New - LaRue 6.5 Grendel Rifle

[CBDR]

I would not use SST ammo even it was free. Horrible results in this rifle. Copper Creek Berger VLD 130 works very well.

 

[bigjake83]

just got the email from LaRue last night.... they're offering the option to buy a matching lower to those who purchased an upper. Of course, I have one on order now!

Are the lowers $199.00 or do the people who bought the upper package get a discount??

But even if the lowers are $200 that still puts a Complete LaRue rifle at $1000!!

Who wants to bet LaRue will still charge people $1000 more for the exact same rifle?

 

[Bill3508x]

I would not use SST ammo even it was free. Horrible results in this rifle. Copper Creek Berger VLD 130 works very well.

I'm not seeing 6.5 Grendel as an available caliber from them?

 

[CBDR]

You are correct now that I think about it. I stand corrected. 6.5cm is what I meant to say.

 

[Crews]

Got my Larue lower in to match the upper kit, put it all together, and hit the range this morning. I remain mostly impressed, especially at the low investment. Wish things were a little tighter, but there is always the chance I am just not as good with a gas gun as I am with a bolt action. Will continue to shoot it, maybe it(or me) will improve with round count.

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[Bill3508x]

Got my Larue lower in to match the upper kit, put it all together, and hit the range this morning. I remain mostly impressed, especially at the low investment. Wish things were a little tighter, but there is always the chance I am just not as good with a gas gun as I am with a bolt action. Will continue to shoot it, maybe it(or me) will improve with round count.

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Shows promise bet it'll tighten up.

 

[FMJKT]

Anyone with some closeup pics of the fit of supposed new matching lower? Curious to see both sides and how they match up.

 

[bigjake83]

Shows promise bet it'll tighten up.

How's the Grendel work with the new MODs??
have you tried the load I posted above?

 

[hlee]

It is a bit harder to find now that "black" has been released, however, the Hornady "Match" load in 6.5 grendel is more consistent than the Hornady "black" out of my 6.5 grendel.

 

[Crews]

I ended up adding a JP LMOS and H2 SCS, plus an SLR to mine. Really like the way it shoots now. About 300 rounds so far, and the barrel is starting to settle in. Ran about 15 rounds of Black 123 across the Magnetospeed, averaged 2430FPS. Stretched it out to 600 yards, made 5/5 on a 12” steel plate and 4/5 on a 6” plate. I’m starting to like this Larue more and more every time I shoot it.

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[Bill3508x]

How's the Grendel work with the new MODs??
have you tried the load I posted above?

Shoots well but I also pulled it apart and bedded the barrel with 620. I do not have any of the powder your using. I did load up some 120 Sierra's with rl15 but got some vertical stringing. Still in the 1" range. Best has been with factory elds so far.
.5" squares.

 

[Bill3508x]

Shot the grendel some more today. 5 groups. Changes this time. JP grendel bolt.
All changes.

Lantac E bcg, JP bolt, JP Scss H2, JP oversize take down pins, barrel 50 ft/lbs bedded with 620, Surefire Warcomp,Vltor Emod stock.

Optic: Zeiss DL 2-8x42

Clean bore to start.

All groups in order.
EldM
[IMG2=JSON]{"data-align":"none","data-size":"full","src":"https:\/\/i.imgur.com\/5LqQVY8.jpg"}[/IMG2]

SST left shitty, rushed it I think. Right my 120 Sierra load.
[IMG2=JSON]{"data-align":"none","data-size":"full","src":"https:\/\/i.imgur.com\/ey9TLRY.jpg"}[/IMG2]

EldM at 215 yds.
[IMG2=JSON]{"data-align":"none","data-size":"full","src":"https:\/\/i.imgur.com\/F4eq7U0.jpg"}[/IMG2]

Enjoy shooting this rifle. Always seem to pull one though. Emod stock gives a much better cheek weld than the rat.

 

[anhnguyen]

Just got mine on the 1st of November. Hopefully I get to take her out sooner than later.

 

[Danco411]

The Larue looks like a nice rifle for sure. I’m a huge Grendel nut and am happy to see some quality manufacturers getting into the Grendel. The standard seems to be an 18” barrel to keep the speed up. 2500 FPS is hardly fast but the excellent BC on the 123 ELD-M allows it to perform very well in a lightweight low recoil AR15. I have been hunting with the Grendel for years and it performs very well on white tails and hogs. My hunting rig is a 12.5” SBR on a B.A.D. LW556 receiver set with a B.A.D. Vert stock and Brigand Arms CF Rail. With an Aero SPR mount, Athlon 2-5x15 Midas scope AND my TBAC Ultra 9 my rifle weighs just 7.5 lbs! I hand load the 123 ELD for target and the Barnes 130TTSX for hunting. Using CFE I’m getting 2390 with the ELD’s and 2360 with the 130’s out of my 12.5” barrel. I have taken it all the way to 1000 yards with the 123’s making hits on an 18” target. Anything 500 yards an in is sub MOA with no issues. Best part is how handy the SBR Grendel is. Short and light with no recoil is the way to go for hunting...especially us old guys! It’s the perfect tree stand rifle and I can carry it all day.

I am Not crapping on the Larue post at all only praising the Grendel and sharing my experience with the SBR version and how well it performs.

 

[Forgetful Coyote]

Danco411 you ever ran the Barnes LRX's? Those look like they'd be a solid performer out to a pretty fair poke..

 

[Danco411]

Not in my Grendel but I have in other rifles. I loaded a bunch of .30 cal 280g for my friends .338 Lapua. They shot well all the way to a mile. Most of my deer hunting shots are under 200 yards so the 130 TTSX's are just fine.

 

[Smokyred]

So what is the final conclusion on these? Are they worth buying and running as-is, or should I expect to swap out the gas block and put in some JP parts to make it run the best?

Dave

 

[Crews]

I am by no stretch an expert on ARÂ’s but I have a Larue and hereÂ’s my take: itÂ’s a very solid medium weight rifle, and you get a lot of rifle for the money right out of the box, with a stellar reputation behind it. Mine didnÂ’t start shooting sub-moa 5-shot groups with factory ammo until after 300 rounds. Even before that, I would have been happy with a $1100 Larue that shot 1.5 moa with a variety of ammo. At that time, I also swapped out for a JP LMOS and H2 SCS, and a SLR AGB. I shoot suppressed. So I donÂ’t know if the barrel finally got broke in good or the JP parts made the difference. But I can tell you the rifle was fun to shoot before, but itÂ’s an absolute privilege to shoot after adding those parts.

If youÂ’re looking for a target rifle to shoot tiny groups right out of the box, might as well just pony up and get a JP from the start if you can afford it. If youÂ’re looking for an affordable general purpose type rifle that will do a lot of things well, itÂ’s hard to beat the deal theyÂ’re offering on a Larue.

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[excess]

I got my Ultimate Upper kit, cleaned the barrel, slapped it on an existing Larue lower (still waiting on the lower purchased with the upper). Shot 5 rounds up close getting it on paper. Then shot these two three shot groups at 100 yards. Hornady Black 123 ELD. On a bipod on the bench. Forgot my rear bag so this was just on my shoulder. I’m happy.

 

[LRRPF52]

LRRPF52 is a member here. Should be easy enough to ask him if he wrote it and end the speculation.

Yeah, that's my honest review. Not sure what gave it away...(sarcasm). When I submitted it, there were paragraphs though. A lot of review boxes seem to smash everything together rather than leave paragraphs intact.

To put it in perspective, I have literally not purchased an AR15 off the shelf since 1998 at the latest. The last one I bought was a pre-ban Bushmaster 11.5" Commando with A2 upper, with the older yellow color fill engravings. I bought it when I was stationed at Fort Lewis in F Company, 52nd Infantry, Long Range Surveillance, hence my handle.

I lost track of how many AR15s I've owned since then and would need to do an arms room inventory to get a current count. In other words, I quickly learned to select the exact parts I wanted before assembling them into the builds I wanted almost 20 years ago and have not stopped panic-buying since the Clinton AWB days. The more I saw what goes into them, the less and less I trusted many of the manufacturers to get it right, and the more I learned about the common shortcuts that many companies take when making or sourcing parts. Arctic conditions really brought this out the most, along with high volume courses of fire over the years.

My expectations of this LaRue Stealth 2.0 were for it to be well-machined, but probably with some bugs under the pretty hood. My expectations proved to be wrong, and the rifle runs better than my top-end personal builds. Before I shot it, I went over it with a fine-toothed comb, looking at things most would never notice. You can read some of those points in the review.

When I took it to the range, I was immediately surprised at how smoothly the action cycled, behaving very well in that sweet spot of AR15 cyclic rate. What you normally see with a MLGS AR15 factory gun is excessive cyclic rate, violent extraction, and harsh treatment of the brass as a result. This one runs better than my Lilja 318 build with nitrided carrier and JP Silent Captured Spring recoil system.

It cycled Federal 120gr OTM American Eagle ammo and my hand load of 31.5gr of CFE223 under a 123gr AMAX effortlessly. That 31.5gr load cycles my Lilja MLGS build much faster even with the SCS, to the point that it's on the ragged edge and I can literally feel the carrier bounce off the extension like a hammer. The LaRue came running perfectly out of the box, whereas I constantly need to tweak and test out the components in my personal builds.

The funny thing is that the LaRue uses a standard carbine 2.9 ounce buffer. My walk-away impression of my first range trip with it was that this AR15 naturally feels purpose-built chambered in 6.5 Grendel, as if .223 Rem was some alternate reality chambering to be forgotten about and only a distant memory.

Another thing that impressed me was that the first group I shot was literally centered on the identical POI grid of the test-fired group that Mark shot and signed off on himself. Why is that impressive? Because the rifle and optics package were shipped in 2 entirely different boxes, one to my FFL, and the other to my address.

The idea that I would own a factory-built AR15, even from one of the higher end manufacturers, simply has only entered my mind if I could have them send me the parts and let me do the assembly work. This rifle defied that mindset with me and has made me wonder if I've been missing out on some perfectly-suitable rifles all these years that would just come ready-to-go.

If it was garbage, I would have never written a positive review. I like the rifle so much that I color-filled in all the engravings.

 

[bigjake83]

Yeah, that's my honest review. Not sure what gave it away...(sarcasm). When I submitted it, there were paragraphs though. A lot of review boxes seem to smash everything together rather than leave paragraphs intact.

To put it in perspective, I have literally not purchased an AR15 off the shelf since 1998 at the latest. The last one I bought was a pre-ban Bushmaster 11.5" Commando with A2 upper, with the older yellow color fill engravings. I bought it when I was stationed at Fort Lewis in F Company, 52nd Infantry, Long Range Surveillance, hence my handle.

I lost track of how many AR15s I've owned since then and would need to do an arms room inventory to get a current count. In other words, I quickly learned to select the exact parts I wanted before assembling them into the builds I wanted almost 20 years ago and have not stopped panic-buying since the Clinton AWB days. The more I saw what goes into them, the less and less I trusted many of the manufacturers to get it right, and the more I learned about the common shortcuts that many companies take when making or sourcing parts. Arctic conditions really brought this out the most, along with high volume courses of fire over the years.

My expectations of this LaRue Stealth 2.0 were for it to be well-machined, but probably with some bugs under the pretty hood. My expectations proved to be wrong, and the rifle runs better than my top-end personal builds. Before I shot it, I went over it with a fine-toothed comb, looking at things most would never notice. You can read some of those points in the review.

When I took it to the range, I was immediately surprised at how smoothly the action cycled, behaving very well in that sweet spot of AR15 cyclic rate. What you normally see with a MLGS AR15 factory gun is excessive cyclic rate, violent extraction, and harsh treatment of the brass as a result. This one runs better than my Lilja 318 build with nitrided carrier and JP Silent Captured Spring recoil system.

It cycled Federal 120gr OTM American Eagle ammo and my hand load of 31.5gr of CFE223 under a 123gr AMAX effortlessly. That 31.5gr load cycles my Lilja MLGS build much faster even with the SCS, to the point that it's on the ragged edge and I can literally feel the carrier bounce off the extension like a hammer. The LaRue came running perfectly out of the box, whereas I constantly need to tweak and test out the components in my personal builds.

The funny thing is that the LaRue uses a standard carbine 2.9 ounce buffer. My walk-away impression of my first range trip with it was that this AR15 naturally feels purpose-built chambered in 6.5 Grendel, as if .223 Rem was some alternate reality chambering to be forgotten about and only a distant memory.

Another thing that impressed me was that the first group I shot was literally centered on the identical POI grid of the test-fired group that Mark shot and signed off on himself. Why is that impressive? Because the rifle and optics package were shipped in 2 entirely different boxes, one to my FFL, and the other to my address.

The idea that I would own a factory-built AR15, even from one of the higher end manufacturers, simply has only entered my mind if I could have them send me the parts and let me do the assembly work. This rifle defied that mindset with me and has made me wonder if I've been missing out on some perfectly-suitable rifles all these years that would just come ready-to-go.

If it was garbage, I would have never written a positive review. I like the rifle so much that I color-filled in all the engravings.

Conclusion... You're a LaRue Fanboy!! Hey tell us how LT Dick taste.?

 

[Crews]

Conclusion... You're a LaRue Fanboy!! Hey tell us how LT Dick taste.?

Agree with his review or not, LRRPF52 is capable of contributing to a conversation in an adult fashion.

I’m afraid the same can not be said for you sir.

I don’t have a dog in this fight.... but I’m here to talk about rifles, not watch children pull pony tails. I suspect most everyone else is here for the same thing. Grow up. Try harder.


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[babaganoush]

Conclusion... You're a LaRue Fanboy!! Hey tell us how LT Dick taste.?

Was this really necessary?

 

[babaganoush]

I am by no stretch an expert on ARÂ’s but I have a Larue and hereÂ’s my take: itÂ’s a very solid medium weight rifle, and you get a lot of rifle for the money right out of the box, with a stellar reputation behind it. Mine didnÂ’t start shooting sub-moa 5-shot groups with factory ammo until after 300 rounds. Even before that, I would have been happy with a $1100 Larue that shot 1.5 moa with a variety of ammo. At that time, I also swapped out for a JP LMOS and H2 SCS, and a SLR AGB. I shoot suppressed. So I donÂ’t know if the barrel finally got broke in good or the JP parts made the difference. But I can tell you the rifle was fun to shoot before, but itÂ’s an absolute privilege to shoot after adding those parts.

If youÂ’re looking for a target rifle to shoot tiny groups right out of the box, might as well just pony up and get a JP from the start if you can afford it. If youÂ’re looking for an affordable general purpose type rifle that will do a lot of things well, itÂ’s hard to beat the deal theyÂ’re offering on a Larue.

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Nice looking weapon. Which head do you have on that tripod mount?

 

[Crews]

RRS Universal leveling base.

http://www.reallyrightstuff.com/Universal-Leveling-Base


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[Crews]

edit, double post

 

[Tucker301]

Was this really necessary?

No. It wasn't. It was childish and pointless, and now he has a month to clean up his act.

 

[Crews]

Good call. No need for all that.

 

[Catahoula]

Great call!

 

[LRRPF52]

Spent a day at the range with it last weekend. Did a lot of chrono readings, then took it out to 200yds.




100yds with the new Hornady American Gunner 123gr BTHP I bought by the case at Sportsman's for $109.99/200:

I still have the 1.5-6x Burris scope on there with the horseshoe reticle, nowhere near a precision scope.







I haven't uploaded my 200yd groups yet, but they were just over MOA with the ELD-M and American Gunner ammo using the 6x scope. I could barely see the target boxes on my targets, and was using reticle holds with the post from the stadia, as well as some BR corner holds to get better alignment of the reticle to the boxes. The Burris will make a fine hunting and DM course scope for loaner rifles.

I'll follow-up with a 15x Viper HST scope in a LaRue LT-112 I've had for many years.

Hornady American Gunner
2436
2406
2463
2479
2465

2441
2438
2428
2446
2439

Avg: 2441fps

With my mild hand load of CFE223 under the 123gr AMAX:

2477
2528
2517
2524
2544
2518
2523

Avg: 2519fps

This rifle continues to run very smoothly, and is a pleasure to shoot with the Tranquillo brake.

 

[.30kal]

Just got my 6.5G upper back from Larue (great customer service as usual). They installed a new barrel and sent a test target with a .66" three shot group using Hornady 123 ELD Black and told me over the phone that they had shot several groups around .6". Promising start with factory that hopefully translates in to something better with hand loads. I plan on installing an SLR adj gas block right off the bat this time as well.

 

[jpistolero02]

I am still enjoying mine. I needed a good hunting round to take some pigs with, so I worked up these the other day. I know it's not 5 shots and only 100 yards, but I am too cheap with the more expensive ballistic tips.

[IMG2=JSON]{"data-align":"none","data-size":"full","src":"https:\/\/farm5.staticflickr.com\/4731\/24385434797_206ca18410_c.jpg"}[/IMG2]

 

[Bill3508x]

I am still enjoying mine. I needed a good hunting round to take some pigs with, so I worked up these the other day. I know it's not 5 shots and only 100 yards, but I am too cheap with the more expensive ballistic tips.

[IMG2=JSON]{"data-align":"none","data-size":"full","src":"https:\/\/farm5.staticflickr.com\/4731\/24385434797_206ca18410_c.jpg"}[/IMG2]

Nice.