6.5 grendel options

[idek]

I recently started a topic in the bolt-action forum asking about guns in .260 Remington. While I am on the 6.5 caliber track, I thought I'd ask about the 6.5 Grendel as well.

I've seen ballistics charts and know the Grendel is not a match for the .260 and can't handle heavy bullets, but it still might be suitable for various purposes (medium game hunting, casual target shooting, home defense).

What I don't know much about is who sells rifles and parts for the caliber (I have no experience with ARs). Alexander Arms seems to be the originator of the cartridge and primary manufacturer of rifles for it, but do other companies make them? I can't seem to find much.

I wouldn't want junk, but I certainly don't need competition-grade stuff either. Any suggestions on a good value in this caliber?

Are kits like this ever worthwhile?

 

[scottycoyote]

im in the same boat. I have been wanting a hunting rifle i could use for deer as well as take it to the range for some long distance target practice. I was initially thinking of buying a nice bolt action in 308/260/etc...then i got to thinking about getting a different upper for my ar and using it in that capacity. Seems like the best 2 options in the ar platform for what i want is the 6.5g followed by the 6.8. What would be a good upper thats accurate but not break the bank. All i really need is a flattop to mount a scope and barrel length doesnt matter.

 

[mehavey]

I went the Alexander Arms route in a 20" Grendel upper for my Colt HBAR lower. Fits/works just great.

See http://www.65grendel.com/forum/show...-and-the-Grendel&p=21283&viewfull=1#post21283

As far as hunting goes, the Grendel will take games up through mule deer out to comparable 308 ranges:

 

[taylorce1]

I've always thought the Grendel would make a nice mid range hunting cartridge, though I'd prefer it in a bolt action. I wouldn't hesitate to use it on mule deer, white tail, and pronghorn. It first caught my eye several years ago in a post on another forum, though the guy caught a lot of heat for posting his brothers success with the cartridge.

posted 24 October 2010

My younger brother took this Mulie this last week with a 6.5 Grendel he built him self. Shooting Precision Firearms Ammo, loaded with the Nolser 120gr Ballistic Tip's in brass head stamped 6.5-LBC. The ammo is incredibly accurate out of his 16" M4 contour Alexander Arms barrel. The 2-7X Vortex scope with the BDC matches the ballistic of this load almost perfectly. The shot was broadside at 493 yards, he had a little more wind drift than anticipated and the bullet impacted center of the lungs about 6 inches out of the pocket. The ballistic tip did not hit a rib going in and completely passed through the buck at this distance.The buck tried to keep his feet under him for 30 seconds or so before he went down.

Unfortunately the pictures are no longer available for viewing. It was a pretty nice buck if I remember correctly. If I wasn't so far behind on several projects I'd probably be looking for a CZ rifle to customize.

 

[tahunua001]

I went the doublestar route with my 20" grendel build. it does 3/4" 3 shot groups at 100 yards. I killed my deer with factory hornady SSTs at 138 yards. dropped like a sack of potatoes. I intended to use it for elk but couldn't find any to test it against.

 

[tobnpr]

I'm assuming because you posted this in the semi-auto section, your inquiry relates to the Grendel in that platform, and not bolt guns as the .260 thread?

Owning an AR in 6.5 Grendel is as "simple" as finding a barrel in that chambering (no less than 20" to get the needed velocity) and building an AR around it.

While entry level .223 AR's can be had for the cost of parts or less due to the current oversupply (did I think I'd ever say that again a year ago?) and it doesn't necessarily save money to build instead of buy, that's not the case with specialty chamberings like the Grendel.

We built ours 3 years ago when the cartridge was still largely unknown. The difficulty in sourcing barrels is evidence of their popularity- but were I you, I'd get a barrel/bolt on order, source the rest of the parts- this is a good time with the sales going on- and slap it together when the barrel comes in.

 

[mehavey]

I'd prefer it in a bolt action...

The Grendel was specifially designed to get the most out of the standard AR-15 action.
Outside of those physical limitations, and for a bolt gun, I'd simple go with a 260 Remington
and get the most out of the efficiency of the 308-based cartridge.

 

[Tipsy Mcstagger]

I bought a kit and 22" j&t distributing free floated upper and it works great now, but had to go back to the shop for mechanically piercing primers. When I spoke to the tech, they'd had some problems with their barrel/bolt sourcing and had at the time discontinued the 6.5 manufacturing. I think Bill A has licensed them to 3 or 4 manufacturers but I wouldn't go with the grendel unless you're reloading. Hornady 123 amax custom is pretty available online but is 1$ per round. My rifle beats up my brass a bit and I'm getting more split necks than other calibers I've reloaded for. All that being said, it's accurate and I plan on shooting target with it soon and hunting deer and hogs as well.

 

[Mobuck]

I don't see the logic of taking a bolt action and harnessing it with the disadvantages of a cartridge designed to fit the AR magazine.
Bolt action=260 Rem
AR=6.5 Grendel

Each is fine for what it is but I don't really care for 6.5 anything.

 

[stagpanther]

Agree almost 100%--except with the part where you say you don't like 6.5 (264) anything--it's an immensely efficient bullet design--arguably the MOST efficient one there is--unless you mean by having an AR chambered for it?

 

[MarkCO]

I will start by saying that the .260Rem is one of my favorite cartridges. I've shot quite a bit of game and done well at matches with my two .260s. I had one in a .308 pattern AR and got rid of it because honestly, the bolt guns were less finicky, more accurate, less expensive and easier to shoot.

Next, I do believe that AR15 pattern ARs hold a great amount of utility, from .22LR up to big bores like the .450BM and .458Socom. When looking at the cartridges in the 6mm range, it is going to be hard to figure out which one of the lot may go mainstream, which to many will matter due to factory ammo. I picked the .260 a long time ago, and the recent increase in popularity has been nice with the added factory fodder for it. But when looking at 6 to 7 mm AR-15s, there are a lot of choices and I can't see any of the big manufacturer's putting much effort into any of them in the short term due to the state of the industry.

If you are looking only at velocity, the 6.5 Grendel is a good choice, but there are a lot of others.

If I wanted back into the 6.5G mix, I would get this: http://www.midwayusa.com/product/83...twist-20-stainless-steel?cm_vc=ProductFinding and then source my other parts around it for exaclty how I want it built. My 6.5PCC barrel with dies was about the same price, custom made to my specs and I am getting pretty close to the 6.5G performance with a little less hassle, at least for me.

 

[stagpanther]

That is a great suggestion--the only slight issue I would have is that once your done putting that together your AR 15 is now going to weigh very close to an AR 10 when fully equipped with furniture. If bench shooting only who cares--if you are actually going into the woods to hunt (which was my principal reason for building a 264 AR 15) the weight could be an issue.

 

[tahunua001]

not really. my grendel is about the heaviest setup you would want to hunt with. it's the 20 inch barrel and I slapped a diamondhead full length free floated handguard on it, in addition to a decent scope and 1 piece mouth setup, the thing is darned heavy for an AR. but with that said, my brother's bone stock remington R25(AR10 carbine) is still heavier, and I really wouldn't want one of those over the grendel in the field considering ballistics of the 6.5 from a rifle compared to 308 from a 16 inch barrel.

one thing I learned from hunting with the Grendel however is that the AR15, though useful for a great many things, can be a chore if you don't have it set up properly. I had a tactical charging handle release on it to begin with. it made operating he gun way easier without having to reach my bear paws between the stock and scope to charge it, but when packing strong side, the handle would often catch on my pocket and unlatch, constantly requiring me to reach down and relatch it and making a whole lot of metallic clicking noises I don't like to make when trying to be super sneaky sneaky.

another problem is that I couldn't find any low capacity magazines in stock anywhere prior to season(now they are everywhere) so I was forced to use my 25 rounders which have a tendency to catch and snag on clothing if you are heavily layered. also depending on your handguard setup, it may be difficult to adapt a sling or bipod should you so choose. I had issues getting a sling setup just the way I like it, took a little trial and error.

now that I have a low cap mag for it and standard charging handle it is much better suited for hunting.

 

[MarkCO]

My AR15s in 18" and 20" trim with the heavier calibers, range from 7.4 to 9.3 pounds fully dressed. That is about 2 pounds under the .308 pattern ARs set up similarly, and about what typical bolt guns go for. But also, if I wanted to, I could easily get a 16" down into the mid 5 pound range sans optics.