05-14-2020, 12:21 PM
Nordy55 Wrote:Hello what are peoples thoughts on the perfect bullet wt range? I like the 120-130 range.. most people think Im nuts.. saying the 100-120 is better.. so whats are everyones thoughts??
When the Grendel came out this was a topic of discussion and it does pop up periodically.
Based on ballistic coefficients of available bullets at the time, and the case capacity of the Grendel, and the restrictions of overall cartridge length due to the internal length of a AR-15 magazine, we figured the ideal bullet weight would be between 110 and 125.
No one made a 110 at the time so it was kind of a toss up between the 107 Sierra and the 108 Lapua, the 120 Sierra, and the 123 Sierra and 123 Lapua.
Bullets lighter than the 107's and made of lead and gilding metal construction did not have the length to give a decent BC. Heavier bullets of the same construction were long enough to streamline but protruded deeply into the case, thus reducing powder capacity and causing some abysmally low velocities.
I never had any luck with the 107 and 123 Sierra but did have a lot of good performance with the 108 and 123 Lapua, and the 120 Sierra. The Lapua bullets soon got so expensive I stopped shooting them.
That said, almost all of my Grendel ammo today is loaded with a 120 Sierra which I consider the best overall bullet for the Grendel. Superb accuracy and pretty much indifferent to seating depth and loads. It will shoot very well with any reasonable load as long as you have a decent barrel.
LR55