06-09-2022, 12:38 PM
All the feed back on the LaRue ultimate upper I have seen has been positive and I think it is a good value. Precision Firearms is well regarded if you dont mind waiting. Lilja, Compass Lake Engineering, Craddock Precision get good reviews for quality barrels. JP, and Wilson Combat also get good reviews. If you buy a cheaper barrel it is luck of the draw on accuracy. With the price of ammo and fuel to go to the range it gets very expensive to find out your cheap barrel is a dud.
I think a 16 or 18 6.5 Grendel would fill your requirements and Id seriously consider a carbon fiber hand guard for weight reduction. In very cold weather or very hot weather the aluminum hand guards require gloves. In my testing an 18 barrel gets from 25 to 65 FPS more velocity than a 16 barrel. Using the 129 grain Accu Bond Long Range (ABLR) which expands down to 1300 FPS makes the shorter 6.5 Grendel barrels appealing. My 16 barrel chronographed 123 grain Hornady SST at 2430 FPS which should stay above 1800 FPS for most typical hunting distances in W Virginia.
I think a 16 or 18 6.5 Grendel would fill your requirements and Id seriously consider a carbon fiber hand guard for weight reduction. In very cold weather or very hot weather the aluminum hand guards require gloves. In my testing an 18 barrel gets from 25 to 65 FPS more velocity than a 16 barrel. Using the 129 grain Accu Bond Long Range (ABLR) which expands down to 1300 FPS makes the shorter 6.5 Grendel barrels appealing. My 16 barrel chronographed 123 grain Hornady SST at 2430 FPS which should stay above 1800 FPS for most typical hunting distances in W Virginia.