09-09-2019, 06:05 AM
(This post was last modified: 09-09-2019, 04:22 PM by lazyengineer.)
Background: Casual twice/yr 3-gunner. Usually try random different stuff, just to see how it runs. Tend to place around the middle of the pack - don't really stand out; don't suck. My preferred venue allows 2-gun option, where you do the shotgun stuff with your pistol; and that's how I usually run it.
The short story: The one thing that stood out the most with Grendel, was recoil. In the 3-gun game, the Grendel has about double the recoil of a 5.56 gun, and that can matter. The gun just jumps and moves a lot more than everyone else's. I ended up 16 out of 23 ranking, which is a little lower than typical (normally I'd be something like 10th or so, if I were running an AUG).
The long story:
Venue: open field and bays. Due to the 100 degree weather today, they did 4 bays and only 1 open-field (faster).
Gear:
Walther P99 9mm pistol - stock. - basic ball ammo.
PSA 20" 6.5 Grendel kit w/ Larue 2-stage trigger, and 17, 24, and 26 round mags. Wolf Steel ammo.
![[Image: 20190907-094755-1.jpg]](https://i.postimg.cc/0jvbLGQM/20190907-094755-1.jpg)
First stage: Open field. I was surprised to see this course had 10 steel gongs spread from 300 to 600 yards; targets a little more than half way up the other hill. That's a good ways! Some wind. Rules are you have to run into the little house, hit 5 of them shooting out of a window. And then run out of the little house and under the tent, and hit 5 of them from prone, all in under 180 seconds; and you can't leave the house until you've hit all 5 of that first string.
![[Image: 20190907-093459-1.jpg]](https://i.postimg.cc/rwZRKth3/20190907-093459-1.jpg)
Actual distances are unknown, more of a "do your best and figure it out", and the gongs are scattered in the woods. So my first question of the day, was what ammo do I use, and where do I aim? A ran a ballistic calculator the night before.
![[Image: 20190908-222907.jpg]](https://i.postimg.cc/3xBr0z3d/20190908-222907.jpg)
My conundrum was the 129 gr was the more accurate, at around 1.5 MOA; but the Wolf steel was actually flatter shooting; by as much as a whole mil at the farthest targets. Indeed, Wolf steel is some of the flattest shooting Grendel ammo out there. And in my guns, the Wolf steel accuracy is OK, at around 2-2.5 MOA. So with that, I actually decided to run the Wolf Steel on this one.
Timer beeps, I run into the house, sit down, aim out the window, and find the first target with my glass. Being it's at 300 yard, I hold over a bit, just below the cross hair and well before the first tick (per the above chart)
![[Image: meo-2a-jpg.341447]](https://www.trapshooters.com/attachments/meo-2a-jpg.341447/)
So at 600 yards, I was holding the target just a bit above the second tick mark on the scope, which seemed to work OK.
The gun recoil threw me off. I've shot the gun a few hundred times already, but it's always different when you're on a timer, so under some stress and shooting in odd settings. The Grendel kicks a lot more than a 5.56. Obviously it doesn't hurt, but it does jump on you, and take more time to recover and shoot the next shot. There was some wind, so it took a couple shots, but I found it. then out to 600 yards, so I held up there a little shy of that first tick mark, and eventually connected. Worked my way through, with only a few connecting on the first shot. Worked my way through. Got all 5, and ran back out. The 20" BBL really wasn't a big deal - people kind of write off 20" AR's today, a bit unfairly. 20" is not really as unwieldy compared to a 16", as people act like. And this PSA model, due to the bigger hole down the barrel, it actually weighed less than a lot lot of the 16" 5.56 carbines out there. This rifle is surprisingly light
So, ran out of the house, plopped down on the prone mat, and ran the 26 round mag as a budget mono-pod, which worked pretty well. connected with the 5 steel targets from there.
I can't be all that supreme. I did clean all my targets, but it took me 160 seconds to do it, and about 40 rounds; which isn't really that great. I ranked 13th, out of 23 contestants; which isn't that bad considering a lot of these guys have spandex with their names on it - and are pretty serious. But it doesn't really stand out either - I was hoping the Grendel would help me own a lot of the .223 shooters out to 600 yards, and I do think it helped - but the notably heavier recoil does slow one down. That, and I tried rushing and blew a lot of shots.
Bay stages: The next two stages were your run and gun bay stages, where you pre-load and stage the rifle, and then engage stuff with the pistol first, and then switch to your pre-staged rifle. It was fun, but again, the Grendel recoil showed up, and slowed down the follow-up shots.
All in all, the gun ran 100% the whole match; and the Wolf Steel actually worked pretty good (though side-story on that, as later that day on my way out, I had a problem with the Wolf steel in a carbine gas Grendel; but that's another topic). the nice thing about Wolf Steel, is it takes the game from $1/shot. To $0.25/shot; which is a big deal in blaster stages at 20 yards. Would I use Grendel again in open-field 3-gun matches?... Eh, probably not. The high recoil, lower magazine capacity, and expensive ammo if not shooting steel, make it a more spotty decision for 3-gun. But that's OK, as it's real purpose is a general purpose round, that's a more credible round for hunting things like hog and deer and at distances, while still being a light AR.
So that's the story of taking a Grendel to a 3-gun match. I will say, it was a Heck of a lot of fun!
On the way out, I took my other Grendel with a carbine length gas system, and tried shooting it at the rifle zeroing range portion; but didn't get far because in that gun, the Wolf Steel ripped the extractor claw off!
The short story: The one thing that stood out the most with Grendel, was recoil. In the 3-gun game, the Grendel has about double the recoil of a 5.56 gun, and that can matter. The gun just jumps and moves a lot more than everyone else's. I ended up 16 out of 23 ranking, which is a little lower than typical (normally I'd be something like 10th or so, if I were running an AUG).
The long story:
Venue: open field and bays. Due to the 100 degree weather today, they did 4 bays and only 1 open-field (faster).
Gear:
Walther P99 9mm pistol - stock. - basic ball ammo.
PSA 20" 6.5 Grendel kit w/ Larue 2-stage trigger, and 17, 24, and 26 round mags. Wolf Steel ammo.
First stage: Open field. I was surprised to see this course had 10 steel gongs spread from 300 to 600 yards; targets a little more than half way up the other hill. That's a good ways! Some wind. Rules are you have to run into the little house, hit 5 of them shooting out of a window. And then run out of the little house and under the tent, and hit 5 of them from prone, all in under 180 seconds; and you can't leave the house until you've hit all 5 of that first string.
Actual distances are unknown, more of a "do your best and figure it out", and the gongs are scattered in the woods. So my first question of the day, was what ammo do I use, and where do I aim? A ran a ballistic calculator the night before.
My conundrum was the 129 gr was the more accurate, at around 1.5 MOA; but the Wolf steel was actually flatter shooting; by as much as a whole mil at the farthest targets. Indeed, Wolf steel is some of the flattest shooting Grendel ammo out there. And in my guns, the Wolf steel accuracy is OK, at around 2-2.5 MOA. So with that, I actually decided to run the Wolf Steel on this one.
Timer beeps, I run into the house, sit down, aim out the window, and find the first target with my glass. Being it's at 300 yard, I hold over a bit, just below the cross hair and well before the first tick (per the above chart)
So at 600 yards, I was holding the target just a bit above the second tick mark on the scope, which seemed to work OK.
The gun recoil threw me off. I've shot the gun a few hundred times already, but it's always different when you're on a timer, so under some stress and shooting in odd settings. The Grendel kicks a lot more than a 5.56. Obviously it doesn't hurt, but it does jump on you, and take more time to recover and shoot the next shot. There was some wind, so it took a couple shots, but I found it. then out to 600 yards, so I held up there a little shy of that first tick mark, and eventually connected. Worked my way through, with only a few connecting on the first shot. Worked my way through. Got all 5, and ran back out. The 20" BBL really wasn't a big deal - people kind of write off 20" AR's today, a bit unfairly. 20" is not really as unwieldy compared to a 16", as people act like. And this PSA model, due to the bigger hole down the barrel, it actually weighed less than a lot lot of the 16" 5.56 carbines out there. This rifle is surprisingly light
So, ran out of the house, plopped down on the prone mat, and ran the 26 round mag as a budget mono-pod, which worked pretty well. connected with the 5 steel targets from there.
I can't be all that supreme. I did clean all my targets, but it took me 160 seconds to do it, and about 40 rounds; which isn't really that great. I ranked 13th, out of 23 contestants; which isn't that bad considering a lot of these guys have spandex with their names on it - and are pretty serious. But it doesn't really stand out either - I was hoping the Grendel would help me own a lot of the .223 shooters out to 600 yards, and I do think it helped - but the notably heavier recoil does slow one down. That, and I tried rushing and blew a lot of shots.
Bay stages: The next two stages were your run and gun bay stages, where you pre-load and stage the rifle, and then engage stuff with the pistol first, and then switch to your pre-staged rifle. It was fun, but again, the Grendel recoil showed up, and slowed down the follow-up shots.
All in all, the gun ran 100% the whole match; and the Wolf Steel actually worked pretty good (though side-story on that, as later that day on my way out, I had a problem with the Wolf steel in a carbine gas Grendel; but that's another topic). the nice thing about Wolf Steel, is it takes the game from $1/shot. To $0.25/shot; which is a big deal in blaster stages at 20 yards. Would I use Grendel again in open-field 3-gun matches?... Eh, probably not. The high recoil, lower magazine capacity, and expensive ammo if not shooting steel, make it a more spotty decision for 3-gun. But that's OK, as it's real purpose is a general purpose round, that's a more credible round for hunting things like hog and deer and at distances, while still being a light AR.
So that's the story of taking a Grendel to a 3-gun match. I will say, it was a Heck of a lot of fun!
On the way out, I took my other Grendel with a carbine length gas system, and tried shooting it at the rifle zeroing range portion; but didn't get far because in that gun, the Wolf Steel ripped the extractor claw off!
