09-12-2014, 11:49 PM
Welcome aboard. A 10.5" is plenty for hunting deer out to 250yds, and has been done regularly. A 16" with factory ammo will give you a lot of reach with 123gr, more than you'll probably see in NC. My first Grendel is 16", and has really exceeded my expectations of being a 700yd target carbine, to being able to reach out to 1200yds with predictable impact (on target) repeatedly, which was a lot of fun. That barrel has the 1/7.5" twist.
I like 18" barrels as well for a light DM type set-up. I would get the barrel that fits and balances to you the best, so that the carbine naturally points well for you, but 16" is more than adequate. Hand loads with the 123gr SST are easy to get to 2550fps for me, but I have a favorite load at 2500fps with CFE and 123gr Hornady pills.
You can also go with Barnes 100gr TTSX for fast speeds if you want that, but the Hornady pills will cover most of what you're looking to do at a great price point for quality factory ammo, and it's accurate.
Pick up our reloading Handbooks and you'll see a lot of info on the actual hunting reach of this cartridge, where we tested various hunting pills across the velocity spectrum to show expansion, penetration, and retained weight.
I like 18" barrels as well for a light DM type set-up. I would get the barrel that fits and balances to you the best, so that the carbine naturally points well for you, but 16" is more than adequate. Hand loads with the 123gr SST are easy to get to 2550fps for me, but I have a favorite load at 2500fps with CFE and 123gr Hornady pills.
You can also go with Barnes 100gr TTSX for fast speeds if you want that, but the Hornady pills will cover most of what you're looking to do at a great price point for quality factory ammo, and it's accurate.
Pick up our reloading Handbooks and you'll see a lot of info on the actual hunting reach of this cartridge, where we tested various hunting pills across the velocity spectrum to show expansion, penetration, and retained weight.