Looking to build a 6.5 Grendel and this will be my first experience with the caliber. I want to build a DMR style build as I have a PRS Lite stock. I have been assembling good parts such as the SSA-E trigger, ultra duty LPK, etc so don't want to cheap out but don't want to reach the law of diminishing returns when it comes to performance (i.e. why spend an extra 200 bucks if the performance increase is nominal.)

I know obviously shortening the barrel will have effects on velocity but I don't anticipate shooting further than 300 yards. Primary uses are for hunting game such as whitetail and hogs and punching paper for fun. What are y'alls barrel length suggestions?

Also if you have any input on optics I would be glad to hear those recs.

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

https://www.sixfiveoutfitters.com/product/monster-12/

Lilja makes an incredibly accurate 6.5G barrel from what I've seen.  I saw groups that I honestly wouldn't have believed had I not been there.

It's button rifled, but their "formula" is spot on.  

~$600 on Lilja's website.  My friend has a 20", but the Grendel performs well out of short barrels (<16") too.

Have lilja and a shilen.  Both outshoot me and my ammo.  


https://www.midwayusa.com/product/1003479633/

For the money, SixFiveOutfitters is the best value you're going to find.  

If money is no object, look at Krieger, Bartlein, Proof, Lilja, etc.

SixSigmaArms stock Lilja 6.5 Grendel barrels.  They had some in stock a couple days ago.

Just checked, looks like 10.5, 12.5, 14.5 and 16” 6.5 Grendel Lilja barrels are in stock.


https://sixsigmaarms.com/products.php?d=61

Some folk's interpretation of "for the money" is a lot different than mine

Lol, right?
3x more expensive but 3% better..
My ARP budget barrel is more precise than I can shoot...

+1  Dang nice barrel, especially for the money.

Fuuuuuuuuck! Wish I’d known about this a while ago.

My Stealth barrel is average at best with everything I've tried.  I paid $200 so I'm not mad, but it absolutely is not nor was a very good barrel.  Now it sits in the safe.

The barrels sold by 6.5 Outfitters are the same barrels sold on the 6.5 Grendel forum group buys.  The early group buy Monster logo barrels were manufactured by Faxon.   I have a 16” and 18” 6.5 Grendel Faxon Monster barrels.  Recent Monster barrels are manufactured by Green Mountain to forum member Blunt Force Trauma specs.  I have a 12” Monster barrel from Green Mountain.   I really like my 12” 6.5 Grendel barrel and are really good rack grade barrel.   BFT has opened a web store and has very good products and supports what he sells if you have an issue.


Any rack grade barrel can be luck of the draw but the Monster logo 6.5 Grendel and 6 ARC barrels get good reviews.  If you want to test the waters with the 6.5 Grendel cartridge the Monster barrels are a viable option.

https://www.sixfiveoutfitters.com

High dollar barrels dont necessarily shoot better than the lower cost options. But, every barrel shoots the same whereas when you get down to the bottom of the barrel vendors you may get a shooter or you may get a shitter. If you just need a barrel roll the dice, if you need a barrel you know will shoot then you gotta spend the money.

Can someone legally hunt deer with a pistol in Florida? Something to consider when choosing the barrel length.

I have friends there that hunt with revolvers so don't think it is a problem.

44 mag or 357? Depending on state laws, Grendel may not meet the requirements to be used as a pistol. Energy and barrel length isnt usually a problem, but if theres any caliber restrictions that might get you. Some states require .24 (6mm) which is fine but I think some states require .44 or whatever 357 is, which is bigger than Grendel (264)

I have a Faxon fluted 18" stainless that I have been very pleased with.  Shoots as good as my howa bolt action grendel.

Thanks for all the feedback. Does anyone have experience with the Rainer Arms Match or Ultramatch barrels?

Looks pretty open, but when in doubt FL Hunting

I've got an older Ranier UltraMatch 18" SPR profile.

It will stack 69gr SMKs.  Not too shabby with the 77gr rounds either.

This.  I have been pleased with the 18" Criterion 6.5 grendel barrel on my primary grendel.

I have a 12 inch Green Mountain 6.5 Grendel Barrel from SixFiveOutfitters. It is a good looking barrel and accuracy is good with Factory Hornady SSTs.. I mostly carry it when I am riding and working off of my 4 wheeler. I have hunted with it but I have another 6.5 Grendel rifle with better optics that I prefer to use for hunting. That rifle has a 16 inch Faxon "Match Grade" barrel. I am not known as a good bench shooter but I can get quarter sized groups at 100 yards any day. If I needed another 16 inch rifle the Green Mountain Barrel from SixFiveOutfitters would be a good choice for me.

+1 on the faxon/65 group buy barrels (12" and 16" - both are very accurate, great for the $).

I have an odin 18" intermediate gas that is sub 1 MOA with Hornady american gunner 123gr.  used at a 1000Y class, worked great.  I think barrel + tube/block was in the $300 range.

Buy ammo first and see if you still want 6.5G.  Pickings are pretty slim/expensive these days.  I've got about 2.5k wolf and 1k Hornady gunner/eldm/sst but I don't count on being able to replace it without selling a kidney.

I only have 1 6.5G - an 18" larue.  I've been pleased and have shot a few groups under 1moa with eldm so I'd say it's good for the price.  I got mine when they first started offering it in the ultimate upper package and I was in your shoes.

I've managed to accumulate 180 rounds of Hornady for a rifle I don't own yet. If you had it to do over, would you buy the Larue (which I'm looking at), a cheap one (PSA, BC ect) or build your own?

Everybody's situation is different.  If you reload and have components for the 6.5 Grendel then a cheaper barrel might be an option.  If your only going to shoot factory ammo and only have one or two long guns then I think it is wise to buy the best you can afford.  Most quality barrels shoot good from the beginning with a wider variety of ammo.   Who wants to waste ammo, gas and possibly range fees to find out you got a dud upper or barrel.  Some cheaper barrels need seasoned with developed hand loads to get decent accuracy.  

I have a good supply of 6.5 Grendel components and shoot at my house.  I’m retired and have time to investigate what might be going on if there are problems.    My Son in Law bought a BCA 6.5 Grendel upper on sale just before Christmas.   I wouldn’t have bought it but general appearance looks good.   I’m going to offer to let my SinL shoot it at my house where I have factory and hand loaded ammo to see how it performs.   We can try to sight it in before I pass judgement.   If we shoot the BCA at my house I was going to do a range report with pictures.

The LaRue 6.5 Grendel uppers get great reviews and I think the Ultimate Uppers are worth the price.  If you buy a PSA and have issues they have good customer service.   BCA has had a lot of negative reports especially in 6.5 Grendel and really seems to be a coin toss on whether you get a decent upper.

Check out OdinWorks too. Not premium priced but a solid reputation.

Also, if you have any local websites that list gun stuff, check for barrels/bolts listed for sale. Lots of people divested from Grendel during the ammo shortage and there were a lot of lightly-used Grendel barrels and bolts languishing unsold at low prices around here.

My FAXON shoots 0.61" groups at 100 yrds with 107gr SIERRA handloads










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yep, it runs with my old 6.8SPC mags LOL

I went with the Proof stainless 20" on mine.  Couldn't be happier.

Absolutely the larue. No ragerts with my rifle choice.  I'm happy with 6.5G as well, just saying someone getting into it now may find frustration with ammo availability.

I bought 6.5 for accuracy and downrange performance for hunting.  Wouldn't make sense to go cheap and larue offered good value without being top dollar.  I bought 7.62x39 AR to shoot cheap ammo at steel inside 300m.  I went with a 16" radical and 10.5" BCA and am happy with them as I don't ever intend to use for defense or attempt small groups.

I been shooting Grendel since Bill Alexander came out with the round.  Had about every brand barrel and for the money the LARUE can't be beat.  Set up probably a dozen of their uppers and all were great shooters with factory or reloaded ammo.  Hard to beat their price right now, hearing there is gonna be a price increase soon.

I had a Larue and was happy with it.  However, due to the availability and cost of the ammo over the last few years I couldn't buy enough to adequately feed it. So I decided to move on from it and put the money back into my 5.56 and 7.62 NATO.  If things settle down in the future I might get back into it. Honestly for my area of Texas everything is well covered between the 5.56 and 7.62 NATO.

You better save money for ammo, it’s scarce and I find 30aught6 ammo cheaper when it comes to knocking down deer out to 300 yards. I bought a bunch of Grendel before pandemic, but that’s my good fortune, not yours.??

Reality check : You do NOT need sniper rifle to kill critters, you need good glass to see them as the biggest, finest critters wait for the children and does to graze for 30 min or so (near complete dark), as bucks are cowards and they send women and children as hunter bait.

Accuracy, You only need minute of deer, out to 300 yds. Pie plate at 100, puts plate of venison shepherds pie on the table.

I suggest Grendel Hunter brand upper and slap it on whatever cheap lower you got. I still use the crappy milspec lowest bidder trigger on my $119 Black Friday lower with MIM parts (GASP!!) and kill plenty of critters, because I can SEE THEM. The16” Grendel can easily put three rounds in a quarter at 100 yds, if I do my part. I bought the lower end of their lineup but upgraded the barrel. I also recommend suppressing it, but won’t be hearing safe. This upper really drills tight groups!

You probably only need a 3-9 for what you described, but I went with leupold vx5hd 3-15, illuminated.. not only can I put it on the 30-06 to go elk hunting ( every 5 years or so), but it lives on the Grendel as I’m now taking it out to 600 yds for fun. I chose the vx5 over swaro z5i after researching the loopie cds dial. I lost an elk because I was dialed in on one at 450 yds and a second one came out at I think 150, didn’t know my bullet drop. My bad. CDS makes it simple and IMO better than swaros version, although z5 glass is significantly better than the loopie. Swaro version of cds I felt unintuitive. I’m colorblind too. Loopie was cheaper and better overall value for me.

Ps recommend illuminated, lost aim on multiple hog, when they went from daylight in open cut into shadow timber I was unable to see the crosshairs in dark timber as eye was probably still too dialated. Do not cheap out on scope. Tune out all the noise about highly promoted scopes and go to rokslide and see what scopes retain their resale value. (Hint not vortex).
I know all this because I have the receipts of every mistake I made, especially optics. Also, GOOD binocs are a must for hunting. Swaro EL is great, buy demos europtic or used on rokslide.

You know you got the right glass as you no longer get upgrade envy. Truly buy once, cry once, take that 4 figure price and divide by years you plan to use it. When you don’t use it, you will get decent price selling it, or enjoy until you get real old and then mount your scope on your 22LR at the old folks home and piss off your fellow geriatrics by shooting all the pigeons and feral cats they feed. ??

Wilson Combat is a bargain.

107 grain Sierra Match Kings are amazing from my 18" AA upper.

I prefer lighter bullets in this caliber, 90's, 95's, 100's, 107's and 108's.

107's have nearly identical BDC to .308 M80 ball ammo if fired from a 24" barrel.

I bought a complete 6.5g from psa. Accuracy was terrible.  Faxon was the fix. It's incredibly accurate even with wolf ammo. Rise trigger and vortex 1-8 strike eagle.  Very happy with it.

WOW, Was bragging on Larue uppers and they must have read my post,  they went from $799 to $1299.

Craddock Precision.

Satern cut rifled barrel is what you seek!

Yep

I have Wilson Combat 6.8SPC and 300BLK barrels

very nice quality

+1 for the 16" Faxon barrel! Just built one myself a couple weeks ago with a bolt that Faxon matched with the barrel.

3 shots at 50yds nearly the same hole.
5 shots at 100 yards ~0.75 inch.

This is with off-the-shelf 123 SST Hornady during break-in at the range. 3-9x40 Bushnell Banner 2 ballistic reticle from Cabela's sale a couple months ago ($70 I think), cheap mil-spec trigger with lighter springs, off sand bags.
I'm very confident hunting with this rifle.

I'd attach photos if I figure it out.

Edit: I used to hunt whitetails with my old Grendel (old type-1). Since you're not shooting past 300yds, no need for a barrel longer than 16 inches; you could put a can on the end and it would still be short enough to carry around. Also, I have a PRS Lite stock on a LR308, and they're not light for carrying around hunting. They're just lighter than the regular PRS stock. (I do like that stock though, just not for hunting/walking).  I'm actually going to put an A2 buffer tube on my hunting AR and fit a fixed stock, light-weight Skullation MBA-2 or something else that's light for carrying around the woods.
But to each their own; you'll enjoy the Grendel with any quality barrel maker.
Photos....

Came here to post this.
I have an OdinWorks 6:5 that shoots very well.

At one point in time I would have said the best for the price is the Alexander arms barrels, but I haven't used one from the last 5 years or so.

Ballistic advantage and Alexander arms will easily be accurate enough for 400yards and more.  Lilja barrel if your going 1000 yards plus.

Cproduct /dura mag 6.5 Grendel mags are most reliable.
Most magazines like elanders suck.  Cproduct 26rd mags have the 6.5 follower and curve to the mag body to feed reliably.

The 6.5 Grendel cartridge has less case taper than the 5.56 NATO cartridge. Any reliable magazine should reflect this.

If I were to do 6.5 Grendel again I would only consider Noveske, Lilja, or Criterion. However, I rely on factory ammo. I tried two fairly popular brands and they didn’t cut it for me.

Impatiently waiting for my Noveske 18” SPR barrel to ship… I already have a Faxon 16” Gunner and that build is designed around being minute of man with Wolf ammo. This new build is being paired with a Noveske Gen 2 that I’ve had sitting around for over a decade at this point.