Lightweight 6.5 Grendel *Finally Finished*

[BigBluePup]

IT'S DONE!









Final specs:
Upper,
20" PROOF Research barrel 1:8 twist.
SUREFIRE QD Muzzle break (Can in the works)
DPMS "Slick side" Thick wall competition upper,
JP Lmos BCG,
JP Rifle length .936 low profile adjustable gas block,
PRI Rifle length Carbon Fiber handgaurd,
VLTOR Tango down battle pod Bi-Pod system,
Burris FF reflex site on a Midwest Industries 1' o'Clock offset rail,
NightForce Titanium ultralight unimount with 20MOA built in,
Huskemaw 5-20 scope,

Lower,
MAG Tactical Ultra lightweight Magnesium lower,
Jewell trigger (might switch this out)
Sierra Precision sniper thumb rest grip,
MACO SR-225 lightweight sniper stock with mono pod and adjustable cheek weld,
JP Silent capture buffer system,
Extended knurled take town pins,

I'm super happy with how it turned out, it's REALLY light (should get it on a scale soon.
I could have trimmed a little weight in a few places but wanted performance in those areas so it was a sacrifice.
Headed to the range in a couple hours. Will let you guys know how it does.

I'll just be running some factory Hornady MATCH 123 A-max
and some AA 129 SST Hornady.
it's the only factory ammo I've seen on the shelf so far.
I'll hopefully get some reports posted tonight.

[Y85]

man. that is nice. how long was your wait for the Proof barrel?

[Whelenon]

Congrats on putting a super nice rifle together. I've always been conscious about adding weight to my Grendel and to me the biggest challenge for keeping the weight down was scope and mounts. Very curious as to what the actual weight is, if you would, post your rifle weight w/scope and without. Also, looking forward to your range report.

[BigBluePup]

Thanks!
The barrel was supposed to be a 2 week turn around but unfortunately there was a little miscommunication and it ended up being a 6 month wait.
I'm SUPER happy with their customer service though. They where super great with everything.

I'm going to get it on a scale ASAP but it feels very light for a 20" bull barrel gun.

[LRRPF52]

I think this is a new approach that really makes us look at a lightweight build in a totally different manner. Starting with the barrel, you didn't go with a shorter, all-steel pipe, which has been popular so far for hunting carbines. This is a different animal altogether.

The barrel, stock, handguard, lower receiver, & BCG are all constructed of lighter weight materials, but you still have a 20" barrel. I'm really interested to see where the balance of this system is. I can say that after handling Bwaites 28" Grendel with the AA G10 carbon fiber handguard, I was pleasantly surprised at how well balanced the system was.

This has me really re-considering the way I look at rifle-building, especially after handling a Proof Research 6.5 Creedmoor bolt gun that one of the competitors had brought down to the Sniper Adventure Challenge. It was the most amazingly lightweight, balanced, super-accurate rifle I have handled. It shoots 6" @ 1200yds.

[BigBluePup]

Welp, it was a good and bad say at the range.
The gun ran flawlessly after I got the gas block dialed in. (still think I can get it a little smother but that's another topic)
We only got to shoot about two hours and that is soaked up pretty quick with a barrel break in. (I don't care what you say I'm not paying $1,149 for a bolt and barrel and not breaking it in even if it's just for piece of mind)
So I shot the "AA 129gr SST" first just because I had more of them and I can't REALLY be to critical of them because every other round was a fouled round.
But the groups are still ok, I'll get back to them and see how they do.
This was the first time I had been to this range and there was a SUSTAINED 17mpg wind hard left to right.
The first real un fouled group I put together was the "Factory 123gr A-max" and this was the results.
100yrds 10 round (yes there is 10 holes there) and it ran through the clocks at an average of 2,483fps 2 of those (the high and low) I pulled bad. The others are all gun and wind. I'd love to see what it'll do on a calm morning.



But the fun ended here,
there was a HUGE brush fire right next to the range that shut us down. I had my Canon 7D with me and got some awesome pic I'll post a couple when I get them off the camera.

[BigBluePup]

Yup, I didn't want a "cookie cutter" lightweight riffle. Everyone just puts a pencil 16" on and calls it good. And that's awesome for a tactical style or short range plinker.
But I wanted something that could strike over 1,000yrds with no problems
I could have trimmed more weight with a lighter stock and "standard thickness" upper but accuracy was paramount.
So far I'm VERY happy with it and can't wait to get some hand loads made up for it.
I'll get it on a scale ASAP and see what she tips it at...

[BigBluePup]

I think this is a new approach that really makes us look at a lightweight build in a totally different manner. Starting with the barrel, you didn't go with a shorter, all-steel pipe, which has been popular so far for hunting carbines. This is a different animal altogether.

The barrel, stock, handguard, lower receiver, & BCG are all constructed of lighter weight materials, but you still have a 20" barrel. I'm really interested to see where the balance of this system is. I can say that after handling Bwaites 28" Grendel with the AA G10 carbon fiber handguard, I was pleasantly surprised at how well balanced the system was.

This has me really re-considering the way I look at rifle-building, especially after handling a Proof Research 6.5 Creedmoor bolt gun that one of the competitors had brought down to the Sniper Adventure Challenge. It was the most amazingly lightweight, balanced, super-accurate rifle I have handled. It shoots 6" @ 1200yds.

Yup, I didn't want a "cookie cutter" lightweight riffle. Everyone just puts a pencil 16" on and calls it good. And that's awesome for a tactical style or short range plinker.
But I wanted something that could strike over 1,000yrds with no problems
I could have trimmed more weight with a lighter stock and "standard thickness" upper but accuracy was paramount.
So far I'm VERY happy with it and can't wait to get some hand loads made up for it.
I'll get it on a scale ASAP and see what she tips it at...

[LRRPF52]

Interesting that you're getting 23 fps avg more than my 16" Grendel with factory 123 A-MAX, but you still are probably within the variation envelope to be expected from one barrel to another.

Your vertical appears to be about .6" without the outlier.

What's recoil and muzzle climb like? I know the brake will keep that a minimum, but this is a lightweight gun. I also think balance plays a role in handling of the recoil strokes and operating parts.

[BigBluePup]

I had adjusted the gas block during this string so that MAY have affected velocities?
Ya about half inch is what I figured it at too, I know with just a little more focus and some practice with this rig they will shrink too.
I only put about 25 rounds down range today and it was the first time I shot it.

Recoil was slight to none really, It was hitting a little harder then I think it needs to but that'll take trial and error with the gas block and picking my final ammo.
But even still I could see impacts at 100yrds no problem. As I got more rounds down range I started to realize that a heavy cheek weld that pinned that mono pod to the bench tight was the key, with NO bags or pressure on the gun anywhere else I would only get a slight slide to the left and no lift just a little bump back.

It really was a pleasure to shoot. At no time did I ever think it could be lighter recoil if it where a heavier gun. It has way less then my 18" .556

[Rancher]

That's a great looking stick! You've put a lot of thought into the build and it looks like it paid off. Congratulations!

[Tedward]

Where did you find that stock? I only see it on there website.. I know you just tried it out but does it compare to the Magpul PRS???

[BigBluePup]

That's a great looking stick! You've put a lot of thought into the build and it looks like it paid off. Congratulations!

Thanks a lot! Ya I'm pretty happy with it, waiting on some ammo to do more round development but from what I've seen so far it will be a quick test run.

[BigBluePup]

Where did you find that stock? I only see it on there website.. I know you just tried it out but does it compare to the Magpul PRS???

I had to SCOUR the internet to even find out what the stock was after seeing it on another gun in a picture.
I ended up finding it on Amazon of all places. I think I used Google shopping search to find it.

IMHO the PRS doesn't hold a candle, You save over half a lb of weight over the PRS (1.90lbs) compared to the 1.3 of this one. and if you where to add the mono pod on the PRS that gets even more significant

I've had guys say the adjustable butt piece is why they like it, but if you took the time to mount your optics right and get good eye relief then it doesn't matter.
AND the cheek weld is SUPER long on the MAKO so you can adjust anyways.
It doesn't look as "tacticool" as the PRS and that's what I lot of guys want is a bunch of knobs and dials and pic rails hanging off every grip they can jam on a gun.
I wanted to strip all the crap off I didn't need, make a gun I can pack 15 miles into the bad lands or through the brush without having it break my back (like my .300RUM Sendero with NF that comes in right around 13lbs in the field)
And still be able to strike targets into the 4 digit yardage range.

[Tedward]

I have the ACE Skeleton Stock and wanted the mono pod, thats why I like the one you have. Best of both worlds. Sleek and different...

Thanks and yes, very nice Grendel....

[BigBluePup]

Ya I looked at the ACE stocks really hard, even talked to a friend of mine who is a metal fabricator about welding me an alloy cheek piece onto one.
But I'd still be missing the MONO pod.

I think MACO could still make it a lot lighter, the rubber pad on the back is pretty heavy, they could use some kind of hard foam or something and shave several OZ off of it for sure!

And THANKS!

[jluck]

Did you ever weigh this beauty?

[OFBHWG]

Very Very nice looking BoomStic!! Let us know the weight please!