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+--- Thread: 6.5 Grendel barrel Length????? (/showthread.php?tid=18390)
6.5 Grendel barrel Length????? - Jerry M. - 02-25-2019
I'm looking at putting a 6.5 Grendel together for deer/pig hunting here in Missouri and a few southern states and was wondering what is the optimal barrel length. No shots past 300yards. I do shoot suppressed at times. 1-6X28 is my scope of choice due to close shooting done here in Missouri. I welcome all the hunters suggestions. Thank you, Jerry....
6.5 Grendel barrel Length????? - LRRPF52 - 02-25-2019
Sounds like anything from 12-18" will work for you.
12" is more handy with a suppressor.
If you go 16" suppressed, get at least a MLGS.
If you go 18" suppressed, get RLGS.
I'm really enjoying the 12" this past year, and plenty of people have been killing deer and hogs with them.
6.5 Grendel barrel Length????? - Jerry M. - 02-25-2019
MLGS?
RLGS?
New to this. Always used bolt guns..
6.5 Grendel barrel Length????? - smacha538 - 02-25-2019
Mid length and rifle length gas system
6.5 Grendel barrel Length????? - Jetpig - 02-25-2019
I really like my 20” rifle length!!
6.5 Grendel barrel Length????? - GunsAreFun - 02-25-2019
I just settled on a 12 pistol for alternative method season in Missouri. If youre shooting 100 yards or less, I dont know that it matters much so Id go shorter. Of course youre stuck at 16 or 14.5 with a pinned muzzle break unless you want to SBR or run in pistol configuration.
6.5 Grendel barrel Length????? - MarkS - 02-26-2019
I'm very happy with my 12" SBR that is purpose-built for suppressed hunting. The short barrel/suppressor combo has a good balance to it, and is definitely accurate enough for me to confidently make a 300yd shot.
6.5 Grendel barrel Length????? - rebby - 02-26-2019
My 8 year-old rings an 8” steel plate all day long using a 12.5” Grendel with a 1.5-8x32 Vortex Razor HD LH. With a suppressor, I’d go with one of these.
I have an 11” as well that has become of my favorite hunting guns. That one has a 2-12x42 Leupold VX-6 on it.
Does Missouri have any specific OAL requirements when it comes to hunting? I know a few states do (MN is somewhat ambiguous in this respect). If so, you may want to consider a 10.5” for a pistol build or go with a straight up rifle on a 16” (or greater) length barrel.
6.5 Grendel barrel Length????? - CaptnC - 02-26-2019
Here we go again!
Seems mentioned 300yds...I have a 18" and 20" and both will delivered more foot pound of energy on target at any range compared to a 12.5 barrel.
My latest build is also going to have a can on it as soon as it gets out of jail. My shots will be limited to nothing over 15yds yards. Also because I am running a shorter barrel I elected to go with 7.62X39. I will also be hand loading it above AK pressures, but I will stay inside AR platform pressures.
That means my 0.310, 123gr SST will be running closer to 2500fps, not the usual 2100fps like most factory ammo is loaded to.
What seems like a normal thing to do on this site is not shared on other boards.
I'm getting a link for you....
6.5 Grendel barrel Length????? - CaptnC - 02-26-2019
This thread has picked as a "Featured" thread because it contain valuable information!
https://www.longrangehunting.com/threads/why-gun-cos-making-224-cal-valkyrie-in-short-barrels.215937/
Go read post #14 a couple times....
And yes I go by the same handle there...hell everywhere...LOL
6.5 Grendel barrel Length????? - Bigs28 - 02-26-2019
Yes captnc a 20" will deliver more energy then a 12.5". Yay.
OP out to 300 yards for hunting i don't see any reason to go with anything over 16" just based on weight alone. I hunt with a 12" and out to 300 it's good to go but mine is a registered sbr. If you don't want a sbr or ar pistol then a 16" is plenty of rifle for your needs.
6.5 Grendel barrel Length????? - CaptnC - 02-26-2019
Well if you guys don't want to hear this cover your ears because it for the OP!
I bet you have a pair and could easily carry all the extra weight 4 more inches of barrel weighs! There just isn't a good reason to handy cap such a fine cartridge!
A buddy of mine has a 24" Grendel and he is getting nearly 6.5 Creedmoor velocity with a grain less powder than I'm using.
That has me seriously considering building one. I know I have a pair, so I can easily handle all that extra weight some people have issue with!
All that drama said, with a can (slight gain in velocity) a 16" would be a bare minum.
Oh...one last thing...my other 2, 7.62X39 AR's both sport 20" pipes...got to squeeze every last FPS out of what ever makes you happy!
6.5 Grendel barrel Length????? - Matt.Cross - 02-26-2019
I prefer brains to balls, and having shot a 12.5" Grendel pistol out to ~850 yards with ease, it seems that a 16" rifle is a perfectly reasonable recommendation. Handicapping the cartridge is a minor offense in comparison to building a hunting gun that you can't stand to hunt with...
6.5 Grendel barrel Length????? - kmon - 02-26-2019
12 to 24 inch barrels will work out to 300 yards or beyond, pick one you like and go with it. When I said on another forum I was going to build a 6.5 Grendel bolt action many tried to talk me out of it but that was no use, it is my $ and that is how I wanted to spend it. I now have a 24 inch AR and a 22 inch bolt action in Grendel. Planning to swap barrels on the 24 inch to a 16 or 18 inch barrel this year to make it lighter and more handy in the field. where i hunt these days most shots are inside 150 yards and max would be 300 so I want a lighter easier to handle rifle for the girlfriend to hunt with this fall.
If not for the SBR regulations and paying that $200 tax to own one I would go 12.5 inch barrel with a suppressor for t but that would get me the $400 in tax to own
6.5 Grendel barrel Length????? - lazyengineer - 02-26-2019
[shortened this]
To me, the concept of a 12.5" do-everything gun is kind of neat, as the bullet is still supersonic at 800 yards, and still above the 800 ft-lb lethal threshold at 400 yards (~ 1000 ft-lb at 300 yards, if you like that number better). All in an incredibly handy do-everything sized package good for in-house home-defense, handy all-day carry, and nice-size with a suppressor still. The 6.5 Grendel round makes it work, such that you can shoot long distance for fun realistically still as well.
Pretty amazing. And, thanks to the likes of PSA, you can "do both!" and get multiple uppers now, of multiple lengths quite cost-effectively.
6.5 Grendel barrel Length????? - slip357 - 02-26-2019
I have 3 , one is a 20inch heavy with mildot scope for punching paper and steel at distance and its a tack driver , i also have two 16 inch light weights one has a Pentax 1.5-6 power BDC retical scope for hunting and the other is iron sights and shoots nothing but cheap wolf ammo and shoots minute of coyote with the woilf.
6.5 Grendel barrel Length????? - CaptnC - 02-26-2019
lazyengineer...only problem with 1000fpe at 300yds is you 800fpe below the threshold bullet manufacturer design their bullets.
Ok...it doesn't really look like many are using the "pair" nor their "brain"...this is stoked by ego! The "tacticool effect".
Ok...let's try using the brain for a minute seeing how no one went and read my link.
What is the keys to long range shooting? Plain and simple...ES and SD...how do we achieve those two? First you want efficient powder burn, that is timed with barrel harmonics.
Your not going to get that by burning the bulk of your powder charge in the air outside the muzzle. If your velocity is all over the map you will string your shots vertically and the BC of your bullet changes as the slows down. So some shots will drift more than other with the exact same hold!
Let's be honest, why was rifle cartridges built with short barrel...law enforcement and military entry teams. Where a 50yds shot is a long shot and most are point blank ranges.
The 30 BlackOut craze I guess started this, but it is basically a pistol cartridge that they make a little than necessary barrels for. I wish I could find the thread where a man was trying hit a 500 or 600 yards steel. He said he never could hit it. He was either beyond or short. His thoughts were the bullet path was mostly vertical. And the BO was really not designed to be a long range shooter originally.
So it looks like we have three groups in the Grendel crowd, those with a pair, those who really do use their brain (these two are actually the same guys) and the tacticool gang!
OUT!
6.5 Grendel barrel Length????? - HickLife - 02-26-2019
CaptnC Wrote:Well if you guys don't want to hear this cover your ears because it for the OP!
I bet you have a pair and could easily carry all the extra weight 4 more inches of barrel weighs! There just isn't a good reason to handy cap such a fine cartridge!
A buddy of mine has a 24" Grendel and he is getting nearly 6.5 Creedmoor velocity with a grain less powder than I'm using.
That has me seriously considering building one. I know I have a pair, so I can easily handle all that extra weight some people have issue with!
All that drama said, with a can (slight gain in velocity) a 16" would be a bare minum.
Oh...one last thing...my other 2, 7.62X39 AR's both sport 20" pipes...got to squeeze every last FPS out of what ever makes you happy!
I don't think you are handicapping the cartridge if you won't ever use it to the full potential of the long barrel. I built a 24" because I want to reach out and touch something at really long ranges, maybe do so competitions with it. And getting creedmore velocity out of is is awesome with the smaller and lighter overall package.
It's not about "having a pair", it's about the intended purpose of the gun. I'm building a 10.5", and a 12.5" that I will use for more tactical (room clearing, maybe 3 gun type stuff) scenarios and hog hunting, but they will still be able to reach out and still be a very viable option when compared to a 300blk or a 5.56/223 that most people pick for those scenarios. This cartridge beats them all and is the best all around round you can get in my book. Running around and doing quick target transitions is much easier with a shorter gun than a long 24".
That said it also depends on the type of hunting you are doing. Are you just carrying it the 200yrd (i've seen guys park right under it and still take a deer almost every time) from your truck to the stand and just sitting there with it? If so then sure bring out the big boy because it won't wear on you all day. Are you stalk hunting and going through the mountains all day? If so that gun can start to feel heavier and heavier as the day goes by and could screw up your shot if you aren't used to lugging it around and are worn out by the time you get to take the shot. Then you have to track it, and bring the animal back to your vehicle or camp if you can't access it.
I also don't think it is necessary to carry more than you actually need. So like the OP said, no shots past 300, so he doesn't NEED anything over even a 16" for a rifle, or even 12" for a pistol/sbr. I would even venture to say he could use a 10.5 with the right loads. At the ripe old age of 27, I have learned I don't need to prove my masculinity by beating myself up more than I have to, been there, done that got the tshirt and injuries to prove it. If I sound like a dick I don't mean to, I'm just saying you don't have to be at the maximum for everything.
Edit: I saw the other thread you linked to. For some it is about getting the max performance in a specific barrel length, you don't have to max out a cartridge everytime, if we wanted to do that we would have a 28" barrel and only have bolt guns. It's knowing what you are sacrificing and being ok with it because it is meeting another requirement you have.
OP get whatever you want, just about any length would work for your purposes. IMO shorter would be better, it would make it more versatile and you wouldn't be using the full potential of the longer gun anyways.
6.5 Grendel barrel Length????? - Bigs28 - 02-26-2019
CaptnC Wrote:lazyengineer...only problem with 1000fpe at 300yds is you 800fpe below the threshold bullet manufacturer design their bullets.
What is the keys to long range shooting?
Op didn't ask for a long range rifle. He asked for a hunting rifle out to 300 yards. Plenty of bullets designed for hunting that work to their full capability at the velocities a 12" will provide. No one is argueing that a 12" is superior to a 20". People are saying that for the ops intended use anything 12" + will work and their are benefits to a 12" just as their are benefits to a 20".
6.5 Grendel barrel Length????? - Matt.Cross - 02-26-2019
CaptnC Wrote:Ok...it doesn't really look like many are using the "pair" nor their "brain"...this is stoked by ego! The "tacticool effect".
That's an interesting opinion, but it seems that you are stoked by your ego, so there's some truth to your statement.
CaptnC Wrote:Ok...let's try using the brain for a minute seeing how no one went and read my link.
Conjecture? Surely using your brain can yield better than conjecture....
CaptnC Wrote:What is the keys to long range shooting? Plain and simple...ES and SD...how do we achieve those two? First you want efficient powder burn, that is timed with barrel harmonics.
In the overall scale of things, 300 yards max distance isn't long range, not in terms of the capabilities of the cartridge, so moot point here.
CaptnC Wrote:Your not going to get that by burning the bulk of your powder charge in the air outside the muzzle. If your velocity is all over the map you will string your shots vertically and the BC of your bullet changes as the slows down. So some shots will drift more than other with the exact same hold!
Again, probably true but not necessarily applicable to the circumstances here. Regardless of what burns outside the barrel, the amount that will burn inside a fixed length of barrel will remain close enough to constant to yield consistency. So, moot point.
CaptnC Wrote:Let's be honest, why was rifle cartridges built with short barrel...law enforcement and military entry teams. Where a 50yds shot is a long shot and most are point blank ranges.
If this is what using your brain looks like, I don't think I should even ask where the barrel is found when looking at the anatomy of a cartridge.
CaptnC Wrote:The 30 BlackOut craze I guess started this, but it is basically a pistol cartridge that they make a little than necessary barrels for. I wish I could find the thread where a man was trying hit a 500 or 600 yards steel. He said he never could hit it. He was either beyond or short. His thoughts were the bullet path was mostly vertical. And the BO was really not designed to be a long range shooter originally.
That's a lovely anecdote, but an entirely different cartridge and apples/oranges comparison. That's 3 moot points so far.
CaptnC Wrote:So it looks like we have three groups in the Grendel crowd, those with a pair, those who really do use their brain (these two are actually the same guys) and the tacticool gang!
OUT!
Good to see that at a minimum, your math is as good as your logic.