New to the Grendel

[wojo14]

I have been beating myself silly trying to find the perfect all around hunting/SHTF gun.
I like the Ar platform. After lots of reading and research, I narrowed my search down to the 6.5g and a 300 aac.
I now the 6.5 is way better and a very superior long range cartrige. The 300 aac is great for short.
How is the 6.5 for hunting within 200 yards?
Will it drop the deer or go right through?
I like the exoticness and the balistics of the 6.5. But is it a good hunting rifle?

[LRRPF52]

Welcome. I think hunting is where the Grendel excels. It's a great medium game cartridge. Search through the hunting section and see what kind of results people have had. There are loads of pics of hogs, deer, antelope, coyotes, goats, oryx, and even elk taken with the Grendel.

There are also at least 32 projectiles to choose from in the 85gr-130gr classes for hunting, and no less than 17 target projectiles in the 95-130gr weight classes.

[adamjp]

Welcome. I think hunting is where the Grendel excels. It's a great medium game cartridge. Search through the hunting section and see what kind of results people have had. There are loads of pics of hogs, deer, antelope, coyotes, goats, oryx, and even elk taken with the Grendel.

There are also at least 32 projectiles to choose from in the 85gr-130gr classes for hunting, and no less than 17 target projectiles in the 95-130gr weight classes.

Absolutely.

The Grendel is equivalent to a 257 Roberts or a 6.5x55 Swede factory load. Both of those cartridges have a long history of being effective hunting cartridges for most game species.

Where the Grendel shines is the small packaging which lets you have small compact and light rifles. The excellent array of bullets you can put into it is a special bonus.

[MedicMan218]

Hit up YouTube. There are several videos of people hunting w/the Grendel

[Whelenon]

You can't go wrong with the Grendel. It's in the same class as a 257 Roberts and that's an excellent medium size game cartridge. Other advantages of the 6.5 are bullet selection and superior ballistics and accuracy. Put all that in a AR and you got one handy light weight hunting rifle.

[Schwag173]

How is the 6.5 for hunting within 200 yards?
Will it drop the deer or go right through?
But is it a good hunting rifle?

Allow me: Great. Yes to both, and both is OK. Yes as long as you're not going for grizzlies.

Some hunting-magazine writer once did a penetration test of a bunch of different cartridges and found that the only cartridge that penetrated better than a 6.5x55 Swede was the .375 H&H. Think of the Grendel as a mellow Swede, load it with good performing bullets, and since you can put all this into an AR ... one word: WOW.

[wojo14]

Thanks guys.
I have been reading a ton about difrerent cartriges and ballistics. Then seeing what is available in an ar platform.
I like a 308, but I do not want a 12 pound gun! I like the balistics of the 6.5. Plus like you said, it is in a light weight packge!
I will hunt white tail with it, maybe coyotes. I just want 1-AR! But I want it to be light, very accurate, and hard hitting from 50 yards to 1000!
I know ammo is not cheap, but if I buy a little here and there, I can get a nice stock built up.
I also plan to start reloading. Is this cartrige good for that? I know there is lots of different size bullets.
I know I can get an upper from AA, does the 6.5 work with standard AR mags?

[ss355]

I think one of the great advantages of the AR15 in 6.5 Grendel (or even the 6.8) is that it shoots a powerful enough round to offer sufficient penetration to cleanly kill medium-sized game but with a moderate level of recoil given the light weight of a 16" tube, for example. I'm not particularly recoil sensitive, but I can tell ya that I shoot my Grendel better than a 308, and I shoot a 5.56 better than a Grendel. I'm not behind a gun for practice nearly as often as I'd like to be, so the lesser the recoil, the better I typically shoot. The Grendel strikes a nice balance in the AR15.

The Grendel does require mags that are specific to the cartridge, though you might be able to stuff 4 or 5 rounds in a standard 5.56 mag and get mostly satisfactory performance for range work. However, Grendel-specific mags won't break the bank. Google "6.5 Grendel magazines" and you can quickly find half a dozen places to order them for less than $20 apiece.

Within normal hunting distances, the Grendel will work just fine for deer and game of a similar size.

[LRRPF52]

There is also plenty of affordable ammo available for the Grendel, when looking at the Prvi Partizan loadings marketed under the Wolf Brand name. They are brass-cased, 20-rd boxes of 120gr MPT as low as $13 a box, and very accurate in almost everyone's guns who has shot them.

The Grendel has scores of projectiles to load for it in the 85gr-130gr bullet classes, and is fun to reload for. Check out this thread: http://www.65grendel.com/forum/showthrea...he-Grendel

[hm2 clark]

Grendel ammo is no longer the problem it once was. (My wife and daughter shooting up all my ammo remains a problem) I consider my 6.5 Grendel my go to "hog" and "deer" rifle. I rarely shoot past 250 yards; and over the last 5 years using 120gr soft pont I have had fewer problems with wounded game with the Grendel than I ever had with my 243 or my 257AI or
.270 or .308 or my 30 06. When I think I'm gonna need more gun than my Grendel with 130gr pills I go up to my 12 lb 338 06I. Of course, I hunt in the SE US not Africa.