Verifying Grendel trajectory

[Roe]

I have now settled on my hunting load:
Shooting the 123gr Amax at 774 meters per second.
I have now verified my trajectory and will build custom turrets.
From observing the impact on steel and having a so-so feel for what this will do to deer, it looks like 90% of my shots are covered by this cartridge.

I think the quiet report, lack of recoil and enhanced observation during recoil will give a few more deer if they drop as expected.

https://youtu.be/gug0jNJ62Bw

[am4966]

Great shooting! I'd love a Grendel in a Sako action.

[1911man]

Very Nice.

[VASCAR2]

Excellent video!

[wraith1516]

Great video great looking rifle

[jawbone]

great video!

[JPShooter]

Enjoyed your video as well as other's on your page. Thanks for sharing!

[LRRPF52]

Another superb video. No blabbing, just pure meat and potatoes, beautiful scenery, excellent shooting, with a practical demonstration of compensating for trajectory using modern technology.

[Variable]

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Exactly what he said.

[Roe]

Thanks for that guys.
Really starting to like this cartridge. We've had a few warm days which makes for a lot of mirage here, and with the low recoil I can really follow the bullet trace in.
Was out testing my mockup turrets now and putting them into production. They were dead on, but for next season I'll need a 30-35 MOA rail on my rifle - my double turn PMII only gives me 520 meters on the clicks with the mount as-is.

[Kikn]

Nice video Roe; and shooting as well.

[LRRPF52]

Thanks for that guys.
Really starting to like this cartridge. We've had a few warm days which makes for a lot of mirage here, and with the low recoil I can really follow the bullet trace in.
Was out testing my mockup turrets now and putting them into production. They were dead on, but for next season I'll need a 30-35 MOA rail on my rifle - my double turn PMII only gives me 520 meters on the clicks with the mount as-is.

That's the biggest difference I notice with this compared to .260 Remington, 6.5 CM, and 6.5x47 Lapua, is that I can spot my own hits, and there is no real felt recoil to speak of in terms of discomfort.

It makes the shooting experience so pleasant, as opposed to a little bit of anticipation and slight pain or sharp jolt associated with the larger cartridges.

For those that don't know, Roe has a lot of experience shooting 6.5mm's, to include the 6.5x284 Norma.

[JPShooter]

That's the biggest difference I notice with this compared to .260 Remington, 6.5 CM, and 6.5x47 Lapua, is that I can spot my own hits, and there is no real felt recoil to speak of in terms of discomfort.

It makes the shooting experience so pleasant, as opposed to a little bit of anticipation and slight pain or sharp jolt associated with the larger cartridges.

For those that don't know, Roe has a lot of experience shooting 6.5mm's, to include the 6.5x284 Norma.

A few days ago I was going to ask Roe why he was bothering with a Grendel in a bolt action?

I have been entertaining the idea of a lightweight bolt hunting rifle and have decided on the 6.5 now that "I've seen the light" via the Grendel in an AR. I have a 300WM (Gap non-typical) which is a very fine rifle. It is however not a lightweight.

I have also been considering just how much gun I really need, vs. how much gun "common wisdom" tells us we need. I currently see very little real need for my 300WM outside of very long shots on large game. In my estimation that would be something like Elk at 400+ yards.

So, my question to Roe was going to be why a Grendel in a bolt and not at least a 6.5 Lapua? I can see the logic after reading LRRPF52's response copied above here. I guess it's like every other consideration in such matters, it's just going to depend on the individual's desires. I currently am still thinking that it will be a bigger 6.5 cartridge for me than the Grendel as I have the AR for that. It may be that the AR is not legal where Roe is, I don't know. And there is no doubt that a bolt gun can weigh less than a comparable (barrel length) AR.

Horses for courses as they say!

[Roe]

It is as you say, no-go for AR here.
The Grendel in an ordinary bolt-action makes no sense to me - if I carry the weight, I want the payload in the killing end!

This build was a nostalgic trip for me. As a kid (well, immature young man) I had a Sako Vixen 222 which was rechambered to 6mm-223. It was my first meeting with everything custom/ reloading etc. However, it was a little failing in the "deer drop dead right there" department. The current build was a combination of midlife-crisis and lacking impulse control, I now built my "old" gun as I couldn't afford then and hoping to recreate some of that old magic.

It appears I have kept most of my benefits from the 6mm-223 (most notably enhanced observation during recoil) but this cartridge should strike the deer a lot harder... and the logistics is a lot easier when I only have to stock 6,5mm Amax bullets ( I also shoot 6,5x55 and 6,5x284 and have used the 6,5x47).

[JPShooter]

Thanks for the reply Roe. I fully understand wanting to "recreate some of that old magic", been there as well.

I would like to ask you; of the 6.5 cartridges that you have, which would be your one and only?

Just looking for insight as to which way I should go with my one and only bolt action lightweight 6.5 hunting rig.

Thanks!

[Roe]

That's actually a fairly easy question to answer.
If you live in the US, it is very difficult to do better than the 6,5 Creedmor. Hornady pushes the cartridge hard and factory ammo is attractively priced. 6.5x47 has the same performance, but cannot compete for price. 260 gets a fair bit of criticism for neck/ COAL/ useful space but it is a very fine cartridge which I'd like to use. I rate all of these cartridges "equal".

6,5x55 is my favorite for here, but in the US it is a silly cartridge to use. The factory options here are plentiful and stiffly loaded whereas the US options are simply not present AND you get the same performance from the Creedmor.

6,5x284 is what I use, the reason being I wanted to emulate the performance of a 26" 6,5x55 in a 20" rifle. With the NORMA reamer I find it an extremely easy cartridge to work with but it is strictly a releaders option.

264 Win just doesn't give enough extra (if at all) to be worth it over the x284.
26 Nosler... I really don't like severly overbore cartridges as pressures can be tricky.
6,5 RSAUM (or whatever the GAP cartridge is called) makes sense, but I would hate not being able to pick up factory components.

[Roe]

Here is the result for yesterdays shooting, I checked a set of mockup turrets before commiting to a much more expensive production

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wdNSD9vRqDE

[LRRPF52]

Roe, you're an artist across many disciplines. My Finnish buddies made custom BDC decals with powerpoint and high quality paper, with 1:1 scale ratio so they would print out to fit the turret knob.

Using the circumference of the turret, you can generate the correct dimensions for your S&B. The first ones I used were on PMII's and Hensoldt FF. There is also a range-finding feature built into them that is so simple and fast to use. Here's a pic on NF:

[JPShooter]

Roe,

Thank you so much for taking the time to weigh in on my question.

Lot's of great advice! I will read it over a number of times and consider your experience in the matter.

I greatly appreciate this forum, thanks guys!

Jake

[Roe]

Roe, you're an artist across many disciplines. My Finnish buddies made custom BDC decals with powerpoint and high quality paper]

I am very familiar with that. Markus explained to me the production method. Any vector program works (Adobe is slightly better), circumference divided by number of clicks and you have the numbers you need.

Customturretsystems.com also makes/sells quality turret labels. It is a fair bit cheaper than Kenton Industries.

This forum is great! My inbox was bombed with project details and I more or less forwarded everyrhing to my gunsmith.