Versus Series: 6.5 Creedmoor vs 6.5 Grendel

Ammo, Article

*Versus Series: 6.5 Creedmoor vs the 6.5 Grendel*

The battle for 6.5 supremacy pits the Creedmoor versus the Grendel to see which reigns supreme.

If this were an old western, a tall stranger wearing a white hat would walk through the swinging doors, causing the piano player to stop and the patrons to turn and look.

“It’s the Creedmoor Kid!” someone exclaims.

It is indeed the new kid in town, the 6.5 Creedmoor, and he’s looking for the 6.5 Grendel.

Why? Because this town ain’t big enough for two 6.5s.

In This Corner: 6.5 Grendel

On paper, the 6.5 Grendel appears to the perfect mix of tried and tested components. Take the ballistically pure .264 inch/6.5mm bullet and pair it with one of the most common cases in the world (7.62x39mm) and you should have a pretty sweet shooting cartridge.

And, for the most part, that’s what happened. The 6.5 Grendel is a compact little round that fits in both short-action and AR platforms. The ballistic sweet spot in which the .264-inch bullet resides gives the round more long-range legs than one may expect from a 7.62x39mm-based round.

A great caliber for whitetail, the Grendel really comes into its own when it’s time to start thumping feral hogs.

Inside of 200 yards, the Grendel can hold its own, but the longer the reach goes, the more weaknesses we start to see.

Now, let’s look at the champ.

In This Corner: 6.5 Creedmoor

Thirty grains against 49.5 grains of case capacity. Not much of a challenge there.

With its smaller case capacity, the 6.5 Grendel has an almost 2/5 powder deficit to the 6.5 Creedmoor when loading the same 125-grain bullet. This translates into a loss of 400 feet per second at the muzzle, using the same bullet and powder. Ouch.

And the Creedmoor is also far better at turning that extra powder into extra power. The Grendel’s parent 7.62x39mm case is pretty inefficient, as anyone who has had to clean an AK or SKS will attest. Whereas the Creedmoor size is pretty close to optimal for powder burn, so you literally get the biggest bang for your buck.

The Verdict: 6.5 Creedmoor wins

Sadly, this one was over before it really got going. True, the Grendel gets high marks for flexibility as it can fit into a standard AR, and the two are in a dead heat for felt recoil and ease of shooting. But the Creedmoor just has more horsepower.

The 6.5 Grendel is still a great option to add some punch to an AR platform, it’s just not in the same league as the 6.5 Creedmoor when it comes to internal, external and terminal ballistics.

Stay tuned to see what cartridge takes on the 6.5 Creedmoor in our next head-to-head battle.

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