10-19-2012, 11:09 PM
Just thought I would post my Grendel. As some might remember I ended up returning a Sabre upper that had some machining marks in the barrel. I ordered a new upper from Bob Reynolds. I gave him some pretty tough specs to hit, but be said he would do it, and he did. I wanted a sub 5 lb upper, with a 22" tube, and it better shoot. I wanted a hunting gun, and keeping velocity up was important to me. It started as a Bartlien barrel blank that Bob finished and chambered in 6.5 G, and has a Templar titanium brake on it the "TT Mickey", and a Templar Race Rail handguard. I put the lower together from a Palmetto lower and parts kit, a SSAE trigger and an Ace stock. The whole gun, less scope comes in at just over 7 lbs.
So how does it shoot? Pretty darn good. I just broke it in and have only been shooting AA promo loads, the 115 gr Berger HPBT. The pic represents a very common group, usually the first 2-3 are in one hole and the next couple are about a half inch away. I guess sometime I should try letting the barrel cool between shots. Also I make no claims to being a 1/2" shooter, in fact I have never done that with 5 shots. This group was shot at 110 yds (100 M) so if you are anal, you could subtract 10%. The 5-shot measures .790 and the first three (lower right) went .140". I cant wait to load for it. I also really like Bob's brake. I had that Sabre gill brake to compare it to, while both were equally effective to reducing muzzle jump and recoil to near zero (I could see my bullet hit paper at 110 yds), after shooting the gill brake you checked to see if you still had ear muffs on, and said good bye to your friends sitting at any adjacent bench. The TT Mickey is a whole different brake. It is actually quiet. At least thats my opinion. When I asked the guys that were sitting at the next bench over if my brake bothered them they always said "what brake, I thought you were shooting some little gun." I might try measuring the decibels, using my phone, but by all accounts its at least perceived as quiet, and really a pleasure to shoot.
So how does it shoot? Pretty darn good. I just broke it in and have only been shooting AA promo loads, the 115 gr Berger HPBT. The pic represents a very common group, usually the first 2-3 are in one hole and the next couple are about a half inch away. I guess sometime I should try letting the barrel cool between shots. Also I make no claims to being a 1/2" shooter, in fact I have never done that with 5 shots. This group was shot at 110 yds (100 M) so if you are anal, you could subtract 10%. The 5-shot measures .790 and the first three (lower right) went .140". I cant wait to load for it. I also really like Bob's brake. I had that Sabre gill brake to compare it to, while both were equally effective to reducing muzzle jump and recoil to near zero (I could see my bullet hit paper at 110 yds), after shooting the gill brake you checked to see if you still had ear muffs on, and said good bye to your friends sitting at any adjacent bench. The TT Mickey is a whole different brake. It is actually quiet. At least thats my opinion. When I asked the guys that were sitting at the next bench over if my brake bothered them they always said "what brake, I thought you were shooting some little gun." I might try measuring the decibels, using my phone, but by all accounts its at least perceived as quiet, and really a pleasure to shoot.