Best long range AR caliber?

[erwos]

6.5 Grendel has been around for a while, but to be blunt, if you want to shoot accurately at long ranges, you need to be prepared to hand load or you will be paying out the nose in ammunition costs.

 

[tech24]

Hagar....nuff said

Unless you want to go with a single shot setup with no gas system then you can use 6BR and 308 family

 

[dist1646]

Well, the AR15 in .223 with a 1-7 to 1-8 twist barrel will shoot very well out to 600yds.
77gr bullets will work all the way to 600yds. I used 69gr bullets at 200 and 300yds and single loaded 80gr bullets for 600yds when I went distinguished and made highmaster. I shot next to a Marine team member in 2003 at the nationals and they were using 77gr bullets all they way through with excellent results. Looks to me like you would be good to go with a .223 with a good 1-7 to 1-8 twist barrrel. Krieger seems to be the gold standard for AR barrels. I use their 1-7.7 twist barrel. There are other good barrel makers. Check out www.whiteoakarms.com quality stuff. See White Oak Precision for the top level competition stuff if you want to go to that level.

 

[krashmania]

Regardless of which caliber you're going to choose, if you want "accuracy" at 600 yards, you're either going to be paying out the nose, or reloading, no way around that.

 

[AliasNeo07]

Okay, thanks everyone!

 

[smokey]

Thanks for all the replies everyone. I should clarify what I want.

I need something that will be around in 20 or 30 years. I don't really want some really esoteric cartridge that I'll be forced to reload, or ditch, in 10 years. I know the 6.8 SPC has caught on rather well. How about the 6.5 Grendel? I mean, I've heard a lot about it, but do you think it's here to stay?

Ammo availability is a concern down the line. Which is probably why I should get a Rem 700 .308, but screw it, I want it in an AR platform, and I already have a AR lower.

Do you guys really think heaver OTM 5.56s will have enough punch at 600+ yards, or should I opt for a 6.8 or 6.5 Grendel?

Get an fnar in .308. Should be 1/2 MOA-1MOA out of the box and will cost about what a well-built ar in a good caliber for long-range would(especially if you got a true AA built 6.5 grendel). I doubt you'll have a problem finding .308 compared to one of the alternate loadings for 5.56 or specialty ar chamberings.

In an ar platform...600 yards is easy with good ammo, especially the heavier bullets with better bc's(as long as your barrel is rifled proper to stabilize them). You need to think about what "enough power" means in relation to how you're ACTUALLY going to be using it. 5.56 is plenty power to poke holes in paper. For "defense at 300-600 yds"...how likely is that going to actually be. If it's for hunting...then you'll want to step it up to the .308 I posted above for a more humane kill for the animals you're likely to be poking(elk, moose, deer, hogs, yotes).

oh yeah..fun comparison.
http://www.gunblast.com/AlexanderArms_65Grendel.htm
http://www.gunblast.com/FN-AR.htm

 

[AliasNeo07]

5.56 is plenty power to poke holes in paper. For "defense at 300-600 yds"...how likely is that going to actually be.

oh yeah..fun comparison.
http://www.gunblast.com/AlexanderArms_65Grendel.htm
http://www.gunblast.com/FN-AR.htm

Unlikely. Nevertheless, my question.

 

[Jimbob2.0]

Thanks for all the replies everyone. I should clarify what I want.

I need something that will be around in 20 or 30 years. I don't really want some really esoteric cartridge that I'll be forced to reload, or ditch, in 10 years. I know the 6.8 SPC has caught on rather well. How about the 6.5 Grendel? I mean, I've heard a lot about it, but do you think it's here to stay?

Ammo availability is a concern down the line. Which is probably why I should get a Rem 700 .308, but screw it, I want it in an AR platform, and I already have a AR lower.

Do you guys really think heaver OTM 5.56s will have enough punch at 600+ yards, or should I opt for a 6.8 or 6.5 Grendel?

I would worry about both for loaded factory ammo. The 6.8 seems to be rapidly falling out of popularity, look at all the sales on 6.8 upper. The 6.5 grendel has limped along mainly due to Alexander Arms idiot decision regarding proprietary ammo. That bottleneck has broken somewhat but still a problem. 6.5 really does match or exceed .308 with little recoil. I still may need to have an upper for one at some point, but doubt if I will ever engage a full build. Either way an investment in reloading gear will be key.

 

[smokey]

I would worry about both for loaded factory ammo. The 6.8 seems to be rapidly falling out of popularity, look at all the sales on 6.8 upper. The 6.5 grendel has limped along mainly due to Alexander Arms idiot decision regarding proprietary ammo. That bottleneck has broken somewhat but still a problem. 6.5 really does match or exceed .308 with little recoil. I still may need to have an upper for one at some point, but doubt if I will ever engage a full build. Either way an investment in reloading gear will be key.

they held on to rights for the 6.5 to maintain integrity of the cartridge. It needs a specially cut chamber/lead into the rifling. Now that it's become standardized and saami'd, they're releasing rights and allowing companies like wolf to mass-produce it.

 

[AliasNeo07]

Meh it's looking like I either need to invest in some serious reloading equipment (which I know zero about) or buy a .308.

 

[dist1646]

If you shoot a lot, reloading will save you money in the long run. If you only shoot once in a while it may not. I shoot a lot and the investment in reloading has more than paid for it's self. The initial investment in reloading is offset even more if you reload for multiple calibers. New dies and you have a new cartridge in inventory. Reloading is not difficult. I'll usually do mine in winter when it's dark early and too cold to go play.

 

[tech24]

If you want any kinda accuracy you are gonna have to hand load or pay out the rear. But you can buy good match ammo for either .223 or .308 for like a buck fifty a round. You can load it for less than half that so handloading pays for itself quick when talking match quality stuff.

 

[MississippiJoe]

After reading a lot on this forums as well as others I choose to build a 6.5 using a spikes lower and AA upper. Thanks to MD law I still have 3 weeks before I can pick up my lower to begin the build.

 

[dist1646]

Note that Carl Bernosky just won the national championships again. He was using an AR15 spacegun in 6mm HAGAR.

 

[mopar92]

5.56 is good out to a 1000 yards with match ammo, a properly setup rifle and a rifleman on his A game. Look up the MK12 Mod 0 SPR. Or for a little more range go with a 20 inch barrel.

 

[peace]

Meh it's looking like I either need to invest in some serious reloading equipment (which I know zero about) or buy a .308.

I like everything about the .308 I haven't had a chance to shoot it past 600 yards. Someday I hope I will. Range access is the impeding factor. An AR-10 would be good. For cost efficiency in my mind ideal for 300-600 you want a HBAR Ar-15 Some decent optics(m-223 comes to mind) and a thousand rounds of 68-77gr match ammo.