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+--- Thread: Opinions on going from 16 to 18 barrel (/showthread.php?tid=18549)
Opinions on going from 16 to 18 barrel - Bruce_Leroy - 03-15-2019
Would there be enough benefits on swapping my 16 to an 18? Gonna use the same barrel I have now, just 18. Initially the gun was built for hunting but now would like to get into longer range stuff as well, maybe out to 600 yards.
Opinions on going from 16 to 18 barrel - VASCAR2 - 03-15-2019
I have two 16 and one 18 6.5 Grendel AR-15s and I like all of them. Ive shot one 16 6.5 Grendel out to 800 yards and it is fully capable of shooting MOA at 600 yards with factory A-Max if I do my part. Personally if you have a good shooting 6.5 Grendel barrel youd be better off spending the money on ammo and shooting more. Unfortunately I dont always follow my own advise and have several 6.5 Grendels.
The difference in velocity is not very much between 16 & 18 in AR-15s. A Friend and I chronographed these loads a few years ago with a magnetto speed chronograph. We only chronographed five rounds of each but the velocities posted are pretty typical.
123 grain A-Max Hornady
16" 2419
18" 2464
20" 2505
24" 2568
123 Grain SST Hornady
16" 2430
18" 2493
20" 2511
24" 2583
Hand Load 123 Grain Nosler CC, 31.0 grains CFE223, CCI 450
16" 2449
18" 2471
20" 2526
24" 2619
100 Grain FMJ Wolf
16" 2507
18" 2571
20" 2615
24" 2695
Opinions on going from 16 to 18 barrel - Bruce_Leroy - 03-16-2019
Thanks for those results. My 16” is a good shooter. I know that the Grendel can be finicky with accuracy. I’ll just stick with what I have
Opinions on going from 16 to 18 barrel - rabiddawg - 03-16-2019
Bruce_Leroy Wrote:I know that the Grendel can be finicky with accuracy.Hmm. Care to explain this notion?
Opinions on going from 16 to 18 barrel - Bruce_Leroy - 03-16-2019
rabiddawg Wrote:Hmm. Care to explain this notion?
Finicky with accuracy in some barrels is what I meant. I’ve heard of some decent barrel makers in .223 have trouble with their 6.5 Grendel barrels. Sorry about that
Opinions on going from 16 to 18 barrel - rabiddawg - 03-16-2019
Gotcha.
Yeah the round itself isn’t finicky.
Opinions on going from 16 to 18 barrel - AeroFDE6.5 - 03-17-2019
Great information- thanks for sharing your data.
Geno
Opinions on going from 16 to 18 barrel - LRRPF52 - 03-18-2019
Bruce_Leroy Wrote:Would there be enough benefits on swapping my 16” to an 18”? Gonna use the same barrel I have now, just 18”. Initially the gun was built for hunting but now would like to get into longer range stuff as well, maybe out to 600 yards.
600yds is pretty boring for just about any barrel length when shooting 6.5 Grendel. At that point, it's just a matter of how much louder you want the impact to be.
Even with my 12" Grendel, 600yds is not much of a challenge unless we drop the plate size below 2 MOA or shoot in higher wind conditions.
I will also say my lightweight Wasp profile Lilja group buy 16" barrel is very accurate. The first 4 groups out of the gate with it were all .69-.84 MOA with 2 different types of ammo, namely PPU 120gr MPT and Hornady 123gr SST.