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Yesterday I was finally able to get out and shoot again with an older friend of mine. I hadn't shot with him in close to 6 months, as he had extensive back surgery and didn't want to risk anything with the recoil (I couldn't blame him). He has a couple thousand acres and has set up a range on part of his property. Steel starting at 300 yards, and then every hundred yards up to 960, which is the furthest the canyon will allow him to shoot from his bench.
When we had first got out there, temperatures were in the mid 90's and harsh sunshine. We decided to wait it out for an hour or so to see if things would change a little. A heavy thunderstorm came rolling through, dumping 1/2" of rain in about 20 minutes, but it actually saved our day. Temperatures dropped to the mid-upper 70's, and the fresh rain cooled the ground enough to kill all mirage. The wind was absolutely quiet. We couldn't feel a thing at the bench, and none of the windage flags at any of the steel were moving.
He pulled out several of his toys first, and started playing at 700 yards. He was shooting several of his benchrest guns (Kelbly and Bat actions, extremely heavy Kreiger barrels) mostly chambered in 6x47L and 6.5x284. He had several groups going that were under 5", and he said he must be having an off day! He stepped back to the 800 yard for fresh paint, and printed one group at 3" with his 6.5x284. At that, he said he'd call it a day.
I set up the Grendel and started playing around from 600+ and was keeping decent groups (all within MOA at their respective ranges). I set up on the 960 yard target, which is a deer silhouette halfway up a steep hillside. It had already been shot up pretty good in the center, so once I was on I started trying to hit it in the head (it was still untouched). After a few rounds I was able to make contact, but I decided I wanted to see what I could group. I chose a spot on the rump that was still fresh, and let them fly.
My first shot hit center of the untouched portion, almost exactly where I had been aiming. I held in the same spot, sent another, and just watched the splash from the first seem to get bigger. "Ok" I thought, "those two pretty much stacked". I was about to pull off one more, but remembered my bolt had locked back after the second shot. Crap! I forgot to reload my mag when I went to shoot for group! I hurried and put one more in and set back up, hoping to send it before conditions changed. I held the same as before, and let her fly. The splash once again just seemed to grow. That seemed worth hiking up the hill to measure! I let my buddy shoot a few through the Grendel before heading down. He shot once at my group, and hit the tail of the deer which would have opened the group up to about 6". He shot a few more at the head, and then we decided we had better call it a day if we were going to paint the targets before it got dark.
I ran out as close as I could to the 960 on the ATV, grabbed my tape measure, and climbed the hill. I had never actually been out to that target, and it was smaller than I had originally thought! My excitement grew as I got closer and could see how tight the group actually was. I got up to it, and measured slightly under 3.5"! I just couldn't believe it.
Granted, this is an atypical result. The gun will usually shoot around 10-12" at 1000 yards. I know this probably won't happen again for a very long time (if ever) but damnit I did it once! With a witness and pictures!
After seeing that my buddy decided he's probably going to build a bolt action Grendel on a Nesika Bay action he just picked up
Thanks for reading, hope you enjoyed!
When we had first got out there, temperatures were in the mid 90's and harsh sunshine. We decided to wait it out for an hour or so to see if things would change a little. A heavy thunderstorm came rolling through, dumping 1/2" of rain in about 20 minutes, but it actually saved our day. Temperatures dropped to the mid-upper 70's, and the fresh rain cooled the ground enough to kill all mirage. The wind was absolutely quiet. We couldn't feel a thing at the bench, and none of the windage flags at any of the steel were moving.
He pulled out several of his toys first, and started playing at 700 yards. He was shooting several of his benchrest guns (Kelbly and Bat actions, extremely heavy Kreiger barrels) mostly chambered in 6x47L and 6.5x284. He had several groups going that were under 5", and he said he must be having an off day! He stepped back to the 800 yard for fresh paint, and printed one group at 3" with his 6.5x284. At that, he said he'd call it a day.
I set up the Grendel and started playing around from 600+ and was keeping decent groups (all within MOA at their respective ranges). I set up on the 960 yard target, which is a deer silhouette halfway up a steep hillside. It had already been shot up pretty good in the center, so once I was on I started trying to hit it in the head (it was still untouched). After a few rounds I was able to make contact, but I decided I wanted to see what I could group. I chose a spot on the rump that was still fresh, and let them fly.
My first shot hit center of the untouched portion, almost exactly where I had been aiming. I held in the same spot, sent another, and just watched the splash from the first seem to get bigger. "Ok" I thought, "those two pretty much stacked". I was about to pull off one more, but remembered my bolt had locked back after the second shot. Crap! I forgot to reload my mag when I went to shoot for group! I hurried and put one more in and set back up, hoping to send it before conditions changed. I held the same as before, and let her fly. The splash once again just seemed to grow. That seemed worth hiking up the hill to measure! I let my buddy shoot a few through the Grendel before heading down. He shot once at my group, and hit the tail of the deer which would have opened the group up to about 6". He shot a few more at the head, and then we decided we had better call it a day if we were going to paint the targets before it got dark.
I ran out as close as I could to the 960 on the ATV, grabbed my tape measure, and climbed the hill. I had never actually been out to that target, and it was smaller than I had originally thought! My excitement grew as I got closer and could see how tight the group actually was. I got up to it, and measured slightly under 3.5"! I just couldn't believe it.
Granted, this is an atypical result. The gun will usually shoot around 10-12" at 1000 yards. I know this probably won't happen again for a very long time (if ever) but damnit I did it once! With a witness and pictures!
After seeing that my buddy decided he's probably going to build a bolt action Grendel on a Nesika Bay action he just picked up
Thanks for reading, hope you enjoyed!
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