6,5mm grendel would you buy it?

T

TheBear

New member
Hi,

i have an offer to buy a custom made bolt action rifle. it has a 100g match trigger, a 20" shilen barrel and its chambered for the 6,5mm grendel round. only problem for me, its 8pounds heavy and its fitted with a benchrest shaft...i would want to use it as a hunting rifle though...
Price is 2000bucks...
do you think this is a good deal?
 
I have a Grendel, built by Bill Alexander.
Have had it for just under a year and a half.
It is a tack driver.

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That's the good news.

The bad news is that the whole concept behind the Grendel was to design a cartridge that absolutely maximized a balance of internal ballistics (max speed/weight), external ballistics (max ballistic coefficient for retaining that speed), terminal ballistics (enough energy at distance to kill at ~800 yards) and match-grade accuracy...

*** within the constrictions of an ordinary AR15 action ***

Were you looking at a gas gun, it would be a no-brainer (price would be another subject). But the Grendel in a bolt action is a specialized/less-than-full-potential 6.5mm bullet thrower. A Swedish 6.5x55 would be a better-if-not-ideal bet.

For what you've said you want it for, I'd recommend you take a pass on that particular Grendel
 
Too much $$$, too much specialization...

Using a benchrest rifle for hunting is like wearing a 40# pack to go for a walk around the block. And paying extra $$ for each pound.

Sounds like it's a jeezly nice rifle, IF you were thinking of competing benchrest with it.

Since what you want is a hunting rifle, I agree heartily with Mehavey--Go to gun shows until you find a nice Swedish Mauser in 6.5x55--Even better, you may find one that is already fitted with a "hunting style" stock and a 'scope base, which destroys its collectibility, thereby reducing its price. Ignore which factory it was made in--That's a question for collectors--The Swedes insisted on the same high quality in all the Swede Mausers.

If the bolt and the safety haven't been modified you can't use a 'scope. Any good gunsmith can do those chores for you.

NICE, light, accurate rifle (hunting-accurate, mind you--The Swede is a fine military rifle but it never was meant for serious competition) built like a brick pizzeria--make that built like a Mauser, mild recoil, easy availability of ammo, easy to reload for if you do that, and best of all, you will pay LESS THAN HALF of what that benchrester would cost, even including the mods mentioned above, plus a nice 'scope for the Swede. I'd reccommend a Timney trigger, but that's about all the tweaking the Swede needs to be a fine hunting rifle, easily capable of taking everything in North America except the big bears. The Swedes use 'em to routinely hunt what we call moose, which they call "elk."

Yes, I've got one. Yes it has a 'scope. Yes it has a Timney. Yes it takes down deer like the Grim Reaper. Yes I like mine very much.
 
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If I wanted a gas 26, it would be a DPMS in 260. My preference is my Savage 16 LH in 260. Half inch, all the live long day.
 
But the 260 Rem requires an AR10 platform and about a 25% increase in weight
(I think) for a 12% increase in speed (I'm guestimating here)

Good cartridge, though. Actually better than 6.5x55_Swede ballistics in a 308Win-sized case.
 
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If I go to Lyman, it has the Swede/120gr going out at 2700-2800fps, while the 260 goes out at 2900

If I go to the Wiki reference (just for grins), it has the Swede/120gr at 2,820 and the 260 at 2,890

Am I missing something here?
 
don't do it!

No. Ammo is to uncommon in my opinion. I know several people that haven't found a single round or case in months.


Boomer
 
In an AR-15, yes I would.

In a bolt action, no I would not, for the reasons mentioned. There are many better calibers to choose from for a bolt.
 
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6.5 grendel is a great option for AR15s but in bolt actions 6.5 swede and 260 rem are better options. I'm partial to the 6.5 japanese though it isn't the best out there and until you've had to shop around for 6.5x50 brass you have no idea what ammo scarcity really is.

6.5 grendel is not that hard to find it's just not made in the numbers to keep up with high demand like what has been seen the last quarter.
 
No.
6.5 Grendel is a solution for an AR15 specific problem. Once you start talking bolt, you're going to find many other solutions to better fit your specfic needs (no matter what your needs are).
 
I'm with the others above.

If it were a steal, and if you were shooting at about 600 and inside, I'd go for it...

But it doesn't sound like steal of a deal to me.

The 6.5 G is outstanding- remarkable, really- out of the AR-15 platform. My son bangs 5" gongs at 565 yards with his (123 Amax, 8208) with regularity...

But if I were gonna drop two grand on a precision rifle for long range- and by long range, I mean 1000 or thereabouts, there are better choices as already mentioned, in either the 6.5 or 7mm chamberings.
 
If you want to throw 6.5mm lead out of a bolt gun with match-grade accuracy, I recommend a 6.5 creedmoor. A .260 rem, 6.5x55, 6.5-06 or .264 win mag are all good choices as well. As others have said, it might not be wise to spend that kind of money on a less than ideal chambering. Unless you just really, really want a Grendel. If that be the case, get it in an AR. Just my .02 for what its worth
 
I agree with Smokey Joe... 6.5 Swede.

Kimber sells a sporterized Swede... probably for less than a fourth of what the Grendel was going to cost you.

Fine, fine caliber. Kills like a thunderbolt. Something about that long-for-caliber 140gr bullet, penetrates like crazy. I've never recovered one from a game animal. My experience has been that deer drop pretty much within spitting distance of where they were hit.
 
And you better look at the cost of ammo for it ,to get the most out of it you have to use the best ammo for it.kinda pricey . There is steel case ammo but hard to find.HOGSHOOTER
 
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