....too 300 yards. Optics not an issue but which Caliber? 6.5 Grendel 6.5 prc .260(of course!) Even the Creedmoor(which was a shooting range before a position and then caliber!) Would consider a .25 or .338 Federal but I'd like under 8.5 lbs all up.Money$? Let's keep under 6-700(minus scope) Yes I'd settle on .308 if I had to...but the .243 just ain't for me.

.260 Rem
But if you want to go cheap,Bear Creek has 5 Grendels for under $400...

You’re gonna have trouble staying under 8.5 all up, and still under budget in anything on the AR10 platform....especially if it’s worth shooting. A Grendel or even 6.8 would do what you want, though neither is the best deer/hog choice at 300 and beyond, they’re as good as most things on stuff under 300. Yeah, past 300, the Grendel is flatter, but it’s still marginal on deer energy for most loads, at 300.....though both can be stretched a bit if you’re bent on ringing out some hand loads. The 6.8 still seems the easier one, in handier rifles, to me....and stuff always dies. It’s a little more efficient in a 16” and you can go under 7# easy/cheap. You can build sub-8.5 # creedmoors or 308-based stuff, it just gets expensive fast, for each ounce you try to save. JME.

My Grendel and 6.8spc shoots fine at 300yds all day long. The creedmoor is outstanding and will stack em at 300 but it is way over 8.5lbs. As Bull64 said BCA has a complete 6.5 Grendel upper for like $175. Hard to beat that.

.224 Valkyrie $150 assembled upper only

Assembled .224

This is the only other caliber I thought about. Something about a 90gr bullet in 22 caliber sparked my attention. That’s a heck of a deal but I would have to do something with that short hand guard.

Delta Team Tactical online had a BUNCH of assembled uppers in various calibers. Aero Precision was the most common one I saw. I gave SERIOUS thought to putting one together. What makes me hesitate is the fact there are so many different platforms on the AR10 setup.

6.5 Gr, 6.8, or 224 Valk to stay in an AR15 platform. I went Grendel because of the factory ammo 90gr TNT to 123 ELD or SST covers anything you would want to shoot in the state. My 16” came in right at 7 lbs before my scope.

What's wrong with a 223?

Not a thing!!! He may one of them that thinks a 223/556 can’t kill a deer. Just kidding.

Wish they made An Ar10 chambered in 6.5PRC

They just wound deer






Also JK 😀

You could get a custom barrel but the magazine/mag well would be the issue to overcome.

Looking at .223 Wyldes....and Col.Coopers scout concept.

I ask myself that every time I get the itch get another AR.
I do like the Wylde.

JMO, but the combination of velocity and frontal area you get with the 6.8 seems to kill faster on most stuff I’ve shot than a slightly slower 6.5, slower 30, or fast 223s....though they have all worked in the right circumstances, it just seems in a short, handy AR that the 6.8 is more my ‘go to’ than a Grendel. I haven’t played with the Valkyrie, but it’s not going to compare as well in a short, light, handy gun. I’d take a 7.62x39 (and most anything else, including a 223) over a blackout. Again. Just my experiences....and others’ will be different.

My 7.62x39 has become my go to gun. It won’t reach out as far as my 6.8, 6.5 Grendel or my 223 but that joker will flat hit HARD!!! It is also the most accurate shooting AR I have. That think will almost hit same impact spot on the steel at 100yds. It’s hell on some hogs too.

I'm with marsh.Get you a 7.62x39....

I have a 6.8 that I'll let go of if youre interested

Just limited comparison, but I haven’t noticed a difference in the 6.8 and 7.63x39 on stuff inside 100yards. The 6.8 will tote energy to 300, so it covers more bases....but the x39 is $ to 100 with good bullets.