6.5 Grendel, 20 vs. 24 inch barrel?

[979Texas]

Howdy gentlemen, I am in bad need of some input in a very difficult decision that I am trying to make, all advice pros and cons are greatly appreciated.
In the near future I will be purchasing a 6.5 Grendel complete upper receiver. I am very torn apart between a 20 or 24 inch barrel, with price not playing a factor on my decision.
The gun will be used mainly for deer hunting which for me is mainly staying put in one spot with some good shooting sticks with very little walking required but the very strong, if not greater chance, of encountering groups of hogs while deer hunting. Also the rifle will be used for picking off hogs and coyotes at my families ranch from their back porch which could range out to 400 yards. That situation would entail no need to move around and I would have a full prop, very similair to benchrest shooting just with live varmits as targets. Also this gun would go on the occasional hog hunt which includes walking the whole time through rough terrain including woods.
Now I have already a .300 Blackout AR and a Glock 20 for most of my shorter range and hog hunting guns. But I'm torn between barrel lengths because on one hand im thinking that since im getting a long range caliber for more refined shooting purposes then I might as well go all out and get the 24 inch to get a little more out of a great caliber. Then on the other hand im worried about the ease of carrying it and wielding it with comfort because I still will be making small treks with it. So anything yall have to bring to the table on this I would appreciate it. Thanks

 

[handlerer2]

I'm not sure about your concern. Are you wanting to wring every FPS possible from the longer barrel, or wanting superior accuracy from the longer barrel?

If you're wanting the extra velocity, the 6.5 might have the case capacity to justify it, but any case suitable to an AR action isn't going to be enough overbore to really use it, IMO.

If accuracy is the issue, again the 20" barrel is IMO the answer. Shorter barrels are intrinsically more accurate than longer barrels. All of the bench rest rifles that I can remember reading about were 20" barrels. The principle is that any deviation is amplified barrel length. The rim of wheel and the axle are revolving at the same #rpm's, but the rim moves much more. Exaggerated but the principle remains.

I should have said get the shorter barrel it's lighter.

 

[jmr40]

I'd go with the 20" barrel. You'll lose about 100 fps, maybe less. At 300 yards that means about 1.5" more bullet drop and about 80 fps less speed. Beyond 300 yards there is a greater difference, and under 300 yards you'll never notice the difference.

How far are you planning on shooting?

 

[979Texas]

First off thanks for the advice so far yall.
After getting some sleep on leaning more on the 20 inch as being more appropriate for me. But im still very open to advice.
And the farthest shot that I would take would be 350 to 400 yards, and that wouldn't be often. Also I did calculate it down to losing about 80 fps total with the barrel difference just like jmr40 stated.

 

[603Country]

My 220 Swift has a 20 inch barrel, as does my Tikka 260. I'm a fan of that specific barrel length. It's a handy size for carrying around and for use in a box blind. If I had a rifle with a 24 inch barrel, I'd have it cut to 20. Go ahead and get that 20 inch barrel.

 

[tahunua001]

this is just my thought process.

the entire reason to go with grendel over creedmore is because you can fit it in an AR15.

the entire reason to go with an AR15 is because it's shorter and more maneuverable than a bolt gun.

stuffing a 24 inch barrel on an AR15 removes any advantage of length that it has over a bolt gun.

without that advantage you may as well have gone with a bolt action in a better 6.5mm caliber.


with that said. 6.5 grendel from a 20 inch barrel approximates 7.62x39mm from a 24 inch barrel but with the better ballistic coefficients of 6.5mm over 30 cal bullets of the same weight. I like my 20 inch barreled grendel build.

 

[979Texas]

Thank you guys very much. Your input was very thorough and is much appreciated. I'm going to go with the 20 inch unless another caliber catches my eye first. But thank yall very much for answering my questions and giving me yall's opinions.

 

[Unlicensed Dremel]

Neither. 16" (or if you must, 20). Easy one.

the entire reason to go with grendel over creedmore is because you can fit it in an AR15.

the entire reason to go with an AR15 is because it's shorter and more maneuverable than a bolt gun.

stuffing a 24 inch barrel on an AR15 removes any advantage of length that it has over a bolt gun.

without that advantage you may as well have gone with a bolt action in a better 6.5mm caliber.

Exactly, +1.

 

[tobnpr]

the entire reason to go with grendel over creedmore is because you can fit it in an AR15.

the entire reason to go with an AR15 is because it's shorter and more maneuverable than a bolt gun.

stuffing a 24 inch barrel on an AR15 removes any advantage of length that it has over a bolt gun.

without that advantage you may as well have gone with a bolt action in a better 6.5mm caliber.

Unnecessary for whitetail, but many prefer autoloaders for killing swine.

Bolt guy myself, but as "quality" autoloaders now rival bolt guns for accuracy that disadvantage no longer necessarily applies.