Finally got to shoot my Grendel (56K warning)

[MrFrankZ]

I finally made it out to the range to test out my build. This was my first and last chance to shoot for a while (We are heading to hospital tonight so my wife can be induced to have our first child.
So the conditions we less than optimal, after 2 straight days of rain:




My first group to get her on paper was... erratic.. Shots were going everywhere. Did a quick check, and my front base screw was loose. Tightened it up, and was able to get it on paper pretty quickly.

Zeroed using AA 123 Scenar L loads.

[MrFrankZ]

So then I moved it back to 100, and shot a group with the AA loads.


I was pretty OK with this, conditions being what they were. I had a 12 MPH wind coming out of 290, and every time I tried to load my bipod the feet would slip on the wet wood. I had to find the delicate balance of loading but not enough to move the feet.

Since the weather was going south quick, I moved the target to 200 and wanted to try the Precision Firearms 123gr SST. This was my first group at 200:

The flier was my fault, I felt myself pull it while going through a bout of shivers.

I decided to try a 10-shot group at a fairly rapid pace, because at this point I was cold and wet.

I am more than happy with the performance of the ammo, gun, and scope. The only bullseye was me trying a holdover using the subtensions provided on the card from SWFA. I will never be able to do that again, I don't think.

Overall, I think the gun likes the SSTs more than the Lapua bullets. I am confident that this gun easily outperforms by abilities, but hey, that is why we practice.

[cory]

Congrats and good luck tonight!!!

Nice shooting too.

[MrFrankZ]

Thanks, man. Just ordered my dies (AA dies on clearance at Midway) and I'll be ordering another 100 or so SSTs from PF once we get to the hospital.

And since I'm vacationing for a month, I hope to squeeze in some trigger time on the 600 range. The pit had about 14" of water in it yesterday, and I didn't bring my waders with me.

[longdayjake]

I would cancel that order for dies and just go order some hornady or redding dies on amazon for much cheaper. The AA dies are just lee dies. And lee dies suck.

[cory]

I would cancel that order for dies and just go order some hornady or redding dies on amazon for much cheaper. The AA dies are just lee dies. And lee dies suck.

Agreed!

[jfornelli]

I'm guessing the 6.5 Creedmor dies won't work for grendel, right?

Can you post a link to the correct dies on amazon?

[longdayjake]

I looked it up and amazon doesn't have them but I found this. http://www.grafs.com/retail/catalog/prod...ctId/20550

[MrFrankZ]

Agreed!

Well crap. The Hornady dies are actually cheaper. I've never used Hornady or Lee dies so I didn't know one would be crap and the other not. Especially in the same price range.

[jfornelli]

I had placed an order for the AA MidwayUSA set but managed to cancel it.

Graf & Sons requires a minimum order of $40 and this falls just under that. Need to find something else to purchase along with it. Thinking some snap caps for a different rifle...

[MrFrankZ]

I ordered just after I posted the pictures, and it has already shipped or I would cancel. Maybe I'll get lucky and they'll work.

[jfornelli]

Hopefully, MrFrankZ.

I ended up getting a box of slugs for my shotgun for $4.79. I need to pattern different slugs anyway so seemed like a good option.

[LRRPF52]

Nice grouping at 200yds for sure.

I would recommend the Hornady New Dimension dies. Also, if you already have another 6.5mm seater die, it will most likely work with the Grendel, especially if it's for a larger case. My .260 Rem seater die works fine for the Grendel, for example.

[MrFrankZ]

Thanks, LRRP. I'm ready to shoot it under more favorable conditions just to get a good benchmark. I know being able to make shots under a variety of adverse conditions is part of hunting and competing, but man did that wind and mist suck the enthusiasm out of me!

[LRRPF52]

I prefer shooting in horrible conditions, as I then know what the limits are for me and whatever rifle I'm working with, and what we're capable of in those conditions.

Sideways blowing snow is probably my favorite condition to shoot in, because I know that of the less than .002% of shooters who practice long-range regularly, almost none of them will even go out to the range in blowing snow.



The DM Course we ran in March was like that, with 17 F temp, full value 20-30mph winds, sideways snow, and we were still nailing steel at distance from alternate positions in those conditions. The next one in May was like a walk at the beach, no wind, no weather challenges at all. The minute we finished on Day 2, the wind started blowing steel trash drums away...go figure.

[MrFrankZ]

The snow could make those wind calls a little easier. And if the wind got too bad, you could strap yourself to that monolith of a bench. That thing looks like it would laugh at an EF5 twister.

[JASmith]

Good Build, Good Shooting....good start on a family!!!

Congratulations!

[MrFrankZ]

Thanks, JA. The wife is fine and she's about to get the epidural. I should be back at the range by Thursday. HA.