Looking for my first Grendel

[Dr. Lee]

Hello all, newbie from NC here. I have been lurking for a while and it's time to get going on the grendel I have been wanting for a long time.
I do feel the Grendel is a great round; always had a thing for 6.5's.
I presently have a nice 16" middy 5.56 with a 9" troy FF handguard and Aimpoint M3. Basic carbine stock. My version of a KISS carbine. My goal is to hunt with this platform with a 6.5 upper with scope. I love the way the 16" gun handles. Not sure I would like the 18" barrel but I guess I have the usual concerns about velocity drop with the 16" barrel. I am not expecting the shoot this in a hunting situation at longer ranges, I realize the limitations of the gear. So, at say 0-300 or 400 yds max. would I be good to go with 16" barrels ? Another question ? Do the bullets in the 120 gr. range perform ok at 16" barrel velocities ? I figured 120 gr would be a good range to try. Opinions of bullets that work well in 16" barrels welcome.
I have noticed on the AA website an upper called the Incursion. a 16" 1:7.5 barrel with a rifle length FF handguard. I like that configuration. What are the feelings about the 1:7.5 twist for shorter barrels ? Is it necessary ? Does it do what it is supposed to do ? Does anyone have any experience with this upper ? I like the price too.
Thanks in advance,
Dr. Lee

[usar_ds]

hey, you sound like your in the boat i was in about 6 years ago. i ended up getting a AA 16" 1-7.5 upper (later got a separate lower for it), and i have never regretted it.

i assume you mean by hunt you mean deer, if so 16" has been great for me for that capacity, 120 grain will do the trick provided you select the right bullet and a 16" 1-7.5 handles that gr. weight just fine

AA makes a great upper, cant go wrong there, although i dont own the "incursion" i got the "tactical" which was chrome lined, although had the incursion been out when i got mine i prolly would have preferred that configuration.

I say go for it, you wont be sorry

[VASCAR2]

I have a 16" J&T Distributing a sister company to Double Star Corp. and I think the 16" is a great length for a hunting rifle. My 16" gets about 2450 FPS out of 123 grain A-Max and SST at 350 ft ASL so you should be above 1800 FPS at 300+ yards.

The 6.5 Grendel starts out a little slower than the 5.56 but sheds velocity slower because of the higher ballistic coefficient. Bill Alexander uses a faster twist in shorter barrels after conducting a lot of research. I'm sure an AA upper will shoot anything from 85 grains to 130 grains in .264/6.5 bullets you might be tempted to try. The 123 SST has been successful in hunting as well as the 100 & 120 grain Barnes TTSX. A friend of mine took an Antelope in Wy at 380 yards with a Nosler 120 grain Ballistic tip.

[Dr. Lee]

Thanks for all the replies. And yes, deer sized animals were what I was thinking of.
Questions keep coming up in my mind, for knowledge sake, I think I read somewhere that the Grendel BCG was proprietary and the upper receiver is not a standard AR upper, but one that fits the BCG. Is this true ?

[usar_ds]

Thanks for all the replies. And yes, deer sized animals were what I was thinking of.
Questions keep coming up in my mind, for knowledge sake, I think I read somewhere that the Grendel BCG was proprietary and the upper receiver is not a standard AR upper, but one that fits the BCG. Is this true ?

no that is not true, reg upper receiver, although not all grendel bolts or chambers are created equal, so do some research there.

again you cant go wrong with Alexander arms,
guys also seem to speak very highly of precision firearms,
JP enterprises has also got a great rep,
some people talk smack about doublestar/ JT dist. but the guys that have them seem to like them, actually thinking of getting a non-lined 20" grendel upper from them for the wife(price is great)

[Wheelhorse]

Thanks for all the replies. And yes, deer sized animals were what I was thinking of.
Questions keep coming up in my mind, for knowledge sake, I think I read somewhere that the Grendel BCG was proprietary and the upper receiver is not a standard AR upper, but one that fits the BCG. Is this true ?

The Grendel uses a standard AR-15 upper.
Only the bolt itself is different, the carrier is a standard AR-15 part.
As far as I know, most barrels come with the correct bolt headspaced to that barrel.

[Dr. Lee]

thanks again.

[LRRPF52]

Welcome aboard. A 10.5" is plenty for hunting deer out to 250yds, and has been done regularly. A 16" with factory ammo will give you a lot of reach with 123gr, more than you'll probably see in NC. My first Grendel is 16", and has really exceeded my expectations of being a 700yd target carbine, to being able to reach out to 1200yds with predictable impact (on target) repeatedly, which was a lot of fun. That barrel has the 1/7.5" twist.

I like 18" barrels as well for a light DM type set-up. I would get the barrel that fits and balances to you the best, so that the carbine naturally points well for you, but 16" is more than adequate. Hand loads with the 123gr SST are easy to get to 2550fps for me, but I have a favorite load at 2500fps with CFE and 123gr Hornady pills.

You can also go with Barnes 100gr TTSX for fast speeds if you want that, but the Hornady pills will cover most of what you're looking to do at a great price point for quality factory ammo, and it's accurate.

Pick up our reloading Handbooks and you'll see a lot of info on the actual hunting reach of this cartridge, where we tested various hunting pills across the velocity spectrum to show expansion, penetration, and retained weight.

[tackdriver]

The Double star/JT distributing upper I had was very good for the money, wish I would have kept it. My upper shot sub moa at 400 yds easy. This is a great round, I hope you enjoy it as much as I have.

[cory]

For within 300 yards a 11.5" or 12.5" would be more than adequate.

Hey we just happen to have a group buy going on for barrels of that length. HAHA But seriously if your intent for the upper is to hunt whitetail within 300 yards, maybe a 400 yard shot, my advice is go with a 12.5" Grendel.

[montana]

My family and I hunt with 16" and 18" Grendels and use the Barnes bullets with complete satisfaction. The 11.5 and 12.5 barrels would be a very light compact rifle to hunt with and I have been trying to avoid jumping on cory's group buy to save my marriage but it isn't easy. A short suppressed Grendel upper would be the cats meow for my class 3 lower. Uggg, "anyway back to topic" you will be happy with any length barrel using the Grendel caliber ,it just depends on the type of rifle you wish to hunt with.

[Dave Bob]

My family and I hunt with 16" and 18" Grendels and use the Barnes bullets with complete satisfaction. The 11.5 and 12.5 barrels would be a very light compact rifle to hunt with and I have been trying to avoid jumping on cory's group buy to save my marriage but it isn't easy. A short suppressed Grendel upper would be the cats meow for my class 3 lower. Uggg, "anyway back to topic" you will be happy with any length barrel using the Grendel caliber ,it just depends on the type of rifle you wish to hunt with.

Come on you know you want one......"subliminal You neeeeed one of these...." LOL

Dave

[Variable]

Montana: Yeah, no kidding! You have an already registered lower and you don't even have a Grendel SBR?????

Are you crazy?LOL Jump in man, the water is more than just "fine"! It's fricking awesome!

Hello all, newbie from NC here. I have been lurking for a while and it's time to get going on the grendel I have been wanting for a long time.
I do feel the Grendel is a great round; always had a thing for 6.5's.
I presently have a nice 16" middy 5.56 with a 9" troy FF handguard and Aimpoint M3. Basic carbine stock. My version of a KISS carbine. My goal is to hunt with this platform with a 6.5 upper with scope. I love the way the 16" gun handles. Not sure I would like the 18" barrel but I guess I have the usual concerns about velocity drop with the 16" barrel. I am not expecting the shoot this in a hunting situation at longer ranges, I realize the limitations of the gear. So, at say 0-300 or 400 yds max. would I be good to go with 16" barrels ? Another question ? Do the bullets in the 120 gr. range perform ok at 16" barrel velocities ? I figured 120 gr would be a good range to try. Opinions of bullets that work well in 16" barrels welcome.
I have noticed on the AA website an upper called the Incursion. a 16" 1:7.5 barrel with a rifle length FF handguard. I like that configuration. What are the feelings about the 1:7.5 twist for shorter barrels ? Is it necessary ? Does it do what it is supposed to do ? Does anyone have any experience with this upper ? I like the price too.
Thanks in advance,
Dr. Lee

I kill deer quite dead with a 10.5" upper, you'd be well more than "good to go" with a 16" barrel. It'll handle 400 yards very easily. As for 120gr. class bullets? Yep. I use and love Nosler 120BT bullets, as they are very accurate, and are perfectly suited to the Grendel's velocities. They work great on deer. For factory ammo you can kill deer all day long with Hornady's 123gr. Amax and SST loads. I use those when I'm too lazy to load, and they are very accurate for a factory loading, and also perform well on deer in my experience.

I have two barrels with 1-7.5" twist (a 10.5" and a 14.5") and they work just fine with a wide range of bullet weights. I can't speak to the particular upper you are looking at, but AA makes good stuff. I should perform well.

[montana]

The wife didn't agree !

[cory]

The wife didn't agree !

What's one more upper in the grand scheme of things, man?

I bet your wife would love an 11.5" Grendel Upper for valentine's day.

[Dr. Lee]

Just curious, do the 130gr bullets shoot poorly accuracy wise out of a 1:7.5 barrel or just low velocity ? And would those 130 gr. bullets not perform well at the reduced velocities you would see from a short barrel ?

Dr.

[LRRPF52]

Just curious, do the 130gr bullets shoot poorly accuracy wise out of a 1:7.5 barrel or just low velocity ? And would those 130 gr. bullets not perform well at the reduced velocities you would see from a short barrel ?

Dr.

Velocity is limited with 130gr, since they eat into case capacity, even when loaded long. They are still very capable bullets within common hunting distances, and the new 129gr Accubond Long Range has an expansion threshold down to 1300fps, so even low 2000's mv will provide more than enough performance. Working up an accuracy load in them is like most other bullets, and the SAAMI chamber does well handling them.

The 129gr SST has always been a great deer slayer round too. Both the 129gr SST and 129gr ABLR are factory loads, so there is merit to them. I like the speed of the 123gr, trajectory, and wind bucking performance.

I backed the truck up on 129gr SST's a while ago, but I like them in my .260 Remington better going at 2800fps for activating explosive targets at long range. 123gr is pretty much my go-to bullet weight for Grendel.

[Variable]

The wife didn't agree !

That looks like a job for a Scooby Snack out of a slingshot.LOL

I look at a wife's ire about guns as being like guided missiles of discontent aimed at your treasure trove. They must be defeated/evaded by proper countermeasures at all costs. Sometimes you just have to deploy the right "flares" or "chaff".

Reasons why you need a new 6.5 SBR upper and/or ways to get it:

1.) It's for your birthday.
2.) It's for Christmas.
3.) (Desperate) It's for your birthday and Christmas.
4.) It's for her.
5.) It's for the children.
6.) It's more humane for the poor suffering deer-- i.e. "cleaner kill".
7.) You're going to sell something to offset the purchase (then maybe actually sell it).
8.) Order it to a friends house, and then just sneak it in.
9.) Have a friend buy it (with money you gave him), and then "win it in a bet".
10.) Win it in a friend's drawing/raffle.
11.) You need it as a reasonable accommodation (for some kind of infirmity or increasing age) while hunting.
12.) Bought it really cheap in a "mislabeled" gunbroker auction.
13.) Bought from a friend really cheap because he had money problems.
14.) Anniversary present for you and/or her.
15.) Have a large pile of ARs, so they can simply "reproduce" unnoticed over time.

I mostly just use the last one, but there are many ways when there is a dedicated and potentially crafty will.

ETA: It also helps to keep her out of your gun room. I have a pile about two feet deep completely carpeting the entire room, and then just a couple holes to hop across to the safe (with just enough room to swing the safe door open). She won't step a foot in there for any reason. Once every couple of years I reorganize and consolidate the stuff in there. I'll take ammo out to the garage and put it in the lockers or cans, etc. That gives me a brief reset to start layering the floor with new stuff. Once you hit critical mass, there's no way she could possibly keep track of what you have in there. Then you're good to go for the spontaneous generation of all kinds of stuff.LOL

[BjornF16]

Wife: "What is THAT?" (pointing at some new kit purchased surreptitiously months earlier and "hidden" in cluttered office)

Me: "That?, I've had that for months. Don't you remember discussing it?"

LOL...

[montana]

My wife's reply's:1.) I would have to live to be 165 years of age to catch up to all my birthday and X-mas presents I have purchased for my self.
2.) She wants an STI pistol not a Grendel SBR.
3.) My son purchases his own toys and my daughter definitely would rather have money for college than a Grendel SBR. I'm not so sure on this one.
4.) She doesn't care if deer suffer but would gladly use it on me to stop my suffering.
5.) She knows I will never sell my children AKA"firearms" but I'm more than welcome to sell a kidney or any other body part.
6.) My wife has made a coalition with my buddies wives years ago to shut down our gun running practices. The DEA, and ATF could learn much from this coalition.
7.) My wife doesn't believe in gambling
8.) My wife won an M1A1 in a raffle and knows I never win at anything.
9.) My wife watches me lift weights and knows I'm not disabled but does believes I'm mentally incapacitated.
10.) She knows about this group buy and requires receipts.
11.) All of my friends make more money than me.
12.) Refer to line 2.)
13.) My wife shoots as much as I do so she knows how gun biology works.


The problem is I took my wife under my wing many decades ago and introduced her to the shooting world. She is now as gun savvy as any husband. So there will be a new STI sitting on her side of the safe before any SBR is sitting on mine.