6.5 Grendel Barrels?

[Dildobaggins]

So I guess its better late than never. I have a few 80 percent lowers. Deer season is right around the corner. I want to use the AR platform to hunt. Gun season here in upstate NY starts mid November. Ive looked at bartlien, Lilja, as well as JP. All of which have lead times of anywhere between 2-6 months. so those are out of the question. I'm looking for something in the 18"-20" range for length. Looking for opinions on best barrels for accuracy? I've been possibly looking at getting a criterion hybrid, Wilson combat, or a Saturn from grendel hunter. Anyone with experience with any of them? or suggest another option? Ive read on this forum that the saturns where having problems?

all my Lowers are basically Areo m4e1 with a CMC 2.5 single stage triggers. Have an Athlon argos 6-24X scope. Sub MOA usually isnt a problem. I just really dont want a dud barrel. Thanks everyone!

 

[Quiet6.8]

I have a 18” intermediate gas 6.5 Grendel barrel from Odin Works, it shoots factory Hornady 123 A-Max and SST Sub moa and same POA and POI. Very happy with that barrel, longest shot on an animal was 425yrds and it didn’t take a step

 

[Dildobaggins]

Just checked them out. Ton of reviews on those barrels. That's more comforting. Can find much on criterions. Thanks!

 

[drewthebrave]

I did a ton of research a few years back and settled on Alexander Arms. I've been very happy with their 18" fluted barrel for my hunting rig, as it shoots all factory ammo I've tried right around 1moa. Pretty awesome for a lightweight barrel. Other brands that had on my shortlist were Wilson Combat, Criterion, Odin Works, and SixFiveArms. I think you'll be satisfied with any of those!

 

[Redbeard88]

I know I may catch crap, but I built a budget 6.5 with a Bear Creek 20" barrel. It shoots 1/2" consistantly with 123gr eldm in front of CFE223, had trouble finding other powders that apparently do way better, but I'm happy with it. I may be a minority with a good bear creek barrel but maybe they are getting quality control figured out.

Also, good choice on the Athlon, I can't find another scope with better bang for the buck.

 

[sprad05]

I have an 18inch T Box barrel that has been GREAT. Out the gate it shot sub MOA groups with my handloads, Hornady SSTs, and for whatever reason it loves Hornady American Gunner as well. I had what was about 1/2 to 3/4 group at 1k with the American gunner, it at least was cheaper at one point. I just used it at a competition this last weekend and performed great, no complaints. 2 other friends have the same barrel and love theirs as well.

 

[jbonnie]

I think I got the last AA 18" grendel upper from Midway last week but haven't had a chance to shoot it yet.....

 

[Laseredge]

Satern, cut rifled. Have had a few, all shot easy sub MOA.

In stock, maybe too heavy for your needs.

SATERN® 20" 6.5 Grendel SAAMI Med/Heavy 5/8-24

20" 6.5 grendel satern 5/8-24

shop.saternbarrels.net

 

[Dildobaggins]

Satern, cut rifled. Have had a few, all shot easy sub MOA.

In stock, maybe too heavy for your needs.

SATERN® 20" 6.5 Grendel SAAMI Med/Heavy 5/8-24

20" 6.5 grendel satern 5/8-24

shop.saternbarrels.net

I have a whole upper from grendel hunter with a 20inch barrel Saturn barrel sitting in the cart. That's awesome to hear. Thanks for the info!

 

[Cheyenne Bodie]

Rainier Arms fluted ultramatch is what I have on my grendel, shoot lights the fuck out but it's heavy. Any chance I get to give RA my money I jump on, but it is a pricey barrel for just hunting. Worth considering all the same perhaps.

 

[XLR308]

Not in 6.5 Grendel but have one of each from Wilson Combat and AR- Performance in 6.8spc and both companies make good barrels if you can find one in stock I would grab it.
Are there higher quality barrels, yes but for a hunting rifle I wouldn't hesitate to buy again from either.

 

[Dildobaggins]

Satern, cut rifled. Have had a few, all shot easy sub MOA.

In stock, maybe too heavy for your needs.

SATERN® 20" 6.5 Grendel SAAMI Med/Heavy 5/8-24

20" 6.5 grendel satern 5/8-24

shop.saternbarrels.net

The one on grendelhunter is like $245 no fluting. Would you still say yes to that?

Rainier Arms fluted ultramatch is what I have on my grendel, shoot lights the fuck out but it's heavy. Any chance I get to give RA my money I jump on, but it is a pricey barrel for just hunting. Worth considering all the same perhaps.

Love RA! what length is your barrel? They only have 18" on the site. I have an 11 pound ar15 stag varminter that I lug around to coyote hunt. weight is not a problem lol. If ammo ever comes back to pre pandemic levels Ill be plinking targets with it like crazy.

 

[Dildobaggins]

I know I may catch crap, but I built a budget 6.5 with a Bear Creek 20" barrel. It shoots 1/2" consistantly with 123gr eldm in front of CFE223, had trouble finding other powders that apparently do way better, but I'm happy with it. I may be a minority with a good bear creek barrel but maybe they are getting quality control figured out.

Also, good choice on the Athlon, I can't find another scope with better bang for the buck.

Thanks! I actually got the advice from a guy on here for the athlon. I was looking at a burris veracity, but I wasn't ready to nut up 850 bucks. Its my first FFP scope. Love it.

 

[6.5SH]

Be aware the cheaper Satern's are their "Liberty" series, button rifled and a non-SAAMI chamber. The are usually over-gassed as well (wildly in the shorter lengths). Sometimes they can shoot, but don't expect the same quality as the cut rifled models or the Wilson Combat. BCA are like a scratcher lottery ticket, for every winner there are ton of losers. For the time and ammo most waste trying to get them to shoot you can start off with a better barrel.

 

[Redbeard88]

Thanks! I actually got the advice from a guy on here for the athlon. I was looking at a burris veracity, but I wasn't ready to nut up 850 bucks. Its my first FFP scope. Love it.

Yep, my first FFP as well, I don't know how I made it with second for so long!

 

[diggler1833]

I've got a 20" Wilson Combat. I tried only one basic handload for accuracy (AA2520 and 123gr Nosler CC). It printed all six groups of five shots anywhere from .8 - 1 MOA...and that was essentially during a break in.

I've loaded 123 Hornady SST and 120 Barnes TSX for shooting hogs. Zero load development, and both bullets shot right at 1 MOA.

I'm 100 percent sure that there is a lot more accuracy there when I eventually retire this rifle from hog hunting and get into target shooting...but 1 MOA out of a hunting rig with all three types of bullets and only one powder is a big win in my opinion. I'll not hesitate to get another WC barrel.

***

I have experience with one Criterion barrel, but it is in .308. Very accurate. Shoots cheap factory hunting ammo very well.

 

[jbailey]

I had great luck w/ my 18" Satern. It was a real shooter. Precision super easy to obtain, as were hits at 700-800yds. Didn't like the low MV on the 6.5G and got rid of it for that reason.

 

[Vodak]

I wouldn't buy a Satern. I picked up one of the same barrels linked above last year. The chamber wasn't cut to spec. at all. Undersized at the shoulder, oversized at the base, no free-bore to speak of, gas port shaves jacket material. Initial accuracy was right about an inch which I suppose is acceptable, but I was expecting better. (I consider myself a 1/2" to 3/4" shooter)
Minor over pressure signs from factory Hornady ammo and handloads as they approach the mid to-top end. Leaves a small but noticeable belt above the web after being resized due to the oversized chamber at the base. Took weeks of phone calls and emails to get them to acknowledge that it was a problem. (Admittedly this was at the beginning of the COVID scare) When they finally agreed to take it back their fix was just to run a Grendel II reamer into the same tube, despite my protest. Which did clean up the shoulder and throat, but does nothing to address the oversized base. I still have not had a chance to shoot it post rework, though I may get out with it this weekend. I'm hoping headspace is still good after the second go-round.
If you want a high end barrel spend a little more and get one from someone else. (Or make me an offer on this one, and maybe I'll pull it back out of the upper.)

 

[Chobe65]

I got the odin barrel, gas block, bolt combo. Shoots great with hornady eldm, sst, american gunner.

 

[Strykervet]

My Lilja barrel is awesome.

My Krieger barrel is better.

But the Satern barrel is .33MOA all day long with 120 BT's. It's uncanny. Only about 1MOA with SMK's? Thanks to Bill Alexander for turning me onto the 120 BT's. But unless it's actually in stock, just pass. They'll take custom orders but you'll never see it. Sad, he can do such phenomenal work.

I like cut rifle when it's an option. But there are fine button barrels out there too. These are just the ones I can speak for, that make 6.5G, that also happen to be my top three in terms of accuracy alone --Satern, Krieger and Lilja. And it's possible Satern and Krieger tie, I can only compare the ones I own.

I do have a Lilja 6.5G in 11.5" (well, 11" because Lilja counts the extension, would've been good to know BEFORE getting the handguard) and I gotta admit, it's probably the softest and most accurate SBR I've got. Didn't turn out to be that mini-DMR I wanted, not enough zip, but it did turn out nice nonetheless. ~2200fps w/Nosler 120 BT's? Could be mistaken on that... I bet it'll rock with some 100gr. AMAX's though.

This was done with the Satern 20" right after breaking in and finding the correct load for it (relatively quickly, again thanks to Bill A.) and I wanna say the first shot adjustment was made because I attached a suppressor to it for those four shots. (Duh, just noticed the note at the bottom... Shit, that's pretty damn good for an SDN6! --but that mount locked up butthole tight, it wears a 6.5Ultra9 now!). Anyway, this is typical for this rifle --well, this may actually be a bit tighter than .33? Which is the actual average for it. Anyway, I wish they were all like that!

 

[hlee]

I’m a fan of JP 6.5 Grendel barrels. I’ve got an odin works that is on my deer gun. The JP is on my match rifle. Both are sub moa. The JP is more sub moa-er. I get 2450 fps from Hornady black 123 gr ammo from the 18” odin. The 22” JP is right at 100 fps faster. Both will smack deer, but the odin is lighter and handier...

 

[mheimer_45]

Call Compass Lake. Betting a nice lady answers the phone then the guy making your barrel calls you a few days later when he’s about to build it.

 

[army_eod]

Today. 100 yds. Grendel Hunter upper. Hornady Black 123 ELD. 3 rnd group dead center. I think they use Satern bbls.

 

[Greene]

I’ve always had really good luck with criterion prefits. That’s what I used in my 6.5 Grendel.

 

[Clover_Jack]

I have a grendel upper that I built specifically for hunting with my ar in New York (I'm from PA so can't use it all the time). I put a faxon barrel on it since it was a good deal and I have to say, best barrel for the $ I've ever gotten. I haven't shot at anything over 100yds yet, but I've consistently shot sub MOA at the range with it.

 

[Forgetful Coyote]

My Lilja barrel is awesome.

My Krieger barrel is better.

But the Satern barrel is .33MOA all day long with 120 BT's. It's uncanny. Only about 1MOA with SMK's? Thanks to Bill Alexander for turning me onto the 120 BT's. But unless it's actually in stock, just pass. They'll take custom orders but you'll never see it. Sad, he can do such phenomenal work.

I like cut rifle when it's an option. But there are fine button barrels out there too. These are just the ones I can speak for, that make 6.5G, that also happen to be my top three in terms of accuracy alone --Satern, Krieger and Lilja. And it's possible Satern and Krieger tie, I can only compare the ones I own.

I do have a Lilja 6.5G in 11.5" (well, 11" because Lilja counts the extension, would've been good to know BEFORE getting the handguard) and I gotta admit, it's probably the softest and most accurate SBR I've got. Didn't turn out to be that mini-DMR I wanted, not enough zip, but it did turn out nice nonetheless. ~2200fps w/Nosler 120 BT's? Could be mistaken on that... I bet it'll rock with some 100gr. AMAX's though.

This was done with the Satern 20" right after breaking in and finding the correct load for it (relatively quickly, again thanks to Bill A.) and I wanna say the first shot adjustment was made because I attached a suppressor to it for those four shots. (Duh, just noticed the note at the bottom... Shit, that's pretty damn good for an SDN6! --but that mount locked up butthole tight, it wears a 6.5Ultra9 now!). Anyway, this is typical for this rifle --well, this may actually be a bit tighter than .33? Which is the actual average for it. Anyway, I wish they were all like that!
View attachment 7437959

Nice
Strange that Lilja includes the extension in the length LOL never heard that before.

 

[Forgetful Coyote]

I’m a fan of JP 6.5 Grendel barrels. I’ve got an odin works that is on my deer gun. The JP is on my match rifle. Both are sub moa. The JP is more sub moa-er. I get 2450 fps from Hornady black 123 gr ammo from the 18” odin. The 22” JP is right at 100 fps faster. Both will smack deer, but the odin is lighter and handier...

Do you have a pic of the JP without the Handguard? JP makes nice stuff but it seems like all their barrel contours are made to use the heat sink.. does yours have the heat sink?

 

[hlee]

Do you have a pic of the JP without the Handguard? JP makes nice stuff but it seems like all their barrel contours are made to use the heat sink.. does yours have the heat sink?

Mine does have the heat sink. I can take a pic of it without the hand guard if you like.

 

[Forgetful Coyote]

Mine does have the heat sink. I can take a pic of it without the hand guard if you like.

Thank you sir

 

[hlee]

Thank you sir

0.75 under the handguard and 0.875 in front of the gas block. 0.936 gas block. 15” handguard...

 

[2muchcowbell]

I have a rifle-length 20" Odin Works barrel that shot a 0.67" 3-round group at 200 yards. Unfortunately, I have had difficulty replicating it, but Odin is g2g in my book.

 

[Firedude]

Wilson Combat. I don't have any of their 6.5 Grendel barrels but I do have a couple of their 5.56 and 1 .308 barrel, which have been great. I don't think you'll go wrong with one of theirs, regardless of length you choose.

 

[Bullspotter]

One more happy Odin owner here!

 

[Mad_Charlie]

You might wander on over to the Grendel forum https://www.65grendel.com/forum/

They might have some of their group buy barrels still available. The price is very reasonable and they do shoot.
The 16" mid length that I bought was shooting .6's out of the tube with Speer Gold Dots.
These are nitrided barrels made by Green Mountain.

 

[Dildobaggins]

hey everyone, Thanks for all the input. I really would like a criterion, but Im going to go with Odin works. They have an 18in with adjustable gas block and BCG for $475 on their site. Going to try and find a cheaper price, but that seems like a bargain.