Ballistics

[JAGONH]

I could use some advice on the ballistics, is it a 300 yard round? Max effective range etc, and will it make me put up my old faithful 30-06??

[VASCAR2]

You need to define your intended target, max effective range for a coyote would be different from Elk. Somewhere I read where it is recommended to have about a 1000 ft lbs of energy minimum and I've also read where you want so many ft lbs per pound of game you intend to hunt. For target shooting accuracy is supposed to deteriot after the bullet goes sub sonic. It is hard to give any kind of answer without knowing weight of bullet barrel lenght and velocity. For hunting the construction has a great deal in determining how much actual engery you will need to obtain a clean kill. With a 16 to 18 inch barrel with 100 grain TTSX bullet I'd say you could probably go further than 300 yards on deer and hogs depending on the shooters ability.

[JAGONH]

Target would be deer to coyoye lets say to 400 yards here in wv 400 is sometimes is hard to get but theres a lot of old strip mines that you can get further. I have a 556 w 20" heavy barrel that im getting ready flat top and start upgrading but i want something heavier on a ar15 size frame. The grendel looks like it may the perfect choice. Im a person who will over anylyze something to death before i buy it(ocd??;) i work crazy hours so time on the site is limited and i just found it 2 days ago. Barel length doesnt matter im going to build it myself but im looking at 24 " heavy.
Also from what ive gathered alot of you guys dont like m1 sales???
Ammo isnt going to be a problem either ill make it my self, my 22-250 groups are in a nickel at 100 yards . Being a fng at ar platforms is my problem and could use all the advice i can get and thanks in advance

[bwaites]

JAGONH,

Mark Larue, of Larue Tactical dropped an elk at 400+ yards using a Grendel. It is plenty for whitetails and coyote out to that range, assuming decent shot placement.

Bill

[Schwag173]

JAGONH, sounds like I'm in the same game & range envelope that you are. My 16" 5.56 makes a jagged hole at 100 yards with my 77-grain reloads, so I wanted something similar in a Grendel. After research and picking guys' brains on this forum I chose an 18" medium-contour fluted barrel. My 16" is medium without the flutes and is about as heavy as I want to hike around the woods with. Wanting more velocity, I was originally thinking 20" for the Grendel but I opted to split the difference by getting the 18: short and handy yet long enough to take advantage of case-capacity, medium-contour stiffness for accuracy but fluted to trim off some weight. If I was going to remain stationary I might want a longer barrel, but it quickly becomes drudgery to pack them around. OK, that's my thinking and I won't be able to tell you if I was right for another couple of months; everything is on order.

[JAGONH]

I might try a 20" barrel just to see but your right we're both walking the same path, my bushmaster has a 20" barrel though, its not bad with a collapsable stock. Where did you order from??

[VASCAR2]

Just for talking points it seems that going from 20" barrel to 18" you loose approximately 30 fps per inch or about 60 fps. Going from 20" to 16" you loose about 120 fps which still keeps a 123 grain A-Max super sonic to 800 + yards. A 123 grain bullet still carries close to 1000 ft lbs of energy to 325 yards IIRC. If all I was going to do was shoot long range or hunt from fixed position I'd probably go 22" to 28" barrel. I wanted a 6.5 Grendel to match my duty rifle so I went 16" and it should meet my needs and wants. Figure out how your going to use your 6.5 G and buy the length that suits your needs best.

[Schwag173]

JAGONH,

I ordered a Lothar-Walther barrel after trading e-mails with Woody (lotharwalther@mindspring.com). We finally settled on these specs and it cost $580:

* 18" LW50 stainless barrel.
* 6.5 CSS (what LW calls the Grendel)
* AR medium contour.
* Button-rifling, 1-in-8" rifling twist.
* .300" neck.
* .750" diameter at gas-block.
* Gas port drilled for mid-length tube.
* Barrel fluted in front and behind gas-block for weight reduction.
* 5/8"-24 muzzle threads, muzzle match. (threaded for a Surefire 6.8 flash-hider)
* AR barrel extension & bolt.

[JAGONH]

Now that is good advice. From both points of view. The 20 sounds still right there to me as the best of both worlds , i'm still young enough to hump that around. Thats probably about as far as i'll get a target at least around southern wv.

[JAGONH]

When it comes time ill give him a shout and thanks .to schwag and vascar