Hello all,
I just joined the forum, and will be receiving my new AA Entry rifle in a week or so. I am planning on putting a Trijicon 3-9X40 illuminated reticle scope on it, and want to know if you guys think this is a good choice. Also, what are the heaviest bullets the 1:9 twist rate of the barrel will stabilize, and what bullets you recommend for this rifle. I don't reload, so am relegated to using factory ammo. I have ordered some Wolf 120 grain, 123gr. AMAX and 120gr. Barnes Triple Shock.
Thanks
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Congrats on your new rifle and I have a similar set up. I bought a 16 inch upper and just bought a 3X9X40 mil dot Mark AR Leupold scope but looked very hard at the Trijicon 3X9X40 Mil dot with amber dot. I haven't got to do much hunting with my rig yet but I've loaded several different bullets so far. The barrel I bought has a 1 in 9 twist and seems very accurate with about everything but Wolf soft points. The problem with heavy bullets in the 6.5 G is the longer and heavier the bullet the more room is taken away from case capacity. The 120 to 123 grain seem to be the sweet spot as far as accuracy and range in the 6.5 Grendel. The factory Hornady 123 A-Max shoot great from my rifle and I hope to chronograph my loads in the next couple of weeks. I have some ammo loaded by Black Hills which is loaded with 123 Sierra Match Kings, I also bought some Wolf 120 MPT. I've seen where AR precision sells 6.5 Grendel ammo but I don't remember what bullets they sell in their ammo. I personally have loaded Nosler 100 grain Ballistic tips, 120 grain Sierra Pro hunters, 100 grain Sierra Varmint, 123 SMK's, 95 grain V-Max. I bought some 100 grain Barnes triple shock, 120 grain Nolser BT hunting, 125 grain Nosler partitions and 123 grain A-Max but need to get more brass so I can get them loaded. As you can tell I've caught the 6.5 Grendel bug.
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cmdc,
Welcome to the board! That barrel will have no trouble stabilizing any of the factory loads, and as Vascar noted, the sweet spot for the Grendel runs up through the 123 grain bullets. Some have found that they actually like even heavier 129, 130 and even 140 bullets, but the powder space in the Grendel is pretty limited for those long bullets.
Personally, I've had the best luck with 100 grain Nosler BT's, followed by 120 grain Nosler BT's, so each barrel may have its own preferences.
Good luck and have fun!!
Thank you, gentlemen. I appreciate your comments. I, too, have the Grendel bug, and the 6.5 bug in general. I have a Blaser rifle with a 6.5 Swede barrel as well. I thought the Grendel would be a nice complement to it.
I am thinking about getting another Grendel if I like this one, which I am sure i will. I was thinking about a shorter barreled upper to go on a Stag lower. Any recommendations?
I have tried several different bullets, and seem to like the 130Gr Norma match the best. Yes it does take up some powder space, but velocity is not my goal, plus the longest range I have available is 300 yards. At that distance just about anything from 85 to 140 gr will work well.
How well does the 1:9 twist stabilize the heavier bullets?
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cmdc Wrote:How well does the 1:9 twist stabilize the heavier bullets?
CM:
Not well. For a 1/9 twist you are pretty safe with bullets as long as the 123 Sierra / Lapua. I would think something as long as a 130 or particularly a 140 are too long for a 9 twist but are ideal for a 8 twist.
Don't worry about it. When guys start blasting 140's, the bullet takes up so much cartridge space that its velocities are pretty dismal. When using an AR-15 frame and magazine, the Grendel cartridge is pretty much maxed out in terms of efficiency with bullets that by default are the 120's. I contend that probably the best bullet weight in terms of potential velocity from a Grendel case is 110 or 115 grains but you won't find these commercially made.
LR1955
How did your Grendel turn out?
Well, as a matter of fact I'm still waiting on it. Still has not been received at the gun shop. They told the GS two weeks ago that it would ship in a week, and that was after missing the first two week ship date because of a bad batch of barrel nuts.
Thanks for asking, though.
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Barrel nuts came just today! (I've been waiting for one to complete a build also!)
It's another one of those issues that has to do with suppliers and deliveries.
Bill
No problem. I would rather have it right the first time than have a problem down the road. Can't wait to get the rifle, though. Really looking forward to it.
