08-23-2021, 02:52 PM
Ruwhitsum,
going to a custom 24" tube, you likely pick up, at most about 50-100 fps more, but that will vary with barrel. you should improve accuracy as a good custom barrel allows one to get much better accuracy. If you want a lot more velocity, you'll need to look at the 6.5 Creedmoor, or the 260 Rem, or the 6.5 PRC. Sit down with pen and notepad and put a couple of goals down for a new build. accuracy? velocity? barrel life? purpose of build (varmint?, light big game?, pest control? strictly targets? mix of all? cost per round? etc.) If you stick with the 6.5mm bore size, as you go up in ctg. size (and pressure) your barrel life goes down. the 6.5 Grendel at 50K psi is much easier on barrels, and hence longer barrel life, than the bigger 6.5s that run at higher pressure and burn more powder per shot. once you have your goals in mind, the rest of the decisions will flow out from the goals. Cost per round is driven mostly by the bullet/case. the difference in powder consumption between the Grendel and the PRC in terms of cost is not much, though more now than ever before due to the cost of components. Maybe another way to look at the goals is # of reloads per pound of powder? Since components are not easy to come by right now, do you need to use a Grendel to maximize # rounds per pound or do you need to run long 6.5 bullets really fast as a priority and let the rest of the tradeoffs fall where they may? You have 6.5 Grendel brass right now. Try to find some 6.5 Creedmoor or 6.5 PRC brass. And you have small rifle primers. try to find some large rifle primers. you, of course, will need to make the decision yourself, but there are many other, probably minor, things to consider on the list of attributes to help your decision making process. another one that comes to mind is rifle weight. is this going to be a bench rest gun where weight is an advantage, like a sumo wrestler? or are you wanting to build a light weight walk about rig that is not so hard on the body if you have to hike up and down the mountains with it?
good luck and have fun
-tdbru
going to a custom 24" tube, you likely pick up, at most about 50-100 fps more, but that will vary with barrel. you should improve accuracy as a good custom barrel allows one to get much better accuracy. If you want a lot more velocity, you'll need to look at the 6.5 Creedmoor, or the 260 Rem, or the 6.5 PRC. Sit down with pen and notepad and put a couple of goals down for a new build. accuracy? velocity? barrel life? purpose of build (varmint?, light big game?, pest control? strictly targets? mix of all? cost per round? etc.) If you stick with the 6.5mm bore size, as you go up in ctg. size (and pressure) your barrel life goes down. the 6.5 Grendel at 50K psi is much easier on barrels, and hence longer barrel life, than the bigger 6.5s that run at higher pressure and burn more powder per shot. once you have your goals in mind, the rest of the decisions will flow out from the goals. Cost per round is driven mostly by the bullet/case. the difference in powder consumption between the Grendel and the PRC in terms of cost is not much, though more now than ever before due to the cost of components. Maybe another way to look at the goals is # of reloads per pound of powder? Since components are not easy to come by right now, do you need to use a Grendel to maximize # rounds per pound or do you need to run long 6.5 bullets really fast as a priority and let the rest of the tradeoffs fall where they may? You have 6.5 Grendel brass right now. Try to find some 6.5 Creedmoor or 6.5 PRC brass. And you have small rifle primers. try to find some large rifle primers. you, of course, will need to make the decision yourself, but there are many other, probably minor, things to consider on the list of attributes to help your decision making process. another one that comes to mind is rifle weight. is this going to be a bench rest gun where weight is an advantage, like a sumo wrestler? or are you wanting to build a light weight walk about rig that is not so hard on the body if you have to hike up and down the mountains with it?
good luck and have fun
-tdbru