6.5 Grendel

As a side note I did get the Sharps extreme performance bolt and ran it in my rifle. I was not happy. I was running ladders for velocity only for my 100gr ELD M’s and some 107 Smk’s. On the lowest start load the first couple of rounds stove piped. I went to single feed them. Alternatively the rifle would go from not ejecting from the gun well, to just barely flopping out, to 2:00 o’clock ejection pattern to not even ejecting the round with it still being squarely in the bolt. I was single feeding do the bcc was held by the bolt catch.

I pulled that bolt and put back the previous Odin works bolt. The following day this is when I did some other bullet straight ladder test for velocity and pressure signs. That bolt functioned flawlessly.

I contacted Sharps and told customer service of my problem and suggested that I return the bolt and some accompanying brass so they could figure out what was going on and correct them. Their response was looking at pick I sent you were running rounds well over pressure which caused the brass flecks on the case head and ultimately functional failure of the bolt after 30 rounds.

So I decided I would pull the bolt apart. The extractor and ejector pin and figure out the problem. Here is a quick summary of my findings.

The extractor had a fairly large o-ring on it which made any movement of the extractor when the round was going into battery offer a tremendous amount of resistance. Examining my brass from that firing cycle the faces of the case head were pretty stable very little if any case swiping but the rims of the case heads had small cuts in the from the claw of the extractor.

I measured all my spent cases for evidence of drastic over pressuring of the loads. All measurements, neck, base, case web, were within .001 tolerances. While primers ( cci 450’s) were a little flattened but still with round edges, there was no cratering of the primers. So this was not causational to bolt function.

So my take is that the extractor exhibited so much resistance to opening during the final rotational movement into battery that the sharp edge of the extractor was cutting the edges of the case rim as it pushed by. So I will either find a slightly smaller o-ring or shave of a little of the existing to lessen the resistance of the extractor as the case goes into battery.

As far as the ejection pin. I soaked the pin head area with WD40 and then successfully pushed down on the ejector until it loosened enough and finally extended all the way. There actually were a few brass shards that had made their way down in between the pin and the wall of the hole which ultimately locked it in a flush condition.

I cleaned out the hole with a small rat tail file very lightly moving it back and forth. Again I picked up a very small shard of brass. really small pieces, barely visible to my eye but pick up in light. I then wiped down the pin inspected it and placed it in the hole. It was still binding up. So I broke out my Dremel and put a polishing wheel on it. Put some Flick on it it and went about polishing the pin.

I then placed the pin in the hole to check for clearance and function. Absolutely no snagging, it ran up and down with little or no resistance. I reassembled the bolt and I will see what I have or I can find to replace the , what I believe is over sized o-ring. If I can’t find one I will shave some the existing o-ring off, and then I will put it back in.

I still think the Sharps extreme bolt is a good deal and I suspect going forward it will function flawlessly. But when you pay $131 for a bolt you expect it to function 100% out of the box.

I did write a review to the customer service rep of my findings in a little more lengthy report, hoping they will apply it to their QC and production operations. I did let them know that I was not happy with their dismissal of me as a customer. Assuming I was just some buffoon.
 
As a side note I did get the Sharps extreme performance bolt the other day and ran it in my rifle. I was not happy. I was running ladders for velocity only for my 100gr ELD M’s and some 107 Smk’s. On the lowest start load the first couple of rounds stove piped. I went to single feed them. Alternatively the rifle would go from not ejecting from the gun well, to just barely flopping out, to 2:00 o’clock ejection pattern to not even ejecting the round with it still being squarely in the bolt. I was single feeding do the bcc was held by the bolt catch.



I pulled that bolt and put back the previous Odin works bolt. The following day this is when I did some other bullet straight ladder test for velocity and pressure signs. That bolt functioned flawlessly.



I contacted Sharps and told customer service of my problem and suggested that I return the bolt and some accompanying brass so they could figure out what was going on and correct them. Their response was looking at pick I sent you were running rounds well over pressure which caused the brass flecks on the case head and ultimately functional failure of the bolt after 30 rounds.



So I decided I would pull the bolt apart. The extractor and ejector pin and figure out the problem. Here is a quick summary of my findings.



The extractor had a fairly large o-ring on it which made any movement of the extractor when the round was going into battery offer a tremendous amount of resistance. Examining my brass from that firing cycle the faces of the case head were pretty stable very little if any case swiping but the rims of the case heads had small cuts in the from the claw of the extractor.



I measured all my spent cases for evidence of drastic over pressuring of the loads. All measurements, neck, base, case web, were within .001 tolerances. While primers ( cci 450’s) were a little flattened but still with round edges, there was no cratering of the primers. So this was not causational to bolt function.



So my take is that the extractor exhibited so much resistance to opening during the final rotational movement into battery that the sharp edge of the extractor was cutting the edges of the case rim as it pushed by. So I will either find a slightly smaller o-ring or shave of a little of the existing to lessen the resistance of the extractor as the case goes into battery.



As far as the ejection pin. I soaked the pin head area with WD40 and then successfully pushed down on the ejector until it loosened enough and finally extended all the way. There actually were a few brass shards that had made their way down in between the pin and the wall of the hole which ultimately locked it in a flush condition.



I cleaned out the hole with a small rat tail file very lightly moving it back and forth. Again I picked up a very small shard of brass. really small pieces, barely visible to my eye but pick up in light. I then wiped down the pin inspected it and placed it in the hole. It was still binding up. So I broke out my Dremel and put a polishing wheel on it. Put some Flick on it it and went about polishing the pin.



I then placed the pin in the hole to check for clearance and function. Absolutely no snagging, it ran up and down with little or no resistance. I reassembled the bolt and I will see what I have or I can find to replace the , what I believe is over sized o-ring. If I can’t find one I will shave some the existing o-ring off, and then I will put it back in.



I still think the Sharps extreme bolt is a good deal and I suspect going forward it will function flawlessly. But when you pay $131 for a bolt you expect it to function 100% out of the box.



I did write a review to the customer service rep of my findings in a little more lengthy report, hoping they will apply it to their QC and production operations. I did let them know that I was not happy with their dismissal of me as a customer. Assuming I was just some buffoon.
 
S7 steel is not ideal for tiny parts under high stresses. If you look at the Barrett 82 or M107 bolts, which are made with S7, they are huge triangles that don’t have tiny lugs.

iu


9310 has been working great for Grendel bolts, especially Aerospace grade put through certain processes like Vacuum Arc Remelt. I would not mess around with the unknowns, and even with 5.56, there were a lot of lug failures with S7 as soon as they were released.

For extractors, all you need is a quality extractor spring and elastomer insert to keep it from folding over. I take out O-rings any time I see them because they add unnecessary extractor tension and make going into battery more difficult, while placing stress on the extractor lip during the chambering process.

I also de-horn the corners of extractors if they have sharp edges. The M4 TDP calls for machine-relief cut surfaces that remove the extractor sharp lips as they cause excess brass shavings in the bolt face area, which are known to not help with reliability.

I also check ejector function to make sure there isn’t any binding. You might want to Oxy-blue it after polishing to make sure it doesn’t corrode on the surface. This is what I do to any parts on the bolt that get tuned-up or polished.
 
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S7 steel is not ideal for tiny parts under high stresses. If you look at the Barrett 82 or M107 bolts, which are made with S7, they are huge triangles that don’t have tiny lugs.

iu


9310 has been working great for Grendel bolts, especially Aerospace grade put through certain processes like Vacuum Arc Remelt. I would not mess around with the unknowns, and even with 5.56, there were a lot of lug failures with S7 as soon as they were released.

For extractors, all you need is a quality extractor spring and elastomer insert to keep it from folding over. I take out O-rings any time I see them because they add unnecessary extractor tension and make going into battery more difficult, while placing stress on the extractor lip during the chambering process.

I also de-horn the corners of extractors if they have sharp edges. The M4 TDP calls for machine-relief cut surfaces that remove the extractor sharp lips as they cause excess brass shavings in the bolt face area, which are known to not help with reliability.

I also check ejector function to make sure there isn’t any binding. You might want to Oxy-blue it after polishing to make sure it doesn’t corrode on the surface. This is what I do to any parts on the bolt that get tuned-up or polished.
Thanks for the input, the Sharps Bolt is here to stay. The extractor lips need to be honed smooth to remove the sharp end point. That coupled with the oversized o-ring is a recipe for disaster as far as creating brass shavings off the case rims.

When I polished the pin I did not remove the DLC it was treated with. It merely made it very slick and removed uneven surface deviations. So I think the pin is good. I will watch it though.

In the end though what amazes me is mainstream company has this as a vaunted product, which will in it’s current form only serve to piss off a lot off people.
 
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Anytime a competent company in a certain field makes something and does so to the best of their ability in their minds, you always have to zoom out and look at the whole system to see what 2nd and 3rd order effects are resonating through it.

You can be the best barrel maker but might suck at profiling, chambering, and threading. Doesn’t take away from the fact that nobody can drill a straight hole through a pipe like you and cut or button beautiful rifling, with a sweet polishing of the bore that removes tooling marks.

You can make the most precisely-machined bolt carrier, but if it doesn’t articulate correctly with the bolt and gas rings, the gun won’t run right.

Same with bolts. Someone might really have a great process for the bolt, but then slaps on a questionable extractor, spring, and O-ring thinking those are good enough, but they aren’t.

It’s why I kinda wish high-end companies would just offer their parts so I can go through them myself and assemble to my specs.
 
To pretty much quote LRRPF52, chunk that Oring and just use the extractor spring and little beer can inside of it. It is one of the first things I do when I get a new bolt. It seems to me the edges of all extractors are made as brass skiving knives. They do what they do if you don't work on them a little. They cut brass. With the Oring, spring, little beer can, and sharp edges on the extractor are going to put little slivers of brass and deposit them all over the boltface and other places you don't want them. I'm saying what you already know though.

That is a little odd that the ejector was bound up into the lower position.

I too have eyeballed those bolts and have been curious about them. I don't consider your issues with that brand of new bolt to be something that would make me write them off and never buy one. I usually spend some time doing certain stuff to every new bolt anyway and I may never have seen the issues you had. Reading about others experiences helps me learn and reinforces why I do certain things.
 
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I agree. That does not excuse their customer service. That was atrocious. However , there are a lot of good things about the bolt as well. The DLC coating is nice and the S7 should work well . I understand initially that didn’t have that process down and there were a lot of broken bolt ears. I think the heat treating for the S7 gives it durability . Any hoot I just load test ladders up at 40 case test beds. So the initial loads were just to track load response of the brass in my rifle . I have used the same 40 cases for two firings and I just polished the case heads so I could be looking at good case heads to begin with. The only case head that was more than a superficial drip was 28.8 gr ARComp on a 123 gr SST. So I’ll back down to 28.3 max. Next step 3 loads 2g increment loads , 5 round each charge weight (so if 28.3 max the 5 at 28 , 5 at 28.1 5 at 28.3).
For 100 gr ELDM , 107 SMK , 123 SST, and 130
RDF. Try to find the most accurate loads for each l round. I’ll probably do this three time, first use the powder with highest velocity and work down till I get one that shoots lights out.

I will be putting the Sharps EXP relia bolt back in so I’ll see how in run over the next 150 rounds. To come down the over gassed dwell timing issue, I had an adjustable gas block but it needed more . So in my rifle buffer I put in three tungsten buffer piece so my buffer is pushing 8 oz. It certainly slowed down the buffer, reduced the recoil and removed much of the overpassed issues as far as the brass was concerned. Hardly any swipe even under very warm loads. Unfortunately it also meant running the AGB with basically no adjustments. Wide open.

The only issue with this was the Factory load Hornady 100gr ELD VT M loads which were only running 2693 gps average would not cycle the bolt yo pick up the next round. The 31.8 gr Power Pro Varmint load at 2,920 and no problems. The 123 factory SST had no problems cycling as well. If all goes well for my brass I will leave it. I don’t plan on buying any factory 100 gr ammo. If I do , I’ll drop one of the tungsten weight which will make is 7oz buffer and adjust the block. But this being my target rifle I probably leave it alone as it will save my brass
 
Guys, what are other powders that work well for the grendel that could give similar velocity/accuracy to AR Comp without being very temp sensitive?

I've heard of all the common powders.
Lever
Tac
A2520
H4895
Blc2
XBR
arcomp


These are all very hard to find, very temp sensitive, or very dirty burning.

Has anyone played around with the StaBall Line of powders, the norma powders, ADI, or even the VV?

I'm new to reloading and have been trying to find a power that is minimally temp sensitive. ARComp is what I would buy if I could find some.

Someone mentioned a while back that I shouldn't necessarily look at these popular brands and expand my search so I'm trying to include other powder makers. The problem is, there is very little info of people who have used these other powders successfully.

Anyone care to share?
 
Guys, what are other powders that work well for the grendel that could give similar velocity/accuracy to AR Comp without being very temp sensitive?

I've heard of all the common powders.
Lever
Tac
A2520
H4895
Blc2
XBR
arcomp


These are all very hard to find, very temp sensitive, or very dirty burning.

Has anyone played around with the StaBall Line of powders, the norma powders, ADI, or even the VV?

I'm new to reloading and have been trying to find a power that is minimally temp sensitive. ARComp is what I would buy if I could find some.

Someone mentioned a while back that I shouldn't necessarily look at these popular brands and expand my search so I'm trying to include other powder makers. The problem is, there is very little info of people who have used these other powders successfully.

Anyone care to share?

I run VV N133 with 90gr bullets. Works extremely well for me.
 
I’m using an old bottle of H4198 with 85gr Sierra varminter bullets with 3/4” groups but it won’t last much longer and N130,N133,N135 and N140 are readily available. Vihtahouri’s app has data for 130,133 and 135 with light bullets.
 
20” 1:8.75tw
2900fps

12.5” 1:8tw
2700 fps

Same load for both.
29.6gr N133 w/ CCI450.

Groups are 3/4 MOA.
Federal box ammo 90gr TNT does:

17.6” Lilja Grendel
2900fps

12” Grendel suppressed
2700fps (2698 to be exact, large sample avg)

Also .75 MOA for 5rd from both when I grouped them. The little 90gr TNTs like to be punted out fast.

I shot some through a brake disc recently on a car at the range, and the frag came back and sliced through my pants. Penetrated the disc from the 12” Grendel at close range. Not recommended. I should have been farther away.
 
Federal box ammo 90gr TNT does:

17.6” Lilja Grendel
2900fps

12” Grendel suppressed
2700fps (2698 to be exact, large sample avg)

Also .75 MOA for 5rd from both when I grouped them. The little 90gr TNTs like to be punted out fast.

I shot some through a brake disc recently on a car at the range, and the frag came back and sliced through my pants. Penetrated the disc from the 12” Grendel at close range. Not recommended. I should have been farther away.
I have not been able to get the box ammo to group well from any barrel I own(ed). The SDs were always high and the 5-shot group ES was routinely over 50. It’s certainly a hotter load than what I’m shooting.

I loaded the 90 TNTs in my 22” 6.5CM gasser and was shooting good groups from 3350-3400 fps…they definitely like to go fast!
 
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29.8gr N540
120 gold dot
2.275in
2325 FPS out of a 12in (100 FPS faster than factory 123 ELD-M). Beats the 123 ELD up to 300m in speed and energy and supposedly expand down to 1600 FPS.
Its near/at max pressure so start lower.
Might try XBR
 
29.8gr N540
120 gold dot
2.275in
2325 FPS out of a 12in (100 FPS faster than factory 123 ELD-M). Beats the 123 ELD up to 300m in speed and energy and supposedly expand down to 1600 FPS.
Its near/at max pressure so start lower.
Might try XBR
In your experience, have you found n540 to be temp sensitive? Usually the powders producing the faster speeds come with the cost of being pretty temp sensitive.
 
In your experience, have you found n540 to be temp sensitive? Usually the powders producing the faster speeds come with the cost of being pretty temp sensitive.
In my very limited experience with N540 in the 6 ARC with heavies, I found it way less sensitive than CFE223 and LVR. The main issue as far as I know is that N540 burns hot so it's leads to early throat erosion so I only use it on low volume hunting rifle.

The positive of N540 in the burn rate even though it shows as much slower than XBR, it will achieve close to 100% burn in a 12in barrel. CFE223 in comparison will do about 85-90% and it gets me dirty cases.

My 12in rifle was a bit overgassed and at max pressure, I got weak ejection with N540 so I got a Seekins AGB and turn it down and now ejection is perfect and cases are clean.
 
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In my very limited experience with N540 in the 6 ARC with heavies, I found it way less sensitive than CFE223 and LVR. The main issue as far as I know is that N540 burns hot so it's leads to early throat erosion so I only use it on low volume hunting rifle.

The positive of N540 in the burn rate even though it shows as much slower than XBR, it will achieve close to 100% burn in a 12in barrel. CFE223 in comparison will do about 85-90% and it gets me dirty cases.

My 12in rifle was a bit overgassed and at max pressure, I got weak ejection with N540 so I got a Seekins AGB and turn it down and now ejection is perfect and cases are clean.

Thanks, I am considering this and n133/n135 for a 6.5 grendel hunting rifle. These VV powders seem to be more obtainable and affordable compared to h4895, ARComp, or XBR.

I think the really hot burning aspect of it will not matter much as it is for a hunting rifle.
 
Thanks, I am considering this and n133/n135 for a 6.5 grendel hunting rifle. These VV powders seem to be more obtainable and affordable compared to h4895, ARComp, or XBR.

I think the really hot burning aspect of it will not matter much as it is for a hunting rifle.
N133/135/140 will work great but N5xx will generally give you more speed at max pressure, especially with the heavies.

 
N133/135/140 will work great but N5xx will generally give you more speed at max pressure, especially with the heavies.


Do you know if n133/n135 will be more temp sensitive? I'm new to reloading, I have actually never loaded before and this will be my first. I know ball powders are sensitive. However, I'm starting to see other terms such as extruded powders, double base, etc.

Here in south texas, we can start our hunt in the 20s early in the morning and reach up to maybe 80 or 90 degrees in the afternoon.

I do plan to load the heavies, or at least the heavies for the cartridge, not necessarily heavy for cal. I have 130 AR hybrids and want to either load those or anything from 110 to 130. Not particularly the light pills.
 
Do you know if n133/n135 will be more temp sensitive? I'm new to reloading, I have actually never loaded before and this will be my first. I know ball powders are sensitive. However, I'm starting to see other terms such as extruded powders, double base, etc.

Here in south texas, we can start our hunt in the 20s early in the morning and reach up to maybe 80 or 90 degrees in the afternoon.

I do plan to load the heavies, or at least the heavies for the cartridge, not necessarily heavy for cal. I have 130 AR hybrids and want to either load those or anything from 110 to 130. Not particularly the light pills.
Generally speaking the N1xx powders, especially N133 is the least temp sensitive, one of the reason why it’s still pretty much the most used BR powder in 6PPC.
N133 would be perfect for 90gr - 123gr. Would also work with 130s but you’d most likely hit pressure earlier so probably a good 100-150 FPS less than other slower burning powders.
I know the 90gr TNT has killed a lot of hogs and that would be a good match with N133 but even the 120s looks like it groups really well.


What N540 gives over N133 is a bit more velocity which can help in a shorter barrel. For me, if the 120 Speer GD expansion threshold is 1600-1800FPS then it’s worth for me to get an extra 100 FPS at the muzzle at the cost of less temp stability and decrease throat life.

If you’re hunting with a 16-20in barrel and temp sensitivity and accuracy is your most important concern then N133 will probably be your best option (if you can find it).
 
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3 LOADS… Mar 28, 2024

FACTORY NEMO 120 Gr FMJ BT

H 2596 Low 2515 Avg 2567 Ext Sprd 81 SD 32.8 Not that tight of a group either

TAC by Ramshot powder 27.8 and 27.2 108 Gr Scenar LUpua bullet

27.2 Gr TAC H 2467 L 2336 AVG 2401 Ext SPRD 131 SD 92 cover 4 with a Quarter last one opened up

27.7 Gr TAC H 2452 L 2425 AVG 2438 Ext Sprd 26 SD 13.1 ß all 5 bullets you could cover with a dime!

2.221 overall length. CCI 41 starline brass 2nd firing cut to 1.510 Palmetto armory rifle w/ 1 in 8 twist SS

Timney Trigger drop in 3 pound pull

I got the last two loads (Tac by Ramshot powder) from a Lady by the name of Dianne over on the 65Grendel site. She was shooting a heavier bullet though.
I am shooting what is AVAILABLE to buy. I have basically thrown in the towel on the Hornady 123 bullets. I have well over 30 loads (ladder loads) and the BEST of those was what was NOT recommended. That load grouped at 13/16 inch and I used 27.8 grains of Varget and the 123 bullet, starline brass, and BR4 CCI primers. they were at 2.260 length. A lot of those loads were also thorugh an upper that has a Krieger SS barrel on it.
I find it "mildly amusing" how "everyone" is shooting LESS then 1/2 MOA and I'm lucky to get to 1 inch. Of course the CohvHid scam on the supply chain didn't help matters any!
 
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Did some testing with the 100 eld-vt and LVR. Win 41, once fired starline. 18" Odin works barrel.

30gr- 2507
30.2- 2544
30.4- 2546
30.6- 2568
30.8-2572
31- 2588
31.2- 2592
31.4- 2606
31.6- 2619
31.8- 2629

Curious if anyone else has done testing with the 100 eld-vt?
 
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I haven’t yet, but only just picked up two boxes of the 100gr eld-vt. I plan on using LT-30 and pushing it pretty spicy around the 60k psi range. I’m hoping out of my 20” barrel I’ll get almost 3000 fps.

Those speeds you got seem slow to me. I’m getting avg 2470 fps with 123gr SST and a 14.5” barrel using TAC.

Both gas guns suppressed.
 
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I haven’t yet, but only just picked up two boxes of the 100gr eld-vt. I plan on using LT-30 and pushing it pretty spicy around the 60k psi range. I’m hoping out of my 20” barrel I’ll get almost 3000 fps.

Those speeds you got seem slow to me. I’m getting avg 2470 fps with 123gr SST and a 14.5” barrel using TAC.

Both gas guns suppressed.
3k? Yikes. Hornady's factory load is only 2660 from the 18" Odin.
 
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3k? Yikes. Hornady's factory load is only 2660 from the 18" Odin.
More than that, Hornady factory 6.5 creedmoor has a mv of 3200 fps with the 100 gr eld-vt. 3000 from a Grendel with any brass life is probably a bridge too far. But I’ve read you can push them to higher pressure than saami if you are only loading for a bolt action.
 
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I’m running a 9310 bolt. So far it has been holding up. For brass life, yea it may not last, but it’s hard for me to keep up with it because I hunt a night with a thermal and even with a brass catcher I lose probably half of it. I’ll keep y’all updated, if I brake a bolt or something I’ll make sure to report back.
 
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I haven’t read all the pages of this and the other threads, though most of them, what brass are you gents using these days?

Yep, most folks seem to use Starline now that Lapua stopped production. I’m not yet reloading 6.5G but hope to be soon (we just moved and it’ll be a few months yet), and I’m running Hornady only because a) I have a few hundred rounds of factory stuff left to shoot which will add to b) the ~500 1x fired cases I got a super good deal on awhile ago. I’m hoping for somewhere between 5-10 loadings on them, and will be making the switch to Starline after that as well, most likely.
 
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I haven’t read all the pages of this and the other threads, though most of them, what brass are you gents using these days?
I’ve been using Lapua unfired and fired from factory and hand-loads, as well as Hornady fired from factory loads.

I have boat loads of these 2 main types of brass. What I would consider is if you are going to incorporate Hornady factory ammo a lot in your shoot schedule like I do, that brass is great for reloading.

Lapua seems to last forever though.

Other brass types I have reloaded:

PPU LRP
Federal SRP

PPU LRP (discontinued) would lose primer pockets pretty fast, and I don’t exceed book loads. I have not reloaded the newer SRP PPU brass, but PPU is generally soft.

Funny thing with Federal brass was in the gas guns, primer pockets were lost after a few loads, but with higher than-book loads in the bolt gun, it was fine, didn’t mind being pushed hard.

I can’t remember if I have loaded any of the Nosler brass yet (made for them by Norma).

I got my first Lapua brass in the older cardboard boxes from friends in Finland before I ever had a Grendel. Came back and ordered a barrel/bolt combo in 2009 after watching Grendel go through the first 5 years of market adoption before I pulled the trigger.
 
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I haven’t yet, but only just picked up two boxes of the 100gr eld-vt. I plan on using LT-30 and pushing it pretty spicy around the 60k psi range. I’m hoping out of my 20” barrel I’ll get almost 3000 fps.

Those speeds you got seem slow to me. I’m getting avg 2470 fps with 123gr SST and a 14.5” barrel using TAC.

Both gas guns suppressed.
Hodgdon’s 24” data shows max loads with CFE223 and LVR under a 100gr Partition at 2873-2900fps, but at only 49,500-49,800psi.

Their data for LT-30 shows that it does not generate much velocity under a 100gr NBT, but the pressure is maxed-out:

AccurateLT-30
2.230"22.62,28846,600 PSI25.12,49551,800 PSI

I would not even bother with LT-30 under a 100gr in Grendel. It showed the slowest velocity of all powders under an 85gr even, again maxed-out on chamber pressure at 51,700psi.

Of all the powders Hodgdon’s provided data for, none of them come close to LVR in generating speed under 100gr besides the close 2nd, CFE223.
 
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Anyone have recommendations for a starting point for a 6.5 Grendel SBR AR?

Hornady black factory loads (that shoot very well- moa to sub moa- from my 18” and 22” barrels) are hot garbage from this 12” barrel (3-4 moa). Looking at it with a bore scope after the fact, there appears to be bits of unburned powder remaining in the bore. My suspicion is that the barrel is just too short to efficiently burn all of the powder in these loads.

I loaded a 10x5 ladder with CFE 223 and 95 gr Vmax bullets. There looks to be a sweet spot around 2300-2325 fps, but the velocity seems to plateau around 2500 fps. And, as the velocity started to plateau (~1 gr below max charge tested), the groups went to shit- like missing the 8.5x11 piece of paper went to shit. Without looking for evidence, I am thinking that the barrel is just too short to burn the extra powder.

Anyway, I was hoping to get a bit more velocity than 2300, but it is what it is for this combination. And, thus, I turn to the wisdom of the hide.
 
Anyone have recommendations for a starting point for a 6.5 Grendel SBR AR?

Hornady black factory loads (that shoot very well- moa to sub moa- from my 18” and 22” barrels) are hot garbage from this 12” barrel (3-4 moa). Looking at it with a bore scope after the fact, there appears to be bits of unburned powder remaining in the bore. My suspicion is that the barrel is just too short to efficiently burn all of the powder in these loads.

I loaded a 10x5 ladder with CFE 223 and 95 gr Vmax bullets. There looks to be a sweet spot around 2300-2325 fps, but the velocity seems to plateau around 2500 fps. And, as the velocity started to plateau (~1 gr below max charge tested), the groups went to shit- like missing the 8.5x11 piece of paper went to shit. Without looking for evidence, I am thinking that the barrel is just too short to burn the extra powder.

Anyway, I was hoping to get a bit more velocity than 2300, but it is what it is for this combination. And, thus, I turn to the wisdom of the hide.
123gr ELD-M factory shoots great from my 12” Grendel. Sub-MOA 5rd groups for it and the other 12” I built at the same time. Same with 90gr TNT.

I’ve only been shooting factory ammo from the 12” Grendel due to not much time to reload. Too easy to buy factory ammo for me these days. I’ve been running it regularly for the past 7 years.

Sounds like your barrel might have inclusions if you go from good groups to missing paper totally. Look at the spots again to see if there isn’t a defect in the steel. Powder is converted pretty much in the chamber, with some residual cellulose particles that escape the bore.
 
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Anyone have recommendations for a starting point for a 6.5 Grendel SBR AR?

Hornady black factory loads (that shoot very well- moa to sub moa- from my 18” and 22” barrels) are hot garbage from this 12” barrel (3-4 moa). Looking at it with a bore scope after the fact, there appears to be bits of unburned powder remaining in the bore. My suspicion is that the barrel is just too short to efficiently burn all of the powder in these loads.

I loaded a 10x5 ladder with CFE 223 and 95 gr Vmax bullets. There looks to be a sweet spot around 2300-2325 fps, but the velocity seems to plateau around 2500 fps. And, as the velocity started to plateau (~1 gr below max charge tested), the groups went to shit- like missing the 8.5x11 piece of paper went to shit. Without looking for evidence, I am thinking that the barrel is just too short to burn the extra powder.

Anyway, I was hoping to get a bit more velocity than 2300, but it is what it is for this combination. And, thus, I turn to the wisdom of the hide.
Who made the barrel and what is the twist?
 
Who made the barrel and what is the twist?
(Disclaimer- This "load testing" was done using a 1-8 power LPVO at 100 yards. I'm not expecting "1 hole" groups...)

Odin Works. I have one of their 18" barrels and it shoots close to my JP 6.5 Grendel in terms of precision. Not equal to, but not that far off. The JP barrel is boringly sub MOA. The 18" OdinWorks is mostly submoa and sometimes a little bit more.

10 Shots with Hornady Black, 123 gr BTHP. The red square is 1" edge to edge (not corner to corner)
12 Inch Odin Hornady Black.jpg


Best Group with CFE and 95gr Vmax
31.9 gr CFE 223.jpg


Velocity and Group Size Data
Screen Shot 2024-07-05 at 4.47.06 PM.png

Screen Shot 2024-07-05 at 3.57.12 PM.png


Sounds like your barrel might have inclusions if you go from good groups to missing paper totally. Look at the spots again to see if there isn’t a defect in the steel. Powder is converted pretty much in the chamber, with some residual cellulose particles that escape the bore.
Not totally missing the paper, but below is one 5-shot group. Two targets are printed on each 8.5x11 piece of paper, and you can see that one impact is not exactly where it was expected to be. That little guy on the right was a "good press" on the trigger.
Wild Flyer.jpg

I'm squarely in the camp of "shouldn't look down a barrel with a bore scope other than to inspect for cleanliness" so I only use my Teslong for that task. But, looking at the bore upon receipt of the barrel, it looked as good as any I have seen. No obvious inclusions, pits, or unexpected machine marks. The gas vent is drilled between lands.
 
not bad for not doing any load work
Nice shooting, I use 0.3 starting increments. I like the 27.9 because it's a box near round. I'm sure it would tune in.

I did not see a dot or other aiming point on the plates. I can't figure out why that's done.

Seems to me using the first shot for a target robs you of one refrance point each group.

I also think it would open the groups measurements?

I like a reference point of aim and normally try to keep that 1 moa for whatever distance or mils for the scope used.
 
Nice shooting, I use 0.3 starting increments. I like the 27.9 because it's a box near round. I'm sure it would tune in.

I did not see a dot or other aiming point on the plates. I can't figure out why that's done.

Seems to me using the first shot for a target robs you of one refrance point each group.

I also think it would open the groups measurements?

I like a reference point of aim and normally try to keep that 1 moa for whatever distance or mils for the scope used.
if you zoom in you will see a pin hole near the center of the paper plate. a thumb tack is used to hold it to a backboard . its my aimpoint. i don't want to hit the tack when checking new loadings . only time i want to hit the tack is when someone is watching
 
Cool that's a good plan .

Some of my optics would cover the tack with the retical compleatly.

Thick, multi, thin, dot they all have a purpose.

Please let us know as you progress.
I have to dig out my 6.5g upper
And maybe re barrel it due to a bur in the adapter that I can't seem to get rid of. It's cutting my brass.