Another First Time Out with the Grendel

[djw]

I came on to post of my first time out with the Grendel, and see that I wasn't the only one this week. Same day, as a matter of fact (9/4). This was just a familiarization outing, and I wanted to see how the rifle and various ammo flavors would behave. I'm not much of a rifle marksman, but I'm working on that.

My set up is a Ruger MPR lower with a stainless 18" PSA upper and a 3-12x42 Nikon M-223. I have e-Lander 6.5 mags (one of each size, 4, 10, 15 and 25). Ammo: Wolf, Hornady Black and Custom (123 SST), Federal Fusion 120 gn, and American Eagle 120 OTM. Initial sight-in at 50 yards, then some attempt at groups at 100 (plus a shot at a 200yd steel, but I have no idea how much I missed by).

First up: Wolf. Nothing extraordinary on accuracy, but minute of deer anyway (NOT that I would consider it). I found that the Wolf ammo was the real test of my magazine function. It seemed to work alright with the smaller mags, as long as I didn't fully load them. The 25 round mag wouldn't take more than a half dozen without binding, and therefore failing to feed. When the mag did feed, the Wolf ejected and fed the next round fine. On the last round, however, the bolt would lock back, but not far enough to load a fresh magazine. This might be an issue with the BCG, but it didn't happen with any of the Hornady or Federal products. So, the Wolf is either underpowered, or the steel case is enough stickier to slow down the bolt, or both.

The brass-cased ammo did not exhibit any of the binding issues in the magazines. Of the brass-cased ammo, the Black produced the largest groups, but it could have been me. However, with the other three, I managed to put together some decent 4 out of 5 one-inch groups (still meaning I need more practice, I think).

Overall, a satisfying first outing. Thanks to all of you for all the great info on the 6.5 Grendel.

Don

[Bigs28]

Nice work.

[VASCAR2]

The springs are very stiff on E-Lander mags. Load your E-Lander 6.5 Grendel mags to full capacity and let them set loaded till you go to the range again. If the springs are still stiff load them back up to full capacity and let them set loaded. Once the mag springs take set I’ve found the E-Lander 6.5 Grendel mags are very good mags.

The recoil impulse of Wolf steel case ammo is significantly less than the Hornady or Federal 6.5 Grendel ammo. New stiff mags put upward pressure on the bottom of the bolt carrier adding friction/drag which zaps bolt speed. The failure you experienced was a because the carrier didn’t move far enough to the rear to be stopped by the bolt catch. The forward moving bolt caught on the raised mag follower. When you withdrew the mag the bolt carrier closed.

This is not uncommon on new AR-15’s. Use plenty of lube and shoot your new AR-15 till it wears in. Many of the PSA 6.5 Grendel uppers ship with an adjustable gas block. Depending on temperature and ammo you might need to open the gas block a little more to function with all ammo, especially in cold weather.

[djw]

The springs are very stiff on E-Lander mags. Load your E-Lander 6.5 Grendel mags to full capacity and let them set loaded till you go to the range again. If the springs are still stiff load them back up to full capacity and let them set loaded. Once the mag springs take set I?ve found the E-Lander 6.5 Grendel mags are very good mags.

I did have them loaded, but maybe the largest was not to full capacity. Will try that.

The recoil impulse of Wolf steel case ammo is significantly less than the Hornady or Federal 6.5 Grendel ammo. New stiff mags put upward pressure on the bottom of the bolt carrier adding friction/drag which zaps bolt speed. The failure you experienced was a because the carrier didn?t move far enough to the rear to be stopped by the bolt catch. The forward moving bolt caught on the raised mag follower. When you withdrew the mag the bolt carrier closed.

I could see that, but the weird thing was that dropping the mag did not release the bolt. I only first noticed the bolt not being all the way back when I couldn't seat the fresh mag.

This is not uncommon on new AR-15?s. Use plenty of lube and shoot your new AR-15 till it wears in. Many of the PSA 6.5 Grendel uppers ship with an adjustable gas block. Depending on temperature and ammo you might need to open the gas block a little more to function with all ammo, especially in cold weather.

Ah, yes, I had forgotten about the adjustable gas block. I looked, and it does appear that mine has one. I neglected to include that the upper has a rifle-length gas system.

Thanks for the feedback and advice.

Don