Best AR platform DMR caliber in Canada?

zykopat

zykopat

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Hi guys,
I'm onto another AR project. I'm planning to build a DMR and I'm puzzling about the caliber... As I'm only shooting paper, terminal ballistics is of no importance.

First for the AR15: there's the 5.56mm, 6.5 grendel and 6.8 SPC.

5.56mm : not so expensive, nothing new here, we all know what we're in for.

6.5 Grendel : Flatter trajectory, difficult if not impossible to find up here. Must be pretty expensive?

6.8 SPC : has about the same trajectory as the 5.56mm, difficult to find up here, and must be more expensive than the 5.56mm. So nothing to gain over the 5.56mm.

So I'm coming to the conclusion that short of having the 6.5 available up here, the 5.56mm is the way to go.

Second for an AR10ish (Armalite, DPMS): made to work with .308 ammo.

.308 : widely available up here.

.260 rem : I read that the .260 rem has a better ballistic coefficient than the .308.

So could the AR10 be modified easily to work with the .260 rem? If so, the .260 rem would be the way to go?

Let me know what you think. KevinB's welcome! ;)
 
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.308.

I was toying with the idea of doing up one in 6.5 Grendel, but then I wake up from my day dreaming and reality sets in.
Better performance, excellent source of components, and won't break the bank.
 
.308
DPMS panther. Or Armalite AR-10. I opted for the Panther. At the time the price difference was significant as well.

Some guys are looking at the Remington R-25 which is a DPMS Panther LR-308 with a thinner fluted barrel, ugly camo :D and a slightly nicer than stock trigger. I had a RRA NM trigger put in my DPMS. Works great.
 
I'm tempted to do a 6.5 Grendel myself, funds won't allow it though.

6.5mm bullets (.260 Rem is 6.5mm) are easily available from any bullet manufacturer. 6.5mm Grendel brass is available from Peter Dobson on this board, he may even bring in factory Lapua ammo, I don't know.

Sabre does barrels in 6.5mm or I'm sure you could have a custom one made from a blank. Shilen does AR barrels and are now available in Canada as well.

So in a nutshell, if you really want 6.5 than get a 6.5. It might not be the cheapest option but it has the some of the best ballistics for an AR platform.
 
I am a big 308 fan (have 4 ) but it would be very hard to convince me that a 308Win would offer any advantage shooting paper than a 6.5 Grendel

For sake of argument, a 175 Sierra HPTB can be launched at 2600fps ( Federal GMM or Black Hills )

A 6.5 Grendel can launch a 123Gr Lapua Scenar at more or less the same 2600fps

Now if you look up the BC of the SMK 175Gr = .496 ( reference Sierra manuals ) . BC of 123Gr SMK = .510 . BC of the 123Gr Scenar is .547. Same speed , but better BC....its obvious which will have a better trajectory.

Sooooo, one can conclude that the 308 really doesn't shoot paper better than the 6.5 Grendel. Don't forget the 6.5 Grendel does it with 15-20grains LESS powder

6.5 Grendel

You choices for barrels are Alexander Arms ( Lother Waltar ) , Satern ( cut rifle ), Saber Defense . The CSS isn't really a 6.5 Grendel. Although parts are easy to get in the US ( Midway carries lots of Grendel parts ), you may have trouble finding them in Canada

I would also recommend a proper 6.5 Grendel bolt because even though bolt face is the same as a 7.62X39 headspace will be wrong

You don't have much of a choice for brass ( All made by Lapua )

Having said all that, unless you have a huge budget, my honest opinion after being down the 6.5Grendel road is that if you are just punching paper you should give a 223 / 5.56 shooting the MK262 ( 77gr Sierra MK ) , 75Gr A-Max, Bergers etc

It cost a bit more to build and shoot a 6.5 Grendel. You are better off taking the extra $$ you save going to a 223 and spending it on a GOOD scope

Even an off the shelf 223 like the RRA Varmint are suprisingly accurate

Here is my 6.5. Before anyone asks, where the gas block is , the Saber barrel is a midlength so its under the handguard

CopyofMK12SB19.jpg
 
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Nice 6.5 AR. Very slick.

There is another option which I'll be going with in the near future. The Stag Model 6 is a target model in .223. 1:9 twist rate 26" stainless steel bull barrel, Match trigger, free floated, hogue pistol grip and a .5 moa guarantee. plus Stag makes nice rifles. I'm not sure what the cost in Canada will be but it has the potential to be a very nice shooting precision AR.
 
TRG-42 said:
I am a big 308 fan (have 4 ) but it would be very hard to convince me that a 308Win would offer any advantage shooting paper than a 6.5 Grendel

For sake of argument, a 175 Sierra HPTB can be launched at 2600fps ( Federal GMM or Black Hills )

A 6.5 Grendel can launch a 123Gr Lapua Scenar at more or less the same 2600fps

Now if you look up the BC of the SMK 175Gr = .496 ( reference Sierra manuals ) . BC of 123Gr SMK = .510 . BC of the 123Gr Scenar is .547. Same speed , but better BC....its obvious which will have a better trajectory.

Sooooo, one can conclude that the 308 really doesn't shoot paper better than the 6.5 Grendel. Don't forget the 6.5 Grendel does it with 15-20grains LESS powder
Click to expand...

Sorry, I was refering to down range energy.
Regardless, I think the above is a fairly biased comparison and doesn't quite compare apples to apples.
While the numbers on paper generally give the 6.5 a slight edge, I think once you take the restrictions away the .308 holds the cards in versatility.
I think too that in the long run .308 would be no more expensive, and quite possibly cheaper to load for, depending on how one went about it.

If someone is shooting SR or on a budget I would recommend .223 / 5.56 as well, but the question was DMR....
 
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