First I am assuming you have a fire team. Do you have a “guy” that is the DMR shooter? Do you have multiple shooters with the option.
More importantly what caliber do you choose / use and why?
308 (three-oh-hate)
6.5 Creedmoor
6.5 Grendel (What I prefer)
.224 Valkerie
something else?
We are in the Ozarks and it would be rare to shoot 1,000 plus yards, however it is possible. that is a stretch for 308. Both 6.5’s can do that distance. Though you can shoot .556 to 500 yards and further, it is the foot pounds of energy and penetration as to why our team uses a larger bullet
Our team “official” DMR is in 308, 18" to 20" barrel and all team members are supposed to have one and be lethal with it, though, some don’t have one and we rarely can practice past 300 yards due to open space.
I like the Grendel for recoil, lighter rounds (weight) and lethality. The other guys don’t necessarily agree. That’s fine. I haven’t played with an AR platform in 6.5 Creedmoor.
Nope, just me.
Full disclosure up front, I have 223/556, 308 and Grendel. I have shot Creedmore on occasion but do not have one. I also don’t have a 224 Valkyrie.
Any of the rounds you mentioned can go to 1000 yards, including the 5.56. You just have to have the right gun and bullet combination.
I would not choose a 5.56 gun in a wide open area of engagement. As you said, It is not enough mass to do the job at distance. If you were limited to under 500 yards in most fields of engagement, that would be a good choice. You have the advantage of lower recoil, faster follow up shots and ability to carry an increased amount of ammo.
Either of the 6.5 rounds and the 224 are a vast improvement in distance capabilities.
The Creedmore is a longer shooter with a heavier bullet. It can get out well past 1000 yards and closes in on a mile with the right hand loads. It is based on a large frame AR platform. That comes with a heavier rifle as well as less space for backup mags/ammo
The Grendel is an AR-15 based round and can easily hit 1000 yards but not much more because of case capacity and the ballistics of the bullet. There is only so much that can be done with the space available in the round. That said, I love my Grendel’s. You will be able to carry a larger load out than the Creedmore due to weight and space but not as much as 556.
The 224 is also an AR-15 round. It is probably a little flatter shooting than the Grendel but with a lighter round. Load out of extra ammo is going to be similar to the Grendel. I don’t see the advantage of this round personally. Again, I don’t have experience with it. I would likely go with either the 6mm ARC or the 22 ARC if I were to go to a smaller round than the Grendel.
A 308 is going to have the most thump at distance of the rounds you mentioned. It will easily hit 1000 yards, but you have to get beyond the 150 grain bullet to do it consistently. A 168 grain or, preferably, a 175 grain bullet will deal a heavy blow to anything at distance. A 6.5 Creedmore will outshoot a 308 at 1000+ yards due to ballistics. Both come with a heavier rifle and decreased load out capability due to space.
All of that said, the first criteria to examine is what do you have available to use. Second is what are you most proficient at shooting of what is available. You would much rather hit everything with a shorter range round than hit one out of ten shots at a longer range with a round you don’t have experience with. Third, assuming equal levels of proficiency with multiple rounds, it then depends on your likely area of engagement as to what you should carry. There is a reason the 556 was mostly effective in Vietnam but was wholly inadequate in Afghanistan.
Ammo availability is another factor to consider. A great rifle and round is only effective if you have ammo. That would push the milspec 556 and 7.62x51 a little higher.
My choice of those options for all around capability and my level of comfort with my shooting abilities would be the same as yours, the 6.5 Grendel. I can reliably shoot. it to 700 yards plus. As a bonus, my wife can be pretty deadly with it as well.
If I’m only picking 1 gun probably the Grendel gets the vote. I have (2) 6.5 Creedmoor and (3)308 and (2) 6ARC. I shoot my (4) Grendels the most. This is just the gas guns. Not even counting bolt guns.
We originally used 20" 5.56 with a LPVO and thought of the Valkerie, however that didn’t meet the ft pounds of energy at distance that is why 308 and Creedmoor were the next options. I just like the Grendel.
MY Marine platoon in Nam had the best shooter in each squad carry an M-14 with match ammo (just like the snipers did). I picked each guy by looking at his jacket and shooting scores. HE shot at any solo gooks - no more than 3; if there were more than 3, we called arty. The 16’s we had there were not able to handle any shot >400 yds.
Today’s AR’s are “better” but still not able to handle anything beyond 500 yds. Specialty stuff like .20 Tactical will go to 800 but then goes through transition. That is the same problem other calibres have - they transition about 800-900 yds. IF the bullet is heavy (and big) enough, transition isn’t such a big deal (so the .50 BMG transitions out about 1k or so, but you don’t notice as much because the wobble is far less. That’s why Barrett built his target rifle in .50 BMG).
You can hotrod a .308 to maybe 1200 yds, but not much more. Too much wind drift plus transition make such shots unlikely to behits. You are then stuck with larger case rounds to go the distance accurately.
Everybody likes to think their rifle can shoot forever. It can’t. It’s subject to the laws of physics just like every other firearm. Sometimes it is best to hold off your shot for a better opportunity. Build a true sniping rifle and I’ll give you a couple hundred extra yards, but in real life it’s less than you think.
As for load-out, soldiers carry what is necessary, MY platoon carried 6 bandoliers of magazines (so 42 mags) and the designated AR would carry an extra bandolier of mags. They also each carried 2 frags, 1 60 mortar round (Captain’s orders - even I carried one), plus extra M-60 ammo boxes (100 belted rounds) were spread through the platoon. NO ONE EVER GRIPED about the ammo! We also carried 1 claymore per fire team, two LAAWS per squad, 4 smokes per radio (and each leader had a smoke), 2 thermite grenades per radio, extra radio batteries, 1 Snoopy, e-tool, cup and plastic fork, toilet paper, - and any personal thinks you wanted. I carries a 24 lb demo pack (C4 sticks, fusing, blasting caps) and a box of .45 ACP tracers to mark targets for machine gunners.
So you can see, there was a lot of weight we carried everywhere we went. It’s why war is a young man’s game - us old geezers can’t march around with 80-100 lb packs plus weapons and water.
Last point. ?Where are you going to get your ammo resupply. Ammo gets shot up in large quantities in firefights. It needs to be replaced. ?Where do you plan on getting your resupply. ?How much and what kind of food are you carrying - an army marches on its stomach, not weapons. You have to think through your supply routes, storage, etc. before you march off to fight. In the military it takes on average, 6 guys to supply 1 guy in the field. LOTS of REMF’S.