New in Central SC

[Englishguy3012]

Hey lads ! New to the forum (obviously) but not new to firearms in the least, despite the username! I've been stateside for a few years now, and have proudly served in the US Army as an Infantryman for 8 years active, and now in the reserves while I go to college (Go Gamecocks!)

Among the many schools I've been privileged to attend, my love for long range shooting came from a certain school I'm sure you can all guess, and as such I'm converting my AR from 5.56/.223 to 6.5. It was a debate for a little while between 6.8 and 6.5 with the winner here being obvious (hence my introductions)

While I am here, I'll lay out my plans for the conversion, and have you all knit pick away and give me some advice. I'm looking to shoot from 50m to 600/700m With that in mind I'm considering an Alexander Arms 16 or 18 inch barrel, leaning more to an 18 inch. I can still play house clearing (another fun infantry thing to do) just have to adapt to it a little. That being said, if an AA 16 inch barrel can make it out to 600/700m let me know, that is plenty fine for me. I'll be using my Vortex PST 2.5-10 MRAD scope, so glass won't be an issue, and the barrel will be free floated as well.

So there we have it, a novel for an introduction, feel free to post away to your hearts content, I'm a friendly, open, and oddball in a fun way! (Plus my outlook on life has had me in some interesting conversations on other forums!

Neil

[bwaites]

Welcome to the boards!

Go Gamecocks! (My whole paternal family lives within about a 10 mile radius of you, and I was born down the road a bit in Charleston).

Personally, for 600m work, I'd be getting a 20 inch, but an 18 will do the job under most circumstances.

I think that a certain Englishman named Bill Alexander would love to discuss the options with you though! Give him a call at Alexander Arms, and spend a little time discussing your plans and I'm sure he will guide you down the right path, and hearing a Brit on the other end of the line should get you straight through to him. Just call and ask for him directly, and if he's in, I'll bet you get to talk to the man himself.

You've got great glass for that option.

Oh, and you made the right choice between 6.5 and that other caliber!

[BluntForceTrauma]

Welcome, Neil!

John

[Englishguy3012]

Thanks for the welcomes, and the advice, I didn't know Bill Alexander was English, I'll have to give him a ring and chat then lol

[bwaites]

Thanks for the welcomes, and the advice, I didn't know Bill Alexander was English, I'll have to give him a ring and chat then lol

I'm sure he would love to hear another Brit on the phone, I'm sure he gets tired of all our colonial accents all day! LOL

[Whelenon]

Sound like you've got a well thought out plan for your Grendel, an excellent choice. Good luck and welcome to the Horde.

[ricsmall]

good luck on the build and welcome to the horde. Im with Bwaites, 18 will get you there but the 20" seems less problematic and you get a slight velocity increase. depending on the stock setup youre going to use, it may balance better as well.

[Englishguy3012]

I've got an LMT SOPMOD stock on right now, my purpose for the build is to replace my current 5.56 with something that can be used at close distances on out. I don't want to be weighed down, hence my wanting to find an intermediate cartridge so that I don't a) have to carry a crap load of heavy 7.62 around (having been a 240 gunner I'm done with that s**t) and b) don't really want to have two weapons (a close range for small game and long range rifle for distance) when one can effectively cover both. Am I wrong in thinking an 18 inch barrel can cover me in both areas? Distance wise I want repeatability at 500m, but be able to hit to 600/700m for bragging rights etc (yea I'm that fickle). Appreciate the chatter, it's helping me suss out my build some, so please keep it coming lads!

[ricsmall]

sounds to me with that description that the 18" would suit you fine. I have a 22" on order from templar, its main purpose being targets and hunting from stands in south georgia with the oppurtunity for 500-600 yard shots on deer. I dont know if ill shoot one that far with the grendel until I get some experience with it, though I have taken several at the end of one field at 314-320 yards with a bolt action .223. I ONLY take those shots when conditions are near perfect and when I feel confident. I have passed up more of those shots than I have taken. Its all about bullet selection and placement, and it helps to have a tack driver!

[LRRPF52]

Welcome. I think the 18" is a great compromise length for what you're looking to do, but each barrel will have its velocity persona one way or another. My16" has been giving me higher velocities than normally expected with 16", some even as high as 24" velocities with factory ammo. You never know what you're going to get until you chrono it, but people's velocities have been pretty close to published data for the most part.

The ability to hold the gun stable will determine a lot of your maximum effective range on a man-size target, and heavier guns help with that when shot from prone or solid support. Heavier guns, as you already know, suck in the house, so a medium-heavy contour 18" or SPR contour might be the best route to go. An SPR contour 18" Grendel will weight less than a 5.56 18" empty, all things equal, since you have a larger bore.