How does the rifle function with Factory Hornady Black 123 grain ELD-M, Hornady 123 SST or Hornady American Gunner 123 grain BTHP or Federal 120 graing BTHP American Eagle. Factory or reloaded ammo should not be hard to extract from the chamber unfired. Sounds like the bullets in your hand load could be sticking in the lands.
If Wolf 100 grain FMJ fires and extracts that might indicate an issue with the brass case ammo. The chamber might be out of spec (short chamber) which is causing the issue with brass cased ammo.
If I were in your position I’d thoroughly clean and polish the chamber. You can buzz the chamber with a brass brush with CLP or other gun oil. Attach the brush to a cleaning rod and use a hand drill to spin the wet brush in the chamber (some shot gun brushes fit the Grendel chamber). Once clean you can use a barrel mop with Flitz or other polishing compound to polish the chamber.
Once the chamber is clean remove the bolt carrier and drop live cartridges into the chamber. Raise the muzzle and see if the rounds fall out of the chamber. If the rounds won’t fall out tap the barrel to see if the rounds will fall out of the chamber. If you have to use a cleaning rod to push the cartridge from the barrel you either have out of spec reloads or chamber. If factory ammo is sticking in the chamber sounds like the chamber is out of spec.
You can use a black marker to color the tip of the bullet to see if the bullets are sticking into the lands. If the bullets are into the lands the barrel might still be useable if you seat the bullets deeper. Having a short chamber in the 6.5 Grendel used to be fairly common. If the manufacturer uses a worn cutter a short chamber can occur especially with inadequate inspection after machining.
If you raise the muzzle and the cartridges fall out of the chamber then you have a problem with the gas system or extractor. By cleaning and polishing the chamber should eliminate the chances of a rough or poorly finished chamber. Normally brass will show evidence of a rough chamber. Posting pictures help.
It is also possible the ejected cases aren’t clearing the action due to the brass catcher. If the rifle functions flawlessly without the brass catcher then the brass catcher might be the culprit.
If Wolf 100 grain FMJ fires and extracts that might indicate an issue with the brass case ammo. The chamber might be out of spec (short chamber) which is causing the issue with brass cased ammo.
If I were in your position I’d thoroughly clean and polish the chamber. You can buzz the chamber with a brass brush with CLP or other gun oil. Attach the brush to a cleaning rod and use a hand drill to spin the wet brush in the chamber (some shot gun brushes fit the Grendel chamber). Once clean you can use a barrel mop with Flitz or other polishing compound to polish the chamber.
Once the chamber is clean remove the bolt carrier and drop live cartridges into the chamber. Raise the muzzle and see if the rounds fall out of the chamber. If the rounds won’t fall out tap the barrel to see if the rounds will fall out of the chamber. If you have to use a cleaning rod to push the cartridge from the barrel you either have out of spec reloads or chamber. If factory ammo is sticking in the chamber sounds like the chamber is out of spec.
You can use a black marker to color the tip of the bullet to see if the bullets are sticking into the lands. If the bullets are into the lands the barrel might still be useable if you seat the bullets deeper. Having a short chamber in the 6.5 Grendel used to be fairly common. If the manufacturer uses a worn cutter a short chamber can occur especially with inadequate inspection after machining.
If you raise the muzzle and the cartridges fall out of the chamber then you have a problem with the gas system or extractor. By cleaning and polishing the chamber should eliminate the chances of a rough or poorly finished chamber. Normally brass will show evidence of a rough chamber. Posting pictures help.
It is also possible the ejected cases aren’t clearing the action due to the brass catcher. If the rifle functions flawlessly without the brass catcher then the brass catcher might be the culprit.