20" upper vs 18" upper

[Briano23]

Can anyone suggest a quality upper in either 18" or 20 " I have a 300 blackout that sits in the safe and I thought of putting a 6.5 grendel upper on it. The range I belong to sponsors AR MATCHES and I like to try the 6.5 for that as well as hunting. Yes i am new to the group and have been reading many posts and I hoped for some advise before either building or buying and upper.
Thanks
Brian

[rabiddawg]

What’s your budget?

Precision Firearms

JP

Larue

Alexander Arms

No particular order. I own a couple of PF and AA.

[Briano23]

My budget is around $700 for the upper

[Briano23]

If I build and upper this was what I thought.
Faxon Match Series- 20" Heavy Fluted, 6.5 Grendel , 416-R, 5R, Nitride, Nickel Teflon Extension $312.55 or Faxon Match Series- 18" Heavy Fluted, 6.5 Grendel , 416-R, 5R, Nitride, Nickel Teflon Extension $303.99
Aero Precision M4E1 Builder Set w/ 15" M-LOK Enhanced Handguard - OD Green Builder Set $350
Not sure of the bolt $120
Strike Industries AR-15 Charging Handle $25
Not including a muzzle device total Around $825
And I'm not sure if this setup wold give me sub MOA results.
I reload 300 Blackout and .308 Right now so I plan to reload the 6.5 grendel as well.

[Jimla]

You could just buy a complete upper with Faxon 20" match, I have been happy with the results, 90gr TNT, 123 Black , 120 gold dot, and 123 SST.

http://www.65grendel.com/forum/showthrea...nge-Result

[41bear]

You might want to check this guy out, if I were to buy a complete upper he's the guy I'd buy it from, have heard nothing but good reports about him. Also he's in your budget.

https://www.grendelhunter.com/

[Jimla]

You might want to check this guy out, if I were to buy a complete upper he's the guy I'd buy it from, have heard nothing but good reports about him. Also he's in your budget.

https://www.grendelhunter.com/

I was between AT3Tactical and Grendelhunter, I ask both companies about there accuracy guarantees and AT3Tactical was the clear winner.

I would stay clear of this grendelhunter, below is the reply I got about accuracy guarantee.

"Technically, we don't have an MOA guarantee. Pretty much everyone does it these days, including companies that use low quality barrels, so it feels like a bit of a gimmick. That being said, once in a while a customer will contact us with accuracy concerns. After looking at obvious things like the scope and mount, we generally just send a return shipping label so I can go and shoot it myself. If there's a problem, we make it right. But to be honest, it's almost always a case of user error. "

[FLshooter]

Look into an 18” Criterion Hybid barrel.Criterion is a middle of the line quality.I’d put them above faxon.They run around $300.After the 200 rd break in period those barrels shoot moa consistently.
Or if you want to shoot moa out the box,spend $200 more.Call Paul Craddock and have him build you a custom Bartlien barrel.Thing about a custom high quality barrel is that you don’t have to spend $200 in ammo to break it in.And my high quality barrels last longer too.

[Jimla]

Faxon Firearms Match Series – 20 inch Heavy Fluted Barrel

Was shooting 1.04 MOA out of the box with factory ammo

After 45 rounds break in it was shooting .5-.6 MOA with handloads using low cost Lee dies.

[LR1955]

Can anyone suggest a quality upper in either 18" or 20 " I have a 300 blackout that sits in the safe and I thought of putting a 6.5 grendel upper on it. The range I belong to sponsors AR MATCHES and I like to try the 6.5 for that as well as hunting. Yes i am new to the group and have been reading many posts and I hoped for some advise before either building or buying and upper.
Thanks
Brian

Brian:

If you are going to compete, get a top end barrel like the guys have listed. And look at Florida Shooter's comments about the money spent to 'break in' a barrel.

A high end barrel has a much greater chance of shooting well with more ammo combinations and to longer ranges than a cheap barrel. Comparing them at 100 yards is deceiving since it is almost impossible to tell much of a difference but once you get to 300 and farther, you see the differences.

Can't go wrong with a high end barrel as long as it is installed well. Nor a decent trigger and sighting system. Or a decent compensator if the sport allows.

LR55

[grayfox]

Depending on the match's distance and maneuverability requirements, an 18" will get you there, unless you see a deal on a 20" top barrel that is a better deal. Barrel, trigger, optics, this is where you need to have the real quality. Can't argue with the top line barrels...
I am liking my fluted Ballistic advantage ones right now -- great accuracy and stiffness, lighter weight -- but I don't compete with them.

[A5BLASTER]

Op. Call Mark at PF and tell him your budget and what your wanting to do with it. Also tell him your a new member of the grendel fourm and he will give you a new member discount.

Get whatever barrel he uses that puts the upper in your price range.

That are buy a barrel from Mark at PF and build the upper yourself.

[Briano23]

Thanks for very good advice who self match grade upper that won't break the bank.

[Popeye212]

Op. Call Mark at PF and tell him your budget and what your wanting to do with it. Also tell him your a new member of the grendel fourm and he will give you a new member discount.

Get whatever barrel he uses that puts the upper in your price range.

That are buy a barrel from Mark at PF and build the upper yourself.

What he ^ said and he's got a pretty good deal on matched upper and Lower. If your just need the upper receiver I would buy it from him with the barrel. Wouldn't surprise me if he matched the the barrel and upper. That would be sweet. You get a Krieger from their website for around $500 also.

[LRRPF52]

The main differences I've learned to look at between 18" and 20" Grendels is gas system length, not necessarily the barrel length in relation to performance (with a few exceptions, one being sea level 1000yd shooting).

Most of the 18" barrels on the market have MLGS, which if not ported properly, will gas the system too hard and cause malfunctions.

You can get ILGS and RLGS on 18" barrels from PF and Odin (ILGS), whereas JP has RLGS.

Longer gas systems will allow you as a hand loader to elongate the pressure curve with slower-burning powders and get faster speeds without hitting the gas port too hard.

If you are just starting with a barrel and know how to do an accuracy checklist build, I recommend PF. You'll get an actual Grendel SAAMI chamber for starters, not one of these conventional freebore chambers most of the manufacturers are skating by with.

[Popeye212]

I just put an 18" Odinworks (.223 Wylde) rifle length on my S&W Sport upper. It came with a "tuneable" gas block which actually works out pretty well except for extra length handguard. I was able to "tune" it to where the brass comes out with banging on anything. So far not one dinged caseneck. Working up handloads they ejected between 3 and 4:00. Very soft shooter.

[Joseph5]

The LaRue Ultimate Upper kits are awesome and I do not think you can match the quality for the price. Joseph

[Kswhitetails]

So, IMHO, you can't beat the LaRue UU kit. You can certainly get similar quality. But you're going to pay more.


Seriously, check out the kit. You get the upper, barrel, barrel nut, gas block, gas tube, muzzle brake, billet upper, billet handguard, dust cover kit, forward assist kit, LPK, MBT 2S trigger, LaRue grip/extension tube/buffer/teflon spring/RAT stock w/cleaning rods, LaRue BCG and Bolt, and an Elander 17 rd magazine. AND it all comes in a REALLY nice box.

And if that's not enough, you get some really nice swag from Mark LaRue himself. His magic dust isn't to be underestimated...

I've been beating this long dead horse now for a while. You cannot beat the LaRue UU package.

Here's a little tidbit. I'm going on 1200 rounds on mine. The rounds stack so easily at 400, several friends that have shot it with me that far have all wondered what's so special about it. It shoots like a damned dream rifle. Not a home build. Nor a race gun. It's just a darned caddy. It's like someone built an everyday Pinto that drives like a Rolls Royce.

I have made two changes to mine. I called LaRue and bought a rifle tube and carbine spacer from them. I think it was 45 bucks. I then added their keymod grip squares. It feels about as perfect to shoot as any gas gun could. Way better than it should.

[Briano23]

What do you think of the 6.5 Grendel Criterion Barrel?

[PNW_Grendel]

Tossing another vote for the Larue UU kit. I have one, shoots very well. The fit and finish is better than any other quality upper I have bought. Your money would be well spent going with Larue.