.5 Grindle is a very good
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all-around cartridge for those who want to use an AR-15 for deer hunting at
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short to moderate range and in addition to hunting the 6.5 Grindle is also a
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really nice choice for self-defense or personal protection for people who like
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the AR-15 platform and it also has a very good barrel life. The 6.5 millimeter
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bore diameter is also in something of a sweet spot where it's easier to manufacture very high BC bullets that aren't especially heavy like the Hornady
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ELD Match and those aerodynamic bullets don't slow down as fast and are more
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resistant to wind drift. At the same time the 6.5 Grindle also has a big edge over
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the .223 Remington and 5.56 NATO cartridges in terms of bullet sectional
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density. Sectional density is a measure of the ratio of the diameter of a
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projectile to its mass. All other things equal a heavier projectile of a given
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caliber will be longer and have a higher sectional density and consequently
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penetrate deeper than projectiles with a lower mass and lower sectional density
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As an example 120 grain, 123 grain, and 129 grain .264 caliber bullets have
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sectional densities of .246, .252, and .264 respectively. This does compare favorably to 55 grain, 62 grain, and 77 grain .224 caliber bullets with
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sectional densities of .157, .177, and .219 respectively. Now all things considered the 6.5 Grindle is simply a significantly more powerful
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cartridge. It's not a heavy hitter even on the level of cartridges like the .308
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Winchester, but it is still completely in a different league from the .223
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Remington and 5.56 NATO. Now in addition to the advantages in bullet
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sectional density and kinetic energy that we have already discussed, the 6.5
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Grindle also uses larger diameter bullets. Consequently it has about 39% more frontal surface area than the .223 slash 5.56. Now all other things being
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equal a bigger bullet will make a bigger hole, cause more tissue damage, and result
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in more blood loss. Now the 6.5 Grindle is also designed to use significantly
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heavier bullets which along with the fact that it generally uses more
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aerodynamic bullets helps the 6.5 Grindle carry more energy downrange. Combined with the larger diameter and a more frontal surface area of the bullets
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used by the cartridge, hunters have a tiny bit more room for error in shot
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placement when compared to the .223 and the 5.56 and those characteristics are
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especially helpful when hunting larger game. Make no mistake the .223 Remington
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is an outstanding varmint hunting cartridge. Advances in bullet technology in recent years have also made those cartridges much more effective on deer
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size game than they used to be. Lots of people successfully harvest deer with
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the .223 Remington each year and the mild recoil of the cartridge makes it a
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nice option for small framed or recoil shy hunters. However it's also just a
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plain fact that the 6.5 Grindle is better for deer hunting if that hunter
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can place his or her shots appropriately. In my humble opinion the 6.5 Grindle is
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not a good choice for hunting any game bigger than deer though. Now even though
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it is significantly more powerful than the .223 Remington I don't recommend
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using the 6.5 Grindle for hunting elk, moose, black bear or other game like that
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But like I said for deer, hogs, etc. it's a great cartridge. Now let's talk about
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ammo selection. Now the .223 Remington is currently one of the most popular
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cartridges in the US. When .223 and 5.56 sales numbers are combined they are far
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and away the most popular centerfire rifle cartridges in terms of total number of rounds sold. Now even though the 6.5 Grindle is a reasonably
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popular cartridge it cannot compare to the .223 in terms of popularity. Even so
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there is a decent selection of factory ammo choices for the cartridges. Now just
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about every ammo manufacturer produces several different loads of .223 Remington and 5.56 NATO ammo. This ammo ranges from match grade and surplus
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full metal jacket ammo best suited for work at the range on one end of the
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spectrum to hollow point, soft point and ballistic tip ammo designed for hunting
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and personal protection on the other end. Now note that full metal jacket ammo is
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generally not legal for hunting in most states so while that military surplus
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5.56 by 45 millimeter ammo is good for use at the range I don't recommend
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taking it a field in search of game. Now most of the .223 and 5.56 NATO
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ammo is designed for target shooting or plinking but companies like Barnes
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Federal, Hornady, Nosler, Remington and Winchester all produce ammo in those chamberings suitable for hunting. Most of this is varmint hunting ammo like
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Hornady's Varmint Express and Superformance Varmint lines, Nosler's Varmageddon line and Winchester's Varmint X line. However there are a
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handful of .223 Remington ammo options specifically designed and marketed for big game hunting. For instance there are both .223 and 5.56 loads in the Barnes
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Vortex line, Federal offers .223 Remington ammo in their Fusion line and
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Winchester produces .223 Remington ammo in their Deer Season XP, Power Max Bond
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and Super X lines. At the same time 6.5 Grindle ammo is available from Hornady
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with their American Gunner, Black and Custom lines, from Federal with their
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Fusion MSR and American Eagle lines and Nosler with their Ballistic Tip and
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Trophy Grade Long Range lines. In particular Hornady's factory load using a .123 grain SST bullet as part of their Custom line is a very popular and
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effective deer hunting option with the 6.5 Grindle. Alexander Arms still produces 6.5 Grindle ammo and Wolf also offers a pretty good low priced
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full metal jacket option for the cartridge. Now during normal times it is
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usually very easy to find .223 and 5.56 ammo and almost any gun or
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sporting goods store will have a really big variety of .223 and 5.56 ammo in
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stock. Now while I wouldn't say it is rare, not every sporting goods store
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keeps 6.5 Grindle ammo in stock so just keep that in mind. Usually you can find
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6.5 Grindle ammo online though without a lot of difficulty but like I said that's
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during normal times. Okay now let's talk about rifles. Once again the .223 and 5.56
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NATO are much more common than the 6.5 Grindle but there is a good selection of
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rifles in all three cartridges. Now remember a rifle with a 5.56 NATO
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chamber can usually safely and accurately fire .223 Remington ammo but the reverse is not always true. So many but not all gun manufacturers chamber
19:06
their rifles in 5.56 NATO so their customers have more flexibility with
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ammo. Now the .223 tends to be more common in bolt-action rifles like the
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Browning X-Bolt, Ruger American, Remington 700 and Winchester XPR. The 5.56 NATO is an extremely popular chambering in AR-15 style rifles like those made by
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Bushmaster, Noveske, Smith & Wesson, SIG Sauer, Wilson Combat. It's also available
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in other semi-automatic sporting rifles like the Ruger Mini 14. Now that's not a
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hard and fast rule though and it's not unusual to find bolt-action 5.56 rifles
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For instance the lightweight CZ 527 and the Ruger American Ranch bolt-action
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rifles are both available in 5.56 NATO. Alexander Arms manufactured the first
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rifles in 6.5 Grendel and continues to do so. Since then Wilson Combat and a
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couple of other companies like Radical Firearms and Brinton USA have also
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started producing modern sporting rifles chambered in 6.5 Grendel. It is also
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possible to purchase a 6.5 Grendel upper receiver and convert an existing
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AR-15 to shoot the Grendel cartridge. Now the 6.5 Grendel can use regular M16
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rifles slash M4 carbine magazines with a slight decrease in magazine capacity and
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sometimes in reliability. A typical 30-round magazine will hold 26 6.5 Grendel rounds. Now the Ruger American Predator and the Ruger American Ranch
20:32
bolt-action rifles are both available in 6.5 Grendel. The same goes for the Howa
20:36
Mini and the CZ 527 for hunters who prefer to use a bolt gun. Alright so
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which one is best for you? Do you primarily hunt medium-sized game like
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white-tailed deer or feral hogs at ranges within 200 yards? They will all
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get the job done if you do your part but the 6.5 Grendel is significantly more
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powerful and I strongly recommend using it for hunting deer and you know in game
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like feral hogs and whatnot instead of the .223 or the 5.56. Now are you looking
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for a cartridge to hunt predators and small game animals with? Now the 6.5
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Grendel will work in this role and lots of people use it for predator hunting. However I think the .223 Remington is the best choice here because it has a
21:17
flatter trajectory, ammo is cheaper and there are just many types of .223 ammo
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specifically designed for predator environment hunting. Now do you want a hunting cartridge that's well suited for bigger game like caribou, moose, elk
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elan, kudu or red stag hunting? I consider all of these cartridges to be
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on the light side and I strongly recommend against using them but
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especially the .223 Remington and the 5.56 NATO for elk hunting as well as
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bigger game than deer in general. If you had to choose one though I would
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definitely go with the 6.5 Grendel over the other two because it does shoot
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heavier and larger diameter bullets that carry much more kinetic energy down
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range but like I said I think even the 6.5 Grendel is too light for that sort
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of hunting even though some people do use it for that. Now do you want a cartridge suitable for self or home defense? All three will certainly work in
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this regard but personally I think the 6.5 Grendel likely also has the
22:13
edge here as well. Even though it has more recoil than the .223 and the 5.56 it
22:19
still has a pretty mild recoil that facilitates follow-up shots and once
22:22
again it also just shoots that larger and heavier bullet with more energy. Are
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you looking for a perfect cartridge to use in a short barreled rifle? All of
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these cartridges will lose a certain amount of velocity with the shorter barrel lengths but I still lean towards the 6.5 Grendel here. It does perform
22:38
closer to its full potential with a shorter 16 to 18 inch barrel and it
22:42
loses less velocity than the .223 and the 5.56. What about if you are sensitive
22:48
to recoil and you need a serious low recoil cartridge? The .223 Remington and
22:54
5.56 NATO do have significantly less recoil than the 6.5 Grendel, especially in
22:58
a lighter rifle. Do you want a round that is better suited for target shooting or
23:03
so out past 400 yards or so in a precision rifle? All will work and all
23:08
have excellent reputations for precision shooting but once again I do lean
23:12
towards the 6.5 Grendel for work at longer ranges since they're just much
23:16
better prospects for high BC match grade 6.5 millimeter bullets. Now if you
23:21
enjoyed this video then please make sure you subscribe to my YouTube channel right now. Just click that red subscribe button below to make sure you don't miss
23:29
out on any of my new videos on hunting gear reviews, cartridge comparisons and
23:33
more. Now for more detailed information on popular hunting cartridges and what
23:38
they're best suited for, click on the link in the description below or go to
23:41
HuntingGuns101.com to get a free e-book I have written on the best
23:47
hunting calibers. Now I'm going to turn it over to you guys. Which cartridge do
23:52
you prefer? The 6.5 Grendel or the .223 Remington? What game have you
23:58
successfully taken with them? Let me know by leaving a comment on this video right
24:02
now. Thanks for watching, have a great day and good hunting

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6.5 Grendel vs 5.56/223 Remington Comparison & Analysis

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