BCA vs Group Barrel - My Adventures with 6.5 Grendel

[Lastrites]

Hollis, I use AmmoSeek and find the ammo or reloading component I want at the lowest price. Then I called Bass Pro shops and find out if they have it. They will price match any Internet store. You end up paying tax but no shipping or hazard fee. Best part you got to take it home right away.

So you flash them the AmmoSeek price from your phone and essentially cash out?

[FLshooter]

So you flash them the AmmoSeek price from your phone and essentially cash out?

No,not that simple.
You go to the service desk to check out with the item.You tell them who has the item and their price.They look it up and get a manager?s approval. So far they have matched every price for me. I mostly do bullets powder and miscellaneous reloading items. I know guys who price match scopes and rifles.As long as it?s legitimate they will match it. I heard that if the price is too low they will come close as they can.
As far as ammo for the 6.5 Grendel. Store I go to which is in Palmbay Florida does not have a huge selection. But if I go to the Orlando store they have a much larger selection of everything. I call firs,to avoid wasting my time and gas.

[Wanderson]

Surprising that Bass Pro will price match an internet deal, I don’t know of any store that does that.

Even PSA’s store doesn’t honor their own website deals anymore. A few years ago I’d see a good deal, run to the store and if it was in stock they’d price match. Now they claim it’s ‘a different part number’ even when it’s the same item. Last time I tried that they had a handgun listed on sale for $125 off and I found one at my local store but at full price. When I asked, was told if I want it on sale I have to order it on line and have it shipped, they wouldn’t discount the one in the case. Lesson learned.

Ammoseek shows Hornady Black ELD for 75-80 cents a round from SGAmmo, Carolina Munitions and a few more. But yea, I factor in shipping costs as well so that could add a dime a round to cost. Still cheaper than what I can get locally by the box. And at 3x the cost of Wolf steel, I’m shooting a lot of it these days. Want to try the new Barnaul stuff too and see if it’s noticeably better, In other calibers Barnaul ammo is my choice for bang for the buck.

Glad to hear a good BCA story. I like mine.

[Lastrites]

The ft.lauderdale BP doesn't carry 6.5 g, most everything else though. Good to know and thanks for posting!

[Hollis]

I'll be sharing it with you as soon as I can process and organize. Spoiler alert - the group barrel has "caught up" with, if not surpassed (0 MOA?), the BCA SS barrel!

[Hollis]

Next Round of the 6.5 Grendel Adventure

I started off shooting my 7.62x39 to get comfortable and test some things out (it's a lot cheaper figuring things out at 25 cents a shot with this round) and took my 4.5-18x scope off my 6.5 Creedmoor and put in in my AR mount to use on all 3 uppers I was shooting today.

This time I started with my BCA SS barrel and ended with the Group Barrel. I discovered the more I shot and started to calm down and focus, I started to get in a zone. Here's the pics of the "warm-up" shots before trying to group.



When I moved over to the more powerful scope that I had used in the past when I would start missing at 300+ yards, I first started with groups that were more like 2" plus. But I realized that after a while, I got in a "zone" - where everything was real comfortable, I was easily able to hold on the center of the target with no movement of aim and that's when I start shooting sub 1 MOA groups. Once I realized things felt really good, I switched over to my target to shoot groups of 3 (the second group looks like 2 shots but is three). I got two good groups with the stainless steel barrel and then moved over to the group barrel.



After adjusting for the new zero (moved same scope with same mount to the upper with the Group Barrel) I shot the two groups with the Group Barrel on my "warm up targets" (labeled Group Barrel 1 and 2 in the first pic at top, shown again in the top row below). The second of these only has two shots. I ran out of Grendel ammo at the bench and I needed to go to my car to get more ammo. Cease fire was called at the range and then I didn't shoot the third shot since these were just making sure all was good with the new setup. I didn't realize those two shots were touching until later. I wished I had shot the third shot in the group after the cease fire. But I moved to the target designated for shooting 3 shot groups (see below). All of these are 3 shot groups (except the one as stated) but I seem to consistently put 2 of the three shots of the group in basically the same hole. I was planning on capturing my shots on video today but couldn't find my camera and the wind was so bad that I scrapped that plan. I wish I would have though. Some of these really look like one hole unless I get up really close to examine.



I moved out to 200 yards with Group Barrel and found new zero and shot the 5.5" target to see if I could consistently hit it. One bit of good news here though is that I had put in data from my last time to fine tune my calculations in Strelok app to calculate droppage and the first shot I shot was the one closest to the bullseye (right on target!). The bad news though is that I thought it looked like there was a hole right near bulls eye but couldn't tell for sure since contacts were blurry due to wind. I then shot some more and fooled with the zero not realizing I had it right the first time! I was planning on trying to focus and group at 200 yards but time ran out and the 200 yard range closed.

My goal now is to work on being able to be "in the zone" on the first shot instead of having to "warm up."

Sorry for being long winded, but, for those who are interested, here it is! Open to suggestions for improvement!

[NugginFutz]

Nice write up, Hollis.

You're absolutely right about "being in the zone". Calm mind, steady hands, intent focus.

I had tested some of the Hornady AG and the new ELM through my 22" BHW for comparison, but was disappointed with the AG group. I thought about it, and realized I had been more concerned about printing small groups than I was about breaking the shot. I refocused and shot the same ammo again, but with my mind cleared of any concerns about group sizes. I was only focused on THIS shot and not the next, nor did I watch impacts while shooting. Results were clearly better.

EAabvO6l.jpg

Top Right AG group was first, Top Left was the reshoot.

[FLshooter]

The ft.lauderdale BP doesn't carry 6.5 g, most everything else though. Good to know and thanks for posting!

Oh well.
But they do carry most brands of gum powder. And the good thing about price matching powder, there is no hazard fee. They probably carry Grendel ammo online not sure if you can price match it if you order it delivered to the store but then that would defeat the purpose of not having to wait.

[Hollis]

Nice write up, Hollis.

You're absolutely right about "being in the zone". Calm mind, steady hands, intent focus.

I had tested some of the Hornady AG and the new ELM through my 22" BHW for comparison, but was disappointed with the AG group. I thought about it, and realized I had been more concerned about printing small groups than I was about breaking the shot. I refocused and shot the same ammo again, but with my mind cleared of any concerns about group sizes. I was only focused on THIS shot and not the next, nor did I watch impacts while shooting. Results were clearly better.

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Top Right AG group was first, Top Left was the reshoot.

Nice shooting! Was this at 100 yards?

I just shoot groups of 3 because if I shoot 5, I'm scared I'm going to pull one and mess up an otherwise excellent group. As I build confidence and skill level, I'll go back to shooting groups of 5. That's definitely more impressive and better indication if you just got lucky or the gun and you are precise.

Your being out of the zone is better than me in the zone! Let's me know I have lots of room for improvement! But shooting tight groups at paper at 100 yards is just to show me that me, my gun and the ammo have enough precision to move on to shooting metal targets at distance. Then the next step is being able to hit prey at whatever distance (once I get a chance to go hunting). Then I want to be able to shoot off-hand accurately and a lot of other things. But one step at a time!

[NugginFutz]

Nice shooting! Was this at 100 yards?

I just shoot groups of 3 because if I shoot 5, I'm scared I'm going to pull one and mess up an otherwise excellent group. As I build confidence and skill level, I'll go back to shooting groups of 5. That's definitely more impressive and better indication if you just got lucky or the gun and you are precise.

Your being out of the zone is better than me in the zone! Let's me know I have lots of room for improvement! But shooting tight groups at paper at 100 yards is just to show me that me, my gun and the ammo have enough precision to move on to shooting metal targets at distance. Then the next step is being able to hit prey at whatever distance (once I get a chance to go hunting). Then I want to be able to shoot off-hand accurately and a lot of other things. But one step at a time!

Thanks. Yes, those were shot at 100.

If I had any advice to offer, it is this: don’t cheap out on any key components. Optics, barrel, trigger. Buy once, cry once. Go cheap, and you will die the death of a thousand cuts. For my own experience, anytime I rolled the dice on low end components, I ultimately ended up buying the high end unit at a net loss. This was true for rifle scopes, spotting scopes, you name it.

Anyway, enjoy your journey and shoot straight!