Anybody shooting a 6.5 Grendel? I've got a stripped upper and lower here that will eventually be one. Think DMR/deer rifle.

I do wish they'd quit this Grendel I, Grendel II, etc. Trying to decide what will work best.

yeah nah...not my cuppa tea Bud,I reckon its just a fad. there are already quite a few turning up 2nd hand along with 300ac blackouts..... guys tried and found they dont do anything the good old .308 etc wont do better.
Slimjim has the previous offering in 6.8spc and doing good things with it,but I reckon even he will admit the poohseventy will do it just as good if not better and if he could stand the taste of latte a .7mm/08 would do it too.

Pumpkinslinger wrote:

I do wish they'd quit this Grendel I, Grendel II, etc. Trying to decide what will work best.

If you want what is best for a deer rifle, get a 6.8mm SPC. Much better hunting bullet selection, better performance in shorter barrels, and avoids the weakness in the Grendel brass and bolts that limit chamber pressure.

I checked with the guy I help develop bullets for. He recommends, if you are going to get a Grendel, get the 264 lbc or a Grendel barrel from ARP15performance. SAAMI Grendel can't load long, only 2.26. It limits the cartridge unnecessarily. I believe the ARP barrels are the best for the money. I have 3 of them for my 6.8s. ARP also has developed a bolt for the Grendel that designs out the bolt weakness. ARP has a couple 20" and several 18" Grendel barrels in stock and 4 Grendel bolts. He can't keep his 6.8mm Barrels in stock. Don't wait too long.

It depends what you prefer. If you are building on an AR platform, then go for it. I am not sure how popular the 6.5 Grendel cartridge will be since we have no shortage of calibers. If I were building a bolt action rifle, I would not consider that caliber. Just a personal preference. All the best...
Gil

Yep Gil, it'll be an AR. I already load for .260 Rem so I can use the same bullets.

According to Wikipedia Serbia has picked the Grendel for its new service rifle and some US Special Forces units will use it too.

Pkslinger, watch you don't drink too much of the Grendel cool-aid. There are multiple proponents out there exaggerating its performance often to promote their product. The brass and bolt have weaknesses. If your going to use it for target shooting then, yes, select it over the 6.8 (although there are several of us that can best Grendels for long range shooting though we are handloading special rounds). The 6.8 is a more effective hunting round and better performance in shorter barrels. I personally dropped the Grendel off my list as I researched AR alternatives because of the Grendel brass and bolt weaknesses plus, with light for caliber bullets, it still can't reach 3000 fps muzzle velocity. The Grendel is short of .243 Win performance. If military service is your yard stick, 6.8 has more rifles in military service and use by Special Forces. The 6.8 is Saudi Arabia's main battle rifle. Also, the 260 may be different than that 270 but I have never used any bullets I used in my 270 in my 6.8 and vice versa. There was no savings there for me.

heck my old buddy nearly gets 3k from his .204ruger-264 eg 6.5mm pill in a .204 ruger case..... he fair pushing boundaries but he gets speed up there in his bolt action...not so much in the drop block.

Some more information to digest. AR-15 Performance sells many different alternative AR barrels. 6.8mm out sells 6.5 Grendel 20 to 1.

slimjim wrote:

Some more information to digest. AR-15 Performance sells many different alternative AR barrels. 6.8mm out sells 6.5 Grendel 20 to 1.

I'm surprised, as the latter is widely seen to be the better cartridge & outperforms the 6.8 anywhere from 300m out.

E.M. thats why......300 mtrs out is not your average Joes type of normal usage....the 6.5 was made as a gong cartridge..the 6.8 was made to kill stuff.

Elvis wrote:

E.M. thats why......300 mtrs out is not your average Joes type of normal usage....the 6.5 was made as a gong cartridge..the 6.8 was made to kill stuff.

That kinda removes the 6.8 from consideration as a military cartridge, as the problem's been putting down effective fire out past 300m.
The old Brit 280/30 cartridge would be an excellent compromise between the two, especially with modern propellants & bullet design.

The Grendel was designed as a military cartridge that was more effective at longer ranges than the 5.56 NATO and still use the AR-15 platform.

From what I'm reading it works well on deer at any distance I'm likely to shoot and on varmints WAY out there.

I'll start off with some 123 grain Hornady SSTs and see how it goes. Barrel is on the way but I've got lots of other parts to order, preferably when they go on sale someplace.

none of the above will do any job you cant do as well or better with the good old .308 winchester/7.62x51
as for effective fire past 300 mtrs......um well dont really know where to start on that one...the 5.56 was tested and deemed ok back when it still ran 55grn pills.
(penertrate battle helmet at certain range was the deciding factor I believe)...with the heavier jobs they running now it has the legs to do it with ease... as for the 6.8 not doing so.......well its a .270 with a bit less speed so not that hard to see it will have legs or sure could have with simple load switch.
using that same logic E.M. the 7.62x39mm isnt good enough either....... someone better not tell the thousands who use it.

chuck a fast twist barrel on a std 6.5x55mm of mauser design and it will still do the goods just as well as the new fancy jobs...heck get your dialing up right and you can use .45/70 with subsonics to 300 yards.....
just because its new dont mean its better is my point.

Pumpkinslinger wrote:

The Grendel was designed as a military cartridge ...

Pkslinger, this is what the Grendel promoters say while they trash everything else. Why would a cartridge designed for the military have such a low SAAMI chamber pressure.

Pumpkinslinger wrote:

From what I'm reading it works well on deer at any distance I'm likely to shoot and on varmints WAY out there.

More advertising. Would you say the same of the .243? The Grendel is short of .243 performance. Right now, anything with 6.5 in front of it is a hot item with the popularity of the Creedmoor.