Cheaper 6.5 AR upper?

O

OsOk-308

New member
I have been looking into the possibility of purchasing a 6.5 grendel upper receiver for my AR15, however every 6.5 upper i find is around $1000! I have looked around, however, I have found nothing. Is there a cheap 6.5 upper somewhere or should I just purchase a 6.8 and spend the extra money on ammunition?
 
They are expensive, barrel contributes to that...
I think the cost of pre-assembled uppers is also higher due to lower volume production. They're not cheap to shoot, and most AR shooters aren't into the long range game, which is the whole reason for the existence of the Grendel.

My son wanted one, we decided to just build it- from scratch, stripped upper and lower.
He had no previous experience- even with most hand tools- yet handled it with aplomb, by himself, in one long evening with the help of Zedicker's book and Brownell's online video series.

Total cost for the rifle- upper and lower (excluding vise blocks, etc), was about $1100.00 with an 18" ss barrel, including an $80 flash hider, and YHM free float handguard...

You could build one yourself for $600-$700. Biggest expense is the barrels.
 
Thank you for that, what brand of barrels did you use if you don't mind telling me. also, I know that you can use the 5.56/.223 lower receiver in order to make the rifle, do you need a different size of upper receiver?
 
Check out Fulton Armorys website, they make 6.5 uppers. Are you looking for a 6.5 Grendel or 6.5 Creedmoore? Truly amazing ballistics....
 
The Grendel is proprietary... hence the limited availability and high cost.

If I was building an AR with long range accuracy as my number one priority, I would lean toward the 6.5. For everything else, I would just get the 6.8. (And I did.) Just make sure to get one with all the latest mods. (Last I heard, the Rugers don't have them.) And become a member of the 6.8 forums to learn everything you need to know.

http://68forums.com/

Gregg
 
Some of you guys need to get out more. The Grendel is main stream now. Lots of barrel makers, cheap to high end. Hornady and Wolf have very affordable ammo readily available with more options on the way.

A top of the line AA upper is about 1K or you can build a AR-Stoner Barrel and Bolt upper for about $600.

I built this 24" AA barreled Grendel last spring, about 1k total.

paracord03.jpg
 
I don't think a buck a round (Hornady, not Wolf) is "affordable" ammo...:eek:

That's why my dies just arrived last week....
 
or check out the alternate calibers available for doublestar.

http://jtdistributing.net/store/page170.html

I'm pretty sure if you call them they can set you up with a different front sight too.

My grendel is a doublestar and it is actually pretty nice. I have killed an elk, a porquepine, and a bunch of rockchucks with it. Can't complain about its "cheapness" at all.
 
Thank you all for your valid input. I will love to make a 6.5 ar. It will actually cost less than my 16" LMT AR i made last year. One LAST question... Does the slope of the shoulder on the 6.5 grendel round affect any sort of reliability? Thanks to everyone for the input.
 
My 6.5 Grendel has actually been more reliable than my 5.56. I think it just depends on the gun. If you are a reloader just make sure you get the shoulder pushed back far enough.
 
We had an issue with FTF when brand new, an astute member on another forum had the same issue and it turned out to be an overly long ejector that was hanging up the round.

After we ground that down, haven't had a single FTF since. Mags, and brass are best purchased through AA.

Recoil is obviously more than the 5.56, but is very manageable, not unlike the 7.62x39 round.
 
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