6.5 Grendel Bolt Action. What's your experience?

[Legionnaire]

I've been toying with the idea of a bolt action in 6.5 Grendel. I'd welcome input from those of you who have one.

I could buy a Howa Mini barreled action and build around that, but a complete rifle isn't much more. Either way it looks like necessary upgrades will add significantly to the cost over time. Are there other options? Anybody put a 6.5 Grendel barrel on a Remington Model 7?

I already have more rifles than I need, so this is very low priority. I'm okay hearing the rationale for the opinion, "Don't bother."

 

[mongoslow]

I have it in the 16" Ruger ranch and love it, I want it in the 22" Predator and will snatch one up if I find one. I put the .30 radial brake on it to keep the muzzle still to help me see my impacts not for recoil since that is fairly low with the Grendel

 

[MarshallDodge]

What is the intended use? Hunting? General target practice?

 

[CraigC]

I have the Ruger Ranch with a Skinner Scout mount and a Leupold 1.5-4x. It's a neat little rifle. I wish Ruger would do a factory Scout version of the American with an 18" barrel and chamber it in the 6.5's.

 

[Legionnaire]

What is the intended use? Hunting? General target practice?

Fair question, and not one I'm really clear on yet; part of the reason I'm interested in what others are using one for. A friend asked me about a low recoil deer-capable hunting cartridge. Historically I'd have recommended a .243, and a 6 Creedmoor would certainly do the job. But the 6.5 Grendel seems an attractive option inside a couple hundred yards. I'd probably only use it as an efficient target and plinking round, but it would be nice to have a handy rifle to introduce young people to hunting.

 

[rayatphonix]

I have a couple of CZ’s chambered in Grendel. I built the original when CZ was selling the bare actions. It’s got a Lothar Walther barrel and is pillar bedded and shoots lights out with 120 and 123 bullets. This rifle is boringly predictable out to 600 yards. Never tried it at longer ranges. This rifle is one of my favorites both attend range and hunting. It’s deadly on southern white tails. My factory chambered CZ needs to be bedded to duplicate the performance of the original I built. I just haven’t gotten around to it yet.

i Think the Grendel is an efficient cartridge. 80-90% of the Creedmoor with 33% less powder. The compromise is you struggle to shoot the heavy 6.5 bullets. I stick with 100 to 123 grain bullets and couldn’t be happier.

 

[LoonWulf]

I had a 527 American, and liked it quite a bit. Ballistically it does well with 123s, but honestly i think the case is better suited for 100gr bullets, which makes me more interested in a 6ARC.

 

[horsemen61]

Love it problem is the fact that it has that wonky .440 bolt face iirc I have a CZ 527 and if I’d known they were going to discontinue them I’d bought 5 of them that’s how much I Love it with a 100 grain Barnes ttsx it shoots way above it’s weight class imho can it be done on a model 7 I’m sure it can be with enough time and money

 

[LoonWulf]

Love it problem is the fact that it has that wonky .440 bolt face iirc I have a CZ 527 and if I’d known they were going to discontinue them I’d bought 5 of them that’s how much I Love it with a 100 grain Barnes ttsx it shoots way above it’s weight class imho can it be done on a model 7 I’m sure it can be with enough time and money

You can sometimes get away with a standard .473 bolt face. One of my 6.5cm Americans held the round plenty tight enough, and it fed ok from the AICS mag.......yes, i considered re-barreling one if mine before they offered them

Getting the bolt face bushed shouldnt be all that expensive either. Think PTG offers .44 bolt bolt bodies also

 

[highlander 5]

I've a Howa and 2 CZ 527 I'm pleased with both but,the Howa plastic trigger guard and magazines is a turn off. There is a solution to that Robertson makes a fixed mag and a detachable mag bottom metal using CZ 527 mags.

 

[Laphroaig]

Ruger Predator here. It's a clunky budget rifle that it incredibly accurate. That model is too heavy for a carried hunting rifle and I despise the STANAG mags.

Mine is strictly a range toy. I shot mine in our club benchrest league this year, and placed third overall even though my first match was a disaster. We shoot the 100 yd. IBS Hunter targets.

 

[adcoch1]

Ruger Predator here. It's a clunky budget rifle that it incredibly accurate. That model is too heavy for a carried hunting rifle and I despise the STANAG mags.

Mine is strictly a range toy. I shot mine in our club benchrest league this year, and placed third overall even though my first match was a disaster. We shoot the 100 yd. IBS Hunter targets.

View attachment 1173972

I have a Ruger predator with the green stock and a heavy 22" barrel. Mine shot 4 groups very similar to what Laphroaig above showed with the first box of ammo thru the gun. Unfortunately I haven't shot it since, just picked it up the other day for the first time in a year. I really like the rifle, but it is a bit heavier than I like. I may actually sell it to make time and room for other projects. But it's accurate as all heck.

 

[Legionnaire]

Thanks for the input. After quite a bit of reading, I've opted for the Howa Mini. Ordered a barreled action with a 22-inch sporter barrel from Brownell's and a sporter stock from Bell & Carlson. I'll see how they work together. If I decide to dedicate it as a hunting rig, I'll likely replace the bottom "metal" with an aluminum BDL-type from Oregunsmithing.

 

[Legionnaire]

So here she is. I ordered a 22-inch sporter barreled action from Brownell's and a Bell & Carlson sporter stock in black with red webbing. When I was a kid I read a book about Beowulf that had great illustrations in it. My recollection of one of the Grendel images was that it was largely black and red so there was never any doubt in my mind regarding the color scheme. Sometimes B&C overdoes the red but to my eye this stock is the perfect shade of ugly. DIP bottom metal and extended magazine catch. I had to take a file to the stock inletting to remove some of the paint overspray to fit the bottom metal properly. Leupold VXR 3-9x40 with Firedot Duplex in Talley lightweights. Once I locate another factory magazine, I'll do the flush mount modification on it. Bipod is only there to hold it up for the pics. Weighs in at 7 lbs 3 oz without the bipod and with five rounds in the magazine.

Now to get to the range ...

 

[horsemen61]

Love it im a YUGE FAN of the 6.5 Grendel in a bolt action I may have to consider one of these again!

Ps

Please update us on the flush Mag situation that is one of the things holding me back I Hate Their Mags I really want to do a bdl setup I just haven’t yet!

 

[CraigC]

I like it!

 

[Legionnaire]

Please update us on the flush Mag situation that is one of the things holding me back ...

Will do, just as soon as I can locate another mag. They are out of stock everywhere but for the one seller on fleabay that wants $80. That's NOT happening.

I looked into BDL-style bottom metal, but I like the idea of a detachable magazine. Once I saw the "flush" modification (it's not really flush, but better) I decided to go that route ... at least at this point.

 

[.45Coltguy]

So here she is. I ordered a 22-inch sporter barreled action from Brownell's and a Bell & Carlson sporter stock in black with red webbing. When I was a kid I read a book about Beowulf that had great illustrations in it. My recollection of one of the Grendel images was that it was largely black and red so there was never any doubt in my mind regarding the color scheme. Sometimes B&C overdoes the red but to my eye this stock is the perfect shade of ugly. DIP bottom metal and extended magazine catch. I had to take a file to the stock inletting to remove some of the paint overspray to fit the bottom metal properly. Leupold VXR 3-9x40 with Firedot Duplex in Talley lightweights. Once I locate another factory magazine, I'll do the flush mount modification on it. Bipod is only there to hold it up for the pics. Weighs in at 7 lbs 3 oz without the bipod and with five rounds in the magazine.

Now to get to the range ...

View attachment 1175686View attachment 1175687View attachment 1175688

That's a good looking rig you put together. Damn nice.
I'm thinking a perfect pronghorn rifle right there!

 

[Laphroaig]

Nice job! Can't wait to hear how she shoots.

 

[Legionnaire]

Got to the range today. Temps in the upper 80s and almost no wind. I put 40 rounds through the Howa.



I did a one-shot sight in that worked well, then four cleaning after every shot. Then several five-shot groups, cleaning between groups. Here's the first set.



Not great, but not too shabby for a first outing. That finished up my first box of ammo. The second was from a different lot, and velocities were 50 fps higher than the first three groups ... and they scattered.



So I set that box aside to function test my PSA AR also in 6.5 Grendel, and pulled out another box from the same lot as the first one. As you can see, things settled down again. The one shot in the upper left was my one-shot sight in. I pulled the leftmost shot in the upper right group.



The 123 grain Hornady Black averaged 2534 fps across 35 rounds, high of 2570, low of 2511, spread of 59, SD 13.5. The five shots from the other lot averaged 2602. Goes to show there can be significant variance in factory ammo!

Overall, I'm content. First groups averaged 1.445 and the rifle will probably shoot in. I'll do some load development over the next couple of weeks. I'll probably also put a higher magnification scope on it for load development. Hard to hold small with the 3-9X.

 

[LoonWulf]

Got to the range today. Temps in the upper 80s and almost no wind. I put 40 rounds through the Howa.

View attachment 1176766View attachment 1176767

I did a one-shot sight in that worked well, then four cleaning after every shot. Then several five-shot groups, cleaning between groups. Here's the first set.

View attachment 1176768

Not great, but not too shabby for a first outing. That finished up my first box of ammo. The second was from a different lot, and velocities were 50 fps higher than the first three groups ... and they scattered.

View attachment 1176769

So I set that box aside to function test my PSA AR also in 6.5 Grendel, and pulled out another box from the same lot as the first one. As you can see, things settled down again. The one shot in the upper left was my one-shot sight in. I pulled the leftmost shot in the upper right group.

View attachment 1176771

The 123 grain Hornady Black averaged 2534 fps across 35 rounds, high of 2570, low of 2511, spread of 59, SD 13.5. The five shots from the other lot averaged 2602. Goes to show there can be variance in factory ammo!

Overall, I'm content. Rifle will probably shoot in, and I'll do some load development over the next couple of weeks. I'll probably also put a higher magnification scope on it for load development. Hard to hold small with the 3-9X.

Rig looks great, and it shooting pretty decent already. IME Howa tubes are a little rough.....not as rough as savage in general, but they have some character. It can take a while for them to settle down and shoot their best.

 

[Legionnaire]

I ran 40 rounds through the AR as well, so 80 cases deprimed, wet tumbled, dried and annealed, all set for sizing. I do like these stumpy little cases.

 

[Legionnaire]

Loaded some 105 grain Blitzkings to test next outing. New Lapua brass, CCI 450s, Accurate 2520.

 

[Legionnaire]

I managed to scrounge an additional magazine. Tough as I couldn't find them in stock anywhere. The project will be to cut it down like this. Should hold 4+1.

 

[brewer12345]

If you are only shooting paper, I found the Barnes Match Burner in 120 grains to be very easy to get great accuracy with. 27.0 grains of TAC and this bullet is liked by all my grendel barrels. Haven't tried it on big game, but it had very good terminal effectiveness on a 50 pound beaver. I generally hunt with 123 grain SSTs or the 129 grain ABLR.