build me a grendel?

[79inpa]

I'm thinking about building a Grendel with a 16 or 18 inch pipe for blasting, targets, and hunting. Nothing too heavy just want a solid moa rifle that's pretty portable and will go well with my core 15 lower and telescoping magpul stock.

I'm looking at the alexander arms uppers and they don't seem like they are much more expensive than having my gunsmith screw together an upper for me. They do still have the stock throat in them not the lbc throat. I'm not sure whether or not I want the stock throat or not nor am I sure if I want a type 1 or type 2 bolt.

Surplus ammo has the barrel with a type 1 bolt and a stripped upper for 345. Then I still need all the parts to go with it.

should I build or just buy?

http://www.surplusammo.com/black-hole-weaponry-ar-15-18-mid-length-stainless-steel-6-5-grendel-264-lbc-1-9-poly-barrel-free-shipping-stripped-upper/

[A5BLASTER]

Seems to me most advice you will get on this question is go whatever route is better on your pocket book and gives you a saami chambered barrel with a real grendel bolt that has a bolt face of .136.

Hope this info helps Sir, it may not be the best advice but it's the best I have at this time.

I would personal build it myself it's not that hard but I like building things, if I was going to buy a upper it would come from PF.

[LRRPF52]

SAAMI chamber. Real Grendel bolt.

There is no such thing as a "Type I" bolt outside of one company's internal ID approach, and I personally would not use a bolt with a shallow face due to the extractor lip thickness. Real Grendel bolts pre-date the "Type I" term by many years.

I would just get the AA 16" or 18" upper complete, and drop it on. They are not just slapped together. AA is the company who did years of RDT&E to get these things working, and there are a lot of minor details that I have started to realize over the years now that set them aside from some of the others who are playing catch-up with the formula for reliability and durability. Just like in the 5.56 world, parts don't equal parts.

When I first got into this cartridge, I assumed someone was just modifying 5.56 bolts by opening the face, no big deal. I was completely wrong. They are made from scratch per a very strict set of specs that you can't physically modify a 5.56 bolt into. There is a very detailed set of procedures to ensure quality steel is used, machined in a certain order of operations, heat treated correctly, then tested for imperfections that involves MPI and destructive testing of a % of each batch of bolts. AA does a lot to make sure a durable bolt goes into the 6.5 Grendel.

I've run mine hard for about 7 years now, to include a lot of pressure ladder testing for reloading data to share here on the site and help with the Reloading Handbooks, and it just trucks on. Accuracy has been solid, predictable, and repeatable with my economy 16" barrel. It's a consistent MOA gun and is very easy to hit things with at distance, even for new shooters who never shot anything close to long-range.

[Drillboss]

I waited for Paul to respond, because I knew he'd be a lot more eloquent.

I ran some cost numbers for an upper a couple months ago. Assuming you spend $150 on a handguard, you'll be spending another $325 or so to finish out your upper. This is based on prices from Midway USA. So, you'll have a total of about $670 into it. That's awfully close to the price point Alexander Arms has on a complete upper. I personally get a kick out of building my own, but there's not a lot of money to be saved.

And with AA, you'll get SAAMI and the right bolt. Precision Firearms has good stuff too.

[762n40]

Last fall BHW had a time frame where they offered the true Grendel chamber with .136 bolt, I ordered one end of Sept and it came like Nov 30. Not long after that they took that offering off the website. If you think you prefer the true Grendel chamber type 2 you may want to contact them by phone and see if they will make you one. They claim they have a hard time getting the .136 bolts. Then you could get the profile and twist rate you desire. I always look at a tight twist as a good thing. As fare as getting a stripped upper I've had good luck with buying blems at low prices, usually its just a Finnish default. If you build it yourself you will likely have the build just as you want, and will be set up with the tools to change things like forearms in the future. Another note its pretty much a sure bet you would be very happy with a Lilja barrel, you just pay a little more for that is all.

[A5BLASTER]

I'm sorry if my post came of blunt are rude trying to keep my eyes open been driving since noon Monday on my way to work and I ain't even close yet lol my butt is growing roots into the car seat.

[LRRPF52]

The main companies I would stick to right now are:

AA
PF
JP

I know there have been many who are getting into the market, but the choice to use a non-SAAMI reamer design, incorrect torque specs for barrel nuts, incorrect gas port diameters on MLGS/18", and other parts and assembly choices make me very leery of what I'm seeing. Also, for those who want to shoot steel case, make sure you get a SAAMI chamber. There are others that might work with it, but the SAAMI chamber is a known performer.

I'm rapid-firing sub-MOA 6-7rd groups at 1000yds with a sub-18" barrel with the SAAMI chamber. If you can do better than that, and feed all the factory ammo, I'd like to see it.

[rabiddawg]

I know there have been many who are getting into the market, but the choice to use a non-SAAMI reamer design, incorrect torque specs for barrel nuts, incorrect gas port diameters on MLGS/18", and other parts and assembly choices make me very leery of what I'm seeing. Also, for those who want to shoot steel case, make sure you get a SAAMI chamber. There are others that might work with it, but the SAAMI chamber is a known performer.

I agree. And then come the threads titled " Problem with Grendel _____" which leads the next guy doing research to believe the round has issues when it never should have been titled that way from the beginning.

[LRRPF52]

Yeah, in all these years, I've yet to see a thread titled, "My 6.5 XYZ chambered gun is having malfs".

There have been people who got a very bad taste after their experience with this cartridge and rifle, and they never owned a single thing that was 6.5 Grendel, or even compatible with factory ammunition they bought, so the Grendel got the bad rap, and some unknown parts maker remained under the radar once again.

Gee, it sure would be cool if this cartridge was SAAMI-spec'd arleady.....oh wait, that was done in 2011.

[Slinkz]

Last fall BHW had a time frame where they offered the true Grendel chamber with .136 bolt, I ordered one end of Sept and it came like Nov 30. Not long after that they took that offering off the website. If you think you prefer the true Grendel chamber type 2 you may want to contact them by phone and see if they will make you one. They claim they have a hard time getting the .136 bolts. Then you could get the profile and twist rate you desire. I always look at a tight twist as a good thing. As fare as getting a stripped upper I've had good luck with buying blems at low prices, usually its just a Finnish default. If you build it yourself you will likely have the build just as you want, and will be set up with the tools to change things like forearms in the future. Another note its pretty much a sure bet you would be very happy with a Lilja barrel, you just pay a little more for that is all.

BHW was willing to do this for me. Got a 6.5 underground tactical bolt to send to them to match and I just built my upper on Saturday. Need to replace my trigger to figure out how she really shoots, but I was able to manage a few sub moa groups at 100

[LRRPF52]

I've been accused of trashing other brands, but my sole intent is to do everything I can to make sure fellow shooters get a gun that works with factory ammunition, and is as accurate as possible for the grade of barrel selected.

All I can say is that my personal experiences with Alexander Arms, Precision Firearms, and Lilja Rifle Barrels has been exceptional. I can also recommend JP products sight unseen, because of what I've seen from JP over the years, and knowing his approach to this industry.

The SAAMI chamber is just a proven design.

Combined with real Grendel bolts, which are longer than 5.56 bolts BTW, you have a durable, accurate system.

I think AA's QC process from cradle to grave on bolt manufacturing is the one to beat in the Grendel world.

Since I have seen so much positive results personally, I try to pass on the formula that I know works so that everyone else can have the same shooting experiences as I do, where I just worry about putting rounds on target, and not about whether the rifle works or something is going to break.