Bringing this thread up ....again
First , Newtosavages , how do you like your Grendel?
Well it's not longer "my" Grendel. My buddy talked me out of it. He wanted that rifle so bad, and for me it didn't do anything my 6.5 CM or 7mm-08 weren't already doing (as far as hunting goes) so I let him have it.
That Howa Grendel was damn accurate. I spent about 1/2 day reshaping that gawd awful Howa factory plastic stock. When I was done, I had taken off about 4" and 8 oz. and got the gun (scoped) down to 6 1/2 lbs. total. The stock already had aluminum pillars, but I also bedded the action and it really shot lights-out. I shot one of the smallest 200 yard groups with that rifle I've ever seen (about 0.6").
With the 130 Gamechangers, it did okay on deer. Most hogs dropped with head/neck shots but I only took broadside heart/lung shots on deer. I tried some 120 Speer Gold Dots on deer (shot two does back to back the same evening) and I was not impressed at all. Even with the Gamechanger, there was no blood on the ground at all. All three deer went more than 80 yards after they were shot (average of about 100-110 yards) which is too far for my taste when there is no blood on the ground. I think the 130 Gamechanger is a good bullet for the Grendel, but probably the 120 ELD-M is better because it will expand more. I would never shoot the Gold Dots at a deer again. 123 SST's did a good job on coyotes and pigs but I never shot a deer with one.
The moment I realized I was going to sell that gun to my buddy (he wants it for a range gun and backup deer/hog gun) was when I had a shot opportunity at a buck I was after half the season. He was walking away from me so I couldn't get a clean shot until he turned broadside finally at 250 yards. I just couldn't pull the trigger. I had too much doubt in my mind whether that Grendel would anchor that buck and he was too close to the neighbor's fence to risk it. So I let him walk. That was the final day of the rifle buck season, and the one and only chance I got at that deer last fall. That moment stuck in my mind and now the lightest I'll go for deer hunting is my 6.5 Creedmoor.
That's just personal preference. Every person has to find their own comfort level with what they take into the woods.
My buddy loves that rifle for the range, so if he's happy, I'm happy.
