I keep thinking it'd be fun to screw around with the 6.5 Grendel, but it would take Wolf's steel-cased ammunition to make it even vaguely reasonably affordable (I already have a 6.8 II, thankyouverymuch). I don't see the point of a carbine since I don't think it'll do anything at carbine ranges that the 7.62x39s I already have will not. I don't really think I need a 22" or 24" inch barrel either, since I'm not trying to outperform the .308 at 1,000 yards.

So. I'm looking for a chrome-lined 20" barrel, or an upper with the same, or a rifle with the same. I don't really need anything all that fancy since I just want to screw around with it a bit. Any suggestions or recommendations?

If you want long range accuracy chrome lined is definitely the wrong direction.
It has been tested and found unlined barrels provide better accuracy. This is one of the reasons national match m14 military barrels are not chrome lined

I'm into screwing around with relatively cheap ammo more than I'm absolutely focused on long-range accuracy. Since I'm planning on futzing around with steel cases and bimetallic bullet jackets in an AR-type rifle, I think chrome is going to wind up making me happier.

Ballistics for the 6.8 SPC and 6.5 Grendel are pretty similar out to intermediate distances. The 6.5 shows a ballistics advantage at longer distances if a longer barrel (22-24")and quality bullets (Hornady Amax/ELD) are used. You'll gain a little MV advantage with the 20" barrel, but the Wolf bi-metal bullets will erase down range performance gains from a slightly longer barrel. Furthermore, accuracy from the Wolf bullets won't be great, and the chrome lined barrel won't help the situation.

The way I see it, you'll be investing in a new upper and an optic, and it won't do anything practically different that what you already have in the 6.8. Possibly might even perform worse.

I understand. My thought was that the steel-cased ammo would be cheaper to play around with. Right now, that would make it a much different proposition from the 6.8 for me given that I just can't seem to put together the time to reload.

The Wolf 6.5 ammo still doesn't make sense in your case.

You're not talking about long range shooting, where a long barrel 6.5 and Hornady bullets make sense for both accuracy and ballistics.

You already have a AK(-ish) rifle for shorter distance shooting, and it should shoot steel case and bimetal bullets just fine.

If you have an AR-15 in 223/5.56 (highly likely if you have a 6.8 SPC), you have the ability to shoot cheap FMJ jacket ammo, and you should have the ability to shoot better quality & heavier bullets at intermediate distances.

The 6.5 Grendel makes sense when one uses a longer, match-quality barrel and wants precision results at longer distances. Otherwise, no bueno.

Think of it another way:
- What's your total investment going to be in the 6.5? Include upper/rifle, accessories, bipod/sling/whatever, optics & mount, magazines.
- What's your savings per round?
- How many thousands of rounds will it take to recoup the investment in the 6.5?
- How long will that investment recoup take?
- What will the 6.5 do that you can't already do with your current long guns?
- And if you current long guns can't provide what you're looking to do, what's the incremental investment in them that will eliminate the desire for a 6.5?

Agree with fritz. That Wolf ammo is probably just a inaccurate as all other Wolf ammo. 6.8 and 6.5 are so close, why bother. A Grendel with steel case ammo isn't going to do much more than your x39 can do. I came close to getting a 6.5 Grendel over the winter. But changed my mind after thinking about it.

Hm. So I take it you guys don't know where to find a 20" chrome lined AR, upper or barrel?

Il Cattivo

If you want a 6.5 then go for it. I haven't seen anywhere with a 20" chrome line. Most I have looked at are SS or Melonite. And if you just want a 6.5 to be having one for the steel plinky ammo, Wolf has an M4ish upper for $399 if you haven't seen it. Least expensive upper setup to get into 6.5.

I to am pondering this venture mostly due to the Wolf steel case. I talked to Alexander Arms a few times about using steel case in their barrel and was told they had no issue with this and not to worry about shooting out their barrels anytime soon with steel case. I had read several threads with folks stating they use two barrels, one for steel case and the other for accuracy shooting and hunting. Statements of not wanting to shoot out an expensive barrel with steel case. But again according to AA this is not a real world issue they are even remotely concerned about.

I have a 6.8 SPC. Love it. Yes the 6.5 and 6.8 are close. But from my studies I would say the 6.5 is a tad better overall. Both are equal within 300 yards. And after that the 6.5 is better. I want a round that can do what the 6.8 does but also do it at longer distances. And the 6.5 meets that requirement from what I have read and studied. Also seems to keep up with 308 without the extra weight and recoil.

Buying 6.5 at under $5/20 is a no brainer along with not worrying about picking up your brass. And then shooting $20-25/20 premium brass for long range accuracy and hunting seems like a win win. And you can sell off the brass to cut your cost. On 6.8 I do that. Sell brass to make the $20 box a $12 investment. But there is no "cheap" 6.8 out there. Even though for the past 10+ years there was suppose to be. There is no "plinky" 6.8 ammo. 6.8 is primarily a reloaders round at this point.

I'll keep my 6.8 but will end up with a 6.5. I like trigger time and with steel 6.5 that can happen. Yeah you can do the whole put 6.5 build money into 5.56 steel and shoot more. But 5.56 is not near as fun to shoot as the larger calibers. And fortunately/unfortunately my 5.56 AR's don't like steel it jams too much.

I'm going to go with the AA 16". My conversations with AA went like this on barrel lengths. Between 16-18" most customers go 16. And in the 20-22" most go 20. Reason being that the performance within those two inches is not enough to notice. So most will go with the shorter one of those ranges. My goals are a bigger than 5.56, smaller/lighter than a .308, close and long range killing power, close and long range accuracy, small to medium game hunting, cheap plinky ammo for range and trigger time, premium brass ammo for hunting, a caliber in demand with ability to sell brass to others who reload to further cut ammo cost and doing this in a 16-18" barrel for toting through the woods. The 6.5 Grendel does all this.

The Wolf upper is what sort of pushed me into thinking about this - unfortunately Anderson has no plans for a longer-barreled version.

I don't doubt Alexander Arms' rifles will handle steel cased ammo, but an upper costs at least as much as a rifle from a different manufacturer that has been chambered for a different cartridge. That might be worthwhile later on, once I've got a better idea of what I think about and want from the cartridge. Since I'm still in the "I just wanna screw around with this cartridge" phase, though, that seems like a bit more than I want to spend.

I think I'll try looking around for Melonite and the other "Ni-" coatings and see what pops up.

I've ran the numbers. With an AA barrel and their bolt, one can build a complete upper, minus optics, for $600-650 with a FF handguard. Using all other components from known name brand manufactures other than AA. I've been shopping around. I wouldn't pay the money for a complete AA upper. Would rather build it. Good luck with your venture. When your complete come back and let us know what you ended up with.