Ruger AR556 to Grendel compatibility

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  • Kilco
    Chieftain
    • Jan 2016
    • 1201

    Ruger AR556 to Grendel compatibility

    Hey guys! I picked up a Ruger AR556 reasonably cheap, and would like to convert it to 6.5 Grendel for hunting purposes. I'm building another from the ground up, so I don't want to "go nuts" with this conversion. Can I simply buy a barrel, mag and bolt, swap them in then presto? Would have to change it to rifle length instead of carbine, but will the MI low profile gas block and gen 2 ss handguard work with a grendel barrel? I'd also like to get a barrel and bolt with correct headspace.. Any suggestions would be appreciated, thanks!
  • A5BLASTER
    Chieftain
    • Mar 2015
    • 6192

    #2
    Im just guessing here but I belive as long as the gun is built to mil spec it should work but again im not certian because I have never seen a ruger 556.

    As far as barrel and headspaced bolt combo I would look at AA,PF,JP,Lijira,BHW, and the brownells,midway barrels made by satarn are barrels straight from satarn.

    Comment

    • Drillboss
      Warrior
      • Jan 2015
      • 894

      #3
      You should be good to go. I did the same thing putting an Alexander Arms barrel on a Stag Model 3 upper. The Ruger looks like a standard M4 clone. As you noted, unless you get a carbine length gas system and you don't plan to use the Ruger front sight/gas block, you'll need a gas tube, gas block and handguard. Your Grendel bolt should swap out into the Ruger BCG.

      Disclaimer: I don't have any first hand experience with the Ruger, I just spent a few minutes researching online.

      Comment

      • LRRPF52
        Super Moderator
        • Sep 2014
        • 8569

        #4
        Easy enough to just get a new complete upper in 6.5 Grendel.

        Yes, the MI Gen IISS handguards with low profile gas blocks work fine with any AR15 barrel that I have seen so far. Here's one of my Grendel's with that:

        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

        • ah1whiskey
          Warrior
          • Sep 2015
          • 255

          #5
          i figure you could just do a straight forward barrel and bolt swap for a minimalist effort.

          a complete upper in 6.5 would be more useful i think -- plink with the 5.56 and hunt with the 6.5g-- and there are some good deals on 6.5 uppers lately.

          Comment

          • Kilco
            Chieftain
            • Jan 2016
            • 1201

            #6
            Im still torn on this build. Ordered a AA 20" entry upper, But midway has a good deal going on with their 20" shinen match barrel with matching bolt for a reasonable cost. Im pretty torn at this point.. I don't shoot 556 a bunch.. Im usually either hunting or shooting from 300- 1000 yards, so punting the 556 isn't a huge loss to me. However It is nice to have an extra upper around.. I guess one of the deciding factors is how well the 20" AA barrel compares with the 20" shilen. I know theyre lots of reviews on both barrels on the forums, but for my application maybe someone has some pointers. Are the bolts coming with the shinlen barrel of good quality? and although it says they are available though midway, whats the turn around time if I was to order the barrel/bolt combo from them? Thanks for your time!

            Comment

            • Drillboss
              Warrior
              • Jan 2015
              • 894

              #7
              Kilco, I bought one of these Shilen barrels from Midway about year ago. The barrel was in stock and shipped just as quickly as anything else I've bought from Midway. The bolt that came with mine had an Alexander Arms logo on it.

              The barrel seems to be good for about 0.75 MOA with reloads and me pulling the trigger (not an expert on either by any means). I remember seeing a post from Mark at Precision Firearms a while back that said Shilen uses a softer steel than some. Might be worth quizzing him some about it.

              Comment

              • Kilco
                Chieftain
                • Jan 2016
                • 1201

                #8
                Does shilen use a SAMMI spec chamber with their barrels? I've been hunting around and can't seem to get a definite answer..

                Comment

                • Drillboss
                  Warrior
                  • Jan 2015
                  • 894

                  #9
                  Originally posted by Kilco View Post
                  Does shilen use a SAMMI spec chamber with their barrels? I've been hunting around and can't seem to get a definite answer..
                  Kilco, the answer seems to be no, but it might as well be.

                  When I asked the question last year, a Shilen rep told me: "We do not adhere to SAAMI Specs, we through our research and testing require tighter bores and grooves." After a little more back and forth, he sent me a reamer drawing from Pacific Tool and Gauge, labeled 6.5 Grendel and dated 12/19/05 (pre-SAAMI). I later found a picture of a JGS reamer dated 9/25/04 that appeared to have been done for Alexander Arms with a comment that says "... Rework throat to double taper." The dimensions of the JGS reamer and the PTG reamer appear to me to be identical and they are very, very close to the SAAMI spec drawing. I found a couple of length tolerances that looked to be relaxed by a few thousands for the SAAMI spec.

                  My own interpretation of all this is that Shilen uses a reamer that was specified by Alexander Arms to be the proprietary 6.5 Grendel chamber before the SAAMI specification was published.

                  FWIW, I came up with this by looking at a reamer drawing from Shilen and then surfing the web. Hopefully someone with more knowledge can chime in to confirm or refute.

                  Comment

                  • A5BLASTER
                    Chieftain
                    • Mar 2015
                    • 6192

                    #10
                    AA uses shilen barrel as a upgrade and AA only uses the saami specd chamber but not sure if AA chambers it themselfs are if it comes from shilen already chambered.

                    There is a tread on here about Rainers barrels and I belive its the OP that states he talked with Rainer and they told him their shilen barrel they sell has the saami chamber.

                    But I have also been unable to find it written that the shilen barrel comes from shilen with a saami chamber.

                    Im sure someone has the answer and will post it for us because I was thinking of a shilen barrel for a future build myself.

                    Comment

                    • Kilco
                      Chieftain
                      • Jan 2016
                      • 1201

                      #11
                      Wow you guys are awesome and thanks for all the info! Just doing a bit of research, and I get nervous with the "type 1 type 2" chamber ing hogwash. As a reloader, I always try to stick with the original design SAMMI chambering. I have alot of faith in shilen, especially seeing as how it's the aftermarket barrel of choice for AA, so I haven't been deterred yet, but want to avoid pressure spikes early, or especially long throught (like I rub into with factory rem chambers all the time)

                      Comment

                      • Pablo702
                        Unwashed
                        • Feb 2016
                        • 8

                        #12
                        Originally posted by Kilco View Post
                        Hey guys! I picked up a Ruger AR556 reasonably cheap, and would like to convert it to 6.5 Grendel for hunting purposes. I'm building another from the ground up, so I don't want to "go nuts" with this conversion. Can I simply buy a barrel, mag and bolt, swap them in then presto? Would have to change it to rifle length instead of carbine, but will the MI low profile gas block and gen 2 ss handguard work with a grendel barrel? I'd also like to get a barrel and bolt with correct headspace.. Any suggestions would be appreciated, thanks!
                        I heard maxim firearms makes a really good 6.5 grendel type II bolt

                        Comment

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