I had a craving as Jerry Clower used say "flung on me" for a AR-15 upper in 6.5 Grendel and I could not shake it off. I found a new complete BCA upper with 20" fluted SS barrel with 15" M-lock free float tube for $339.99 . I have put it on my Bushmaster lower that has a 3lb CMC trigger in it and it fits like a glove. I bought 100 rounds of Hornady 123 SST ammo cheaper than I could get the cases and bullets to load 100 rounds. I will shoot that ammo up to break in the barrel and then start reloading work up. I was just curious if anybody is shooting this caliber and what powders have you found and bullets that shoot good. I have a bunch of 120 ballistic tips and sierra pro hunters and I got a box of 123 Hornady SSTs. I would like to get some 129 LR Accubonds when I can find them. I believer they would make a really good long range deer bullet out of the Grendel since they will expand down to 1300 fps. If they can be started out around 2500 fps they should still have enough velocity out to around 400 yards to expand.
Anyone shooting 6.5 Grendel?
- Thread starter 1Shot
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jason miller
Handloader
- Sep 4, 2012
- 292
- 0
I've got a Howa Mini bolt action in the Grendel. I could use AR Comp for everything in this rifle. It's at or near the top in both speed and accuracy for 107's, 123's, 130's, and 140's. I've got some 147's loaded up to try, as well.
There's a whole forum dedicated to the Grendel(65grendel.com) where you'll find lots of info. Most of the guys over there are more AR-oriented, and there's lots of info on loading for the cartridge in an AR platform. The most commonly used powders are probably 8208, AR Comp, and CFE223. CFE(or LVREvolution) can probably get the best velocities of any powder in the cartridge, but I don't personally count on it being very temperature stable so haven't even bothered trying it. Lots of guys over on the Grendel forum love it, though. And I'd say that mostly they stick around the 123 range for bullets. Anything longer really eats into the powder capacity at AR magazine length, and anything with a longer ogive(higher BC) ends up pretty far from the lands at AR magazine length, as well. The 129 ABLR has potential since that whole line of bullets supposedly shoots well with a big jump to the lands, and they do open up at lower velocities as you mentioned. I've got some on backorder to try in my rifle. But the 123 AMax/ELD was really designed for the cartridge. And I've shot some into milk jugs at 2600 and 1700 fps and was pleased with their expansion for that range. It's my fall-back after I get done tinkering with everything else.
There's a whole forum dedicated to the Grendel(65grendel.com) where you'll find lots of info. Most of the guys over there are more AR-oriented, and there's lots of info on loading for the cartridge in an AR platform. The most commonly used powders are probably 8208, AR Comp, and CFE223. CFE(or LVREvolution) can probably get the best velocities of any powder in the cartridge, but I don't personally count on it being very temperature stable so haven't even bothered trying it. Lots of guys over on the Grendel forum love it, though. And I'd say that mostly they stick around the 123 range for bullets. Anything longer really eats into the powder capacity at AR magazine length, and anything with a longer ogive(higher BC) ends up pretty far from the lands at AR magazine length, as well. The 129 ABLR has potential since that whole line of bullets supposedly shoots well with a big jump to the lands, and they do open up at lower velocities as you mentioned. I've got some on backorder to try in my rifle. But the 123 AMax/ELD was really designed for the cartridge. And I've shot some into milk jugs at 2600 and 1700 fps and was pleased with their expansion for that range. It's my fall-back after I get done tinkering with everything else.
jason miller
Handloader
- Sep 4, 2012
- 292
- 0
jason miller
Handloader
- Sep 4, 2012
- 292
- 0
I'm gonna post some more observations I've had, but it might not be very well organized. Sorry if this gets hard to read/follow.
TAC is a decent powder in this cartridge. It just was t very accurate in my rifle. Varget is right in the burn range, but it's too bulky for the tiny Grendel. 4895 should be good, and the Hodgdon variety is one of their "Extreme" powders that are more temp stable, but it's just not very commonly used. I've tried it briefly with decent results. It's a small-grained powder that works well in the Grendel's little case. Takes about a half grain more than AR Comp to get similar velocities, but that half grain extra still fits a hair better than AR Comp, which is on the bulky side- although not as bulky as Varget. Side note- 8208 is also small-grained and fits better than AR Comp, but it's a little bit faster burning and might not have quite as much velocity potential before you hit high pressure. And it also takes about a half grain more than AR Comp for the same velocities. Also, Alliant referenced 4895(they didn't specify H or IMR) as the powder that AR Comp ended up closest to in burn rate. I think H4895 might have a bit more velocity potential than AR Comp with heavier bullets. RL15 should be a decent option in this cartridge, but I had a bad experience the one time I tried it, so I shy away. H335 should be decent, but it's a ball powder and reputed to be dirty, so I avoid it, too. I even tried Ramshot Big Game just to see, and you really just can't get enough in the case to make it worthwhile- even at really long COAL's.
Personally, I don't see myself using anything but AR Comp or H4895 in the future. Maybe some 8208 for the 107's.
Speaking of 107's, they have a very long boat tail and ogive, so a short shank. I've been playing with the tipped version. It doesn't have much COAL leeway, and it's a mile from the lands in my rifle if I seat the bullet to have a full shank's worth of grip in the case neck. It would have no problem fitting in an AR magazine, but it may or may not shoot worth a darn being so far from the lands. Most of the few people who have tried it haven't gotten the best accuracy, but my rifle didn't hate it the first go-round. The 107 TMK also has a really large plastic tip, and therefor hollow point behind the tip, and I don't know that I'd want to use it on anything bigger than a coyote. But I haven't put one into jugs yet.
The 123's truly were made for this little cartridge. They have the best balance of BC and still fitting in a magazine and shooting well. But if you want to shoot really far, a 140 Berger will catch a 123 AMax by the time they get to about 600 yards even if it starts 200 fps slower. But 140's are almost definitely a single-load avenue. My rifle likes them at 2.445", for reference. And Nosler has the new 130 RDF, which would be the ultimate long-range bullet in the Grendel if the BC is really what they say it is. I've got some, and I don't see how it can possibly have the same BC as the 140 Berger, though. And I probably wouldn't count on anything without a plastic tip to expand reliably at very low impact velocity, especially something as pointy as the RDF.
I think the 123's are a perfectly viable deer bullet, with about as much BC as you can use in this little case at AR magazine length. The slow MV of the Grendel shouldn't be too hard on them up close, and they're soft enough to open up at reasonably long range. The 129 ABLR is probably your best candidate if you want a bonded bullet or more BC. Those 120 Ballistic Tips would probably be great if you aren't looking at really long shots. And 123's are perfectly capable of long range target shooting, but you may find an advantage in something heavier if you're looking to go really long and don't mind potentially single-loading them.
I'm not even gonna go back and re-read that for fear that I'll want to change most of it. Hope it's helpful and wasn't too hard to follow. Let us know how the rifle shoots!
TAC is a decent powder in this cartridge. It just was t very accurate in my rifle. Varget is right in the burn range, but it's too bulky for the tiny Grendel. 4895 should be good, and the Hodgdon variety is one of their "Extreme" powders that are more temp stable, but it's just not very commonly used. I've tried it briefly with decent results. It's a small-grained powder that works well in the Grendel's little case. Takes about a half grain more than AR Comp to get similar velocities, but that half grain extra still fits a hair better than AR Comp, which is on the bulky side- although not as bulky as Varget. Side note- 8208 is also small-grained and fits better than AR Comp, but it's a little bit faster burning and might not have quite as much velocity potential before you hit high pressure. And it also takes about a half grain more than AR Comp for the same velocities. Also, Alliant referenced 4895(they didn't specify H or IMR) as the powder that AR Comp ended up closest to in burn rate. I think H4895 might have a bit more velocity potential than AR Comp with heavier bullets. RL15 should be a decent option in this cartridge, but I had a bad experience the one time I tried it, so I shy away. H335 should be decent, but it's a ball powder and reputed to be dirty, so I avoid it, too. I even tried Ramshot Big Game just to see, and you really just can't get enough in the case to make it worthwhile- even at really long COAL's.
Personally, I don't see myself using anything but AR Comp or H4895 in the future. Maybe some 8208 for the 107's.
Speaking of 107's, they have a very long boat tail and ogive, so a short shank. I've been playing with the tipped version. It doesn't have much COAL leeway, and it's a mile from the lands in my rifle if I seat the bullet to have a full shank's worth of grip in the case neck. It would have no problem fitting in an AR magazine, but it may or may not shoot worth a darn being so far from the lands. Most of the few people who have tried it haven't gotten the best accuracy, but my rifle didn't hate it the first go-round. The 107 TMK also has a really large plastic tip, and therefor hollow point behind the tip, and I don't know that I'd want to use it on anything bigger than a coyote. But I haven't put one into jugs yet.
The 123's truly were made for this little cartridge. They have the best balance of BC and still fitting in a magazine and shooting well. But if you want to shoot really far, a 140 Berger will catch a 123 AMax by the time they get to about 600 yards even if it starts 200 fps slower. But 140's are almost definitely a single-load avenue. My rifle likes them at 2.445", for reference. And Nosler has the new 130 RDF, which would be the ultimate long-range bullet in the Grendel if the BC is really what they say it is. I've got some, and I don't see how it can possibly have the same BC as the 140 Berger, though. And I probably wouldn't count on anything without a plastic tip to expand reliably at very low impact velocity, especially something as pointy as the RDF.
I think the 123's are a perfectly viable deer bullet, with about as much BC as you can use in this little case at AR magazine length. The slow MV of the Grendel shouldn't be too hard on them up close, and they're soft enough to open up at reasonably long range. The 129 ABLR is probably your best candidate if you want a bonded bullet or more BC. Those 120 Ballistic Tips would probably be great if you aren't looking at really long shots. And 123's are perfectly capable of long range target shooting, but you may find an advantage in something heavier if you're looking to go really long and don't mind potentially single-loading them.
I'm not even gonna go back and re-read that for fear that I'll want to change most of it. Hope it's helpful and wasn't too hard to follow. Let us know how the rifle shoots!
hunter24605
Handloader
- Apr 30, 2016
- 2,564
- 4,321
back when I got bit by the Grendel bug, I read a lot about it and folks were getting along quite well with 8208-XBR, AR Comp and BL-C2...I thought that bug had run it's course, but there has been a relapse as of late.
- Thread starter
- #6
I went to the range today to function test my BCA upper. Good news is it functioned great. Only had one miss feed which was the second shot out of one of my 15 Round ASC mags. After that it and the other ASC ran perfectly and the E-Lander 4 round ran perfect. The bad news is with the Hornady 123 SST ammo it shoots like a shotgun. Every round seemed like a flyer. I shot a total of 29 rounds. I shot very carefully three 5 shot groups and one 3 shot at 100 yards. The 5 shot groups average about 5 inches. The 3 shot was about 4 inches. I put the upper on my Bushmaster lower that has a 3 lb CMC trigger and with the 223 upper I can shoot 1/2 inch groups or better all day long so it is not me causing the 5 inch groups. I came home and cleaned the bore really well and I did get a bunch of jacket flecks out on the patches and did get a little blue with the Shooters Choice Copper Remover. I just hope it is that this barrel just does not like the factory Hornady 123 SST or that it just needs some more shooting to come in. I now have a few cases to reload so next range trip I will try some hand loads.
- Thread starter
- #7
wisconsinteacher
Handloader
- Dec 2, 2010
- 1,976
- 290
I built an upper years ago. I used an 18" AA barrel. Mine did not like heavy bullets so I tried the 107 Sierras and they shoot great. I use 8208 and have had great groups. My speeds are not the greatest but hitting the gong at 300 is easy with this rifle.
Let me know if you have any questions.
Let me know if you have any questions.
hunter24605
Handloader
- Apr 30, 2016
- 2,564
- 4,321
1Shot":iyq7sxd7 said:
Give them a call, they have great cust srvc. Last year I built 2 using BCA bolts and one of them I couldn't get the firing pin retaining pin to go back in, it was binding on something, I called BCA and they took it in and shipped me a new one right away that functions perfect..They will make it right for you..I also used BCA barrels on those 2 and they are pretty good barrels for the money..Mine are 5.56 that will shoot 1.25 @ 100 easy with very mil spec parts. I think they would do better with a trigger upgrade, etc.
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