Would you get into 6.5 Grendel in 2024?
- Thread starter KCode
- Start date
Interesting. Curious as to what that 8" would do with the 100 gr, not curious to hear how loud it is with that brake...
Anyone else tried this 5/16 round mag from Brenton. Will go to 2.3 OAL, though I might have a concern about recoil induced bullet pushback. More, after some testing. Insert limits you to 5 rounds, they say 16-I’d prefer to hold it to 15, with limiter removed.
Hodgdon’s just added 33 new loads on their site for 6.5 Grendel, including the new Hornady 100gr ELD-VT and the 105gr CEB Maximus from Cutting Edge.
100gr ELD-VT is doing 2804-2900fps with 9 of the loads (24” barrel).
100gr ELD-VT is doing 2804-2900fps with 9 of the loads (24” barrel).
There are multiple technology paths being developed parallel to the internal ballistics, so it’s a lot more than just slinging projectiles at 3050fps from an 8.5” PDW.
Think about all the issues with Laser Aiming Modules, battery boxes and cables all over the gun, with what was once lightweight and handy turned into a front-heavy brick. I hate all of that, but the capabilities justify the penalties for those that need them.
I know we can do so much better than what we have though, but it is extremely hard to do, and every path has many real hurdles that need to be overcome with sound design, testing, and refinement.
It requires a totally new business model for organizational structure in the firearms industry, because we’re now fully invested in the electro-optics, signature reduction, power management, processing, and materials science industries, only everyone has been approaching it from one segment of the market without total vision for the subcontractors. That’s the real problem with modern firearms right now.
I’ve been using C-Products Duramags that are for 7.62x39 to supplement my Elanders. The 20-round mags work great.
The 30 and 28 rounders not as good - unless only 20-rounds in the mag.
I’ve never used any of those exaggerated curve mags meant for 7.62x39 case taper. Grendel mag guide grooves are much more shallow than 5.56 mags. His cartridges were getting stuck at the mouth on the inside edge of the front wall of the mag, which doesn’t happen when the mag is inside the weapon because the meplat is already riding up the feed ramps.
The magazines have to be studied as part of the receiver set, barrel extension, and feed cone in the breech. Guys playing with cartridges in un-inserted magazines will start to draw false conclusions about the feeding process.
I just don’t have these issues with old CPD, Elanders, Amend2 polymer, and later ASC mags.
I use a lot of later production ASC 25rd mags in the 12” Grendel as my go-to.
If I’m constrained to bench clearance, I use the 15-17rd mags.
I also de-edge, blend, and polish my feed ramps on all ARs if the extensions haven’t been given a generous tumble-polish.
The magazines have to be studied as part of the receiver set, barrel extension, and feed cone in the breech. Guys playing with cartridges in un-inserted magazines will start to draw false conclusions about the feeding process.
I just don’t have these issues with old CPD, Elanders, Amend2 polymer, and later ASC mags.
I use a lot of later production ASC 25rd mags in the 12” Grendel as my go-to.
If I’m constrained to bench clearance, I use the 15-17rd mags.
I also de-edge, blend, and polish my feed ramps on all ARs if the extensions haven’t been given a generous tumble-polish.
Interesting. I cant get past 3-4rds before feeding issues with Elanders or ASC in my 18" Lilja/Mega billet upper. Duramag feeds without issue.
Anyone have experience with the new Geissele 6 ARC mags? They are pricey but not too far out of line with what I am used to paying for good AICS and AW mags, and I don't mind spending a little extra if they are worth it.
Well they show for sale on the Geissele website so perhaps there was a mistake, or maybe I need to stock up on a few before they are all gone.
Thanks.
At $100 a mag, be my guest. Ill stick with the poor approved duramag. hahaha
This guy didn't get into the Grendel - the Grendel got into him
Pains me to say that is my brother's handiwork, sitting in my stand as I was cooking dinner for the troops but I gave him that upper for Christmas two years ago. Craddock stainless bbl.
6.5 107 TMK is back in stock.
I have both(Grendel and ARC) the Grendel 22in and 18in running 107 tmks is pretty easy to 800 yards. The Grendel is very easy to handload for and much more consistent than the 5.56 SD and ES wise. The problem is wind kills the grendel shifting winds really kills the grendel bullets. The 6 arc is much more consistent in the long ranges because of the BC. If the wind is dead or steady its a toss up. If you dont handload you should probably just stay with the 5.56 you wont get the benefits. The prs style gas gun matches are really being dominanted by the 6 arc and 6.5 grendel. The 5.56 doesnt hit the plate like either of the two. Is a 6.5 cm or 308 better probably but the small frame ars just run better.
Grendels did the thing again this weekend. 20" and 12.5" recovered 4 pigs and 3 yotes in 3 nights, and another 3 pigs that made it deep enough into the woods we didn't recover the bodies but the birds and smell proved confirmation on another 3.
So, 7 down, approx 50 million to go...
So, 7 down, approx 50 million to go...
Anyone here running a 10.5" Grendel. I already have and love my 12.5" Grendel, but am wondering if I can go even smaller and lighter...
I'm considering ordering a Sigma Six to make a handy general purpose truck gun. Are they finicky with their carbine gas length and short dwell time?
If I go this rout, I'd be getting a Magnus to suppress it.
I'm considering ordering a Sigma Six to make a handy general purpose truck gun. Are they finicky with their carbine gas length and short dwell time?
If I go this rout, I'd be getting a Magnus to suppress it.
I have a 11” carbine gas barrel that is reliable. No function issues, but it is very finicky with loads- and shoots Hornady Black at about 3 moa. And the 1 hand load that shot well is SLOW! I moved to a 12.5” mid length that hammers. No, I don’t think my issues with the shorter barrel are gas length related. I wouldn’t be too concerned with going short.
12.5” Grendel got a couple boars this weekend. DRT on both. 90gr TNT.
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I'm not here to say to avoid the 10.5" Grendel as I have no direct experience - and I believe our esteemed in house Grendel expert, LRRPF52, may go shorter - but until he releases the secret squirrel ammo he's working on, I see it like this - 2200 FPS is where you get meaningful hydrostatic shock. I'm getting 2450 fps out of 100 gr Hornady ELD-VT. It is working REALLY well out to 200 yards. Accuracy is sub MOA. I'm not messing with that formula for a couple inches and a couple ounces.
Grendel bolts sheering lugs is a concern. I would want the longest gas system possible with least dwell within reason. In my mind that is a 12.5" Mid. 10.5" 556 bolts are already known to break at the cam pin because of the short gas system, the Grendel will move the failure point to the lugs.
I have a 10.5” CLGS 6.5 Grendel Criterion pipe from Precision Firearms but I haven’t focused on it yet. I’m kind of skipping to 8.5” Criterion from PF.
12” CLGS has run liked a scalded ape across 2x builds with the same barrel/bolt/Bootleg carriers, one with TBAC Ultra 7, the other TBAC Ultra 5. Built them both in 2017, one for a friend, the other for me. He got the 2A Balios Lite receiver set.
But AA started making 10.5” Grendel complete carbines and uppers back in the 2000s-early 2010s. Bill said he used a 10.5” Grendel on select-fire/Full Auto to test mag feeding before they put their stamp of approval on mags from different batches if I recall him correctly.
I feel like I’ve been trying to break Grendel bolt lugs for 15 years now. What am I doing wrong guys!!!!
Started with 16” MLGS, then 17.6” MLGS (-.625”), 18” MLGS, 16” MLGS again, 24” RLGS, 12” CLGS suppressed. I’ve been really hammering that 12” Grendel. My spent brass deflectors look like they’ve been through hell.
Surely I will break the 8.5”! It has pistol-length gas!
Not including the Underwood Ammo, there are now 131 SKUs for factory ammo if we include the new Hornady 90gr CX.
100gr ELD-VT is doing 2690fps avg from 18” barrels, even though the box says 2730fps from 24". Feels like shooting 6mm AR to me when I shoot it through the 17.6” Grendel out to 1000yds. Super-flat, minimal wind, fast ToF.
If you had to pick 107smk or 107tmk? I think the tmk holds better for close distance deer hunting no?
No idea, maybe just do whatever the people with broken bolts do? The under cut lug on my AA bolt broke off.
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107gr TMK works as a dual-purpose bullet. Sierra made the 105gr Blitzking as well.
Is blitzking rapid expanding and fragmenting or more controlled?
I'm trying to think of a light-ish bullet for small south texas deer.
I'll be honest, that's one bullet I really don't know much of.
Tomorrow night, there is a 72% chance pigs or yotes will fall to 100 gr ELD-VT...
I plan to shoot a doe with a 100gr ELD-VT and see how it does. These shoot really well in my ARP and Rainier Match barrels. I plan to move one of my thermals from a 5.56 over to a Grendel this year for coyotes after deer season ends.
We shot several pigs with 100 ELD VT last trip and it works like a champ
Hornady is a marketing machine. In the last few years I’ve seen more and more niche ar ammo for sale in stores. Even the ACE hardware stores here are stocking 6.8spc, 22&6ARC, 22 Valkyrie, and 6.5 Grendel.
Hunters here in Georgia have really embraced the AR as a hunting rifle and want something that hits harder than 5.56 but don’t want the size and weight penalty of stepping up to a large frame. I see the ARCs, Grendel, and to some degree 6.8spc gaining wider acceptance and growing in popularity.
This year alone there have been 8 guys I work with buy or build a Grendel or 6ARC to use as a year round deer and varmint gun.
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From Sierra’s description, it sounds like a varmint bullet, but the lighter varmint bullets in Grendel demonstrate controlled expansion in medium game because they aren’t hitting as fast, unless you spit them out from a 22”-28” barrel at 2900-3220fps.
I know 90gr TNT is one of the preferred loads for hog hunting for guys that have used it for years. Everyone told them it would blow up and not penetrate, so they tried it and saw DRT after DRT with fast ToF, flat trajectory, so they kept using it.
I shot the 90gr TNT through a brake disc recently and it fragmented a lot, but also perforated the disc. That was from my 12” Grendel.
If you want a premium bullet that goes really fast, you can try the Hammer Hunter HT 80gr. Those do:
3150fps from a 24” barrel
3060fps from 20"
3010fps from 18"
2950fps from 16"
2890fps from 14.5"
2810fps from 12.5"
2700fps from 10.5"
90gr TNT Federal box ammo does 2700fps from my 12” suppressed.
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From the hunting perspective, it’s kinda like someone took the popularity of the Rem 700 action and performance of .30-30 and .243 Winchester, put it all in a semi-automatic blender, and created a new market that is dramatically-different than grandpa’s M16 from Vietnam.
I wanted to buy some factory federal with those 90s but I'm sure they don't make it anymore. I can buy the bullet and load it but I've already tried many different bullets, brass, charge weights, etc and my grendels can't seem to do better than about 1 moa so I'm kinda frustrated trying to load for them already lol. I just wanna buy factory ammo and have it haha.
They seem to run that production in lots and they sell-out as soon as they crank them. They even made a new box for it. They sell them in 50rd boxes, used to be red box, now blue.
I’ve only shot it as a factory load from the original AA 90gr TNT load in Lapua brass, then got many boxes of Federal factory ammo several years ago. I still have samples of both in complete boxes, several of the Federal boxes that I rarely shoot since I’m mostly shooting steel at distance.
Damn, that lapua would be nice haha. I have a few rounds left of the red box federal. We'll see how long they last.
I started a Grendel build mid 2023 and finished it in early 2024. I really just wanted an AR that wasn't 5.56 and I'm ignoring the ARC hysteria. I like it well enough, it's pretty soft shooting and holds moa with 123gr Hornady Black. I started reloading for my 308 maybe 5 months ago and plan to start the Grendel and my son's 5.56 at some point.
Are there faster, flatter, more better, whizz bang cartridges? Sure, and there always will be. Would it be a waste of your time/money to build/buy a Grendel? I don't think so.
Are there faster, flatter, more better, whizz bang cartridges? Sure, and there always will be. Would it be a waste of your time/money to build/buy a Grendel? I don't think so.
Well, it's 2025... I wouldn't get any cartridge, that was basically always married to a bolt size that resulted in short life from it 7.62x39 or 6.5 Grendel NEED a AR10 sized bolt IMO (best I recall from years ago looking at 6.5 Grendel)
One of those hybrid designs from CMMG maybe that uses a AR10 bolt in a small styled frame... Might be interesting if I didn't mind proprietary parts.
One of those hybrid designs from CMMG maybe that uses a AR10 bolt in a small styled frame... Might be interesting if I didn't mind proprietary parts.
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I went to a .308 bolt action for precision shooting though so.... "go to war" rifle is an A2.... Home D rifle is a AR carbine with some things on it.. both in 5.56x45. Inside 400m, they will smoke.... I wana shoot small targets beyond that, well I bought a bolt action .308.
