Let the fun begin...

[McFireFighter]

Been wanting a Grendel for years but let the 6.8 crowd persuade me their direction. I still have a 6.8 SPCii and it shoots nice. Not left with a wow factor.

So on the way is a Shilen 20" barrel bolt from Midway. Went with 2 AR Stoner Mags, Hornady Dies, and Hornady brass.

The build will be on an Aero Precision upper and lower. MI 15" Keymod Handguard, BCM BCG, Luth-AR fixed stock with cheek rest, AR Gold Trigger, adjustable gas block, waiting on 2.5-10 FFP Vortex Mrad scope.

A few questions..
How's the Hornady brass compared to Lapua?

Any tweaks for accuracy recommendations? Resize to chamber? .004" Shoulder set back?

Using mostly 123 grain class bullets. A-Max on 100-170lb whitetail and Scenars on paper.

Any pet powders? I have some 8208 XBR, CFE223, AA2200, and various other powders that should work. Nearby shop has some BC2 but not much.

Do the Grendel chamber lands like to be chased?

I have some starting points and max load reports to start with. Just putting feelers out.

Nice to meet everyone and thanks for any suggestions.

[ricsmall]

Welcome! Amax should do you good for paper and flesh, my favorite powder is 8208 at 28.4 grs. Amax doesn't seem sensitive to jump, scenars seem to be more so. Lapua brass should last about twice as long as hornady brass, depending on how ur gas is adjusted. Don't remember jump to lands on my amax and sst loads, but they're loaded to 2.26".

Lots of guys are getting more velocity with cfe, and you might try benchmark. As far as accuracy tweaks, bed barrel in upper and bed gas block to barrel.

Richard

[McFireFighter]

I only picked up 100 Hornady brass. Will make the switch to Lapua next purchase.

Receiver has been lapped and it definitely had a high spot. Going to hit it one more time this evening. I will be beading the barrel. Accu wedge will snug up the upper and lower. I have used the 140 A-Max in 260 and 6.5-284. It's a capable design.

2550fps sound possible out of the 20" Shilen 1:9 twist barrel with the 123's? I'd be happy in that ballpark if I'm there with the accuracy others are claiming.

Thanks!

[LRRPF52]

I only picked up 100 Hornady brass. Will make the switch to Lapua next purchase.

Receiver has been lapped and it definitely had a high spot. Going to hit it one more time this evening. I will be beading the barrel. Accu wedge will snug up the upper and lower. I have used the 140 A-Max in 260 and 6.5-284. It's a capable design.

2550fps sound possible out of the 20" Shilen 1:9 twist barrel with the 123's? I'd be happy in that ballpark if I'm there with the accuracy others are claiming.

Thanks!

Welcome aboard. 2550fps is pretty typical of 20" guns with 123gr. 123gr AMAX or SST have been performing very well on white tail for years.

I like both the Hornady and Lapua brass. All mine from both brands have been doing very well. I had my first piece of Lapua brass split a neck after 7 years of working with the Grendel, and I blame that on using Imperial Sizing wax versus spray-on lube like I use now.

I find the Hornady brass to be easier to re-size, as the Lapua is a stronger alloy, so the Lapua will rebound more than Hornady. Make sure to follow good loading principles, with setting up your sizing die for the brass type, not just the caliber.

With CFE under a 123gr, you can reach 2580fps with max load, and with LeveRevolution, you can reach 2600fps with a 20". I would look at accuracy nodes as well of course.

We put together 2 Reloading Handbooks for the 6.5 Grendel that combine many collective years of experience from the forum and authors that will cover your reloading questions and more.

[McFireFighter]

I'll pick up the manuals next payday. I belong to loaddata and all of their velocities are extremely low with their data. Thanks for pointing me that way. I'll be bumping the shoulders at a minimum to function in a semi. I use a sizing wax. I think it's Hornady's. I had more issues with the spray stuff.

[JASmith]

Speaking of LoadData, we put north of 600 loads into the Ammoguide database: http://ammoguide.com/?catid=456. That and the reloading manuals will make you good to go!

[McFireFighter]

Seeing the thread regarding the 129 LR Accubond sparked my interest. Found a little bit of load data online. Definitely a load I'd be interested in trying on our smaller whitetail deer here in MD/WV area. We have some big deer but not the norm. Don't get me wrong, a friend shot a monster 15 point last season and his little girl tagged a nice bodied 8 point. They are here. I just haven't had luck finding them.

[McFireFighter]

Up and running. Waiting for my Vortex PST 2.5-10x32 FFP Mrad Scope to come in. It's going to be awhile for it. Needs hydrographic dipped still. That will be this summer



Group testing... 123 A-Max, CCI 450, Hornady Brass, 8208 XBR, 28.1 Most accurate.
Target 3: 2.253",Target 4: 2.251",Target 5: 2.248" OAL most accurate groups shown in photos.

[McFireFighter]

Final weight with the Vortex Diamondback HP for testing is just under 10lbs with an empty mag. The rifle has impressed me so far. One of the AR Stoner mags has produced stove pipes twice. Outside of that brass is landing about 3 o'clock and in good shape. First round of load testing was to find most accurate group based on charge. 28.5 was to high. Had one heck of a time running that brass through the resizer. 28.1 was best group from that test with 1"-1-1/2" group. Brass was just resized a third time and primer pockets are looser. Otherwise brass is in beautiful shape and as of now has not been trimmed once. Using AA recommendation of 1.52" brass length, all fall short of that length. One close but rest well short. If primer pockets hold up I may stick with Hornady brass but Lapua is calling my name. Lol. The 6.5 Grendel is definitely a sexy little cartridge and look forward to chronographing my final accurate load and sending some down range. Next test I am mixing in some 123 Scenars. Hope to get lucky using similar oal's. Note: I use the Hornady comparator tool going off the ogive and oal's listed above are second measurements based on loads developed with the comparator tool.

On a side note I've been doing load development on the 69 grain Sierra TMK in 5.56 and extremely pleased with the results thus far. I should be getting enough velocity out of them to stay supersonic to 720 yards at my elevation.

[6.5 Grendel]

Try some Leverevelotion powder if ya get a chance with the 123 SST my 20" BHW barrel loves it nice groups and 2610fps to boot!

[McFireFighter]

No luck around here. Can't bring myself to pay hazmat fee.