Slappy said, "It would also be nice to see the two with the same weight bullets." and "I have yet to see any fair comparisons of identical bullet weights and barrel lengths. If the information is available I don't know where to find it."
Again and again and again...
I'm NOT in the habit of spoon-feeding answers to people and this subject has been brought up several times recently on this forum.
Do a SEARCH FOR YOURSELF to find previous posts comparing the SAME bullet weights (or very close) from the SAME, RELIABLE source and with similar barrel lengths.
"... I called Alexander Arms, they make their own barrels but the guy on the phone couldn't even tell me what grade of stainless steel they were made from..."
Honestly, would you have had a clue what he was talking about if he had told you what grade steel?
"It's been the basic thesis of some 6.5G enthusiasts to beat the drum that their chosen On-Bullet-To-Rule-Them All can replace the .308."
Neither "mehavey" OR I mentioned this!
Per "mehavey", "It does not replace the 308Win/7.62NATO for what the cartridge can do ...and that it not what Grendel aficionados espouse."
"...I am reasonably sure that arguing the military merits of this cartridge is a fun sport."
Once again... Neither "mehavey" OR I mentioned this!
"Mehavy's trajectory plots are very useful and make the strong argument that there is not enough difference in performance between the Grendel and other cartridges optimized for deer-hunting to make a difference under 250 yards."
You totally missed the point... "slappy" and "jimro" said there is not much difference between the 6.5G and 6.8 SCP "out to 400 or 500 yards".
Mehavey's chart CLEARLY shows there is a large difference at 400 yards and a HUGE difference at 500 yards.
And, there is no point going beyond 500 yards, the 6.8 SPC is a joke!!!
"The thing that differentiates the Grendel from the SPC for hunting and target shooting is that it does indeed have the reach to be effective over the longer ranges for both hunting and target shooting. In fact the Grendel is reported to be very effective in target shooting at the 600 yard range."
Here, you hit the point...
The 6.8 IS an adequate cartridge at normal hunting ranges. The 6.5 Grendel IS ALSO an adequate cartridge at normal hunting ranges AND FAR MORE. It is more than adequate for all uses at ranges where the 6.8 is useless. The 6.5 Grendel is a multi-use "all" range cartridge also.
Buy the 6.8 for hunting ranges and another cartridge for "other" uses or just buy a 6.5 Grendel for all uses.
"6.5G barrels aren't exactly common, and only a few manufacturers are producing them, so maybe the cost advantage of AR-15 parts is offset by the barrel price come build time."
Just how much EXPERIENCE do you have buying 6.5 Grendel barrels? I'd bet NONE.
With that "wealth of experience" how do you come up with your facts and prices?
With TWO Grendels already built and TWO Grendel barrels "in hand" for additional builds, I have never EXPERIENCED problems buying a Grendel barrel.
"Expect the prices to come down since the SAAMI standardization as the round becomes much more popular. There's just no reason for it not to go gangbusters now that AA is out of the loop."
Hope you are correct here!
T.