Over the years, I've slowly learned to like this cartridge more and more, and they are replicating like Gremlins now.  I'm even thinking my retros need to be Grendel's.

I like that the recoil is basically like an SKS, but the impact is much closer to a .308, especially when compared to .223 Rem, no matter what target bullet you try in the mouse guns.

Punching Steel

17.6" Lilja Barrel



16" AA Barrel-Target is just above the red dot in the picture getting smacked, with dust kick-up from the spall.


18" Midway Fluted Barrel

It is a disease for which there is no known cure...!!

Great family of Grendels, and there's always room for one more....!

I have two currently, kinda want more.

I'll trade you my 20" Lilja for yours.

Yes, that's a very nice neutered Creedmoor




We got a 20MOA riser and a FH for Alonzo's Grendel last week.  It's tempting me to start another build, but I told myself this is a year for NV and other spedy accessories.

I will build one this year. Oh yes, I will build one.

Just finished my first and really like it so far. Have another barrel on order.

Now if brass prices would come down a bit . . . .

This is what I mean:




3 of those barrels in the corner are 6.5 Grendel's.  I have a 22" Lilja, 18" Fluted Satern, and 16" Wasp from Lilja.  Not even all the 6.5 Grendel barrels in the room are in the pic either.

The 5.56 guns are kinda "meh" now.

Very nice

18" Blackhole barrel on a LAR Grizzly OPS-4 upper. Ringing steel pretty consistent @ 700.

LRRPF52 what do yo think of the midway barrel?

I've only had brief exposure to them, but they seemed to do well on steel out to 600yds.

They have 9/16x24 threads on the muzzle.  For the price, the fluted 18" at $369 with bolt is hard to beat.

You are a smart man.





I have a 20" Sabre Defense upper on a PRS stock.  Pretty heavy gun, but shoots well.





I also have an Alexander Arms Lightweight Upper on a lower with a light-weight stock.  I'm lovin' this one (except for a little ejection issue I'm sorting through.





I have another upper in the safe - one of the first ones J&T ever made.  I have the parts to finish it, but haven''t.





I love the cartridge.

 

Light recoil, capable out to decent ranges, and works on the AR-15 platform.



Different cartridges for different applications.



 

I have a 20" that I built a few years back. It's a fun fun to shoot.

X2

Might I inquire as to what your guys' loads are looking like?  Most interested in powder and bullet details...velocities would be nice to know as well.

I am a .260 (6.5) fanatic and have been increasingly using my JP LRP-07 in precision rifle competitions but I have always been interested in what the Grendel has to offer.

Thanks all.

The best powder for the 6.5 Grendel using 120-125 grain bullets is probably CFE223.  The 123 grain bullets hit the sweet spot for BC speed and long range accuracy.   For hunting with shorter barrels the 123 grain SST is a good performer as well other cup & core bullets around 120 grains with the 120 grain Barnes TTX, 100 grain  TTSX  and Hornady GMX being effective solids.   For varmints the 85 grain Sierra Varmint, 90 grain Speer  TNT along with 100 grain Sierra Varmint, 100 grain Noslers have proven accurate and effective.  One poster on the 6.5 Grendel Forum uses his Grendel with 100 grain Nosler BT bullets on wolves.

The 100 grain A-Max, 107 grain SMK plus 108 grain Scenars make great target loads using IMR 8208 XBR, H-335, TAC, XTerminator or A2230.  Other popular powders for the 6.5 Grendel are A2520, AR Comp, BLC-2  with heavier bullets.  Some users have used the 129-130 grain bullets with success however I haven't bought any bullets heavier than 125 grain Nosler Partitions.

The velocities with the 6.5 Grendel really is dependent on barrel length and I find the 20" barrel is a good compromise.  As an example my 16" 6.5 Grendel looses about 25 FPS per inch from my 20" 6.5 Grendel.  My 16" 6.5 Grendel shoots the factory 123 grain A-Max at approximately 2450 FPS whereas a typical 20" barrel will be 2525-2550 FPS.  

Here are some Chrongrap results I saved from ARF.COM which someone posted on various 6.5 Grendel barrels and loads.

Here are factory loads from 20,16 and 12.5 inch


Alexander Arms 20 inch GDMR
6.5mm Grendel Muzzle Velocity (fps)
Alexander Arms 100 grain Berger OTM 2,847
Alexander Arms 120 grain Barnes TSX 2,551
Alexander Arms 120 grain Nosler BT 2,600
Wolf 120 grain MPT 2,541
Alexander Arms 123 grain Lapua Scenar 2,627
Hornady 123 grain A-MAX 2,582
Alexander Arms 129 grain Hornady SST 2,450
Alexander Arms 130 grain Swift Scirocco II 2,400

Alexander Arms 16 inch Mid-Length carbine
6.5mm Grendel Muzzle Velocity (fps)
Alexander Arms 100 grain Berger OTM 2,723
Alexander Arms 120 grain Barnes TSX 2,494
Alexander Arms 120 grain Nosler BT 2,535
Wolf 120 grain MPT 2,445
Alexander Arms 123 grain Lapua Scenar 2,523
Hornady 123 grain A-MAX 2,463
Velocities are averages of five shots measured on an Oehler 35P chronograph 12 feet from the muzzle at an ambient temperature of 90 degrees F at 1030 feet above Sea Level.

Alexander Arms 12.5 inch 6.5mm Grendel
Alexander Arms 100 grain Berger OTM 2470
Alexander Arms 123 grain Scenar OTM 2330
Velocity figures are 10 shot averages recorded on an Oehler 35P placed 12 feet from the muzzle 1,030 feet above Sea Level at an ambient temperature of 30 degrees F.

*Note the low temps with the 12.5 inch gun

Yeah, I was just yanking his chain.  He's got a .260 and the Grendels, I've got a pair of 6.5CM, one semi and one bolt gun.  If I was to do it all over again I'd probably build a Grendel first and eventually go to the Creedmoor, but now I've got to save my pennies and build a Grendel.  I've put together three of them for friends now, and I really like shooting them.

I really wish Hornady would use their 123gr AMax in a Creedmoor load, it's got great ballistics and I'd like to shoot it in CM without handloading it.  The Grendel has a fantastic factory ammo selection, it's really one of it's strong points in my opinion.

Here is some more data for you on the 6.5 Grendel. Model one upper 20" barrel.

H335 29.0 gr. cci 450 primer and 95 gr. Vmax 2795, 2795, 2838, 2826 and 2855 at 62 degrees. Accuracy was about 1 1/2" at a hundred. I switched primers to a Rem 7 1/2 br and the chrono graph messed up but the group shrunk down to little over a 1". the Velocities that day were 2911 and 2923 with three errors and temperature about 85 degrees with 48% humidity.

Here are some AA2520 30.7 gr.  loads 7 1/2 Rem br primer Temperature was at 60 degrees humidity 78%  123 gr. Amax.
2600,2629,2650,2649,2624,2607,2605, 2621,2595,2605. These loads were thrown powder charges I did not weight each charge. This group was about an 1 3/4"
Here is the same load as above at 38 degrees and 30% humidity.
2536,2544,2557,2536,2538,2551,2534,2564,2572,2538 you can see this powder seems to be temperature sensitive. This ten shot group was a bit over an 1 1/2"

My 18 1/2" Les Baer barrel .260 LB Chamber for comparison.
2481,25092515,2595,2478 same AA 2520 load from above and the group was terrible, But it was the first 20 rds out of the gun. 56 degrees and I did not take a humidity reading.
I have been shooting factory Hornady 123 Amaxes out of this gun for a average grouping of 1 1/2" on a good day to a little over 2" on bad days.

Has anyone in here tried the Prvi 120 bthp ammo? If so what kind of accuracy does it have?

Waiting for delivery of such ammo. Ordered for plinking/sighting purposes. Will report next week.

 

There are acouple people who have purchased the PPU packaged 120 grain MPT and are going to compare it to the Wolf 120 grain MPT.   Wolf 120 grain MPT was loaded by Privi Partizan and I expect similar results from the PPu braned ammo.  I have only shot tne Wolf 120 grain MPT in my 16" Shaw barrel 6.5 Grendel.  Largets groups at 100 yards were about 1.5" with some of the better groups around an 1".  My barrel is Chrome Moley and has a CAR handguard which is not free floated so basically a rack grade rifle.

I was just shooting some of the PPU 120gr MPT out of my friend's Lilja 6.5 Grendel 18" last Monday, and easily bug-holing with it at 100yds.  It was actually easy to group so well with it, where I normally have to work hard to get a lightweight AR15 to shoot.  I was just seeing where it was on paper before chronographing some 120gr TSX loads for him with CFE, and was pleasantly surprised that such affordable ammo was grouping that well.

After I had chrono'd the ladder, we took him out to 600yds just for fun, and he was spotting his own hits at that distance easily.  Guys to our right were wondering how an AR15 was hitting the steel that hard, as it sounded more like a .308 on steel, with very audible "dink"......."dink"........"dink".

Pics of rifle:

Lots of good info and gorgeous rifles in this thread.  

6.5 grendel is my next project for sure.

You have some very nice rifles there LRRPF52. I cant wait till I finish my 6.5 Grendel build.
it will be my first AR15. It will most likely be a 20 inch barrel so I can use a OPS inc 3rd model
suppressor in 30 caliber.

The 6.5 Grendel is such an awesome cartridge that you would have thought that John Moses Browning
designed it himself!

I went out yesterday to test my neighbor's latest AA 16" fluted lite barrel I built for him, as well as shoot some of my 10rd-string loads I wanted to see through the 17.6" Lilja Grendel.  I got the barrel from Lilja, and AA chambered it for me with a SAAMI reamer.

Keep in mind this is rapid fire, as in as soon as I get crosshairs on the target, the hammer releases.  

The trigger is a standard AR15 trigger that I polished the nose and hammer notch on, with a bobbed hammer.  The hammer does not release predictably if you try to make a slow, clean break, so I had to violate trigger control fundamentals and snatch it.

The outliers are from when it released prematurely.  I have all kinds of different triggers, and I'm thinking of installing something predictable in this soon.





Here's some of the ammo I shoot regularly.  There are at least 10 of the 37 available factory loads represented here, not including the discontinued 90gr TNT:

Its a very fun round out of a light weight rig.

A lot of Grendel owners don't even realize how hard it hits steel, as most people only have access to public ranges where they can only punch paper.

You really need to get it out on steel and enjoy impact with ease.

I think it's a perfect round for a DMR or shooting varmints. When it comes to shooting big stuff I would rather use the 7-08 or 270wsm. Shooting long range I really like the 6.5 creedmoor but the 16 inch Grendel seems to get grabbed more and more.

I have a 22" .260 Remington AR that I don't shoot that much anymore.

To be honest, I've been looking at largely replacing it with a 22" 6.5 Grendel, since I realized that the .260 Rem gives me 150yds more performance than the Grendel when comparing the same bullets, and both are supersonic well past 1200yds already.

I've spent so much time shooting the short barreled Grendel's, that the long-barreled ones have always been friends'.

It's just too easy to shoot factory ammo in this, whereas I need to hand load exclusively for the .260 Rem gasser.

On large game, you'd be hard pressed to tell the difference.  Several people DRT'd elk this past season with 16" Grendel's and the 123gr SST even.

LRRPF52, I saw your ad and was going to ask if your were narrowing down another rifle caliber to a Grendel. I feel the same way, the more I shoot my Grendel the more I like it. Mine's a 20". I have and 18" that is now done I just have to get back down to my home to get it put together and shoot it. My Creedmoor is almost done as well, but that is where my concern is. I am worried that when I finish the Creedmoor that it may just end up sitting around since I like the Grendel's so much. I just put a Steiner on my 20" and have to get it out to sight it in. I think that is going to make me like that rifle that much more.

Please keep us posted on the 22" as you go. You have some nice setups and always have good info.

How did the 16" fluted lite shoot?  

I pulled apart a cmmg .300 blackout today to build it into a Grendel. It's like learning the AR all over again, not even sure what length of barrel or brand to buy

The last time I shot my .260 Rem was either last summer or 2 summers ago, can't recall.

I shoot at least 2x month average, and always take 6.5 Grendel unless I'm doing something strictly pistol related, or something with Boy Scouts.  We just did a Biathlon camp out last weekend and had a great time.

The Creedmoor would be easier to shoot because there is affordable factory ammo, provided the gun runs well on factory ammo.  You need to nip that in the bud with firing pin aperture size, gas system length, gas port size, buffer weight, and recoil spring type, in addition to custom bolt work if you want the brass treated well.

You also want a strong extractor with good metallurgy, from a vendor that has strict testing protocols.

My ad is for a .260 Rem barrel my friend got on a trade for some other part.  I already have my 22" .260 Rem Bartlein barreled upper built by GA Precision, with no current plans to do another .260 Rem any time in the foreseeable future.

I shot a .75 MOA group with it, and he shot 1 MOA.  We were just function-testing with 4 different types of factory ammo to show that it works.

Went to 985 with mine today, had .4 mils before I was out of elevation. Had a 15 mph cross wind but managed 7/10 hits. Picture coming here in a minute.

Think it is a pretty good buy for someone just getting into the caliber?

It's the best buy right now.  $195 for a fluted barrel that shoots well?

I've been building them left and right since they started offering them.

What barrel is this you are talking about? I've been searching and the best I could find was a spinta precession barrel for around $200, but don't have any experience with that companies barrels

It's the Alexander Arms 16" Lightweight fluted, made available recently.

It actually has a very stiff, medium-heavy contour, but is double-fluted so that you have twice as many flutes as a lot of other barrels I've seen.

You get a 6lb little AR15 before optics, using the modern lightweight handguards.

AA 16" LW Fluted 6.5 Grendel Barrel

Thats the one I'm using. So far its been very accurate.

My BHW 18" showed up today.  This is going to be a great rifle I think.

The BHW's use a really shallow rifling, so people often see higher mv with them by at least 50fps or more, sometimes 100fps.

I chose it for the polygonal rifling and price.

 

Just ordered the 6.5 Grendel mags today and parts are showing up. Just waiting on 22" Satern barrel and maxim bolt in a group buy.

Excited to finally have an AR in a package with some power.

Which bolt would you recommend with it?

I think I'm about to bastardized a KAC mod1 into a 6.5

Get either of the bolts from AA.

I've been considering one of those, but the 9/16x24 threads have kept me from buying one since I plan on suppressing it.

It has been 129 days 0 days since Arfcom cost me money