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First full AR build. - Printable Version

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First full AR build. - Cdat19k - 11-14-2021

Good morning all, currently building my first complete AR and first 6.5 grendel period. Im going for a somewhat budget oriented build. Im not a bullseye shooter so that isn't my goal. However I do want to be accurate out to a minimum of 400-600yds. Going for a light weight ish compact setup with a 16" barrel. Down here in florida a brush gun is very useful and shooting game out past 300 is rare. This will be primarily a hunter/blinker. So far this is my build. Aero m4e1 assembled upper. Door kicker(local to me) stripped lower that will have all strike industries goodies on it. Adaptive tactical stock and pistol grip. Odinworks R2 15.5 handguard. Cmc 2.5 drop in trigger. Optics will either be Athlon or Primary arms 1-8. Where im stuck is barrel brand. Im leaning towards alexander arms, BA, or grendel hunter barrels, all will have adjustable gas blocks.. After that it's then deciding what buffer I need to run. Any and all advice is appreciated. Thank you for y'alls time.

First full AR build. - VASCAR2 - 11-14-2021

If your going to run a suppressor I’d suggest an adjustable gas block, adjustable gas bolt carrier or adjustable carrier key. If your not going to use a suppressor my AR-15’s with standard gas block are gtg if your barrel has the appropriate size gas port. I use standard carbine buffer and spring on my 6.5 Grendel AR-15’s and if you use an AGB you can tune the gas for whatever spring and buffer weight your using. Many forum members like the JP silent captured spring.



Odin barrels get good reviews as do AA and both have lighter weight 16” barrels. Last I read BA has ceased production of 6.5 Grendel barrels due to demand and shortages. Grendel Hunter uses Satern/Liberty barrels with Grendel II chamber but Grendel Hunter supposedly has good CS. The recent Faxon barrels are getting good reviews on their light weight gunner profile barrels. Brownell’s current house brand 6.5 Grendel barrels are supposedly supplied by Faxon. Any rack grade barrel is luck of the draw on accuracy and fortunately I’ve been pretty lucky.

Keep watch on the buy sell section on this forum as good barrels regularly come up for sale.


Looks like Brownell’s is out of stock but the Faxon 16” gunner profile barrel is supposedly 1.53 pounds according to the Q&A. With the current situation finding a barrel might be the biggest challenge.

https://www.brownells.com/rifle-parts/barrel-parts/rifle-barrels/ar-15-barrels-6-5-grendel-gunner-profile-prod108068.aspx

Alexander Arms website does not give inventory status so you basically order and wait. You can call them and see if they have barrels in stock or how long before the barrel will ship. The 16” Incursion barrel get good reviews. Odin list the weight of their 16” barrel as 1.10 pounds so it is the lightest but most expensive.

https://www.shopalexanderarms.com/DIY_Parts_Components-6_5_Grendel_16_Incursion_Barrel.html



https://www.odinworks.com/6-5-Grendel-Barrel-16-ULTRAlite-Intermid-p/b-6.5-16-ul-int-tg.htm

First full AR build. - Cdat19k - 11-14-2021

My biggest hesitation with faxon is I've been reading they get hot quick, although light weight. BA may be stoping grendel production, im not sure, but they have barrels in stock. Including the 16". Grendel hunter seems to be best bang for your buck satern/liberty barrels I've found at a good price point with bcg, adjustable gas block and gas tube at around $350. Pardon my ignorance, but is the grendel II chamber better or worse? Or is that more a reloading concern?

First full AR build. - Cdat19k - 11-14-2021

All the barrels ive listed are all currently in stock.

First full AR build. - VASCAR2 - 11-14-2021

Good, I just looked at JSE Surplus and they have the Odin light weight barrel kit in stock. If you figure the price of gas block, bcg and gas tube the Odin isn’t to bad a deal.

https://www.jsesurplus.com/odinworks1665grendeltype2ultralitewintermediategastubetunablegasblockandtype2bcg.aspx

First full AR build. - Cdat19k - 11-14-2021

Thanks for all the info and the links man! Yeah $450 ish seems to be the going rate for all the barrels except the grendel hunter. Not saying you cant get good for cheap but being almost $100 below average gave me some hesitation. Although it is a satern/liberty barrel. Wondering where they cut cost at.

First full AR build. - VASCAR2 - 11-14-2021

Cdat19k Wrote:My biggest hesitation with faxon is I've been reading they get hot quick, although light weight. BA may be stoping grendel production, im not sure, but they have barrels in stock. Including the 16". Grendel hunter seems to be best bang for your buck satern/liberty barrels I've found at a good price point with bcg, adjustable gas block and gas tube at around $350. Pardon my ignorance, but is the grendel II chamber better or worse? Or is that more a reloading concern?


Several years ago there was group buy on this forum with Satern barrels. The chambers were out of spec and Satern basically blamed the problem on the 6.5 Grendel design to save face. The whole thing was a big debacle and really hurt Satern’s reputation on this forum. I have been around a couple of Brownell’s Satern/Liberty barrels. Both had short chambers and had to large a gas port for an 18” barrel (way over gassed). The Grendel II chamber has a traditional tapered throat instead of the compound throat design accepted by SAAMI. Satern says their chamber has a long free bore to accept long bullets. Grendel Hunter uppers get good reviews but it is luck of the draw with any rack grade barrel. The difference in accuracy will vary more from barrel to barrel than the difference of the actual chamber throat if both chambers are in spec (IMHO).

I have two Faxon Group buy barrels 16” & 18” and I’m satisfied with both. I have no experience with the Faxon gunner profile barrel. Any light weight barrel will probably heat up faster and are probably a design compromise. For shooting hogs and firing up to 20 rounds I doubt I could tell the difference in accuracy between a Gunner barrel profile barrel 16” barrel and my heavy profile J&T 16” 6.5 Grendel barrel. I might notice the difference in weight of the rifle if I carried it for hours. The Faxon gunner is probably a decent hunting barrel but it is designed to be light weight and not so much a general purpose do everything well barrel. It really boils down to how your going to use your rifle and what you want.

First full AR build. - Cdat19k - 11-14-2021

VASCAR2 Wrote:Several years ago there was group buy on this forum with Satern barrels. The chambers were out of spec and Satern basically blamed the problem on the 6.5 Grendel design to save face. The whole thing was a big debacle and really hurt Satern’s reputation on this forum. I have been around a couple of Brownell’s Satern/Liberty barrels. Both had short chambers and had to large a gas port for an 18” barrel (way over gassed). The Grendel II chamber has a traditional tapered throat instead of the compound throat design accepted by SAAMI. Satern says their chamber has a long free bore to accept long bullets. Grendel Hunter uppers get good reviews but it is luck of the draw with any rack grade barrel. The difference in accuracy will vary more from barrel to barrel than the difference of the actual chamber throat if both chambers are in spec (IMHO).

I have two Faxon Group buy barrels 16” & 18” and I’m satisfied with both. I have no experience with the Faxon gunner profile barrel. Any light weight barrel will probably heat up faster and are probably a design compromise. For shooting hogs and firing up to 20 rounds I doubt I could tell the difference in accuracy between a Gunner barrel profile barrel 16” barrel and my heavy profile J&T 16” 6.5 Grendel barrel. I might notice the difference in weight of the rifle if I carried it for hours. The Faxon gunner is probably a decent hunting barrel but it is designed to be light weight and not so much a general purpose do everything well barrel. It really boils down to how your going to use your rifle and what you want.

Great info! Looks like ill take grendel hunter out of the running. Also looks like ill be doing a bunch more research on barrels lol. I won't lie, it will mainly be a plinking rifle that will also be used for hunting. Ill take a couple oz heavier barrel for heat reduction vs weight reduction.

First full AR build. - tdbru - 11-15-2021

Cdat19k
I put a 20" faxon gunner 4150CM nitride on a light weight upper that i was working on. accuracy has been acceptable for a hunting rifle. the worst groups were 2.5 MOA, the best under 1 MOA. I have no complaints, or not too many. a brux or kreiger will likely group everything well. with a rack grade like my faxon gunner, it may or may not group factory well, or even many handloads, but i suspect eventually a handloader would find a good combination like i did.

for a plinking rifle, perhaps a stiffer (bull) barrel may be in order. it might group a bit better over longer strings of fire if that is what you have in mind. on a hunting rifle, unless shooting out of a stand or something like that, hauling around a heavy rifle is not a lot of fun. there a lighter rifle is nicer to hike around with.

what kind of accuracy requirements are you needing for plinking and hunting? what's your budget? if you an afford it a high end barrel will usually deliver the best accuracy for your rifle. on the rack grade stuff, i think BCA is running a 20" heavy fluted barrel 6.5 Grendel complete upper for $300 right now: https://www.bearcreekarsenal.com/calibers/6-5-grendel-type-ii/6-5-grendel-complete-uppers/6-5-grendel-straight-fluted-hb-parkerized-1-8-twist-rifle-bur-upper.html

being a rack grade barrel accuracy will be a luck of the draw, but it looks like a good starter upper. Hmmm...... if i look close at the website that i just posted it says out of stock. they must have sold out on the sale item. not surprising, $300 for a complete upper would appear to be a good bargain to many.

Good luck on your build. if it's mostly plinking and a little hunting, then, i think, a heavier profile barrel wouldn't be too big of a handicap. if you end up doing a lot of hunting with the rifle, and carrying it around a lot, don't brush off the Faxon Gunner too prematurely as it will help save some weight.
regards,
-tdbru

First full AR build. - Cdat19k - 11-15-2021

Bca and grendel hunter where both hard looks because of price. BCA among rack grade seems to have the most issues, reason I left them out. Grendel hunter had good reviews but after what Vascar said it makes me a bit hesitant. Faxon just doesn't fit my needs, as I'll be plinking more than hunting, although I have heard only good things about them. I just enjoy shooting so I put some rounds through my rifles. Im more stuck in the 16" than I am the weight of the barrel. Seems to be relatively minor, in my book atleast, differences in weight. Im not looking for sub moa, I'd be fine with 1.5 or a bit more honestly. As long as I can hit a silhouette or 12inch steel at 500 or so yards im happy. As this is a budget build and given my needs is why I listed my original barrels choices. However I am brand new to the grendel game so any and all suggestions are welcome.

First full AR build. - Cdat19k - 11-16-2021

Tdbru
Thanks for the info! BCA and grendel hunter were my two low budget options. I opted out from BCA as they seem to have more issues than most. Grendel hunter has Satern barrels which seem to have gotten a bad rep here so makes me hesitant, although their price is tempting. All the barrels I listed are ones I found fit my needs/wants. 16" and good at not heating up terribly quick when plinking, I love to shoot lol. I'll primarly be using it as a plinker, so sub moa honestly is important. If I can hit a silhouette or 12 inch steel at 5-600 ish yds im happy. Weight not a huge concern, I've lugged heavier around and ive been trying to save as much weight everywhere else I can while trying to be budget minded.

First full AR build. - VASCAR2 - 11-16-2021

Ballistic Advantage barrels get good reviews and have good customer service. Did you see this one which just popped up for sale on this forum. I have no interest in this but just saw it today.


https://www.65grendel.com/forum/showthread.php?24863-Aero-Precision-6-5-Grendel-16-quot-Upper

First full AR build. - Cdat19k - 11-16-2021

Dang, if I hadnt already bought everything minus the barrel that would have been worth the money.

First full AR build. - Tx264 - 11-26-2021

If you're still looking,wilson combat 16"$212.46 w free shipping

First full AR build. - hill37 - 11-28-2021

Today Wilson Combat Has all their Grendel barrels on sale. All in stock except the !8"

First full AR build. - Cdat19k - 12-04-2021

Thanks for all the recommendation's folks! After talking to grendel hunter and with my budget in mind I went with their 16 barrel. I know some people seem to have had issues with that brand of barrel in the past, but from some digging alot of issues were not accuracy issues. From what I've seen and read their customer service is top notch and he stands by his products.