+- 6.5 Grendel Forum (https://65grendel.com)
+-- Forum: 6.5 GRENDEL DISCUSSION FORUMS (https://65grendel.com/forumdisplay.php?fid=3)
+--- Forum: 6.5 Grendel Troubleshooting (https://65grendel.com/forumdisplay.php?fid=15)
+--- Thread: Problems with Wolf Ammo (/showthread.php?tid=2425)
Problems with Wolf Ammo - Captk - 03-18-2012
I am new to the 6.5 Grendel and recently bought a slighty used upper. The seller said the upper had 30 rnds since new. He said that he tried both AA and Wolf Gold ammo. Here is what I was told from sellers email. He said it was a Ranier Arms upper and the upper has rainier arms on it but could have been built by someone. It has a 20" SS barrel.
I picked up from a vendor at the Mesquite gun show late last summer. I found the guy through Gunbroker and met up with him at the show. He had several versions of Grendel uppers and some Grendel bolt/barrel kits. I bought the upper with the cheapest free float hand guard. I don’t remember him stating whether he built the whole thing but he did say he installed the aftermarket hand guard and gas block. The receiver and BCG had no marks on them but the barrel had some minor marks, I assumed from installing the aftermarket parts.
Only other info is that it is a bit finicky about ammo. The vendor recommended I buy a box of each to see how it shoots. When I finally got around to shooting it over Thanksgiving, I was less than impressed with the cheap wolf ammo. After the first couple feed problems I emptied the mag and noticed the rounds varied as much as a quarter inch in length. Groups were probably around 1.5-2 inches. Out of the 20 round box, I recall at least 3 feed problems. I loaded up the AA ammo and it fed perfectly with groups around an inch. Best 5-shot group was probably around .75 inches. After that outing with it I decided I wasn’t keen on having to spend $30+/box on the AA ammo, especially since the main use was for hogs. It should be fine as long as whoever buys it is willing to buy the better ammo.
I picked up 200 rnds of Hornady ammo and 100 rnds of wolf just because I wanted to see how it worked for myself. I went to the range this morning with and every 3rd/4th round at best would jam or not extract at all. Some would start to eject and have the next round jam under the spent round. I shot 32 rounds before I gave up. I alternated 1/2/3/4 rounds in the mag but still had the same problem. I forgot to grab a box of Hornady to try out. I also noticed the bolt seemed to have resistance when going forward. Probably 1 out of 5 rounds the bolt did not close fully. The bolt may have needed more lube then I had on it and I have cleaned and wet the bolt. I took a spent round and put it in the bolt face and the extractor seem to hold it pretty well but the extractor look shallow compared to a 7.62x39 bolt.
I want to hold judgment until I try the Hornady ammo since I was told the rifle did not work well with Wolf. Anyone else have issues with the wolf 120 gr ammo?
Thanks, Ken
Problems with Wolf Ammo - RStewart - 03-18-2012
I have 2 friends who quit shooting their Grendels because the Wolf ammo shot so badly in their rifles. I am talking them into trying the AA, Hornady or some handloads.
Problems with Wolf Ammo - LRRPF52 - 03-18-2012
Sounds like Wolf 123gr Soft Points to me. They suck, and will foul your barrel all to crap. The Wolf 120gr MPT's are a different story, as are the 123gr Hornady AMAX's. Those two factory loads are good-to-go.
Problems with Wolf Ammo - Captk - 03-19-2012
The Wolf ammo I was using is the 120 gr MPT. I have Hornady 123 AMAX's and will try them next weekend.
Thanks, Ken
Problems with Wolf Ammo - LRRPF52 - 03-19-2012
If the Wolf 120gr MPT is not running through your gun, I would check and see what type of chamber you have. Mic your fired brass necks to see what diameter they are. If they are .292, or less than .300, you don't have a Grendel chamber.
All my fired brass has .300 neck diameters, and I have an AA 16" barrel, marked 6.5 Grendel on the fore end.
Problems with Wolf Ammo - Captk - 03-19-2012
Most of the brass is banged up. The few that were OK mic at .300 - .302
Ken
Problems with Wolf Ammo - Bwild97 - 03-19-2012
The Wolf MPT and the SP, both shoot very well out of my new 24" JT upper with a Grendel chamber. My case necks measure .298
Problems with Wolf Ammo - Variable - 03-19-2012
If the Wolf 120 MPT doesn't function well in your rifle, then the odds are that your rifle is the problem. The 120 MPT is a pretty decent quality round for the price.
You mention double feed with an empty on top. You are having failures to eject? If so check for a sharp extractor with burrs not letting go of the case. File if so. Also--- run your bolt and carrier WET. ARs like that. Drag going forward---- While feeding with a mag in? Check feed lips for sharp edges. May need ramps polished and/or locking lugs in barrel extension deburred/polished. Drag going forward without a mag in? Disassemble, and check for drag points. Sharpies are your friend.LOL. Any other highly specific details will be helpful. Good luck!
Problems with Wolf Ammo - txgunner00 - 03-19-2012
Sorry you are having problems but don't give up. The Grendel is a great milt-purpose caliber that is well worth a little troubleshooting. It does have a few quirks but none without a solution, most of which and be found on this site. It took years to tune the AR-15 platform for 5.56 so some learning curve time for the 6.5 is understandable IMO.
Problems with Wolf Ammo - LRRPF52 - 03-19-2012
Do you know who made your barrel? Any markings on it, like on the fore end, or under the handguards?
Problems with Wolf Ammo - Captk - 03-19-2012
It has a free float hand guard and I don't have the tools to remove it. I do not see any marking from what is available to see.
I checked the extractor and it has some sharpness to the edge where it grip the brass. I took some very fine emery cloth and gave it a few swipes and it seems to have smoothed it out a little. Are the extractors different for each caliber? The extractor seemd to have less area to grab the rim then an extractor for a 7.62X39 bolt. Do I maybe have a defective extractor? A few cases were stuck in the chamber but came out easily with a brass rod with a tap.
I checked the rails the bolt rides on and found a few rough spots, I used the emery cloth with a few swipes and smoothed them out, cleaned the entire BCG and reassembled with plenty of CLP.
I don't think the mags are an issue as there are no marks on the new mag. I put the mags in and and cycled the bolt with 3 different mags, nice and smooth. I'll try it again next weekend and also use some Hornady ammo and see what happens. There were also some brass shavings which I cleaned out of the upper receiver.
Ken
Problems with Wolf Ammo - Variable - 03-20-2012
Captk Wrote:There were also some brass shavings which I cleaned out of the upper receiver.
Your mention of shavings and drag sound like you might have a sharp lug (or lugs) on your barrel extension that are gouging your brass as it feeds.
You might want to manually cycle some fresh rounds from a magazine into the chamber and see if the cases get gouged too much. Some light scratches are to be expected in a semi, but if you are getting shavings there may be something amiss. If so, index your cartridges for orientation with a sharpie marker (one way is to make a mark on the case that is oriented up as the round is stripped out of the magazine) and maybe give us a yell or even better some pics...
Problems with Wolf Ammo - Captk - 03-21-2012
There wasn't that many shavings. I checked the fired brass and it looks like the shavings came from the extractor. I'll try the rifle again on the weekend and see what happens.
Thanks, Ken
Problems with Wolf Ammo - Bwild97 - 03-21-2012
The Extractor on my bolt was chewing up the rims on my cases and leaving flakes of brass throughout the action, as well as causing FTEs. I stripped my bolt and filed the fangs off of the extractor and i removed the o-ring from the spring end. My rifle is functioning flawlessly now!!
Problems with Wolf Ammo - txgunner00 - 03-21-2012
Bwild97 Wrote:The Extractor on my bolt was chewing up the rims on my cases and leaving flakes of brass throughout the action, as well as causing FTEs. I stripped my bolt and filed the fangs off of the extractor and i removed the o-ring from the spring end. My rifle is functioning flawlessly now!!
I had to do the same thing.
Problems with Wolf Ammo - pestilence - 03-21-2012
My rifle groups .3 MOA with Hornady 123gr match A-max and 1.5 MOA with the "good" Wolf. Definitely try the Hornady before you give up. It's ridiculously good ammo.
Problems with Wolf Ammo - Captk - 03-21-2012
Thanks for the info on the extractor. I will do that before shooting this weekend.
Ken
Problems with Wolf Ammo - Bwild97 - 03-21-2012
Actually, Txgunner00 this advice came from you and a few others on the forum, and I thank you all! It has made a world of difference!!
Problems with Wolf Ammo - txgunner00 - 03-21-2012
Glad I could help.
Problems with Wolf Ammo - Captk - 03-25-2012
I went shooting this morning with the 6.5. I started with Wolf ammo and loaded 5 rounds into the mag. All 5 shot with no issues. I then put 3 rnds in the mag, all 3 fired no problems. I put 5 rounds in the mag and had 2 FTE. The cases were getting stuck in the chamber. I shot another 15 rounds including a few Hornady. Almost all of the cases got stuck in the chamber including all of the Hornady I tried. At this point I feel the problem is a tight chamber that when it gets warm it tightens up causing the cases to stick, of course I can also be completely off base. Any suggestions?
Now how do I resolve the problem?
Thanks, Ken