New to the grendel, new to the forum.....may I ask some questions?

[Armed & Hammered]

Howdy folks, I've been bit buy the Grendel bug and looking to get into the Grendel game. I've been reading a lot trying to gain as much info as I can. However, I'm still a little confused.

While I understand the differences in the type 1 and type 2 chambers, which one is better? Is the type 1 the saami spec?

Next, barrel lenghths and gas lengths. The 2 uppers I'm looking at.....1 is a 20" rifle lentgh and the other is 16" carbine length. Which is better suited for the grendel? Take in mind this will be mainly a deer/yote gun for 300 to 350 yard shots, with some occasional steel gong shooting at longer ranges. While I like the idea of a shorter rifle for maneuverability, I've got no problems carrying the 20".

With the gas sytems....I plan on using an a2 or rifle length stock and buffer tube. Will the standard rifle buffer and spring work for the 16" upper? If not, please recommed something?


My last question....any reviews from yall with barrier defense uppers? The prices seem great, but I cant find any reviews on them. The other upper I've looked at was the RF 20", which seems to have a pretty solid review. Unfortunately, I can't spend a lot right now and just looking for a decent entry level upper to get in the game.

Thanks folks, any and all info, recommendations, or help yall can give will be greatly appreciated.

[cory]

You'll be well served with a 16" for those ranges. However, I'd suggest a medium length gas tube for a 16".

Go with the SAAMI Spec Grendel Chamber with a .136" bolt face depth.

The rifle length buffer and spring will work great. I like going with the JP spring and colt buffer when going with that setup. If you got with the 16" an adjustable gas block will be a worthwhile upgrade.

[BentoBox]

I'd pay attention to a barrel quality above all. If on budget go with 16" AA barrel for $200. If you go for the best like shilen 20" barrel prepare to pay $460. There are other good choices by stay away from new stuff that popping out all over. Radical Firearms uppers are good looking and priced right but IMHO you are getting what you paid for.

[cohesive1]

I'd pay attention to a barrel quality above all. If on budget go with 16" AA barrel for $200. If you go for the best like shilen 20" barrel prepare to pay $460. There are other good choices by stay away from new stuff that popping out all over. Radical Firearms uppers are good looking and priced right but IMHO you are getting what you paid for.

Thanks for posting this. It helped me alot!

[LRRPF52]

You end up with a really thin extractor lip with a .125" bolt face depth. Metallurgy and design of the extractor becomes even more critical with a .125" depth, to the point that reject rate on batched parts would be too high for a company that actually does extensive testing.

The depth and length of the groove has to be larger with 6.5 Grendel or 7.62x39, because the rim is wider and thicker. This places demands on an extractor body and lip meant for 5.56 that are unrealistic from a production perspective.

Now you know why AA went with a .136" bolt face depth, after looking at the extensive engineering work that Colt had done in the 1980s for the Colt 7.62x39 Sporter.

[Armed & Hammered]

Lots of good info. Thank you for a lot of clarification.

[diddlyv]

I received my barrier defense 16 inch barreled 15 in key mod tube upper 3 days ago. Loaded 15 123 SST 5 each 31.0 31.2 31.4 Leverevelution and 10 120 GMX 5 each with 31.2 and 31.4 lever should hit the ranged in a week or so after my lower and scope arrive. No clue on barrel break in, My DPMS shoots sub MOA with american eagle from day one.

My RR national match AR shot about the same with Iron sights shooting american eagle right off the bat.

I M1A shot right at 1 min with irons and my eyes when it came back from champions choice with a Douglas Air Gaged NM barrel.

Will let you know how the BD barrel shoots. He refuses to give out info on parts suppliers given his lowish pricing.

[VASCAR2]

I looked at Barrier Defense website and here are the specs they post for a 16" build.

Complete 6.5 Grendel AR15 Upper with 15" Slim, Lightweight Key-Mod Hand Guard; Upper includes a 16" M4 contour Chrome Moly barrel with 1-8 twist and chambered in the desired Grendel 1. Carbine gas system, A3 billet upper receiver with forward assist & ejection port cover, barrel & receiver have matching M4 feed ramps, M16 Bolt Carrier Group with proprietary 6.5 Grendel bolt, charging handle, 15" free floating KeyMod hand guard, low-profile micro gas block, & A2 flash hider/suppressor threaded 5/8"-24. A perfect fit on any 5.56 or Multi-Cal AR-15 lower & comes with the Barrier Defense lifetime warranty. Swap the complete upper and your ready to shoot. ****Know your states laws.

Item #: GrN15

The only company selling a Grendel 1 chambered barrel is Anderson Manufacturing. There have been inquiries into the specifics of this chrome moly barrel as to the chamber specs. Anderson has not provided any information as to which reamer or chamber design is used. The bolts specification is .135 wheras SAAMI 6.5 Grendel bolts are .136. These barrels are very inexpensive. Please post pictures of your new rifle. A range report would also be appreciated since there is very little info on the Anderson 6.5 Grendel.

[LRRPF52]

.135" and .136" face depths are within tolerance. It's .136" - .003".

There is a lot more to making the bolt than just the face depth, including overall length of the bolt, the extractor, and some other aspects that a good mechanical engineer should be able to identify when looking for solutions to fitting a fatter case head with a thicker rim into the AR15.

AA did all that work before 6.5 Grendel with the .50 Beowulf, which uses a rebated 7.62x39 case head. There are some mechanical engineering challenges you face, and Bill really looked in-depth to what Colt had done on the 7.62x39 Sporter AR15 from the 1980s. There were some critical aspects in the engineering department that differentiate the Colt work from a standard 5.56 bolt, all of which have been overlooked by the subsequent 7.62x39 bolt makers.

[Slappy]

Liked reading that info thanks for posting.

A&H there are some 16inch barrels left and they are just a matter of days of being shipped. For the price you can not beat it let alone zero wait time and it is NOW not LATER!! I am sure there are some left because there has not been any thing to point that they have all been sold. Go to the group buy and follow the directions on the first page first post. BANG BANG!!

[diddlyv]

Armed and Hammered

Range report on my Barrier Defense Upper

http://www.65grendel.com/forum/showthread.php?12553-Rguns-lower-for-the-Barrier-Defense-upper-arrives-tomorrow.&p=137548#post137548