Lightweight 6.5 Grendel project idea

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dakota.potts

New member
Tossing around an idea I had for a project at school when we get done chambering our .30-06 project rifles.

The 6.5 Grendel fits in a very compact action and has ballistics which should be pretty capable for hunting purposes out to several hundred yards with low recoil, and can be used for target shooting much further.

I'm thinking it would be a great project to find a 7.62X39 bolt action receiver and rebarrel it in 6.5 Grendel with something like a 22" barrel. Maybe a featherweight contour from Shilen or Krieger. Could do a nice deep blue and high gloss wood stock finish for a very classy yet easy to carry hunting rifle or go with a synthetic stock to shave even more weight for a truly light hunting rifle. Would be easy to carry, capable to a good distance, and could be made very accurate for a target rifle (lightweight barrel wouldn't lend itself to extended shooting sessions though)

Any thoughts on actions available? The CZs are expensive to use as a project rifle, but I handled one today and it felt really great. Balanced well and was very light. I like the magazine design as well. I have heard CZ is supposed to be selling just the action but I can't seem to find any more news of that anywhere.

I have also heard of the Zastava Mini mausers but can't seem to find them for sale in that caliber currently. They do seem like a cheaper option.
 
Its an idea that has played with my head for years.The .257 has made a believer out of me...I think it would be a great hunting rifle...and I'm sure a Grandchild would take it away from me someday.:)

I think you have nailed the action choices...their used to be a little Sako.Vixen,maybe?.

For a while Remington was dealing Zastava.There wasa 798,full size,and a 799,mini.

Another interesting option,I saw a 22-250 listing,on paper,for the Zastava.
I have never seen one for real.

That would work with the Remington Benchrest brass. Like,a 6.5 BR?

I'd understand an elegant wood stock,but you might check Hi-Tec

I'm thinking the CZ would be the most available,and a quality step up from the Zastava.

You might also check current CZ listings.It would not surprise me if they add 6.5 G to the lineup.
 
Howa's mini action is affordable. The catalog has them shown as a barrelled action that's available in 7.62x39 or 6.5 Grendel. I guess you could screw the new barrel off and put on your own, or if you got the 7.62 you could build a switch barrel and have both.
 
"Another interesting option,I saw a 22-250 listing,on paper,for the Zastava.
I have never seen one for real."

A few years back, I was looking for a 799 in 7.62x39 or .223 and found 5 x 22/250 in Bass Pro Shop in Columbia MO. Probably should have bought one just as an oddity.
 
Hi-tech stocks was sold to Legendary Arms Works and I don't know if they are currently selling stocks to the public anymore. I have a Mini Mauser that was rebuilt into a .250-3000 Savage and it sits in a Hi-tech stock. The Mini action is mini to say the least and magazine space with a 6.5 especially if you want to use heavier bullets. I know it's an issue with my rifle and I'm limited on bullet options of 100 grains or less, and the 100 grain bullets need to be flat base bullets.
 
I've often thought of building a bolt to compliment my AR in 6.5 Grendel. But one thing always stops me...have you looked into 260 Remington?

You still get the high BC bullet but can load down to Grendel power levels. And with the money saved not having to build a custom rifle you can afford the dies and reloading tools and components you need to load a more tame 260 Remington cartridge. But you can load up or buy factory ammunition in most sporting goods stores.

If you just want to build for the sake of building one that's a different story. Then carry on. :-)

Just food for thought.
 
I'm waiting for aftermarket stocks for the Howa mini-action to become available. Rumor has it that Boyds will come out with some soon.

The mini Howa 1500 action is heads and shoulders above the CZ, Zastava, etc. with their dinky, awkward little bolt handles. Aftermarket triggers for the Howa 1500 will fit the mini-Howa too, from what I understand. - The only thing "mini" about it is its length, otherwise it is a full-sized Howa 1500.

The Howa 1500 is a forged flat-bottom action like the Winchester model 70. It is derived from a Sako design. No wonder Weatherby, Webley-Scott, and Nosler all use custom actions built for them by Howa.

I am not crazy about the rubberized Hogue stocks that Howa offers though. That's a personal preference, I prefer wood.
 
I've often thought of building a bolt to compliment my AR in 6.5 Grendel. But one thing always stops me...have you looked into 260 Remington?

You still get the high BC bullet but can load down to Grendel power levels. And with the money saved not having to build a custom rifle you can afford the dies and reloading tools and components you need to load a more tame 260 Remington cartridge. But you can load up or buy factory ammunition in most sporting goods stores.

If you just want to build for the sake of building one that's a different story. Then carry on. :-)
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I agree with is--you're going to hit a performance wall with the grendel when going to bigger bullets, but for a lightweight light ammo I could see the attraction--I just built my second grendel AR. very difficult to tell the difference between the 260 rem and creedmoor--with the 260 being easier to work with and readily reform 308 brass being advantages IMO.
 
Gotta budget in mind? The Zastava Mausers are running about $600 on GunsAmerica. Zastava .22's are running about $325 there. A CZ Mini-Mauser is running $500 plus on Gun Broker.
You might find a used Ruger M77. They came in 7.62 x 39 for a while.
Norinco made a bolt 7.62 x 39 too. Don't think they're easily found Stateside though.
Howa's are running around $350ish on GunBroker. There is an M1500 Youth in .243 at $199.95. Bolt will be a bit big, but the price is right for the action. It's in Ga. too.
http://www.gunbroker.com/item/569471432
Otherwise, any receiver with a bolt that'll handle a .449" case head and 2.250" OAL will do.
 
I was definitely hoping to stay with a mini action because less material in the receiver and bolt gives an immediate weight advantage. Something feeding from detachable magazines is a plus. Less than $500 would be great but I may decide to go with the CZ. Roughly 75% of my collection is CZ and one can never have too many
 
I was definitely hoping to stay with a mini action because less material in the receiver and bolt gives an immediate weight advantage. Something feeding from detachable magazines is a plus. Less than $500 would be great but I may decide to go with the CZ. Roughly 75% of my collection is CZ and one can never have too many
Click to expand...

+1

I truly would like to see this cartridge become more common in non-AR platforms. The advantages you list are all the same reasons I've wanted to build one.

It seems like this belongs here as it's germane to the discussion:

https://www.gunsamerica.com/blog/howa-6-5-grendel-package/

Is this similar to your end goal?
 
Guess I'll be the only dissenting voice...

The Grendel was designed to optimize the capability of the AR-15/M4 platform which it does amazingly well. I built one, long before they were widely known, much less popular.

You're basing the attractiveness of the concept on the Howa Mini, and my response is "no big deal" there, as it really doesn't change the fundamentals as to why the Grendel remains an unpopular (and underperforming) choice for short-action bolt guns- there are better choices available.

For ninety-something percent of gun owners, saving less than three ounces in weight and an inch in cycling is not an overriding, important consideration.

Do you really think that Remington, Savage, and yes- Howa- haven't thought of the viability of this for years, as the Grendel has achieved popularity in the AR platform??

The Grendel may rightly have an appeal for a very limited number of hunters where the ballistics of the round, and the very small weight savings of the Howa action meet their needs. For the other 99 percent, there are many other chamberings that provide more energy, better ballistics, or both- out of a short action.

This "why not a bolt Grendel" discussion has been had many times before and the new Howa action doesn't fundamentally change anything.

Those that use it and love it, will just continue to use it in the autoloader platform for which it was designed and excels in.
 
I load grendel for the AR--trying to push anything over 110 grs reasonably fast and far often becomes a question of just how brave you are jamming long shanks down into a case of crunchy stick powders.:) I could see that working a bolt action would allow you to seat the bullets longer, but by the time you're done you'll do the V-8 juice thing-- "I could have had a Creedmoor!"
 
Tobnpr The 6.5 Grendel is not in the class of cartridges designed for "short action bolt rifles". Those, such as the 260 and the Creedmoor, have an overall loaded length of approximately 2.8". The 7.62x39 and 6.5 Grendel's loaded length is about 1/2" shorter. Since the op is talking about a short lightweight carbine, I'm guessing he won't really have any need for 140 gr. bullets. 100 gr. bullets will be pretty effective at reasonable (carbine appropriate)ranges.
 
I see the Grendel in a good bolt action rifle as the modern 6.5x54 - a good short to medium range deer and pig round, similar in usefulness to a 30-30 out of a lever gun, but considerably more accurate.

A lighter, handier bolt gun is part of the formula that I have in mind.

I have owned AR15's and whatever else they may or may not be, they most definitely are not a classical hunting arm, though of course they can be pressed into service as a hunting weapon, just as a 12ga Mossberg 500 pump can be pressed into service as a deer gun.

This is why it is important that Boyds will be making stocks for the Mini Howa. The rubberized Hogue stocks that Legacy Sports offers are anything but classical in nature. - Might as well carry an AR.

- But with a nice Walnut stock, maybe even a Mannlicher style stock on it, the Mini Howa has great potential as a sporting gentleman's deer rifle, in the European tradition. Light, handy, and beautifully elegant.

When I obtain one, I intend to rust blue the barreled action, and sink it into the nicest bit of wood that I can find. If I do not stick with (quality) open sights, then a low power, compact scope will finish it out.
My son thinks a 2x or 3x scout scope would be best, but I have my reservations about that. In the long run though, he may be right as the scout system does give you better handling qualities, almost as good as open sights will give you.

Anyway - that's what I see in a 6.5 Grendel bolt gun. I have tried the mini-Mausers and do not care for the dinky bolt handle and skinny little bolt that they have. I believe the mini-Howa action will do a much more creditable job.

The concept rifle. - A 6.5x54 Mannlicher Schoenauer with 16 1/4" barrel and full stock.

IMG_4162_zps7gamqxlu.jpg
 
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Everybody has their own idea of what "better" is.

If the builder's vision is a 6.5 Grendel on a CZ mini action,a 6.5 Creedmore is NOT better. An AR is NOT better.

Dakota,I hope you build it.

You know,just buying the 7.62x39 version and shooting it a while is an option.

CZ makes a decent wood stock.

In time,a rebarrel would be "Stage two"
 
It will be easier to find parts for a Rem or Savage short action in 223 and open up the bolt face of a Rem or swap the bolt head on the Savage. The Savage short action was available with a whole bunch of lightning cuts as well, although you can do the same to pretty much any action if you are handy with a mill.

Lightweight after market stocks are also available for Rem or Savage, so I recommend them even if the bolt throw will be slightly longer.

Jimro
 
I like the idea, especially in blued steel and walnut. More isn't always better and there is a lot to be said for a lightweight, compact, accurate rifle without an excess of recoil, muzzle blast, and meat damage. A Grendel is plenty of cartridge to kill deer at normal hunting distances.

Good luck with the project.
 
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