05-10-2020, 12:39 AM
Scott,
Late to the conversation but I think 24" in an AR15 is starting to get out of proportion to the spirit of what an AR15 is. It is also a nod to the shortcomings of the Grendel which is its lower velocity relative to other 6.5's. Rather than buy a Grendel and then immediately seek to overcome the velocity issue in such a drastic way I would embrace it and go a 18-20" barrel which is more proportional, especially in a hunting rig. You can more easily lift the velocity by choosing lighter bullets, which will shoot straighter yet still eclipse the lighter-still 223 range. You won't be lugging and swinging around 4"-6" of extra barrel weight. My point is, don't make this a Creedmore otherwise you may as well get a AR10 with an 18" barrel in Creedmore or 260Rem.
Lilja is a top tier brand of barrels and you won't be disappointed. The extra couple of hundred dollars from an average barrel will be quickly forgotten. In the scheme of things, with all your other purchasing, including ammo, $200 is the difference between a Ferrari and a truck. We only hunt with one gun at a time so you may as well get one really good one.
The longer length of barrel is not going to tighten up your groups, in fact it may even make it worse with more accentuated whip. Shorter, stiffer barrel from quality manufacturers tighten groups. Longer barrels just lift velocity, but there is the law of diminishing returns meaning the longer the barrel the less incremental gains you realise. You will increase velocity between 20-24" about 100fps. You could also choose a lighter bullet like the 100NBT and realise 200-250fps faster than the lightest in the range you mentioned. At hunting ranges the 100NBT will do the business on small-medium game. Probably better than your heavier bullets mentioned.
Late to the conversation but I think 24" in an AR15 is starting to get out of proportion to the spirit of what an AR15 is. It is also a nod to the shortcomings of the Grendel which is its lower velocity relative to other 6.5's. Rather than buy a Grendel and then immediately seek to overcome the velocity issue in such a drastic way I would embrace it and go a 18-20" barrel which is more proportional, especially in a hunting rig. You can more easily lift the velocity by choosing lighter bullets, which will shoot straighter yet still eclipse the lighter-still 223 range. You won't be lugging and swinging around 4"-6" of extra barrel weight. My point is, don't make this a Creedmore otherwise you may as well get a AR10 with an 18" barrel in Creedmore or 260Rem.
Lilja is a top tier brand of barrels and you won't be disappointed. The extra couple of hundred dollars from an average barrel will be quickly forgotten. In the scheme of things, with all your other purchasing, including ammo, $200 is the difference between a Ferrari and a truck. We only hunt with one gun at a time so you may as well get one really good one.
The longer length of barrel is not going to tighten up your groups, in fact it may even make it worse with more accentuated whip. Shorter, stiffer barrel from quality manufacturers tighten groups. Longer barrels just lift velocity, but there is the law of diminishing returns meaning the longer the barrel the less incremental gains you realise. You will increase velocity between 20-24" about 100fps. You could also choose a lighter bullet like the 100NBT and realise 200-250fps faster than the lightest in the range you mentioned. At hunting ranges the 100NBT will do the business on small-medium game. Probably better than your heavier bullets mentioned.