What Barrel Length??

[Raf]

I have a CZ 527, 6.5 Grendel and love it. But I am also a lover of the AR platform and want to buy an upper in the Grendel caliber. What would be the best barrel length to get?
I don't really have the ability to shoot long range and would be using the set up for hunting deer in the thick woods of Virginia.

[A5BLASTER]

12 to 16 inch.

[Bigs28]

No reason to go longer than 16" for short range hunting. I love both my 12" and am confident in them out to 250.

[mdram]

if its a rifle, then 16"
if its an sbr or pistol, then shorter is fine

[Rosecrans1]

I agree with the others..................if you aren't going to long range target shoot and you want to hunt with it in brush/heavy woods, then I would go with a 16 inch barrel. The 16 just handles better. It feels better balanced in an AR.

[FLshooter]

in an AR platform,I’d go 16 - 20 in length ,light contour.I would look at the Criterion Hybrid barrels.I have a couple.Light and accurate.

[1Shot]

Just to cover all the bases from close to mid range I chose an 18" Oden Works barrel. It balances and handles really well and shoots outstanding. I put a Primary Arms 1-8X24 with the ACSS reticle on it. Put it on 1 and it is about like a red dot with plenty of view but then you have more power if needed. I also have a 1-6x24 on a 223 A4 style AR and it does fine for the closer ranges and it cost less than the 1-8x24. I would suggest that you build your upper yourself to save a good deal of money and get a MUCH BETTER upper for the money. I am pretty sure that the Group Buy deal on this site still has 18" barrels and good bolts for way less than any place. The only special tools you really need to build an upper is a vice and vice block and a torque wrench and you can borrow a torque wrench from auto parts loan a tool places like Advance Auto. I would suggest STRONGLY that you keep away from Bear Creek Arsenal if you go the complete upper way.

[grayfox]

I have a CZ 527, 6.5 Grendel and love it. But I am also a lover of the AR platform and want to buy an upper in the Grendel caliber. What would be the best barrel length to get?
I don't really have the ability to shoot long range and would be using the set up for hunting deer in the thick woods of Virginia.

My woods shots this latest trip (in VA) were 100 and 125. A 16" will cover that no problem. I'm comfortable with a 16 out to 175- maybe 200, mostly due to shooter abilities. 16" will carry well and swing well too.

[Raf]

Thanks folks for all the inputs!!! I'm going to lean towards either 16" or 18" for what I intend to do. This length should take care of my hunting needs. I a SBR for short distances and other rifles that take care of any long range shots I need to take.

Any suggestions on a company that deals mostly on the Grendel uppers in the custom works arena? I dealt with Ditech for my 6.8 SPC upper and am thoroughly satisfied with their work, but they don't do Grendels.

[RobertFL]

[ATTACH=CONFIG]15009[/ATTACH] I have a 16" barrel, it seems to work well in the woods.

[A5BLASTER]

Thanks folks for all the inputs!!! I'm going to lean towards either 16" or 18" for what I intend to do. This length should take care of my hunting needs. I a SBR for short distances and other rifles that take care of any long range shots I need to take.

Any suggestions on a company that deals mostly on the Grendel uppers in the custom works arena? I dealt with Ditech for my 6.8 SPC upper and am thoroughly satisfied with their work, but they don't do Grendels.

Call Mark at PF. Might take a bit to get it but I promise you nobody does better work then Mark.

Call him and tell him what your wanting and he will walk you through what he has and what he suggest from his products will work the best. Plus he will do just about anything custom you want.

[Raf]

Sorry but don't know what PF stands for?????

[G Tidewater]

Try to get at least an Intermediate length gas system with the barrel you choose, rifle length even better.

[grayfox]

PF= precision firearms, Mark is the owner.
They have of course a website, but also are in the vendors section on this forum.
Mark has been known to give a discount to new forum members.
He does really good work.

[A5BLASTER]

Try to get at least an Intermediate length gas system with the barrel you choose, rifle length even better.

Why is that? Carbine and mid length have been working just fine on 16 inch and shorter barrels for years.

Agreed 18 to 22 rifle length works good and 24 inch needs extended rifle length.

[lazyengineer]

I agree with the others..................if you aren't going to long range target shoot and you want to hunt with it in brush/heavy woods, then I would go with a 16 inch barrel. The 16 just handles better. It feels better balanced in an AR.

Probably, but I will say I picked up a cheap PSA 20" Grendel upper. They use the A2 Govt cut profile, which means a relatively thin barrel; resulting in a rifle that was notably lighter than most 16" guns I pick up. With the advantage of 20" BBL ballistics - which with Grendel helps I think. I ran it in 3-gun and because it's so light, found it handled as easily as any 16" I've run. Accuracy is decent, about 1.5 MOA with the right loads, though can be worse with ones it doesn't like. But then, I only paid $299 for the complete upper with BCG.

[LRRPF52]

For the woods in Virginia, which I am very familiar with, an SBR or pistol Grendel barrel will cover your needs well, but if you're taller, you might look at 14.5", 16", or 18".

I like MLGS on the 16" with a .076" port, but a smaller port on CLGS works fine too with it.

[G Tidewater]

My 5.56 experience with 16" barrels is that the longest gas length really helps with the gun running very flat. Yes carbine, mid length work fine, but intermediate is the sweet spot. Obviously with shorter barrels you step down gas length. Rifle gas length for an 18" is also very flat. Does the Grendel round behave the same way with the relationship between gas and barrel lengths?

[VASCAR2]

The most common issue observed by forum members were with 18 inch mid length gas systems especially when trying to use a suppressor. Satern/Liberty 18 inch barrels had a huge gas port which seemed larger than most other manufacturers. I have a Faxon 18 inch group buy barrel with mid length gas with non adjustable gas system. It has been gtg with any ammo I’ve used along with my hand loads but I can’t have a suppressor in Illinois.

I have a 16” carbine gas J&T Distributing 6.5 Grendel (sister Co to Double Star) with fixed A-2 sight. It is a good candidate for an adjustable gas carrier since it has a tendency to be over gassed. I really like my 16 inch Faxon group buy barrel which is mid length gas.

[PrecisionFirearms]

My 5.56 experience with 16" barrels is that the longest gas length really helps with the gun running very flat. Yes carbine, mid length work fine, but intermediate is the sweet spot. Obviously with shorter barrels you step down gas length. Rifle gas length for an 18" is also very flat. Does the Grendel round behave the same way with the relationship between gas and barrel lengths?

We recommend Mid with 16. Intermediate with 18, Rifle with 20 and longer. 16 with Intermediate can be done but the gas port is getting rather large IMO.