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Decided to build a 6.5 Grendel upper to use on an upcoming hog hunt. I've built AR15's before, but this is my first non 223/556. I just placed my order for an 18" Wilson Combat Recon Tactical barrel with rlgs. The upper receiver and rail will be BCM.
What I'm unsure of is which bcg and low profile gas block to buy that won't break the bank. I live in the great state of Illinois, so this rifle will not be suppressed. Should I still get an adjustable gas block and if so which (Odin Works, SLR, etc.)? For the bcg, I was thinking Aero Precision. Looked at ToolCraft but not sure of quality and reliability. Any help would be greatly appreciated.
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Nice build list so far. SLR has lots of followers, and many use Odin to good effect. Both would be fine. Any particular reason you want an adjustable? 18" RLGS should shoot smooth with standard carbine or rifle buffer (whichever you choose to build with). My vote would be a BCM lopro GB. You don't have to wonder if it's going to fit or how quality it is... As far as BCG - pick one, and get Wilson to supply the bolt. OR - pick one and get an Anderson bolt. They build their bolts to fit standard BCGs and use standard length AR firing pins (win). You could even just get the bolt and share the BCG between a 556 upper... Grendel was designed and tested to perform with the standard AR kit. You don't need any fancy parts, it'll shoot.
I love BCM stuff. They really know their rifle. It shows. Same for Wilson. Excited to see your result!
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If the monster bolts are still available in the group buy section of this forum, that's a very good and economical one. Also uses the std firing pin. Verify the wilson bbl is set for a 0.136 bolt face depth, which I think it is, 0.136 is what you want, not 0.125.
As for the bcg, get a nice 556 one and store the bolt as spare parts... nitrided or NiB are smooth, I personally don't go for the simply-parkerized ones any more. Since it's 556 the economical-$$ will be there.
I have an odin agb on one barrel, however I did a set it and forget it. With rlgs on the 18" the agb shouldn't really be a big concern since it's a nice barrel, a lo pro standard one would do you well. For economy, see joebob's.
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06-19-2019, 10:48 PM
(This post was last modified: 06-19-2019, 10:50 PM by yotesniper66.)
Thanks for the suggestions. I made sure everything I spec'd and purchased was type 2.
I decided to go with an Odin Works low pro tunable gb and Spikes Tactical melonite gas tube (my go to gas tube). I figured better to have it and not need it than need it and not have it. For my BCG, I went with Brownells M16 nitride, which I suspect might be Tool Craft. As luck would have it Brownells had 10% off everything and free shipping today and all three items where in stock and priced comparably to most other vendors I was looking at.
Now the wait to get all my parts and put it together. Still need to get a couple mags and a few brands of ammo to try.
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I have that same barrel but in 20 inch. I really like the barrel, Mine seems to be slightly under gased though so an adjustable gas block might not be needed, at least on mine. Like you said it couldn't hurt. The gas block on mine is a spikes if I remember correctly. I only have about 100 rounds thru it, a mix of 123 grain Hornady black and reloads ( 120 grain eld match with 26.3 grains of IMR8208XBR powder ) with no malfunctions. It seem to be accurate and recoil is very soft, its noticeably softer then a friends 18 inch mlgs. Very happy with it.
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Good to know vicrider. I'm going to try factory loads first before reloading. My hog hunt is in October, so for me, that's not allot of time to work up a load.
I research the crap out of everything before I make a purchase. BCM was a no brainier and even though I ordered a blem stripped upper, I've yet to find even a hint of an imperfection. Barrel selection was my big sticking point. It was between the Wilson Combat and Odin Works. Odin looked to have good accuracy and there is the 1 moa guarantee, but from what I've reviewed, accuracy in the WC barrel was a little better. The fluting on the WC also saves some weight over the OW barrel.
