Optimal Hunting bullet for 18in Grendels.

[XcountryRider]

What do you think my go to bullet should be for a 18in barreled Grendel? Should i be using the 123gr SST the 120gr TSX or the 100gr Nosler BT?

[mongoosesnipe]

125 partition is a solid choice as well

[CPT.CRAZY]

I am an sst fan. I would say you should try the 123 you might not have enough velocity at extended rang with the 129.

[Allen]

Get all of them and tell us what you like best , (or whatever you can afford.) Realistically they are all good bullets, you'll just have to find what your barrel likes the best.

[XcountryRider]

Anyone think the extra velocity of the 100gr Nosler BT makes up for the 23 less grains of the SST? With the velocity drop with a 18in barrel does it make sense to also drop the grain size down to a 100gr bullet?

[hill.brandonj]

In talking about ant beat the BT 120 in my gun. I've been waiting to come across te oration 125. I have the 100 and shoots awesome. But feel the 125 is gonna be the main dude. I really don't think under three hundred. Most shots under two hundred. I wk t see a big accuracy diff

[VASCAR2]

I really think you need to specify what your hunting. For coyotes, ground hogs/varmints and head shots on feral critters I think the 100grain Nosler BT would work. For deer, Antelope and large feral hogs I would prefer 100/120 Barnes TTSX, 100 grain Nosler partition, 120 grain Sierra Pro Hunter, Nosler 120 BT Hunting, Hornady 123 or 129 grain SST and 125 grain Nosler Partition. The higher BC of the SST's would help on longer shots compared the partition and pro hunter shorter design bullets.

[mongoosesnipe]

inside of 300 yards BC doesnt matter very much...

123 gr SST bc=.510
Range Drop Windage Velocity Energy
(yd) (in) (in) (ft/s) (ft•lbs)
0 -1.5 0.0 2505.8 1714.6
100 -0.0 0.8 2335.9 1489.9
200 -4.9 3.1 2172.5 1288.8
300 -17.1 7.3 2015.7 1109.5
400 -38.0 13.4 1866.0 950.8

125 gr Partition bc=.449
Range Drop Windage Velocity Energy
(yd) (in) (in) (ft/s) (ft•lbs)
0 -1.5 0.0 2506.6 1743.5
100 -0.0 0.9 2314.1 1486.0
200 -5.0 3.6 2130.0 1259.0
300 -17.7 8.4 1954.5 1060.1
400 -39.5 15.6 1788.3 887.5

120 gr sierra pro hunter bc=.356
Range Drop Windage Velocity Energy
(yd) (in) (in) (ft/s) (ft•lbs)
0 -1.5 0.0 2508.3 1676.1
100 -0.0 1.1 2266.8 1368.9
200 -5.3 4.6 2038.7 1107.3
300 -19.0 10.9 1824.8 887.1
400 -43.2 20.5 1627.1 705.3


at 200 yards there is less than and inch difference in drop which only stretches out to 2 inches at 300 yards which is farther than most people typically shoot game

[XcountryRider]

Folks drop deer all day with 223's with 62gr bullets but a 6.5mm 100gr is just good for yotes and other varmints? What barrel length are those velocities?

[sureshot]

I have in the past switched ammunition builds for the type of animal. I now have changed that and only use one load, for everything. I have had very good success with the hornady factory box ammunition with 123 gr. I will be shooting the Berger soon and that may be my next load that I use all the time. But I just use one load and get to know it real well so I can hit what I need to each time, only variables are the elevation, temp and barometric pressure. Already too many variables, not excluding myself!!

[mongoosesnipe]

Folks drop deer all day with 223's with 62gr bullets but a 6.5mm 100gr is just good for yotes and other varmints? What barrel length are those velocities?

its probably of a 24 inch barrel that's the velocity of 123 amax listed on hodgdon reloading manual with 8208xbr i just chose it as a benchmark velocity to run the ballistics for the 3 bullets to point out that bc doesn't make too much difference at typical hunting range as for 100 gr 6.5s as long as there a decent bullet there is no reason deer wont fall to it if you put it in the right spot

[ricsmall]

I would personally try the123 SST as it is tailored for Grendel velocities. As others said, it really boils down to what your gun likes, animals hunted, range, and personal preference. I think the sst is an all around good bullet. As for 223 on deer, I have been culling does with one exclusively for several years now, loaded with 50 grain BST. All conditions and shot placement have to be perfect. I have now moved to a 65gr Sierra game king for shoulder/vital shots. I have also used my Grendel with amax but plan to use sst this season.

Richard

[JASmith]

I have in the past switched ammunition builds for the type of animal. I now have changed that and only use one load, for everything. I have had very good success with the hornady factory box ammunition with 123 gr. I will be shooting the Berger soon and that may be my next load that I use all the time. But I just use one load and get to know it real well so I can hit what I need to each time, only variables are the elevation, temp and barometric pressure. Already too many variables, not excluding myself!!

Where was it said 'pay attention to the hunter who has only one gun?' Doubly true for the hunter who uses only one load -- he will soon be deadly accurate in many different shooting conditions!

[LRRPF52]

I would consider the lighter hunting bullets for velocity and shock force on smaller game like coyotes, but then have a good understanding of where my effective range is now limited to based on BC. To me, a lighter bullet going fast from the .264" bore AR15 might be more ideal for close-range game.

Sneakyone has done a lot of experimental work with cut-down premium and cup & core bullets to get 2800-2900fps + velocities safely from a 20" gun, using the Hornady 120gr GMX, Hornady IB, and others as starting points. In his region, he encounters mostly close-range shots on medium game like deer, and likes the shock effect approach. His results with the 120gr GMX cut down to 95gr have been gruesome.



We even had a forum member take a deer at 300yds with an 85gr Sierra Hollow Point with a through-and-through shoulder shot, and I think it performed that way because at 300yds, it wasn't expanding rapidly like it would at a higher velocity. Who knows what it would have done at 100yds, but I'm wagering it would have been messy.

Bob Stokes will tell you that the basic cup & core bullets are all you need for medium game, and he has had great results with shoulder shots on hogs using the 123gr SST. From what I've seen of the 123gr A-MAX, I would have zero issues hunting with it as well. There are scores of deer and hogs that have been slain with the 123gr A-MAX, even though it is considered a target bullet. It has great expansion compared to many open-tipped match bullets.

[Whelenon]

Plenty of choices for what you want. I've got an 18" Liberty/Saturn that shoots the Hornady 129 SST, Nosler 120 BT and the Sierra 120 Pro-Hunter real good. All shot Sub-MOA. For the moment I'm going to use the 129 SST for deer hunting because i don't hunt at long ranges, so the 129 will give me more fl/lbs of energy. Although the 125 Partition is an excellent bullet I could only get 2-3 MOA of accuracy.

[XcountryRider]

I went to the range today and used rickoshays chrony. My 18in Grendel sends off a 123 SST loaded with 28.4gr of AA2520 at 2470FPS and a 100gr Nosler BT loaded with 30.5gr of H335 at 2750fps. Thats a pretty significant difference.

[XcountryRider]

I have the Redfield Battlezone scope which has a 308 turret on it calibrated for the 308 168gr HPBT at 2650 fps. That a perfect match for the 123gr SST from a 24in barrel. The 100gr Nosler also tracks it nicely to 400 yards from my 18in which is the effective hunting range of the Nosler from my 18in barrel. It drops to 1800 fps right about 400 yards.

6.5mm Grendel 100gr Nosler BT 18in Barrel
Yards Velocity Impact
0 2750 -0.5
50 2614 0.39
100 2488 0.00
150 2366 -1.8
200 2248 -5.16
250 2133 -10.24
300 2021 -17.23
350 1913 -26.37
400 1809 -37.89

308 168 HPBT at 2650FPS
Yards Velocity Impact
0 2650 -0.5
50 2549 0.42
100 2456 0.00
150 2364 -1.87
200 2274 -5.3
250 2187 -10.41
300 2101 -17.36
350 2017 -26.28
400 1935 -37.33

[81police]

I hunt with an 18" Grendel (JP barrel) and my father hunts with an 18" Grendel (Satern barrel), and we also regularly use his truck gun an 18" Grendel (AA barrel). His guns have fared very well using 120gr. TSX bullets and my new JP has already scored using 123gr. SST's. We're not target shooters but hunters and have been impressed with the performance of both bullets on Texas hogs ranging up to 300+ lbs.

[XcountryRider]

I hunt with an 18" Grendel (JP barrel) and my father hunts with an 18" Grendel (Satern barrel), and we also regularly use his truck gun an 18" Grendel (AA barrel). His guns have fared very well using 120gr. TSX bullets and my new JP has already scored using 123gr. SST's. We're not target shooters but hunters and have been impressed with the performance of both bullets on Texas hogs ranging up to 300+ lbs.

I chronied my 18in yesterday with 123gr Amax and was getting 2560fps and 120gr TSX loaded with 30.2gr of AA2520 was going 2650fps so i guess i'm good on the 120gr size bullets for the 18in AR Stoner barrel. If i can get a load thats shoots accurate and sends out the 120gr TSX at about 2610fps then it will match my 308 168gr HPBT 2650fps calibrated turret ballistics on my Redfield Battlezone scope pretty closely. I'll need to walk down the 30.2gr load a bit and see what i get get for accuracy.

[mseric]

I chronied my 18in yesterday with 123gr Amax and was getting 2560fps and 120gr TSX loaded with 30.2gr of AA2520 was going 2650fps so i guess i'm good on the 120gr size bullets for the 18in AR Stoner barrel. If i can get a load thats shoots accurate and sends out the 120gr TSX at about 2610fps then it will match my 308 168gr HPBT 2650fps calibrated turret ballistics on my Redfield Battlezone scope pretty closely. I'll need to walk down the 30.2gr load a bit and see what i get get for accuracy.

AA used a 24 inch barrel, you are matching his velocity of 2650fps with an 18 inch barrel? Your 6 inch reduction in barrel length should net you a velocity loss of about 150fps +/-, about 2500fps.

Although AA does not list 2520 in his 120 TSX data he does list a Max velocity of 2503fps out of a 24 inch barrel.

Hodgdon lists a Max velocity for their powders tested at 2419fps out of a 24 inch barrel.

Either your Chrony was off or your load is HOT.