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Hi all,
I've been a long time fan of this cartridge, the modularity of the M16/AR15/M4 platform and although it may not do everything well, it appears to have the broadest usage potential of any rifle cartridge/rifle combination there is. This is my type of system.
I have owned an AR15 previously and really enjoyed the rifle. It was a used Doublestar Star15 rifle and it was an excellent shooter. I sold it, along with all my other guns (except 1 pistol) to go on a 3 month long expedition and really missed this rifle, though I sold it for more than I purchased it for & more than I had into it!
I have shot a Bushmaster 24" competition rifle in one NRA sanctioned long range event that a friend of mine invited me to using 77g black hills ammo and I was surprised to hit the x ring at 600y more often than not with just a 4x ACOG mounted on the top of the carry handle of this rifle.
After that experience, I came to realize that bolt actions aren't the only choice in the medium-long range rifle shooting category (although for one relay I was able to shoot a 6.5x284 boltie with a 42x night force scope on it w/carefully crafted hand loads and the precision advantage was apparent after I tagged 12/15 X rings on that relay).
SO...
On this Black Friday I picked up a Bushmaster XM-15 optics ready carbine for what I thought to be an exceptional price - specifically - for the purpose of obtaining the lower half to be used as a Grendel rifle. My upper half and magazine that came with the unit has just been sold on AR15.com (funds already here) and so I am sitting with a lower just ready to put a Grendel upper on.
However, I am on a tight budget and as much as I would like to purchase a quality upper with a super duper flawless Satern, Lilja, or Shilen (or similar) barrel, I am unsure I can afford to spend this much on a target upper plus purchasing reloading components and a scope that matches the broad use potential of the firearm.
I am not attempting to formally compete in F class with this gun, but I would like to use it to possibly shoot some more informal (but still NRA sanctioned) matches along a friend of mine & side some like minded folks occasionally and the primary use would be medium to big game hunting, so I am currently of the opinion that a 20" barrel length would be ideal due to shorter length of the barrel for carrying in the brush, but still long enough to have some fun with.
I have never shot at 1,000 yards but have a range 40 miles from here and would like to see how well I can do with this combo. I have read Ranger rick's thread about his experiences on here and am inspired by that thread.
I reload pistol cartridges right now and have loaded rifle cartridge in the past (but never cared for case lube - if there is a way around using it, please someone share that with me!), but would be happy to load some various cartridges up and try them at range for a comparison. This is an enjoyable hobby to me.
I have researched this over the last few years and with all the choices, I was going to pursue obtaining a J&T upper with a free float hand guard, but I called there a few days ago and they are completely sold out with everything on backorder with no estimation of when they will be able to fulfill obligations.
Personally, I would like to be shooting this rifle and have everything set before the end of the month.
I have noticed Model 1 sales and have read that their "6.5 sporter" cartridges may have some advantages for loading slightly longer COAL cartridges (for subsonic use or the possibility of a momentum advantage at distance - though with the caveat of minding the limited capabilities of the bolt, e.g. limited velocities to load to), but I have not looked for dies that will form cases to the exact dimensions or how the offset chamber cut compared to grendel will affect external ballistics (would imagine this will happen to some extent).
I have not read any consistent reviews of how well a 6.5 sporter 20" upper would do in the capacity of medium to long range distances.
Basically, what I am asking for is what is the best value from the point of precision/dollars?
Any advice would be appreciated!
I've been a long time fan of this cartridge, the modularity of the M16/AR15/M4 platform and although it may not do everything well, it appears to have the broadest usage potential of any rifle cartridge/rifle combination there is. This is my type of system.
I have owned an AR15 previously and really enjoyed the rifle. It was a used Doublestar Star15 rifle and it was an excellent shooter. I sold it, along with all my other guns (except 1 pistol) to go on a 3 month long expedition and really missed this rifle, though I sold it for more than I purchased it for & more than I had into it!
I have shot a Bushmaster 24" competition rifle in one NRA sanctioned long range event that a friend of mine invited me to using 77g black hills ammo and I was surprised to hit the x ring at 600y more often than not with just a 4x ACOG mounted on the top of the carry handle of this rifle.
After that experience, I came to realize that bolt actions aren't the only choice in the medium-long range rifle shooting category (although for one relay I was able to shoot a 6.5x284 boltie with a 42x night force scope on it w/carefully crafted hand loads and the precision advantage was apparent after I tagged 12/15 X rings on that relay).
SO...
On this Black Friday I picked up a Bushmaster XM-15 optics ready carbine for what I thought to be an exceptional price - specifically - for the purpose of obtaining the lower half to be used as a Grendel rifle. My upper half and magazine that came with the unit has just been sold on AR15.com (funds already here) and so I am sitting with a lower just ready to put a Grendel upper on.
However, I am on a tight budget and as much as I would like to purchase a quality upper with a super duper flawless Satern, Lilja, or Shilen (or similar) barrel, I am unsure I can afford to spend this much on a target upper plus purchasing reloading components and a scope that matches the broad use potential of the firearm.
I am not attempting to formally compete in F class with this gun, but I would like to use it to possibly shoot some more informal (but still NRA sanctioned) matches along a friend of mine & side some like minded folks occasionally and the primary use would be medium to big game hunting, so I am currently of the opinion that a 20" barrel length would be ideal due to shorter length of the barrel for carrying in the brush, but still long enough to have some fun with.
I have never shot at 1,000 yards but have a range 40 miles from here and would like to see how well I can do with this combo. I have read Ranger rick's thread about his experiences on here and am inspired by that thread.
I reload pistol cartridges right now and have loaded rifle cartridge in the past (but never cared for case lube - if there is a way around using it, please someone share that with me!), but would be happy to load some various cartridges up and try them at range for a comparison. This is an enjoyable hobby to me.
I have researched this over the last few years and with all the choices, I was going to pursue obtaining a J&T upper with a free float hand guard, but I called there a few days ago and they are completely sold out with everything on backorder with no estimation of when they will be able to fulfill obligations.
Personally, I would like to be shooting this rifle and have everything set before the end of the month.
I have noticed Model 1 sales and have read that their "6.5 sporter" cartridges may have some advantages for loading slightly longer COAL cartridges (for subsonic use or the possibility of a momentum advantage at distance - though with the caveat of minding the limited capabilities of the bolt, e.g. limited velocities to load to), but I have not looked for dies that will form cases to the exact dimensions or how the offset chamber cut compared to grendel will affect external ballistics (would imagine this will happen to some extent).
I have not read any consistent reviews of how well a 6.5 sporter 20" upper would do in the capacity of medium to long range distances.
Basically, what I am asking for is what is the best value from the point of precision/dollars?
Any advice would be appreciated!
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