6.5 Grendel

[TC338]

Anybody use 6.5 Grendel for deer hunting? What bullets do you use? Reloading data? How far are you comfortable shooting at game with it? I built my wife a 20" TC encore chambered in 6.5 Grendel for her to deer hunt with. She doesn't feel real comfortable shooting past 200 yards yet but I think the cartridge is more than capable of reaching 350-400 with good terminal ballistics. Her gun is super accurate shooting factory hornady 123 sst's. First day out it put 3 of the first 10 break in shots through the same hole! Those 3 were the only group we shot without cleaning between shots.

 

[MudRunner2005]

The 6.5 Grendel is supposed to stay supersonic to around 1,200 meters. I would think it is capable of a lot farther distances than 200 yards on deer. It has been claimed that as a DMR and sniper round, it will out-perform the .308 Win. I don't know that to be fact, but on paper it looks like there might be some truth to the claims.

I've been wanting to build one for about 10 years now, and am currently in the planning stages of building a precision 22" heavy barrel 6.5 Grendel upper for one of my lowers.

 

[TC338]

MudRunner,
I completely agree, the numbers on paper are impressive!!! It's a pleasure to shoot to!!! It has next to no recoil for the performance you get.

 

[Double Naught Spy]

For hunting distances, I don't know that it out-performs a .308. With the .308, I know I am getting more velocity from a heavier bullet with a shorter barrel which translates well into terminal ballistics. However, that better performance gives you a helluva lot more recoil. I also know that I get comparable penetration from my factory Hornady 123 gr. SST ammo than my hunting partner was getting from a Remington factory softpoint 150 gr. round. .308 makes a little bigger hole.

With that said, I do not feel undergunned with a 6.5 Grendel. I kill a lot of hogs with it (~70). In fact, I would argue that the hogs* don't know the difference between a Grendel and a .308 wound. Plus, I am a huge fan of the limited recoil of the round. Part of the reason I got into Grendel was because I had a medical procedure and the doctor had me on limited impact activities. I was so pleased with the performance of the Grendel on game that it is now my go-to caliber despite having healed up fine nearly a year ago.

* I know the OP asked about deer. I figure hogs are deer-sized animals and if anything, tougher than deer

 

[TC338]

What kind of distance were you shooting the hogs? Shot placement? Track jobs or DRT?

 

[jackem]

The Grendel: build the first Grendel for your brother in law, the second for a friend, and the third for yourself.

I'm joking, but I just finished one and find myself looking at AR parts...

Jack

 

[MudRunner2005]

I just ordered all the parts for my 6.5 Grendel upper build. Decided to go with a 24" 1:8 heavy barrel instead. Got the barrel and matching headspaced bolt for a great price. They are made by Satern, which I have heard are pretty good barrels. They are also Grendel II chambered, 5R button-rifled, and made of 416R stainless, so I'm hoping it will be a very accurate setup. All that's left now is to order the optic.

I found this article and read it, and it is really interesting.

6.5mm Grendel: The Round the Military Ought to Have - Shooting Times

 

[Deleted member 46119]

My first build in this class on a MSR platform was in 6mm/6.5 Grendel,aka 243-LBC and 6mm-AR.

The second build in 6.5 Grendel proper is parts right now.

The numbers do look good for any range a projectile traveling ~2800fps, classic SMK 123 to 600 yards seems reasonable. I'll never know because lead free just don't go that far.

 

[Double Naught Spy]

What kind of distance were you shooting the hogs? Shot placement? Track jobs or DRT?

Most of my hogs are shot at 85-140 yards. As with .308, if you shoot them through the shoulder with a Grendel, they might go down or they might not. If you don't hit or otherwise disrupt CNS, you can't count on the animals dropping DRT. I make head or neck shots when I am confident of the shot and make boilerroom shots when I am not (usually due to nerves, distance, or angle).

I like both calibers a LOT, but I cannot tell that there is a kill difference significantly between the two calibers when hunting hogs.

 

[TC338]

Thanks for the info!!! That just confirms what I had thought after running the numbers on my ballistic calculator. What bullets are you using? Handloads or factory ammo? If handloads would you be willing to share your mix?

 

[Macht]

The 6.5 Grendel Forum has a lot of load data for different hunting bullets. The 100 gr TTSX is what I load. It's also available in a factory load from Precision Firearms. The 120 also works, but is a little on the slow side.

 

[65 GRENDEL]

I'm a little late to the conversation but I've taken Whitetails out to 425 yards with the Hornady 123 gr Amax and once with the 123 gr SST.
I have the 6.5 Grendel in a J&T 20" Bull barrel upper which is an absolute tack driver and I also have a Radical Arms 16" which is about a 1-1 1/4 moa rifle. Its not quite as accurate a rifle as the 20" & doesn't like the Amax ammo which will hang up occasionally.
As for it being compared to 308, its very similar and ive shot iut out past 500 yards but its not a .308. For instance when I brush hunt in the swamp I prefer the 308.
Just pick the right tool for the right job and most of the time the Grendel shines, its a fantastic Whitetail rifle.

 

[TC338]

65 Grendel,
Thanks for the info, better late than never. My wife is not comfortable shooting at a deer past about 250 so she should have no problem.

 

[Doug in New Prospect SC]

I just ordered all the parts for my 6.5 Grendel upper build. Decided to go with a 24" 1:8 heavy barrel instead. Got the barrel and matching headspaced bolt for a great price. They are made by Satern, which I have heard are pretty good barrels. They are also Grendel II chambered, 5R button-rifled, and made of 416R stainless, so I'm hoping it will be a very accurate setup. All that's left now is to order the optic.

I found this article and read it, and it is really interesting.

6.5mm Grendel: The Round the Military Ought to Have - Shooting Times

Having experience with the 308, Grendel and 224 valkyrie I developed a preference for the Valkyrie for accuracy at distances where the grendel failed to live up to it's hype. The 6.8SPC case gets more performance out of same powder charge it seemed to me, but then I'm no expert.