6.5 Grendel hunting bullet

[TC338]

What bullets would be best suited for use deer hunting with s 6.5 Grendel? Ranges should be 300 yards and in. My dad will be running an AR15 and my wife has s TC encore. AR has a 8 twist, Encore has a 9 twist. Powder suggestions as well.

 

[MudRunner2005]

Not sure on the 9-twist, but the 8-twist the Berger 140 Elite Hunter should work good. I have heard good things about the Berger 130 AR Hybrids working for hunting. I have some, but I have not shot any game with them, so I can't tell you whether to use those or not. I would probably try some on a coyote or something like that before, just to get an idea if they will expand fine at those velocities and distances.

For the 9" twist, the Berger 120 BT Target is about the only Berger that will work. If you want to shoot paper or steel, the Nosler 123 Custom Comps will work fine with the 9" twist. They will also work fine in the 8" twist for target shooting.

As for powders, I use Varget and CFE223 for mine.

 

[benchracer]

Given the modest velocity the Grendel is capable of generating, it seems to me the 123 Hornady ELD-M or SST and the Nosler 125 Partition would be the top candidates.

For powders, I would be looking at IMR 8208, CFE 223, or AR-COMP.

 

[Georgiashooter]

I would try the cavity back bullets 105 grain with h335, benchmark, 8208 xbr. Go check out the 6.5 Grendel forum and do a search for cavity back bullets threads. There is a guy from CBB on there that has been doing extensive testing, as well as double naught spy from this forum, he is also on the Grendel forum. Hope this helps

 

[RockyMtnMT]

We loaded the 124g Hammer Hunter for a customers Grendel on AR platform with 18" barrel. We were easily able to reach 2500fps with great accuracy at 200y.

This would work for your 8" twist. We have a 121g Heavy Hammer for the 9" twist. The Heavy Hammer is as heavy as we could make a bullet for the 9" twist with the 1.5mm hollow point for better bc. Has very slight boat tail. We also have Sledge Hammers up to 130g that will work with the 9" twist. Would slightly marginal with the 130g Sledge Hammer as the ideal twist for that bullet is 8.75" I think if it were me I would choose the 121g Heavy Hammer or the 117g Sledge Hammer for both rifles.

Steve

 

[TC338]

We loaded the 124g Hammer Hunter for a customers Grendel on AR platform with 18" barrel. We were easily able to reach 2500fps with great accuracy at 200y.

This would work for your 8" twist. We have a 121g Heavy Hammer for the 9" twist. The Heavy Hammer is as heavy as we could make a bullet for the 9" twist with the 1.5mm hollow point for better bc. Has very slight boat tail. We also have Sledge Hammers up to 130g that will work with the 9" twist. Would slightly marginal with the 130g Sledge Hammer as the ideal twist for that bullet is 8.75" I think if it were me I would choose the 121g Heavy Hammer or the 117g Sledge Hammer for both rifles.

Steve

What is the difference between the hunter and the sledgehammer?

 

[RockyMtnMT]

What is the difference between the hunter and the sledgehammer?

Sledge Hammer is higher weight for caliber larger meplat designed for normal hunting ranges under 400y or so depending on cartridge. Hammer Hunter is a slicker bullet with better bc but not as heavy for caliber.

Steve

 

[rlspahn]

I shoot the Hornady 123 SST factory load in my 20" AR15 and couldn't be happier with its performance. Muzzle velocity averages 2508 ft/sec and it routinely groups 1/2" or less for 3 shots. Performance on south Texas whitetails and hogs has been outstanding. Nothing farther than about 150 yards, though.

I feel the lower velocity of the Grendel round contributes to the near perfect performance of the 123 SST. It's not so fast that it's explosive, but fast enough to provide good expansion combined with penetration. It's been lethal on all my game.

Rex

 

[Sneaky Apasum]

123 Amax or SST. My Grendel shoots the Amax much better, so I use that. I've killed several deer with them, and they are deadly at Grendel velocities.

 

[spinlite]

Has anyone tried the Barnes TTSX 100g in the Grendel for White tail or Hogs, does it open up good enough at Grendel velocities.

 

[Georgiashooter]

Has anyone tried the Barnes TTSX 100g in the Grendel for White tail or Hogs, does it open up good enough at Grendel velocities.

I shoot it in all my bolt Grendel's and it expands good. I've shot deer out to maybe 120 and hogs out to a little past 200 and it has performed perfectly. Hope this helps. I'm loading over 29.6 8208. Could probably go higher but just never took the time to work any further.

 

[WoodPecker Hunter]

I think the 100 or 125 gr Partitions are the way to go in the Grendel I got 2 boxes the other day if 100 gr -ers I'm loading this up with hopes of good accuracy and then will use it for Deer in the fall.

 

[WildRose]

What bullets would be best suited for use deer hunting with s 6.5 Grendel? Ranges should be 300 yards and in. My dad will be running an AR15 and my wife has s TC encore. AR has a 8 twist, Encore has a 9 twist. Powder suggestions as well.

With a 9 twist you probably can't stabilize anything over the 120gr mono's or 130gr conventional bullets.

Nosler Accubond, or Hornady SST in that range would be ideal for your purposes all the way around as you're right in the sweet spot for their velocity recommendations from the muzzle all the way out to 300yds or awfully close to it.

 

[sierracharlie338]

Federal makes a fusion round for the G. I believes it's a 120? Great choice.

On the other hand I shoot the eldm factory ammo currently because I have a poop ton of it from when it was cheap. I pick my shots with this one.