School me 6.5 Grendel AR build. Will be used for hunting.

[chrislibby88]

I'm gonna build a hunting upper for deer, and possibly hogs (But mainly deer). I don't foresee shooting more than 200 yards, and I'm guessing most shots will be inside of 50 yards. I will use an existing lower for now, but I plan on getting a nice one later on for multi cal uppers.

So far my research has me leaning towards a 6.5 Grendel build, or possibly a blackout.
My main goal is better terminal performance and penetration than 5.56.

I understand a new bolt, barrel, and magazine will be needed for the Grendel. What else do I need to know? What barrel length, twist rate, and gas system length would be optimal?

Yes, I have looked into 6.8. It is almost identical to the 6.5, but the 6.8 ammo is slightly more expensive and the only pro over 6.5 is that you get better ballistics from shorter barrels from the 6.8. Shorter barrel means less weight on my shoulder.

 

[Plinker66]

It's my understanding that 6.8 hits harder than Grendel up close (inside of 200) and that 6.8 ammo is a little cheaper too. And Grendel likes a looong barrel.

 

[greg vess]

The two are practically dead on until you hit 400 yards and the 6.8 starts dropping faster. That only because of the shape of the round and wieght. I happen to prefer the 6.8 because I have built 4 or 5 of them because they are accurate and hit hard and work the same wether they are in 14.5 inch barrel or a 16 inch barrel. With the 6.5 grendal you have to start throwing on longer barrels to really see any ballistic advantage. I have a 14.5 in 6.8 and I love it. It's light weight and shoots every bit as accurate as my 16 inch 6.8 does. I reload so I get to play around the with the round a bit. I can tell you that the 6.8 with the Barnes TTSX round is a hog stopper. Dear, Mt. lion, Hogs and I have even talked to guys that have taken Elk at 300 with the 6.8. That's all I need to hear. The only thing that will be a slight advantage is target shooting over 400. I mean out to 600 yards. I don't know about you but I don't plan on shooting anything over 300 yards.

 

[Darkdiesel]

You can score an inexpensive upper on gun deals.

I bought a radical upper for my 7yo to shoot this season.

I ended up going with the grendel because of ammo cost for practice, I bought a bunch of wolf for .27 ea.

 

[libertysteeth]

I built a cheapo one. Barrel from anderson bolt from odin. Already had an upper etc. I've got about $320 in the upper all parts included. It's a 16" barrel carbine gas system. Kick is a little less than an ak. Wolf ammo is about 2inches at 100. Black rifle by hornady is sub moa. I think the wolf was actually 1.5ish moa I just used it to get my scope in the neighborhood. I wasn't taking my time and I was shooting off the magazine on the bench. The cheap wolf ammo sold me on the 6.5. I think the 6.8 will die out first but I don't care. This rifle will do everything I intend for it then some. Mags aren't bad either. Just shop around. Oh. and zero malfunctions after 150 rounds. It's fun.

 

[libertysteeth]

Edit: alexander arms barrel. I forgot to add the handgaurd which made the build about 420.

 

[rockyfatcat]

at a max effective range of 200 yards you could do an entire laundry list of cartridges. .223/5.56 have plenty of terminal velocity at 200 yards.

 

[Allsmiles]

7.62x39 and shoot the cheap stuff all you want. Killed a lot of deer with Wolf 7.62x39 HP ammo. My avatar is just one of many that didn't appreciate the cheap stuff. I've thought about a 6.5 several times; but hate to get another caliber.

 

[Cohutta68]

All good advise. I prefer the 6.8. I reload for around $.30 a round, but can find factory hubting loads around $.75 ( Federal Fusion) up to $1 a round.
My 12.5" barrel shoots handloads sub moa all day long.
I have a 300 blk as well, bit prefer it in a very short barrel.

 

[greg vess]

Now if you are talking 6.5 creedmore then whe are entering a whole nother demension. We are talking 1000 yards plus with creed.