Grendel at 850 yards

[hounddawg]

First time with the 6.5 Grendel at long range.

Rifle- Sanders Armory upper with 20 inch barrel, Rock River Match lower, Sig Sauer BDX @ 15X, no name Ebay bipod

Ammo - Starline once fired cases, Federal AR Match primers, 26.6 H322, Nosler 123 CC's

Weather was 70 F , sunny with medium mirage, 7 - 10 Mph winds, full value from 3 - 9 oclock

velocity was a bit low for my Shotmarker target but overall I was impressed with how the Grendel shot. I am normally a bolt rifle guy however the local club has a few guys who shoot in the new NRA tactical prone class in the F Class matches so I decided to get a load worked up for my Grendel and give it a try. It was fun on the SM, pull the trigger, 2 seconds follow through, look at the phone and a few seconds later see the impact.

Missed wind calls on shot #7 and shot #8 and I shot a tad low overall but for my first time ever shooting my AR farther than 300 yards I was pleased

 

[stagpanther]

Very impressive! I believe forum member Mel80 has had great results well past 1000 yds with her grendel, might want to look at her results (somewhere on the forum, sorry I don't remember where). I've thought about 322 but IIRC it doesn't get up to the velocities other powders can.

 

[hounddawg]

If you want velocity try Leverevolution or power pro varmint.

For target work as long as it stays supersonic out to 800 and is accurate I am happy, if I were hunting with the rifle that would be different. The 322 is plenty accurate enough and is a Hodgdon Extreme so it is very temp stable. Yesterday it was 70 F and the morning of my next match is predicted to be in the low 40's. I will probably keep the ammo in a cooler with a hand warmer just as a precaution. Our range uses Kronenberg ( sp ?) electronics and I am not sure how velocity sensitive they are but I should be around 1200 FPS at 800 and be fine.

 

[Wildernesshunter]

hounddawg.... I have had a long-distance, love affair with the 6.5 Grendel for at least 6 years and two things happened today....

#1. I stumbled on your post above and am blown away by your shooting and the cartridges performance. (Of course I have also seen a 400 yd shot on a Bull Elk that the Grendel took down.)

#2. I walked into a local gun shop and they had a little Howa Sporter 22" in 6.5 Grendel... and 8 boxes of Hornady SST ammo on the shelf. (I've probably been in 50 stores in the last 6+ years looking for a Grendel on the shelf and NEVER found one.... until today. Finding Elf on the shelf was easier.


Your report above about how the little Grendel performs in ELD shooting is just phenomenal. I can read the ballistic tables like any experienced shooter, but its amazing to see this tiny case push a pill beyond 500 yards. That is.... until.... you see a .5 BC on a 123gr bullet and put 2 and 2 together.

I walked out of the store... and didn't buy the gun. I told myself.... I don't need that gun. I only want it really bad. My .243 and my .270 do the jobs just fine.

Ugh... now I am pondering driving back tomorrow and blowing my dough.

 

[hounddawg]

Thanks for the kind words Wilderness. The actual group size was 10 inches vertical and 16 inches horizontal. My point of aim was at 2 o'clock on the 10
ring or just about the where #1 shot landed. On a calm day I think I could get real close to a 1 MOA or 1.25 group even with those telephone pole crosshairs.

Not to add fuel to your fire but I have read good things about that Howa mini on the 6.5 Grendel forums. With a decent scope you should be able to get close to 1 MOA groups @ 800 with with premium factory ammo and for definitely get them with handloads.

If you do handload and want to get higher velocity for hunting I would recommend Power Pro varmint and LeverEvolution combined with any good 120 - 130 gn hunting bullet. The elk story is impressive but if it were me I think I would stick to mule deer and coyotes with the Grendel. This little cartridge would truly shine on those.

 

[Wildernesshunter]

I hear ya on the Elk story.... but there are a lot of women and old men who have take a lot of Elk over the decades with a .243 and really good 100gr pills (which is usually legal for Elk hunting in the Western US).....

The Grendel, with its .264, 123gr bullet should be more effective than the .243.


But yeah.... I would choose my Aught Six out of my gun safe, loaded with 180's for Elk season.... personally. ....Busting that front shoulder is sometimes an issue.


Still.... the dinky, little Grendel is incredibly versatile!



..............

 

[hounddawg]

No argument from me on the versatility of the Grendel. I have one necked out to .30 cal for shooting in score BR contests and a 6 ARC which is a the grendel necked down to 6mmm and the shoulder kicked back .030. I am thinking about putting together a 6mm Grendel which would give me a couple of grains more powder than the ARC. I was thinking of a Grendel bolt gun but I have a pair of 6BR's so it would be redundant

 

[mel80]

power pro varmint and 130 rdf and or 135g a-tip is a killer long range combo
i never did try the 130 eld-m combo out but it should also be a nice combo

it took me going from a 20 inch barreled grendel to a 28" inch barreled grendel to beat my best distance of 1800 yards which is now extended to just over 2000y with the lil 6.5

 

[hounddawg]

I have a new 22" barrel on order from Wilson Combat, and new upper parts in the mail from Wing Tactical so I can get a couple more FPS. Next month I am think of replacing the 20 inch barrel on this upper with either a 22- 24 inch 6 ARC barrel or ordering a 6 Grendel.

850 is as far as I will ever shoot so will probably end up with a ARC. I stay close to home in my old age and it's a 3+ hour drive each way just to get to a 1000 yard range. Now if I were a bit younger.........

 

[Rapidrob]

When the 6.5 Grendel cartridge came out many of the arms makers jumped on the "new" cartridge. Being an avid fan of anything 6.5 I bought a upper with a 20" barrel.
Running a long distance shooting club, I had to try the rifle at 800 yards.
As expected the rifle shoots very well. Once zeroed in, ten rounds in calm winds hit the target in a row.
This rifle became my go-to rifle for hog hunting. It is just fun to shoot.

 

[Bart B.]

Why are the Grendel target shots 4 and 16 not scored as Xes like all bullseye ringed targets are in competition?

Rules state shots touching scoring rings are given the higher value.

 

[hounddawg]

@Bart- those are not the actual bullet hole sizes. The center of the dot is where the actual bullet hit. Plus or minus less than .1 inch

Not perfect but good enough for long range practice which is what I bought the unit for.

 

[dvdcrr]

at 850 out of a grendel I am sure you could or did go recover the complete bullets after they bounced off the target.

 

[Wildernesshunter]

Fantastic results!!!

I shoot at 5-8,000 feet elevation and bullets really fly well.... If the calculators are right, I am getting 1,000 fps at 1,600 yards with my Grendel out of my 20" barrel. If I shot it that distance, I would have to deal with 1,380" of drop.

The point is... The Grendel is incredibly capable, heck it still have 1,000 FPE at 500 yards. That will kill a deer and do it with very, very little recoil. The "Lil-G" is so pleasant to shoot.


.........