A 6.5 Grendel (true) Story

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  • One Half Wuff
    Unwashed
    • Feb 2017
    • 1

    A 6.5 Grendel (true) Story

    While I am new to the forum I am not new to the 6.5 Grendel and I wanted to share this story about Alexander Arms with you guys. I think you will find it very interesting and will let you know what kind of company you are dealing with in Alexander Arms.

    About 7 years ago I purchased a complete Alexander Arms 6.5 Grendel with a carbon fiber handguard and a 24 inch Shilen barrel. It was installed on a complete Rock River Arms lower.

    I know that you guys are not interested in my personnel business but it plays heavily into this story. About the time the rifle was finished my mother and father both fell very ill so for the next 6 Years or so it sat in my gun safe and there wasn't much shooting on my "things to do" schedule for a long time. But' a couple of years ago i was finally able to get back into shooting. And about a year ago we finally broke out the Grendel scoped it and put through some break-in rounds. Cleaning the barrel left more questions than answers. The barrel was very hard to clean and running a patch through the barrel gave the impression the barrel was very rough.

    After another thorough cleaning it was back to the range for some serious bench time. With my son, who is a competitive shooter, behind the rifle the best he could do after shooting several 5 shot group at 200 meters was groups about 6" wide and 4" high. Ammo used 123 grain Hornady SST and 129 grain Alexander Arms branded ammo.

    I called Alexander Arms and gave them the details: How long I'd owned the rifle, the ammo I'd used and how many total rounds that had been fired through the rifle. I also told them that because of how long i had owned rifle I was not expecting this to be handled as a warranty claim, but that I just wanted the rifle repaired. They were pleasant to deal with but explained that I would need to ship it to them at my cost to which I agreed.

    I shipped the upper to them after thanksgiving 2016. They notified me a few days later they had received it. Because it was the holidays it took several weeks for them to get back with me but just after the first of the year one of their tech service reps called me.

    He didn't mix any words. He said straight up that the barrel was very rough and that they had hand lapped the barrel and that the test groups were coming in at 1" at 100 yards. They shipped it to me right away at no cost for all the work they did.

    Needless to say we were anxious to get it back to the range. We mounted the scope and headed to the range. The shooting conditions the day we chose to go to the range went from bad to worse with gusty winds coming up and deteriorating light conditions. After sighting the scope I ran three 5 shot groups with 123 grain Hornady SST that measured 1 1/4" at 100 yards.

    I was hoping for something about half the size of the groups I shot but considering the conditions I'm satisfied with that and believe there is improvement to be had. And it goes without saying that I'm very happy with Alexander Arms.

    It also is proof that even top companies like Shilen can have a quality escape now and then. And it is also proof that your companies' quality reputation is also dependent upon the quality of your vendor's product.
  • Christopher67
    Warrior
    • May 2015
    • 125

    #2
    Thanks for sharing this story.

    Comment

    • 65Whelen
      Warrior
      • Sep 2014
      • 671

      #3
      We seem to dwell on the negative more often than not, good to hear the positives now and again, thanks.

      Comment

      • brian y
        Warrior
        • Dec 2016
        • 251

        #4
        Good to hear, They are on my list for my second build.
        NRA Endowment Member, GOA Life Member, FPC Member, VDL Member

        Comment

        • LRRPF52
          Super Moderator
          • Sep 2014
          • 8569

          #5
          AA has regularly repaired rifles that weren't even theirs, with unidentified barrels and bolts that ended up being replaced.

          I wouldn't expect that anymore, with the amount of demand there is there, but who knows.
          NRA Basic, Pistol, Rifle, Shotgun, RSO

          CCW, CQM, DM, Long Range Rifle Instructor

          6.5 Grendel Reloading Handbooks & chamber brushes can be found here:

          www.AR15buildbox.com

          Comment

          • AZBackcountry
            Bloodstained
            • Nov 2016
            • 78

            #6
            Bad AA 6.5 Grendel Chambering

            I found that AA is buyer beware. Ordered a 1:7 1/2 twist and got a 1:9 that shot 3 MOA. Sent a bad brand new barrel back only to receive a worse unmarked barrel. The brass that came out of the 2nd barrel was egg shaped and the barrel shot 7 MOA. Shame on Alexander Arms. See picture.
            65 Grendel Bass Alexander Arms Bad Barrel low res.jpg
            Life is fun when your ammo budget is more than your house payment.

            Comment

            • 37L1
              Warrior
              • Jan 2015
              • 273

              #7
              Can't speak to the poor accuracy but the shape of your brass mouths is very common in the AR-15 and has nothing to do with the barrel but with what they come in contact with upon being ejected from the action.

              Comment

              • Bwild97
                Warrior
                • Jan 2015
                • 217

                #8
                Ummm...ya that DENT in the case mouth has nothing to do with the chambering. And everything to do with the brass deflector. Your groups on the other hand are dependent on many other variables. What is your experience with the AR15, and shooting in general? Did you buy a 6.5 Grendel expecting 1" groups with zero effort?
                Last edited by Bwild97; 02-20-2017, 02:18 AM.

                Comment

                • Sticks
                  Chieftain
                  • Dec 2016
                  • 1922

                  #9
                  AZBackcountry


                  Shooter, ammo, rifle...

                  Long list of causes for your unfortunate experience that has nothing to do with the company that pioneered the cartridge.
                  Sticks

                  Catchy sig line here.

                  Comment

                  • AZBackcountry
                    Bloodstained
                    • Nov 2016
                    • 78

                    #10
                    I was not talking about the pinged neck that is normal for a AR-15. Look at the bulge below the shoulder caused from the wobbling dull chambering reamer. AA told me that they, "contracted out a run of barrels that had a few duds."

                    I bought a JP Supermatch barrel and bolt, installed it on the exact same upper/lower and scope. It shoots 3/8th MOA.

                    I had a gunsmith friend cast the AA chamber on the second unmarked barrel. He had never seen such poor tooling ever.
                    Life is fun when your ammo budget is more than your house payment.

                    Comment

                    • AZBackcountry
                      Bloodstained
                      • Nov 2016
                      • 78

                      #11
                      JP group

                      I am very happy with the JP Supermatch. The attached picture is of the first 5 shot group that I shot while sighting in at 250 yards. The red dot is 1/2 inches diameter. Now that I have more than 40 rounds through it has tightened up a hair. This is with factory loaded Hornady 123gr A-MAX ammo.
                      Attached Files
                      Life is fun when your ammo budget is more than your house payment.

                      Comment

                      • Bwild97
                        Warrior
                        • Jan 2015
                        • 217

                        #12
                        Anyone else see the bulge below the shoulder? All I can see is case mouths, necks, and shoulders, but nothing on the case walls below the shoulder.

                        Any way glad you got it all worked out!!!

                        Comment

                        • WillD
                          Chieftain
                          • Nov 2014
                          • 1257

                          #13
                          Originally posted by AZBackcountry View Post
                          Look at the bulge below the shoulder caused from the wobbling dull chambering reamer. "
                          Are you sure you posted the right picture?
                          Member since 03/2011, pre-SAAMI, Pre-crash

                          Comment

                          • BjornF16
                            Chieftain
                            • Jun 2011
                            • 1825

                            #14
                            Originally posted by AZBackcountry View Post
                            I found that AA is buyer beware. Ordered a 1:7 1/2 twist and got a 1:9 that shot 3 MOA. Sent a bad brand new barrel back only to receive a worse unmarked barrel. The brass that came out of the 2nd barrel was egg shaped and the barrel shot 7 MOA. Shame on Alexander Arms. See picture.
                            [ATTACH=CONFIG]8717[/ATTACH]
                            Is that you XcountryRider?
                            LIFE member: NRA, TSRA, SAF, GOA
                            Defend the Constitution and our 2A Rights!

                            Comment

                            • AZBackcountry
                              Bloodstained
                              • Nov 2016
                              • 78

                              #15
                              Most Mosin Nagants have better tooling and crown than my AA barrel crown.

                              Look at the threads on the barrel. Bolts at the hardware store are tooled cleaner.

                              Another odd thing is the copper streaks are double on 1 groove and are almost non-existent on the others after only 20 rounds of Hornady 123 Amax ammo.

                              I tried to measure the chamber but my calipers only go about 1/4" into the chamber. In that bottom of the chamber varied .02" as I took readings and rotated for another measurement.
                              AA Grendel bad crown and CU different in groove1.jpg
                              Life is fun when your ammo budget is more than your house payment.

                              Comment

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