Updated Selection of Projectiles for the Grendel

[LRRPF52]

I notice you don't have any Hornady CX bullets on any of the lists.

My plans are to use mostly Barnes bullets for hunting, but I want to try the CX bullets as well.

Do you plan to test CX bullets?

[Parabellum55]

I see the 80 gr hammer is on the new list. After 2 years of asking the bullet gods at hammer made the most amazing bullet that just changed the 6.5 mm community forever the 80 gr wasp. I just spent the last year testing them for hammer. In my ruger ranch carbine with a 16 inch barrel I was able to load the 80s to 3050 fps and they shoot under a half inch at 100 yds. Like all other hammers I have used on animals the terminal performance was spectacular with one shot kills on 170 to 200 lbs boars easy shooting, anyone who has shot hogs knows they are not easy to kill. This bullet is a game changer for me with the Grendel as it offers medium game killing capabilities out to 400 yds. It is flat enough shooting for varmints and enough energy for clean kills on 300 pound animals. (remember the .243 has been killing deer for decades with a 80 gr bullet). The bullet is a unique bore riding design with a ballistic tip and requires some work to load properly but the results are worth it. there are 2 bearing surfaces on the bullet and I load them to the longest one by using 3 to 4 thousandths of neck tension and a 1/3 turn on a lee fcd to secure it. If you are shooting a semi this step is critical!!!. Now there is a viable magnum speed bullet available for the Grendel. A 22 inch barrel with this load is right at 3250 fps. I also loaded it in my 24 inch Creedmoor at 2.68 oal and was able to run it to 3900 fps before I ran out of case to fill. The bore rider makes for very low pressure and high velocities my friends. In my sons 22 inch Creedmoor I loaded them "light" to 3380 on a node with ar comp and get .35 groups and a dead zero of 285 yds when set +1.5 at 100. This makes the Creedmoor now a varmint capable rifle as well as the 6.5 prc and win .264 mag. which will run the 80s over 4000 feet per second for epic laser like ballistics past 400 yds. If you want to see more check out the full report on the 80s on the hammer forums.

[Harpoon1]

[Fess]

I would be cautious about the CX until someone proves it works at Grendel velocities. When Hornady made the change from GMX to CX, they made a point of getting consistent performance over a set of parameters that included a min opening speed of 2000fps. Higher velocity 6.5's have become much more popular than when the GMX was introduced back in 2009 and Hornady has been catering to them. The new "heat shield tips" are harder than the older ones and that seems to have had an effect as well (Hornady itself has pointed out that softer tips help expansion at lower velocities). Before these changes, some of the GMX, like the 100 grain .277 version, worked at velocities well below that 2K fps mark and were decent for intermediate cartridges like 277 wolverine and the Dreaded 6.8 SPC, . After repeated reports poor performance in the field and expansion testing by shooters, some those who bought that bullet have resorted to cutting off the polymer tip to get more reliable expansion and increased effective hunting range.