6.5 Grendel Pro's and Cons's?

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pyscodog

Active member
Is there any? I have accumulated quite a bit of free Grendel brass and now have got the urge to buy a rifle. LOL I know, kinda the bass ackward way of doing things. I read reviews and know it actually is meant for the AR platform but what about in a bolt rifle? I been looking at Bear Creek uppers. Opinions on them? I want accuracy, not cheap, but reasonably priced. Also looked at a Ruger American in a bolt rifle but feel it will need at least a stock upgrade right off the git go. I'm just in a "tire kicking" stage right now but it does have my interest up.
Thanks!
 
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I personally think it is a great little cartridge that has been overshadowed by the 6.5 Creed-wagon. It would make a great whitetail round for forested areas, over feeders or food plots.

Not a bad round for doing predator control work in the spring and summer but a little hard on pelts for fur harvesting.

I bought one just because I want to play with it, mines an HB Mini Howa in a Boyds thumbhole stock, with a 6.5x20 scope on it now and it has proven to be quite accurate. I ordered it as a barreled action so I could have the stock of choice. I think I'm going to find a sporter stock for it and drop a 1.5-6 scope on it and take it to next years convention to work over the coyotes, maybe even in the Egg Shoot.

Good luck with it.

With original mag length and 1.5-6x40mm scope



With modified mag and 6.5-20x40mm scope.

 
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The only problem I have had with mine is finding the right seating depth sometimes reloading the 95 vmax bullets. AWS pretty well covered the rest, but we have stretched its legs a little bit on whitetails. My daughters and I have taken several from 175-350 yards with our little AR, and one quite a bit further than that. The girls like shooting it a lot better than the 243 bolt gun that we have.
 
Brownell's has a barreled action at a decent price. Then a stock would finish it up. My main problem with an AR is I just don't care much for AR's. LOL Guess that really narrows down my choices.
 
Pros for me are it's fun to shoot. It is solid to 1000 yards, and it only takes a mild load to do it. You can shoot more rounds before to barrel gets hot.
Cons, I can only think of a couple and they are both pretty minor. I mainly shoot 22 and 6mm and paying $35 for a box of 100 bullets isnt as awesome as paying $25. Being limited to AR magazine length somewhat limits your bullet choices. Neither con is even close to a deal breaker for me.
I have both an AR and a Ruger American I'm not sure which one I like better. They both shoot very well. It's a darn fun little round to play with.
 
One thing that I also read was the Grendel was better in an AR and if I went bolt action to go Creedmoor. I do have all the necessary equipment and components for the CM. Even have a rifle that would be a great donor for the CM also. What a dilemma.
 
Originally Posted By: pyscodogOne thing that I also read was the Grendel was better in an AR and if I went bolt action to go Creedmoor. I do have all the necessary equipment and components for the CM. Even have a rifle that would be a great donor for the CM also. What a dilemma.
That is a dilemma for sure. As for being the Grendel being better in an AR I disagree. Grendel is a PPC based cartridge and there are thousands of shooters that use that cartridge in bolt guns very successfully. Try and define what you need or hope to accomplish with the rifle and it should help sway your decision one way or another. For me I wanted a cartridge that would hit 1000 yards to shoot steel plates and hopefully connect with a prairie dog. Both my tasks will benefit greatly from being able to shoot 20-30 rounds before stopping to cool the barrel, and I don't need very much energy down range to acomplish either task. So for me the Grendel was the clear winner. Without a defined goal it's easy to end up with the wrong tool for the job at hand.
 
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I have more rifles than I need now. Some get shot once a year, so need is off the list. Falls more in the "want" category. LOL I've been down the CM road already but have lots of components. Now, thanks to a non brass saver at the club, I have a good stash of Grendel brass. Maybe I'll just hold off both for now and see what comes along.
 
This is my Grendel I just put together. Mainly I built it for more power killing pigs. But, I am sure it will get carried a lot calling coyotes during deer season. Most of the places I call I can shoot deer as well, and you never know when the good one is going to step out unexpectedly.

Upper is a Grendel Hunter 16", with the stainless fluted Satern barrel. Lower is a Spikes with CMC 2.5 lb single stage trigger and a T-3 buffer. SiCo Omega. Scope is Vortex 1-8 Strike Eagle. Aero Ultralight mount for the scope.

I am shooting 100 NBT's at 2640 fps, into sub-moa groups using Benchmark and Starline brass.

Very nice little rifle to shoot. I like it.

IMG_4506 by [/url], on Flickr

[url=https://flic.kr/p/MwU21k t=_blank]IMG_4507 by https://www.flickr.com/photos/156517515@N04/, on Flickr
 
The 6.5G is a fun, all-round cartridge. Soft on recoil, great on accuracy, it's got long legs and anchors coyotes hard. It can be used for deer, I have even seen elk taken with it. It has the power of a .308 in a small platform. Overall it's a real pleasure to shoot. Groups real tight.
 
I realized though, I didn't answer the question, pros and cons.

Personally, for me, I wouldn't build a Grendel in a bolt gun unless it was a kids rifle, OR, I was needing some more power in a micro Mauser style action like the CZ-527. I know, it is a great little cartridge. But I also feel like if you are stuck with the size of a standard short action there are other cartridges that offer a lot more performance/potential. 6.5 Creed (I have one of those too) will out run it at distance all day long, and do it with more power. Like I said though, that is just me.

Not that a guy couldn't build a really neat little bolt gun around one. I SERIOUSLY thought about converting my daughters CZ-527 to Grendel. It would be a perfect little rifle for her.

Now, IMO, where the Grendel really shines is as a power upgrade in the AR platform. That is what it was designed to do. Once you get in that discussion, the argument really boils down to Grendel or 6.8 SPC. Both have very comparable performance in the same category. For factory ammo, under 200 yards, and especially short barrels, the 6.8 is probably marginally (some say significantly) better. But for the reloader, the Grendel has a much better selection of nice slick bullets in lighter weights. Once you start stretching the range over 250-300 is when that benefit starts to kick in. Long range there really is no comparison because lightweight .277 bullets with a good BC are very limited.

Now at the moment I don't really have too many plans on shooting my Grendel at distance. But I do shoot LR a fair amount, and realize that at some point I may (probably)will want to. Plus I had a fair number of 6.5 bullets that would work in it on hand already. To me the LR ability over the 6.8 was more important than the increased power of the 6.8 at close range. Pick your poison I guess.
 
Locally, the 6.5G factory ammo is increasing and the 6.8 spc is decreasing.
If that is a nation-wide trend, 6.8 spc days are numbered.
Of those two, I have the 6.8 spc.
 
Dang J, that's a fine looking rifle. You're killing me though. Mo has been trying to convince me to send over an upper to get rebarreled to 6.5G. This post is NOT helping me just say no!
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Originally Posted By: Bob_AtlLocally, the 6.5G factory ammo is increasing and the 6.8 spc is decreasing.
If that is a nation-wide trend, 6.8 spc days are numbered.
Of those two, I have the 6.8 spc.

I think that probably, that has to do with the overall 6.5 craze in general. Everybody thinks they want to shoot distance, whether they actually can, or will ever have the opportunity to do it or not. I AM a distance shooter. And to be honest, for me it was a tough call between the two cartridges. Because the real truth is that for what I am doing with this rifle, it will rarely get used over 200-250. The reality is that the 6.8 might have been better for me with this barrel length. But I really like 6.5 bullets. So that is what I got. I have several 6.5's and I know how good bullet selection is in that diameter.
 
Nice groups, too bad your gun threw that "FLYER" in the second group. Just kidding.

You would have to look long and hard for inherently in accurate cartridge, even some of my rounds from a hundred years ago are very accurate.
 
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