"Cheap" 6.5 grendel upper build

[AeroFDE6.5]

I got home from my trip to Oregon with a nice score- 500 rds. of Hornady 123 gr. AMAX and 500 rds 100 gr. Wolf steel case ammo. Not having ever shot steel case 6.5G ammo though my Grendel AR before, thought it wouldn't be a bad idea to build a 16" upper with a cheap barrel.
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I ordered the parts from Classic Firearms on 6/14 -I selected a parkerized 16" barrel with M4 contour, carbine gas profile and 1:8 twist ($60), a carbine gas tube ($7), and a Sadlak Industries adjustable gas block ($25).
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I had a Ghost Firearms 14" FDE handguard I bought from Primary Arms on sale for $60, and a assembled Aero Precision M4 FDE upper from B.King's Firearms for $70. I installed an 18" .223 Wylde barrel onto to this upper, but it was only used once, so I decided to rebarrel it. I removed the handguard, removed the .223 Wylde barrel, and installed the new 6.5G barrel. The new barrel was torqued to 40 ft-lbs.
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Geno

[A5BLASTER]

Congrats on the new grendel sir. Hope your bca barrel turns out great.

If not we have some good group buy barrels down in the group buy section, several diffrent lengths to choose from.

[AeroFDE6.5]

It's impossible to build an upper without an upper receiver block and vise- you need to securely hold the upper receiver while torquing the barrel nut, and it makes it much easier to install the gas block and flash hider. Wrap the upper with a rag to protect the finish. You'll also need .30 cal shims to properly index the flash hider to the proper position- I used one from my Sig 716 (spare parts are wonderful thing).
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Once your barrel is installed, gas block installed and initially adjusted, you're ready for final assembly. The optic is a Vortex Viper HS 4-16x44.
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Geno

[AeroFDE6.5]

The finished product, with my 20" Faxon upper. I'm looking forward to seeing what this 100 gr. Wolf can do.
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Geno

[AeroFDE6.5]

Congrats on the new grendel sir. Hope your bca barrel turns out great.

If not we have some good group buy barrels down in the group buy section, several diffrent lengths to choose from.

Thanks- I chose a basic 16" barrel to make it simple to shoot at both public ranges and out in the desert. Being in Kommiefornia, a 12" AR pistol would have attracted too much attention from nosey, self righteous closet liberals- and a 16" barrel should be able to hit to at least 800 yds.

Geno