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+--- Thread: 6.5 grendel - fact from fiction (/showthread.php?tid=3064)
6.5 grendel - fact from fiction - rdsii64 - 06-10-2012
Ok folks, you are now officially about to find out how much I DON'T KNOW about the 6.5 grendell. I would love to hear from the experienced grendel owners to help me seperate fact from fiction.
The funcionality I need to get from a grendel upper is a short to mid-range hunter and a long range target shooter. I would like a 20" barrel but in order be sure I achieve my goal thats not set in stone.
6.5 grendel - fact from fiction - ricsmall - 06-10-2012
Welcome! Txgunner on here runs a20" and uses for hunting and target shoots out to 1000 regularly. I'm sure some others will chime in. I started out with a 20" but called Templar and changed to 22" thinking if I don't like, I can cut off but cant make one longer.
6.5 grendel - fact from fiction - Drifter - 06-11-2012
rdsii64 Wrote:The funcionality I need to get from a grendel upper is a short to mid-range hunter and a long range target shooter.
If you'll expand on the quote above, you'll likely get better feedback. For example, what are you hunting, and at what distances? What distances will you be doing long-range target shooting?
6.5 grendel - fact from fiction - rdsii64 - 06-11-2012
Drifter Wrote:If you'll expand on the quote above, you'll likely get better feedback. For example, what are you hunting, and at what distances? What distances will you be doing long-range target shooting?
That does make sense. I will define short to mid-range hunting as the muzzle to 300 yards. I will define long range target shooting as the max my local range has to offer which is 887 yards.
The animals in question are Mule deer and hogs
6.5 grendel - fact from fiction - Variable - 06-11-2012
A 20" tube would suit you nicely then. You could probably get by fine with even an 18" tube for that matter.
6.5 grendel - fact from fiction - Mutt - 06-11-2012
Well, any length will get you there for 800 yards. I personally shoot an 18 inch mid length (actually measures 18.5 and 20 with the muzzle brake on it) and it prints nice softball size groups at 545 yards (which is the farthest the range goes to). You'll probably loose around 100-150 fps per every 2 inches that you shorten your barrel (someone will correct me if I'm wrong here). So, going from a 24 to a 20 or 18 inch will make some difference but nothing you can't adjust for. I personally prefer the 120 gr and the 123 gr bullets (depending on brand) and pretty much any of the available bullets will be acceptable for hunting deer sized animals (with the exception of Wolf .... I woulnd't hunt with Wolf, although the Wolf MPT rounds aren't half bad for plinking).
Go with a Grendel barrel regardless of who makes it. Some manufacterurs make .264 LBC or other such barrels, but the chamber (or throat) is a slightly different tollerance which has been known to have issues cycling some types of factory ammo in the past. If the barrel has Grendel printed on it, then it is made to the same Grendel spec and shouldn't have issues feeding any of the available factory ammo. They will also use the same bolt (I think) ..... while some of the others use some stange combinations of barrel and bolt. Make sure your barrel is a barrel/bolt combo .... so you know you got the right bolt the first time.
The best brass I've found is Lapua, and Hornady comes in a close second. The Alexander Arms brass is Lapua brass with a different head stamp, but the same. The bullets I like are Nosler ballistic tips (they shoot the best from my rifle), Lapua Scenars, Sierra Match Kings and Pro Hunters (soft point), and 123 AMAX. The powder I like the best is AA2520, but the people at AA state that AA2230 works as well and is less temp sensitive.
I would also suggest Using a free float handguard/tube. It will provide much better accuracy right off the bat, since the other style put pressure on the barrel which can vary and effect accuracy.
Everything else on the rifle from buttstock to sights, pistolgrip and different color hardware are pretty much up to the user and won't make much difference at all as far as performance. Make sure you have the right barrel/bolt/buffer and buffer spring combination and it should function fine. The rest just build it to what ever you are more comfortable with.
Oh ..... and lastly, make sure both your barrel extension an your upper reciever both have the M-4 style feed ramps (google it) and you shouldn't have any feeding issues.
6.5 grendel - fact from fiction - JASmith - 06-11-2012
Mutt Wrote:...You'll probably loose around 100-150 fps per every 2 inches that you shorten your barrel...The velocity loss is likely not that strong.
Try using the chart (nomogram) at http://www.65grendel.com/forum/showthread.php?3007-Barrel-Length-and-Velocity --
Also, don't forget that one can easily see plus or minus 50 ft/sec going from one rifle to another while using the same load -- so a difference of a couple of inches tends to wash out.
6.5 grendel - fact from fiction - Drifter - 06-11-2012
rdsii64 Wrote:That does make sense. I will define short to mid-range hunting as the muzzle to 300 yards. I will define long range target shooting as the max my local range has to offer which is 887 yards.
The animals in question are Mule deer and hogs
20" seems about right.
Mutt Wrote:You'll probably loose around 100-150 fps per every 2 inches that you shorten your barrel (someone will correct me if I'm wrong here).
I agree with JASmith. Don't think velocity difference is anywhere near that. More like 35 to 50 fps per 2" of barrel change, which will vary slightly by load.
6.5 grendel - fact from fiction - LRRPF52 - 06-13-2012
Depending on the barrel, it could be as little as 18-20fps of mv per inch, as is the case with my 16" Grendel. I basically get very close to 24" factory load speeds with factory ammunition out of mine, and most of the chrono data I see from members with 18", 20", and 24" guns is not a whole lot different than mine. The case is very efficient, and you can find many good hand loads right off the bat.
The Grendel sounds ideal for what you're looking for, and I'm not saying that because this is the Grendel forum. If you had said, "I'm competing in 1000yd F-Class matches."
I would have told you, "Not with a Grendel AR15, you ain't."
6.5 grendel - fact from fiction - bwaites - 06-13-2012
LRRPF52 Wrote:Depending on the barrel, it could be as little as 18-20fps of mv per inch, as is the case with my 16" Grendel. I basically get very close to 24" factory load speeds with factory ammunition out of mine, and most of the chrono data I see from members with 18", 20", and 24" guns is not a whole lot different than mine. The case is very efficient, and you can find many good hand loads right off the bat.
The Grendel sounds ideal for what you're looking for, and I'm not saying that because this is the Grendel forum. If you had said, "I'm competing in 1000yd F-Class matches."
I would have told you, "Not with a Grendel AR15, you ain't."
Define "competing"! If you are competing against the last time you shot with that rifle, then you can compete. If you are competing against a 7mm WSM, well, you've got a handicap! Not that a guy like LRRPF52 or stokesrj probably wouldn't still beat ME shooting a 7mm WSM, but two shooters of equal ability, the 7mm WSM wins going away.
I shoot my Grendel in F Class out to 600 yards. I'm competitive with the .308 guys until there. The good ones will beat me, I'll beat the bad ones. Beyond that, because the Grendel shoots in F Open, it just doesn't quite have the OOOMPH!!