04-18-2023, 03:35 AM
To answer your question directly, IMHO, I would not go less than 12" for hunting. Also the 6.5 Grendel with do much better than the 5.56 at any range. I too went the 5.56 route using copper bullets and with hogs it did ok, but my experience with deer was a different story. Since moving to the 6.5 Grendel, I have not lost a single deer.
If you are looking to understand potential velocity data, below is what I have achieved out of a 12.7" with 5r rifling. None of my reloads are max velocity, these velocities are where the accuracy nodes fell.
123 Hornady American Gunner (Factory) - 2277 fps
123 Hornady Black ELD-M (Factory) - 2230 fps
120 NBT (Reload) - 2204 fps
123 SST (Reload) - 2196 fps
129 Nosler ABLR (Reload) - 2174 fps
129 Hornady Spire (Reload) - 2125 fps
Regarding factory hunting loads, people have used both the 123 American Gunner and Black ELD-M for hunting purposes and it seems to perform adequate. Factory 123 SST, ABLR and 129 Spire velocities would be very close to what I have experienced with factory AG and ELD-M.
I have hunted both hog and deer with 12.7" for many years and have taken deer from 25 to 126 yards with it. Ballistically, it has performed very well at those distances. My go too hunting projectiles has been the 123 SST and 129 ABLR, both reloads. You can get the 123 SST from Hornady and in my experience with other length Grendel's, the velocity is always higher than my reloads.
Good luck with your decision.
If you are looking to understand potential velocity data, below is what I have achieved out of a 12.7" with 5r rifling. None of my reloads are max velocity, these velocities are where the accuracy nodes fell.
123 Hornady American Gunner (Factory) - 2277 fps
123 Hornady Black ELD-M (Factory) - 2230 fps
120 NBT (Reload) - 2204 fps
123 SST (Reload) - 2196 fps
129 Nosler ABLR (Reload) - 2174 fps
129 Hornady Spire (Reload) - 2125 fps
Regarding factory hunting loads, people have used both the 123 American Gunner and Black ELD-M for hunting purposes and it seems to perform adequate. Factory 123 SST, ABLR and 129 Spire velocities would be very close to what I have experienced with factory AG and ELD-M.
I have hunted both hog and deer with 12.7" for many years and have taken deer from 25 to 126 yards with it. Ballistically, it has performed very well at those distances. My go too hunting projectiles has been the 123 SST and 129 ABLR, both reloads. You can get the 123 SST from Hornady and in my experience with other length Grendel's, the velocity is always higher than my reloads.
Good luck with your decision.