New AR15 build, 6.5 Grendel ???

[porterdavid98]

Reading other blogs has only confused this issue for me. Why are so many post made third hand? Please, anyone with first hand actual experience clear this up for me?

Is the 6.5 G a really good choice to build with the expectation of reliability and punch and 400 yard reach in mind. Not looking for large bore (44 or 50 caliber) 30 or 308 size would satisfy me. Have a 308 bolt for deer, don’t need a AR deer rifle but that reference for this build. First hand advice?


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[J]

Really like mine. Ballistics (drop/drift) aren't far off from a 308 at distance.

If you only want it out to 400yds, damn near any caliber will work well. Mine has been very good out to 800m/880yds.

Ammo isn't too hard to find, same with mags.

[ray1970]

I have two of them. Unfortunately I haven’t had a chance to put any rounds through either of them.

I did get to put a few rounds through J’s one time. All I remember was ringing steel at 500 meters was boringly easy. It made me want one of my own so eventually I put two of them together.

[porterdavid98]

Two of them? Why? Shot neither? A bigger WHY?


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[ray1970]

Two of them? Why? Shot neither? A bigger WHY?


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Why 2? Why not. I built one short and light for possibly coyote hunting. The other is long and heavy and strictly for range use.

Why haven’t I shot them? Same reason I haven’t shot three other rifles, two shotguns, or four handguns. Work and personal life (and other hobbies) keep me too busy to make time for a range trip.

[Hoser]

I have a 6 Grendel that I am very happy with. AKA Spook (a member here) built it for me.

[porterdavid98]

My kind of guy. So many hobbies, so little time.

A short light version makes sense. How short? The range version how long.

Side note: I built three different length 223/5.56’s. 16, 18, and a 20. Expected the 20 to be sniper capable, no, not noticeable over the 16 for my abilities. Still not satisfied got a 18” Wylde. My favorite so far. Since I live in the boonies on 10 acres I shoot out my back door. Also got the 22lr conversion which for plinking and cheap brings a lot of enjoyment to my table.

Try to find some time to shoot so I can ask some questions. Thanks


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[travisty4]

I absolutely love mine! 20” barrel. I have stretched it out to 700 yards and it shot just over 1 moa. I have used it on hogs in texas with good results. 123 grain hornady sst flopped a 200 lb hog in his tracks at 97 yards. I am building a second one for my wife to use for deer


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[ray1970]

A short light version makes sense. How short? The range version how long.


The short one is a 16” barrel with a light weight 13” handguard. The other one has a heavy profile 18” barrel with a 15” handguard. I also have a 20” barrel on hand as I was having trouble deciding between the 18” and 20” barrels. Briefly considered a 24” barrel but figured I’d wait until I test drove the others first. The 18” one still needs optics before it’s really finished anyways.

Maybe this fall when life slows down a bit and the weather cools off I’ll make an attempt at getting the 16” sighted in and try to see if I can smoke a coyote at four or five hundred yards.

[JethroBodine]

I wish I'd have built a 6.5 Grendel years ago, they're a blast. I have three now, 12.5, 16 and 20 inch. I'm still working up loads for each for different uses. The prices for components have come down to near sane levels and there are a lot of bullets to choose from. The hard part is deciding what bullet / powder load to try there are so many options.

[porterdavid98]

You sound like the guy I need to listen to. I will start to find the best deals for my first 6.5 G. 20” is my first choice. What components can you recommend?


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[travisty4]

My 20” is a criterion barrel chambered by precision firearms. Great barrel but i had an 18 week turnaround time on it. It shoots about 5/8 moa at 100 yards indoors. I am using an odin works barrel for the wife’s build


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[Duman]

I'm looking at the 6.5 Grendel... considering a Wilson Combat upper:

https://shopwilsoncombat.com/65-Grendel/products/1047/

[Aardvark]

In process of building a 6.5 Grendel. I have all the parts, ready to build but trying to get ammo is like chasing ghost farts. Been to Bass Pro, Cabela's south, Sportsman's, many local shops and of course, the shows and none have ammo. Often I'm told "6.5 Grendel just isn't popular". Does CO hate 6.5 Grendel?

[ray1970]

In process of building a 6.5 Grendel. I have all the parts, ready to build but trying to get ammo is like chasing ghost farts. Been to Bass Pro, Cabela's south, Sportsman's, many local shops and of course, the shows and none have ammo. Often I'm told "6.5 Grendel just isn't popular". Does CO hate 6.5 Grendel?

Hmm. It always seems to be in stock at the Cabelas up north and at Sportsmans Warehouse.

If it isn't popular then why are they always sold out?

If you are just wanting plinking ammunition, Aimsurplus has the Wolf stuff all the time for $6 a box. (Although it looks like they just sold out. They had some earlier today.)

[ChickNorris]

Fwiw, saw some @ Ark last week.

[Will1776]

All I can say is I've done a little bit of research and I want a 6.5 grendel....

Go for it!

[Eric P]

Online is best. $20-27 for hornaday bla k in store vs $14-17 online.

Gunbot.net helps but doesnt catch all.

[travisty4]

Sportsmen?s usually has plastic ammo cans with 200 rds of American Gunner 123 gr BTHP. In my build my groups open up to about 1 1/2? with this ammo vs SSTs. But for $140 it is hard to argue with the cost


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[mb504]

Here is another couple sites to use, if you're only using gunbot.net:

http://gun-deals.com/list/ammo/6.5+Grendel

https://ammoseek.com/ammo/6.5mm-grendel

[encorehunter]

I'm beginning to really lean toward this caliber on the at platform for my wife's deer and elk rifle. I have read a lot if good about it. Does anyone have some bad things to say about it?

[SouthPaw]

We just put one together for my dad using LaRue's upper. Pretty badass rifle and hopefully we will take it out this weekend. He put it together for deer/elk.

https://i.postimg.cc/FRm4c82p/larue.jpg (https://postimages.org/)

[ray1970]

I put mine together with the intention of using it for hunting. For me hunting is way more about walking around with a rifle than actually shooting a critter so I tried to keep mine short and light.

https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20181121/f915f319eb5e2717d138734d1289063c.jpg

[ray1970]

SouthPaw, I'm assuming the magazine in your dads rifle is just for decoration? Or are you managing to use 5.56 mags with the Grendel?

[Eric P]

SouthPaw, I'm assuming the magazine in your dads rifle is just for decoration? Or are you managing to use 5.56 mags with the Grendel?

Ok, so I took a 6.5 elander mag and a 5.56 usgi mag apart. Identical. Followers are the same, grooves in the sheet metal are the same, curve of the mags are the same, metal thicknesses the same. Only difference I can find is gloss black, vs flat black paint.

[ray1970]

Ok, so I took a 6.5 elander mag and a 5.56 usgi mag apart. Identical. Followers are the same, grooves in the sheet metal are the same, curve of the mags are the same, metal thicknesses the same. Only difference I can find is gloss black, vs flat black paint.

Hmm.

My 6.5 mags have a wider gap at the top than my 5.56 mags. I can get pictures tomorrow if that doesn?t make sense.

[Eric P]

Hmm.

My 6.5 mags have a wider gap at the top than my 5.56 mags. I can get pictures tomorrow if that doesn?t make sense.

Same opening on the metal ones. Slightly wider than pmags

[SouthPaw]

SouthPaw, I'm assuming the magazine in your dads rifle is just for decoration? Or are you managing to use 5.56 mags with the Grendel?

Yes, just for photos. He picked up some Elander mags but curious to compare them now. Surely someone has tried using regular pmags before.

[ray1970]

So, comparing my 6.5 mags to my 5.56 mags there does seem to be a minor difference in the gap between the feed lips.

I compared a fifteen round 6.5 magazine to a twenty round GI mag since outwardly they appear almost identical.

https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20181125/9e1c207e307299286805f724dce87f38.jpg

The follower design is different. The 6.5 mag follower looks a lot like a Magpul follower compared to the GI mag.

https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20181125/ec835eefc865a3847df48863877fbfc0.jpg

https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20181125/6a136c26335bf2f7bb6557216bf09324.jpg

The feed lips on the GI mag measured about 0.465?. (My dial must have moved when I was taking the picture.)

https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20181125/199d6d341d79dbb7b3beaf0d26528663.jpg

The distance between the feed lips on the 6.5 mag was right at a half inch.

https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20181125/7318566d8eeeee066c4117669e9a3b8a.jpg

Now, in the grand scheme of things this could be just the difference between two different manufacturers. Or the added 0.035? feed lip gap might be intentional to allow the round to sit higher for better feed reliability. Who knows.

I know in years past I?ve actually used standard 5.56 mags with 7.62x39. You just couldn?t load them past about ten rounds before you ran into problems.

[JethroBodine]

In my experience you can use Pmags if your only loading 3-4 rounds, more than that and the sides start to bow or flex and you run into feed issues. I have ASC stainless mags and Elander. For the money ASC is my choice. I had to tweak and deburr the feed lips on the ASC mags to eliminate scratching the brass.

[Troublco]

My 6.5 Grendel is my go-to rifle (carbine) for GP night use on my ranch, as it wears my only night scope. It's accurate and reliable as far out as I need, which with a decent moon is about 400 yards. I use C Products 6.5 magazines with the blue followers as shown in previous posts, and have had no issues with them. You used to be able to get followers and springs from C Products and use them in 30 round mag bodies, but since C Products became C Products Defense I haven't seen this as an option.

[encorehunter]

I finally got around to putting this rifle together. I am not quite sure what is going on, but at 50 yards it shoots fair. I strung 6 shots in 2 inches which would make me think it is a trigger pull issue. At 100 yards, I am at about an 18" group. I have pulled off the brake, pulled the handguard, retorqued the barrel nut 4 times. I havent pulled the gas block yet. I shot the two boxes of ammo I had on hand, no one here in Trinidad sells it, so i in have to order more. I think I may drop it off at the gunsmith tonight to see of he has any other ideas.

[ray1970]

Hmm. Maybe an optics or mount issue?

Assuming you have some sort of optic that is.

[encorehunter]

Leupold 2-7. I pulled it off another ar and put it on this one. I did check it a couple times and nothing was loose, and I remounted it a second time. It has never come loose before.

[SA Friday]

I finally got around to putting this rifle together. I am not quite sure what is going on, but at 50 yards it shoots fair. I strung 6 shots in 2 inches which would make me think it is a trigger pull issue. At 100 yards, I am at about an 18" group. I have pulled off the brake, pulled the handguard, retorqued the barrel nut 4 times. I havent pulled the gas block yet. I shot the two boxes of ammo I had on hand, no one here in Trinidad sells it, so i in have to order more. I think I may drop it off at the gunsmith tonight to see of he has any other ideas.

There are multiple issues that can cause this, but let me start off with what I think is the most obvious. Who manufactured the handguard and who manufactured the upper?

[encorehunter]

Handguard is an off brand, it is a free float. Upper is a spikes upper.

[troy.cardenas.1]

Hey all. I'm new to shooting ar platform and working on my first build. I have been debating between the 6.5 and 6.8. Can anyone tell me how much different the two are?

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[SA Friday]

Handguard is an off brand, it is a free float. Upper is a spikes upper.

The hand guard is your barrel nut. Your barrel nut is what holds your barrel in your upper securely. I've seen two off-brand hand guards in the last three years that had shit barrel nuts and the barrel was moving. It's a complete pain in the ass, but rebuild the upper with a different barrel nut and test it. I've tried to come up with a test to show how much a barrel nut is mating up with the barrel extension collar, but so far, it's just easier to rebuilt it with a reliable test hand guard and barrel nut.

[Irving]

Hey all. I'm new to shooting ar platform and working on my first build. I have been debating between the 6.5 and 6.8. Can anyone tell me how much different the two are?


Different in what way? What are your objectives out of the round?

[troy.cardenas.1]

Different in what way? What are your objectives out of the round?Hunting and distance target shooting.

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[encorehunter]

The hand guard is your barrel nut. Your barrel nut is what holds your barrel in your upper securely. I've seen two off-brand hand guards in the last three years that had shit barrel nuts and the barrel was moving. It's a complete pain in the ass, but rebuild the upper with a different barrel nut and test it. I've tried to come up with a test to show how much a barrel nut is mating up with the barrel extension collar, but so far, it's just easier to rebuilt it with a reliable test hand guard and barrel nut.

This hand guard is actually seperate. The hand guard has 8 screws that attach it to the nut. Its going to the smith today. He believes it may be a crown issue, but he will go over it with me while Im there. Im sure he has several other hand guards as well, so I will be prepared to swap that out as well. Thank you for the help.

[SA Friday]

This hand guard is actually seperate. The hand guard has 8 screws that attach it to the nut. Its going to the smith today. He believes it may be a crown issue, but he will go over it with me while Im there. Im sure he has several other hand guards as well, so I will be prepared to swap that out as well. Thank you for the help.
the barrel nut is proprietary to the hand guard, short of a couple that use mil-spec like a couple Troy Handguards. It's only separate in respect that it can be dismantled. You use what they send with it, usually. Tell him to check it.