Do I need the Grendel?

I have been scouting for an AR in 6.5 Grendel. The gun will be used in 100,200,300&500 yards Benchrest, and it appears superior to the 223 after 200 yards.

I have searched Alexander Arms until I am blue in the face. Every link shows out of stock taking orders.

I found one upper on the Auction boards, but I want a complete rifle for stock class.

I can have a floated barrel and a trigger job or factory installed match trigger to stay stock class legal.

Anyone know another dealer for Alexander Arms, and are they only ones that make the AR in the Grendel cartridge? I have always wanted an AR long range target gun, and I have seen impressive results with AR Grendels.

I haven't checked into lead times yet. If getting the AR version is that much trouble, does anyone make a bolt action Grendel? I have a ruined shoulder and thought the AR Grendel would be comfortable on me. I can shoot 100 rounds of 223 easily, but 50 rounds of 762 x 39 make me sore.

I'm not sure, but if I go with a bolt action, I might as well go with a 308 since I have all the reloading tools for it?

I also have a 204 ruger in an XR100. I love the way it shoots, but i'm not sure how the light 204 bullet will fare after 300 yards.

Any info would be great. I'm a dyed in the wool bolt action man. After stumbling across a new AR build at a gun show, I think I did ok. A friend of mine put a bushy upper with target barrel on a rock river bottom. I found a gooseneck handle mount scope base, and mounted an EOTech low, in front of the handle. After shooting that thing I am hooked. using the EOTech and a sandbag, and cheap wolf ammo, I'm not so sure this gun might be target ready if i put a match trigger in it.

The problem is the carry handle does not remove, so I would be stuck with a scope that sets so high I would need a cheek adjustment, and I don't think the make them for a regular stock.

I'm kind of torn about trying a handle scope mount, and I have no clue if Leupolds 6.5 x 20 is too long to fit a handel thumbscrew mount.

Pull no pucnhes folks. If you think the Grendel in AR form will not keep up with quality bolt action, let me know.

Excuse the rambling, but I'm still a bit confused on an AR for benchrest.

feel free to email me

geneinnc@charter.net

You don't know how much your input means ro me

Thanks

Gene

Welcome, Gene!

I think you have two questions.

One, does anybody use an AR (in any caliber) for benchrest competition? If you're new to the benchrest game, I'd check out some benchrest forums and ask about the use of the AR (in any caliber) for that discipline.

Two, does anybody have experience using the 6.5 Grendel for benchrest, in either bolt guns or an AR. I don't have the answer, I'm sure others do, but I think it helps to clarify what you're after.

John

The gun will be used in 100,200,300&500 yards Benchrest, and it appears superior to the 223 after 200 yards.

Pull no pucnhes folks. If you think the Grendel in AR form will not keep up with quality bolt action, let me know.

Excuse the rambling, but I'm still a bit confused on an AR for benchrest.

feel free to email me

geneinnc@charter.net

You don't know how much your input means ro me

Thanks

Gene


The Grendel is fine in an AR platform, now everything you describe says bolt gun. If you want to shoot small groups from bench using a front rest and rear bag you need a platform that's more conducive doing so. Honestly you don't even need a Grendel bolt gun. A 1-10" twist 6BR shooting 80-90 grain bullets will do everything you need it to do at those ranges, use a 1-8" twist if want to shoot 105-108's at 600 and even 1000 yds. If you were only looking to shoot up to around 300 yds I would even look at the 6PPC.

1. Inherently accurate.
2. Very,very easy to load for.
3. Low to mild recoil.
4. An abundance of match quality bullets

http://www.6mmbr.com/6mmbr.html

I have been scouting for an AR in 6.5 Grendel. The gun will be used in 100,200,300&500 yards Benchrest, and it appears superior to the 223 after 200 yards.

I have searched Alexander Arms until I am blue in the face. Every link shows out of stock taking orders.

I found one upper on the Auction boards, but I want a complete rifle for stock class.

I can have a floated barrel and a trigger job or factory installed match trigger to stay stock class legal.

Anyone know another dealer for Alexander Arms, and are they only ones that make the AR in the Grendel cartridge? I have always wanted an AR long range target gun, and I have seen impressive results with AR Grendels.
Gene


Gene,

Sabre defense makes a very complete line of ARs in Grendel. I believe JP Tactical now makes Grendels as does Les Baer. If you hurry to a magazine rack you might still find an excellent review by David Fortier in the 2007 Guns & Ammo "Book of the AR-15" on his Les Baer Grendel. I wrote a review of that article a few weeks ago if you want to list my posts and find it back. His 9lb 12oz heavy-barreled Les Baer's best 100 yard 5-shot group measured .22 inches center to center!

You might also consider a 6mm wildcat of the Grendel made by one of our members here, Robert Whitley. His creation is dubbed 6mmAR IIRC. If you Google it there is at least one great write-up of it online. Whitley has reported results here on this site close to the 6BR. Either way, the AR is the usual format for the Grendel as the whole exercise in stuffing that much capability into the footprint of an 5.56 AR was to allow the Grendel to work in the black rifle. If you want to relax all of those constraints there are lots of other calibers to choose from.

I hope this helps.

Roy

You might also consider a 6mm wildcat of the Grendel made by one of our members here, Robert Whitley. His creation is dubbed 6mmAR IIRC.
Which reminds me, some months back John sorta promised us an article on the 6mm AR. Status on that?

Stan, no further progress. It's in Robert's hands at this point. I am kind of wondering what he's been up to lately. For example, did he shoot the 6mmAR at Camp Perry or any other matches?

John

Gene, I shot a few factory-class competitions in the I.B.S., and I know that autoloaders are forbidden, at least at the Hawk's Ridge Gun Club in Ferguson, N.C., anyhow. If it's extreme long-range accuracy that's your primary goal, I'd be looking at a bolt gun. It's possible to wring excellent accuracy out of a semi-automatic, but I've not (personally) owned one yet that would hold a candle to my bolt-guns. I'm hoping my new 28" AR platform Grendel will be the first, though! I'm in Mount Airy, N.C. If you're anywhere nearby, you're welcome to come on up and shoot mine some to see what ya think! :D

Pull no pucnhes folks. If you think the Grendel in AR form will not keep up with quality bolt action, let me know. Gene


Gene:

OK -- the Grendel in AR form will not keep up with a quality bolt action in terms of accuracy. Gas guns have 'issues'. Of course I think this year's National Champion at Camp Perry used a 6mm Hagar on an AR frame. CRS his name but he has won the Nationals once a decade since the 70's.

If you want to shoot in Bench Rest -- you will probably use a 6 BR. or a 6 mm of some sort. And it will be fired from a bolt action rifle.

LR1955

Of course I think this year's National Champion at Camp Perry used a 6mm Hagar on an AR frame. CRS his name but he has won the Nationals once a decade since the 70's.

His name is Carl . . . something . . . (I'll look it up in a bit) and he's the second "winning-est" guy at Camp Perry over the years next to Tubb. He seems kind of like the chess player Bobby Fischer. He doesn't compete every year, sort of wanders off. But then when he feels like winning, he comes back and wins it, just to annoy Tubb! ;)

Carl Bernosky is his name.

John

Gene:

OK -- the Grendel in AR form will not keep up with a quality bolt action in terms of accuracy. Gas guns have 'issues'. Of course I think this year's National Champion at Camp Perry used a 6mm Hagar on an AR frame. CRS his name but he has won the Nationals once a decade since the 70's.

LR1955

Carl Bernosky has won it 9-times including in 2007 and 2008. A little more than once a decade.

"Carl Bernosky's rifle features a custom upper built by John Holliger on a Smith & Wesson M&P15 lower with Geiselle trigger. The upper has a 26" Krieger barrel chambered in the 6mm Hagar. This is a new wildcat cartridge based on the 30 Remington case, necked down to 6mm. The 6mm Hagar resembles a 6.8 SPC with a .100? longer body, 30-degree shoulder, and greater case capacity. It has a .420 rim diameter, and is formed from .30 Remington brass. At New Holland, Carl shot alongside Robert Whitley. Carl said he was impressed by Robert's new 6mmAR Turbo round. The 6mmAR Turbo is based on 6.5 Grendel cases necked to 6mm with the shoulder blown forward slightly. Carl told us: "If Robert's 6mmAR Turbo can really shoot the 105s at 2880+ fps, then it should be competitive with the 6mm Hagar, and the brass is available right now. Whitley's cartridge looks like it has great potential.""

Hey just a note, the guy that put my two Grendels together are both sub MOA guns and have functioned flawlessly. The best thing is that I gave him a list of every part that I wanted on it (which I couldn't find the combinations from other companies) and he built it to my specs.........He worked/trained under Compass Lake Engineering and is a great guy to deal with.

His name is Bobby #850-573-0389 He owns TriggerHappy MFG.......

Not sure if this is the route you wish to take but it doesn't hurt to have an option.