Posts: 18
Threads: 5
Joined: Jun 2023
I need some input from you folks. I have a Radical Firearms 300 Blk with a Vortex scope. The AR shoots pretty good so I don't want to mess with the upper. I am wanting to purchase a 6.5 Grendel upper and install my Pulsar Digex NV scope on it. The 6.5 upper will be used at night to hunt hogs. What is a good upper that will give me MOA out to 200 yards. I have a Geissele SSA trigger on order from my LGS. I would like to stay in the $750 to 800 range, not to get to crazy. Thanks Tom
Posts: 6,206
Threads: 50
Joined: Mar 2011
I dont think your going to find a complete upper in your price range with the Accuracy you want. If you buy a rack grade barrel it is luck of the draw on accuracy. If I was going to buy a rack grade barrel Id order from SixFiveOutfitters. You cant beat the price and the barrels get good reviews.
With the cost of ammo I think it is cheaper to buy a quality barrel. For night hunting with thermal you can use a 16 barrel. You didnt mention if you were going to run a suppressor. For a quality barrel I bought a Shilen but Lilja get very good reviews on this forum. A forum member runs SixSigmaArms and has Lilja barrels in stock. I think SixSigmaArms and SixFiveOutfitters will assemble an upper. I assemble my own uppers and lowers and it isnt difficult.
Six Five Outfitters
https://www.sixfiveoutfitters.com/
Lilja from SixSigma Arms
https://sixsigmaarms.com/products.php?d=61
Posts: 18
Threads: 5
Joined: Jun 2023
VASCAR 2, as a matter of fact I will be running it with my SILENCERco Omega 300 with an ASR muzzle brake.
Posts: 4
Threads: 1
Joined: May 2023
Grendel Hunter will do the job for you. In your price range. They use match barrels and it shows. That is what I run.
Posts: 6,206
Threads: 50
Joined: Mar 2011
06-04-2023, 02:40 PM
(This post was last modified: 06-04-2023, 03:06 PM by VASCAR2.)
No disrespect to armyeod1952 but Grendel Hunter uses Satern/Liberty button rifled barrels with Grendel II chamber. The Liberty barrels might be called Match barrels but they are still mass produced buttoned rifled rack grade barrels. Ive been around a few Satern/Liberty barrels with their short chambers and huge gas ports. Satern has a history which has been beat to death on this forum.
The heart of any AR-15 is the barrel and a good trigger. Using night vision/thermal most shots are typically under 200 yards on hogs. A sixteen or shorter 6.5 Grendel will work in these circumstances. Id want to keep the weight down and would shy away from heavy profile barrels for a night time hunting rifle.
The topic of which upper or barrels to get is a frequent topic on this forum. By the time you spend $1-$2 per round for ammo plus gas and time to go to the range it is cheaper to buy the best barrel. A lot of rack grade barrels need seasoned before they start shooting good. Say you shoot 100-200 rounds of ammo and work up a load for your barrel. Add that cost to the price of the barrel. Quality barrels shoot good from the first round and you rarely hear of an issue. Say your rack grade barrel is a lemon and you have to send it back. Rack grade barrels is basically luck of the draw.
I have three Grendel Monster logo barrels, two manufactured by Faxon and one manufactured by Green Mountain to BFT specifications. I have no accuracy requirement and I enjoy shooting the 6.5 Grendel. If I need top accuracy I get my Shilen. If Im going hunting I grab either my 16 or 18 Monster barreled AR-15s.
I like assembling guns and have five AR-15s chambered in 6.5 Grendel plus a Cz 527. Im a retired guy that likes guns and enjoys shooting. For night hunting Id want reliability in a fast handling carbine with a good trigger.
Good luck on your quest tomt. Everybody is welcome to their opinion but basically it is your money.
For top quality uppers, Precision Firearms, Craddock Precision, Rock Creek, Compass Lake Engineering, White Oak Armory, JP, Wilson Combat, LaRue Tactical, get good reviews. Bartlein, Douglas, Criterion, Lilja JP, Wilson Combat, LaRue Tactical barrels and a few others get good reviews.
Alexander Arms, Odin, Faxon, Green Mountain, Ballistic Advantage, Satern/Liberty Palmetto State Armory, Bear Creek Arsenal, Radical Firearms are the commonly seen. I suggest you stay away from the cheapest 6.5 Grendel upper you can find. Once you step away from 5.56/223 in the AR-15 the knowledge base is not the same with different manufacturers.
Posts: 6,206
Threads: 50
Joined: Mar 2011
All the 6.5 Grendel magazine manufacturers have lemons slip out so I suggest you buy magazines from vendors with good customer service in case you get a lemon. For night hunting with a suppressor I think the CPD Duramag 20 round 6.5 Grendel magazines are a good size. I use my 20 round CPD-D mags, 17 round E-Lander and fifteen round ASC mags the most. I have the 24/25 round 6.5 Grendel mags but I typical use the medium capacities most. The CPD Duramag twenty round mags I bought needed no break in and would be my choice if buying new mags.
Posts: 15
Threads: 3
Joined: Jan 2023
Well I guess armyeod was just lucky then.
Posts: 119
Threads: 6
Joined: Mar 2022
VASCAR2 has given good advice. I have a Liberty barrel and a Compass Lake finished Douglas blank. The Liberty shoots quite well now, but the cost to get it there evens out the price difference between the two, and the Liberty will never shoot as well as the CLE. If you've got a thermal budget, you've got a true match grade barrel budget too.
Posts: 18
Threads: 5
Joined: Jun 2023
Quick update:
My Grendel upper is complete.
18" Faxon gunner barrel
REXUS AR15 bolt carrier group
Areo precision adjustable gas block
Tacstar carbon fiber handguard
Mil-spec gas tube
Mil-spec charging handle
I've only been able to shoot 12 rounds thru it, but the last 3 shots at 100yds was 1' with Frontier ammo.
Posts: 45
Threads: 2
Joined: Aug 2023
Posts: 18
Threads: 5
Joined: Jun 2023
FBOldCrow Wrote:I hope you ment 1" tomt!
YES!!! Thanks,
