Odin Works makes a very complete line of 6.5G barrels and complete uppers, worth a look for anyone building a 6.5G rifle or pistol.
https://www.odinworks.com/category_s/1893.htm

AIMSurplus appears to still be the low cost supplier for steel cased, 100 grain, 6.5 Grendel ammo at $4.79 per box of 20, plus shipping.
https://www.aimsurplus.com/product.aspx?item=AW65FMJ100&name=WPA+(WOLF+Performance+Arms)+6.5+Grendel+100grn+FMJ+20rd+Box&groupid=247

They're stocking Federal match ammo, too, but it's a lot more expensive than Wolf as one might imagine.
https://www.aimsurplus.com/product.aspx?item=ZAAE65GDL1&name=FED+AMMO+AE+6.5+GRENDEL+123GR.+OPEN+TIP+MATCH+20-PACK&groupid=247

Btw, it looks like cz 527 in grendels have landed.  (2 left when I posted)

CZ Grendel 527

Too bad i blew my money on a Mauser WWII Nazi HSc pistol otherwise this would be mine.

FYI...Looks like Faxon Firearms will soon be producing a match barrel in 6.5 Grendel - http://www.faxonmatchseries.com/

416-R nitrided Stainless Steel w/ 5R rifling

Wolf 6.5mm Grendel 16 inch complete uppers with bolt carriers and charging handle for just

$349
https://www.aimsurplus.com/product.aspx?item=XWAU65&name=Wolf+Performance+Arms+6.5+Grendel+Upper+Receiver+Group&groupid=8045

I see that others have made them in the past, but do you guys know if anyone is currently making a 14.5" barrel right now?

Mondee bump.

If you don't mind waiting precision firearms has 14.5

Where are you guys getting your grendel mags.  I just gathered all the components for an upper except for charging handle and mags.

I'm using some ASC 15-round body magazines blocked to 10 rounds with no problems.  If you want a 24-25 round magazine, E-Lander is the general consensus favorite on the 6.5 forums.

Yep, got some E Landers from Alexander Arms, I'm very happy with them.

Do the ASC 25 round mags have problems. I was hoping to pick some of those up, but if they don't function I'll stick with their 15 rounders. I like the 2.316 +/- internal length to allow longer OAL.

I've got several ASC mags and one 24 round mag had failure to feed.  I compared the faulty mag to good mags and noticed the feed lips were different on faulty mag.  I used needle nose pliers to adjust the feed lips on faulty mag to match my good mags.  This mag has not failed since I adjusted the feed lips.

I have several of the 14 round ASC and original C Products mags.   I rarely load these mags to full capacity as they are probably the least reliable 6.5 Grendel mags on the market.  AA never sold the 14 round mags because they did not meet his spec.   I found a gummy substance on the inside of some of my ASC mags.  After cleaning the inside of the mag the magazines were a lot smoother/slicker.  I always load my new 6.5 Grendel mags and let them set loaded.  

New 6.5 Grendel mags (regardless of manufacturer) have stout springs and improve greatly with use.   The ASC magazine capacity as advertised includes the chambered round.   Five round mags generally only hold four cartridges.  My ten round mags hold nine and the fifteen rounds only hold 14.   My twenty five round ASC mags only hold 24 rounds.  By comparison my E-Lander 10 rounders hold ten, the 17 round mags hold 17 and the 24 round E-Lander mags hold 24.  The E-Lander mags cost a little more but I really like my E-Lander mags, especially the 17 round mags.

I've bought several ASC 6.5 Grendel mags from 44mag.com.

Just a quick question. How does the 6.5 have MORE case taper than the 5.56/7.62?

Case taper: 0.65° each side

Because it was designed that way.  It isn't a huge amount of more taper like 7.62x39, but it has case taper.

I've seen some figures for different cartridges, but I don't know if they're correct.

I'm calculating .625 for the 6.5, .692 for the .308 and 1.002 for the .223.

Are you measuring the same length on the case body angle, or using SAAMI drawings to the shoulder and working the ratio from there?

To my eye, it looks like Grendel has more than .223 Rem, but they are all very close.  We're not talking about a .22-250 or 7.62x39 though.

From a practical standpoint, the Grendel will not work with a straight magazine once you go past a 10rd capacity, so there is a real-world issue with case taper that can be seen with magazine design that is not present with 5.56 or 7.62 NATO.

Both 5.56 and 7.62 NATO cut their teeth on straight 20rd mags and run on them all day long.

When Bill A. specified the curved dimensions for the 15-17rd mags for Grendel, the old C Products sent him straight 17rd mags that never worked, and were rejected.  He actually tested them just to see, but they didn't work, so pallets were sent back.

Instead of putting limiters in those mags or recycling them, they were distributed to the after market and sold to meet the demand.

I wasn't aware of this when I ordered mine, and quickly learned that if I tried to load more than 5 rounds, they would choke in my non-ramped rifle upper.

7 rounds would feed fine once I put it in an M4 upper, and after I de-edged and polished my feed ramps, 10-12rds would feed.

I really like the 17rd Elander mags, which have a nice curvature to them.

are the CPD 10 round mags decent? I only use mine for hunting/bench shooting so I prefer shorter mags.

Yes.  I've not had any issues with them, and most people report the same.

I've also seen 100% reliability so far with the 24/25rd mags even dating back before the Elanders, to include multiple guns that aren't mine across many 2-3 day courses over the past 8 years.

Is there anyone other than Faxon making nitrided (or chrome lined) Grendel barrels? I'd like to shoot steel case out of it sometimes and don't want to feel bad about doing that to an unlined barrel.

Bear Creek Arsenal (BCA) is selling Nitride 6.5 Grendel barrels.

AA and PF have been making nitrided barrels for a long time.

Faxon does as well.

Any suggestions for a hunting optic on my 12.5 inch 6.5 Grendel? I'd like to be able to hunt white tail and hogs out to 300 max. Maybe use it to shoot steel plates occasionally.

IR hunter Mk II thermal .  For real, I use a 3.5x35 ACOG and an IR hunter thermal with fantastic results. I have both of them on LaRue mounts and just swap optics when it gets dark.

A vortex Razor 1-6 is my ultimate goal but the ACOG works great for now, and is half the weight.

Or a Pulsar D50 and a leupold illuminated pig plex 1 X 4

Haha I would love to put a REAPir on there, but that's out of reach at the moment.

I have a TA33 set up on 300 blackout and I do like it, but there are times when I wish I had a variable optic.

I was looking at the vortex 1-6 or 1-8 strike eagles, but not real crazy about the reticle. Maybe the vortex 1-6 pst with VM-2 reticle? Any experience there?

Magazines:

There are several developmental periods with 6.5 Grendel magazines, and changes even within those periods, just like with 5.56 NATO and 7.62 NATO mags.

These changes generally follow the companies making or introducing mags at the time, so I'll break those down using that approach.

CProducts LLC
These were the original CProducts LLC mags, with a flooplate that was stamped:

Alexander Arms (with AA shield)

As well as:

CProducts LLC
Newington, CT

Alexander Arms only carried 4rd, 10rd, and 25rd mags.

CProducts LLC also offered a 17rd straight mag, which had been rejected by AA due to the fact that they wouldn't feed when fully loaded.  Instead of ceasing production of these mags, they were then introduced into the after-market and sold widely, which hindered the Grendel's reputation for reliability.  These were the very first magazines I ended up with, and found out years later the back story from Bill A. himself how he rejected them by the pallet because they weren't curved.  They do run fine when loaded to lower capacity between 7-10rds for me.

All of the CProducts LLC mags I have personally owned and seen have blue, anti-tilt followers that are pretty slick inside the steel magazine body.

ASC
There was some type of business-related issue between CProducts LLC and a supplier.  The supplier then started marketing mags as-

Ammunition Storage Components, or ASC, and were marked:

ASC LLC
NEW BRITAIN, CT

There have been several versions of the ASC mags, and recent ones include color options between black and FDE bodies.





ASC is still making the 17rd straight mags for some reason.  They will not work normally with most rifles when loaded past 7-10rds.  Not sure why they haven't gotten the memo yet.



CProducts Defense (CPD)
These are the same guys that ran CProducts if I recall correctly.

They appear to be very similar or the same as the original CProducts LLC mags with the blue follower.

Floor plate is marked like the bottom mag:



CProducts Defense has also introduced a newer curved higher capacity mag that looks like the 7.62x39 curved body mags:



Elander

I first got some of the Elander pre-production mags for testing.  They did not have any markings.

Some production Elanders are marked with the company logo/name, and 2 digit month/date.

My LaRue Stealth 2.0 came with a laser-engraved 17rd Elander with "6.5 Grendel".



Elanders brought the first mass-produced 17rd curved magazine to the market, after working with Bill A. to get the design right over several years.  They also have a 4 or 5rd, and a 25rd magazine.

The Elanders are strikingly-different from other mags in that they have a very smooth, black enamel-coating and a white polymer anti-tilt follower.  They feed very smoothly compared to previous mags.

I will say that so far I have had no issues with the straight ASC mags, probably around 300 rds through 2 of them. They are advertised as 15rd mags and are just about identical to a 5.56 20rd mag. Maybe they changed the spring or feed lips from the early days of straight 17rd? Unless they are hidden somewhere they do not sell a 17rd.

I load them full to 15rds and they feed hornady sst, eldm, and wolf steel no problem. My rifle is all colt w/ m4 ramps and a BA 12.5” barrel. I also have 3 asc 25rd and elanders in all sizes. They all feed 100%

My straight C Products LLC 6.5 Grendel mags which are the same length as the 20 round 5.56 mag only hold 14 rounds but are listed/sold as 15 round.    C Products LLC 6.5 Grendel mags supposedly counted the chambered round in their listed capacities.  I read where CP counted the chambered round into the stated capacities to comply with some states hunting regulations.   Being CP LLC was in Connecticut anything is possible.  Their quality control was not the greatest and some mags would accept an additional round.   My CP LLC five round mag only accepts four rounds, ten round mag only hold nine.   My CP LLC/ASC 25 round mags only hold 24 rounds.

My E-Lander 6.5 Grendel mags hold the specified amount, ten, seventeen or twenty four rounds.  I don’t own a four round E-Lander 6.5 Grendel mag.

I'm new to 6.5G but started with CPD 28 round and Elander 17 round mags.

Both fed Wolf steel case without issue in a PSA 12" nitride upper.

I've been running CPDs in 7.62x39 and Elanders in 5.56/.300bo for years, both have served well with CPDs being the best option for 7.62x39 IMHO.

But the Elanders have a much heavier body and if they're working closely with Bill there should be no geometry issues.

CPD is supposed to be bringing out a 20 round mag soon that looks to be the same length as my 20 round 7.62x39. I think I'll stick with Elanders from now on.

FYI I've heard CPDs may have issues running when fully loaded to 28 rounds, I haven't confirmed that yet but when I bought mine from PSA they were listed as 26 round mags so I didn't go past 25 til they're broken in.

Details?

I have had good luck with the ASC mags. When I first get them I take them apart and clean them and also make sure the follower is smooth and buff the edges. I also take some fine grit sandpaper to the edges of the feed lips. Have not had a jam with any of them and have the 10 rd, 25 rd, and recently a 15rd. I like them as they come in FDE which helps keeping them separate. I also function tested and adjusted the gas block on my PSA 12” grendel upper yesterday. Worked fine with no issues uppressed and un-suppressed. It ejected the wolf 100 Gr at 4 o’clock unsuppressed and 2 o’clock with suppressor on. I fired 80 rounds with no issues. I was in a hurry and did not really check for accuracy.

Nosler 6.5 Grendel Ammo 123gr HPBT

This is one of the 4 loads announced at SHOT that has made it to production.

They said later in the year, but looks like April is "later".  I was thinking more like October for some reason.