1st post and a new build

[Goochylogic]

First off thanks for having me here. The grendel is all new to me. Ive built 6.8's with really good success over the last few years, now its time to spend all the gold I have buried in the ground on a grendel. Ive got everything except the bolt and barrel. Been reading as much as I can. In the big picture of things as long as I stay with a matched bolt and barrel will I be ok or should I go with 1 certain type. Its a little confusing with the different variants. I think I can find my way around that issue with more research. My question what would you by in a barrel and what would you stay away from. I deer hunt mostly at ranges of right here to 300 or so yrds. Thanks for any imput.

[rabiddawg]

Let us know where you are located or hunt. On this board, elevation plays a roll in barrel length suggestions.

For me here in La. and bama, I like to hunt with my 16" guns. I do hunt with my 20's if my wife and daughter take the 16's.

Save yourself some time and confusion. Buy a barrel and bolt together and get the saami chamber. If a barrel maker starts their type this or type that bs just move on.

Buy with confidence from Alex arms, precision fire arms (personal experience)

Welcome and Good luck

[Goochylogic]

Rabiddawg, thanks for the reply back. I'm in the central part of Va. I hunt mostly from stands 16-25' up. Most of my past shots have been under 200yrds. I'm thinking 18-20" barrel would probably do me well from what Ive read. My 6.8's have 18" midweight barrels and handle well. Front end weight doesnt seem to bother me much because of the stand hunting I do, but Ive never played with a grendel. I'm open to all suggestions. I see companys like Mas and Stoner come to mind have fairly inexpensive barrels. I have used ARpreformance and Blackhole with good luck.

[Frank45]

Welcome. I too am new to the Grendel and was in your same shoes a little over six months ago. I went with a PF matched barrel and bolt and couldn't be happier. The wait time is agonizing though. 8-12 weeks meant 24 weeks to the day in my case. Mark's website was very easy to work with to get all the options you want. I highly recommend.

[kmon]

Check the group buy threads, BFT last I looked had some 16 inch barrels not spoken for at a great price

[Goochylogic]

Kmon Thanks I just visited their site and saw their barrel.
Frank45, what are the specs on your barrel, any changes to what you bought?

[Frank45]

Bartlein 22".920 profile, dimple fluted, I also got my brake, bolt, and bcg with it. I think he does runs by barrel blank manufacturer so I just had to wait until he did the next Bartlein run. No changes.

[jim_bob]

16" will more than cover the distances you mention. My 11.5" Lilja barreled SBR is now my hunting blaster. I used it to put a nice doe in the freezer last year, shot was over 150 yards. I think I'll build one with a 12.877 Lilja when I finish my current build which will use the 16" group buy barrel.

[LRRPF52]

Welcome aboard. We (many forum members) spent some time on a lot of the details of selecting a barrel length for hunting, taking into consideration whether the hunter is stalking, stand-hunting, or both, and what region they live in. Also covered are projectile selection for animal types and sizes.

We compiled this data into the 2nd Volume of the Reloading Handbooks.




There's a graph on page 13 with barrel lengths ranging from 10.5" to 24". There seems to be a sweet spot for effective hunting reach with the 16-20" pipes, all of which give you a point blank range of 250yds. This graph was made with the 123gr SST as the baseline, sea level, 59 * F.

10.5" expands out to ~260yds, 225yd point blank
14.5" expands out to between 350-400yds PBR 240yds
[COLOR="blue"]16" expands out to between 400-420yds PBR 250yds
18" expands out to between 410-440yds PBR 250yds
20" expands out to between 450-490yds PBR 250yds[/COLOR]
24" expands out to 500-520yds PBR 260yds

[PrecisionFirearms]

Welcome to the 65 Grendel Forum! You will find a lot of good people and good Info here. Let me know if we can help you in any way.

Mark Hostetter
Precision Firearms
pf15@pf15.com
240-217-6875

[Goochylogic]

Thanks to all of you that chimned in with your experience and advice. I've had a bunch of hesitation about completing this project for a while. Ive got friends that have tried to push me the way of the 300blk. I just cant see myself building something with the trajectory of throwing a bowling ball. Alot to consider but I will report back when I get it finished. Thanks again to everyone for the help.

[Goochylogic]

Mark, thanks for chiming in. I have purchased from you in the past at the Richmond Va gun shows, and I believe just before you moved to WVA from Maryland. I will definitely keep your company in mind.

[Goochylogic]

Bartlein 22".920 profile, dimple fluted, I also got my brake, bolt, and bcg with it. I think he does runs by barrel blank manufacturer so I just had to wait until he did the next Bartlein run. No changes.

Frank45, thanks for the reply back.

[Goochylogic]

LRRPF52, thanks for the heads up on the books. I just placed an order.