Posts: 9
Threads: 1
Joined: Oct 2019
Hi there! My name is Chuck and I'm from the Savannah, GA area. Own a few pistols, couple of shotguns, and a few long guns. Do a little bit of competitive shooting pistol and hunt whitetail deer with Ruger .270. I've been interested in moving to (ok, ADDING) an ar-15 to the collection, for home defense, hunting, plinking. After considerable lurking and searching, I believe I've decided on the 6.5 Grendel as the weapon of choice. I've been trying to decide whether to build or buy. As with most topics, there's the build camp (learn more, do it your way, get what you want), and the buy camp (if you've never owned one, there's a lot to learn about building; it's not rocket science but it has to be done right, etc.). So part of my desire for the forum is to dive into that a bit more. When you are really starting from zero, there are a million questions to answer and each one leads to a host of questions about which product to buy. I can get a diamondback that would probably make me happy for my first AR and shoot better than I can for $800 or so, and I can also see where I could easily spend $2k building myself. Anyways, sorry for the long-winded intro, but here I am!
Thanks,
Chuck
Posts: 6,193
Threads: 170
Joined: Mar 2015
Welcome to the horde sir.
I'm in the build camp. Only advice I will give and it's the best advice I can give. Don't go cheap on your grendel barrel and only buy bolts from either AA, PF,JP are from this fourm group buy section.
Posts: 1,348
Threads: 98
Joined: Jun 2019
Welcome Chuck.......
I shoot at Forest City Gun Club, in Sand Flea.
My home club is River Bend Gun Club in Ball Ground. rbgc.org
Chuck
Posts: 1,230
Threads: 6
Joined: Jun 2016
Welcome to the forum Chuck. My Grendel of choice is a 12 inch pistol.
Posts: 6,206
Threads: 50
Joined: Mar 2011
Welcome to the forum bacmb! I have bought complete uppers and assembled my own. My personal opinion is to buy the best barrel you can afford and a good trigger. I really like the LaRue MBT 2S for about $90 shipped. If you buy an upper buy an upper with a quality barrel as your top priority. I have been satisfied with my Faxon group buy barrels and the current Green Mountain group buy barrels and bolts get good reviews. I personally wouldn’t buy a barrel any cheaper than the group buy barrel.
Posts: 1,568
Threads: 8
Joined: Sep 2012
Chuck, a poor assembly can make to best barrel shoot badly, a cautious assembly can make a mediocre barrel shoot pretty well - probably as well as most folks are, themselves capable of. As you have probably read across these pages, the Grendel is capable of awesome accuracy. The core of it all is a good barrel properly mated to a trued receiver. Then look at triggers, then... , then..... Building is not difficult. There are a few tools that make it easier. There are a number of members in and around your part of the world who can help you. If you think that you won;t be able to fight off the Grendel addiction ( most of us gave up trying to escape ) then start accumulating tools. For me, building uppers, a "reaction rod" has been a profound assist. Then a good set of punches and hex keys and your off to the range.
Posts: 384
Threads: 25
Joined: Jan 2017
Welcome Chuck I live outside of Pooler, south of I-16, I too am on the build side and will welcome a pm chat on building pros and cons.
Ron
"Wild flower, growin' thru the cracks in the street" - Problem Child by Little Big Town
Posts: 9
Threads: 1
Joined: Oct 2019
A5Blaster,
Thanks for the welcome! Your camp seems to be the largest so far. I'll check out the group buy sections and see what they have to offer!
Chuck
Posts: 9
Threads: 1
Joined: Oct 2019
CJW,
So you shoot in Savannah, but home club is north of Atlanta? Get this way much?
Posts: 9
Threads: 1
Joined: Oct 2019
Thanks for the welcome, Texas! One reason I wanted to join up here is to dig a bit more into the best barrel length for what I want to do. I realize there are numbers which can be interpreted a number of ways, then there are opinions. Not sure which I stumbled on, but originally thought I saw a number of people saying that you really want to shoot the 6.5 out of a 20" barrel. Then as I kept reading, there are a ton of opinions that (especially for hunting), you want 12-16". So is the pistol configuration suitable for hunting?
Posts: 9
Threads: 1
Joined: Oct 2019
Vascar2, thank you! Part of the difficulty is knowing what 'the best you can afford is'. So if you have a budget of $800-$1,000, is there any frame of reference for what percentage of that budget should be in the barrel? Best to upper with barrel already 'attached', if that even makes sense, or better to assemble yourself. I'm going to check out the group buy section and see if I can make some sense out of it.
Posts: 9
Threads: 1
Joined: Oct 2019
just_john, thanks for the feedback. I guess part of the build/buy question is whether it makes sense to literally purchase every individual component separately, or purchase assembled units to put together. I realize the more someone else does for you, the less skill you need yourself, and vice-versa. Not sure if you save money or get a better finished product by completely doing it yourself (especially if what you are after isn't the best of the best precision gun, but for someone for whom this is a FIRST AR and what I want out of it is a good deer gun, primarily. I don't mind doing what I can myself, but (a) don't want to invest in $1,000 worth of tools, as someone suggested (far end of assembly), nor do I want to fear that I've outstripped my mechanical capabilities and wonder if I'm going to lose a hand or half a head when I shoot it. Perhaps the assembly is more forgiving than that (not really forgiving, just if you do the basic assembly such that everything fits, it's going to be safe).
Posts: 9
Threads: 1
Joined: Oct 2019
41bear, we're in South Effingham. Are your build(s) for hunting or other purposes?
Posts: 1,624
Threads: 58
Joined: Jan 2018
Welcome from the Republic of Texas. As far as the expense on tools go you can spend as much or as little as you want. But..those tools will come in handy on your NEXT build..  and in the maintenance of your rifle. If you build one you will build another. All it takes is a roll pin or an extra part to morph into another rifle.. There are multiple videos on building and Brownells has an excellent section on building. They don't call these things the mans Lego rifle without reason. You can buy complete uppers with or without barrel and BCG. You can buy assembled lowers also. The lower parts you can catch on sale and adjust your budget to fit. Takes a little research but we are here to help and pass info when we find good deals and there is a section for that. Best of luck with your decision and we await your range report. Got more questions ASK AWAY!
Posts: 9
Threads: 1
Joined: Oct 2019
Ok - so should I leave this thread and move to a different to start asking more specific questions? I don't mind staying here, but know things should be in specific places. Like maybe to the build-it-yourself forum?
Posts: 9
Threads: 1
Joined: Oct 2019
I'm not sure where to post some really basic questions. So unless I'm told to move elsewhere, here goes. This isn't so important for my first build, but I can't seem to find this (pretty basic) information. Do muzzle threads vary between manufacturers, or are they a standard size for a 6.5 grendel? So if I want to purchase a muzzle device (brake, suppressor), do I simply need one for a '6.5 grendel' barrel, or do they come in different sizes/threads that suite this caliber?
From what I've read, it sounds as though an 18" barrel is a good length. Shorter would probably be ok for hunting around here, as there are no really long shots, but 18 will make better use of the capabilities of the caliber and isn't too unwieldy. Does this seem like a reasonable conclusion? And if that's sound, should I be purchasing a completed upper, or am I getting a better quality end results and/or saving money by purchasing components and assembling my own?
Thanks!
Posts: 384
Threads: 25
Joined: Jan 2017
bacmb Wrote:41bear, we're in South Effingham. Are your build(s) for hunting or other purposes?
As much for fun as anything else, though I'll use for hunting, target, and anything else given the chance. At 78 and with bad eyes I gave up driving, which is killing me , so my shooting,hunting will come this Christmas season when I visit my daughter and family. SinL is hunter/shooter so we do that alot together.
I've built about a dozen uppers and 5 or 6 lowers so far so I've used enough different parts to know which ones I consider best v the ones that are junk and those are out there believe me.
"Wild flower, growin' thru the cracks in the street" - Problem Child by Little Big Town
Posts: 1,568
Threads: 8
Joined: Sep 2012
bacmb, starting with an 18" is an excellent choice. Very versatile yet short enough to be handy. Get a mid-length gas system and a good upper and run with it. TO your question about muzsle threading, "most" of them are common 5/8-24 thread. Alexander seems to be the main differentiator. But, their "stuff" is excellent. Have had several of their barrels and all were good shooters. From the responses above, there are a number of like minded addicts in your area to help with any assembly issues that you might encounter. As stated before, a typical "AR-wrench" and a good set of roll pin punches will take you a long way. Experience and history has proven that after you build one, you will find a left over part which morphs into another which morphs into another which ..... Collect tools as you go and don;t look back at the accumulated costs, just enjoy the fun and fellowship. And evangelise your addictions along the way.
|
