08-24-2021, 08:16 PM
Ive been flirting with the idea of building an AR chambered in Grendel as a sort of long-ish range precision build for quite some time, and I finally decided to take the plunge.
The vast majority of my shooting will be under 500 yards, but I recently learned of a place a few hours away from me that actually has a 1000-yard range. Ive never shot anything even close to that far away, and I dont know a ton about long range shooting.
From what Ive read, most common Grendel loads tend to enter the transonic zone and can become unstable in and around that 1000-yard mark, with longer barrels keeping the rounds supersonic for a bit farther.
However, one of the things that attracts me to the Grendel cartridge is its apparent versatility, as a sort of happy medium between the light weight and low recoil of intermediate cartridges like 5.56 but with enough mass and aerodynamic efficiency to stretch out and flirt with the performance of full-size rifle rounds. So if its possible, Id like to avoid the weight and size of something like a long 24 barrel.
So, sorry for the rambling that it took to get here, but I guess my ultimate question is, assuming a high-quality barrel, how short can one go while still being able to reach out and ring steel in and around the 1000-yard mark? How badly is Grendel affected by that transonic zone, particularly with common factory match grade loads?
Could a 20 barrel do it? 18? even 16?
The vast majority of my shooting will be under 500 yards, but I recently learned of a place a few hours away from me that actually has a 1000-yard range. Ive never shot anything even close to that far away, and I dont know a ton about long range shooting.
From what Ive read, most common Grendel loads tend to enter the transonic zone and can become unstable in and around that 1000-yard mark, with longer barrels keeping the rounds supersonic for a bit farther.
However, one of the things that attracts me to the Grendel cartridge is its apparent versatility, as a sort of happy medium between the light weight and low recoil of intermediate cartridges like 5.56 but with enough mass and aerodynamic efficiency to stretch out and flirt with the performance of full-size rifle rounds. So if its possible, Id like to avoid the weight and size of something like a long 24 barrel.
So, sorry for the rambling that it took to get here, but I guess my ultimate question is, assuming a high-quality barrel, how short can one go while still being able to reach out and ring steel in and around the 1000-yard mark? How badly is Grendel affected by that transonic zone, particularly with common factory match grade loads?
Could a 20 barrel do it? 18? even 16?