Tale of 3 Grendel rifles and 3 doe pronghorn

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  • PA_Allen
    Warrior
    • Mar 2011
    • 333

    Tale of 3 Grendel rifles and 3 doe pronghorn

    Last week I was fortunate enough to get to travel to Wyoming to hunt pronghorn with my 6.5 Grendel. My neighbor and his brother-in-law also hunted with me, and they had 6.5 Grendel rifles as well. We all had doe tags to fill. A friend without tags also went along and took the photos (and helped with the dragging!)


    The rifles:

  • #2
    No No No No, this can't be true! I've been reading internet threads that say the Grendel is only a paper-killer!

    Beautiful pics and write-up sir. Top-notch, really, with breath-taking background imagery. Any projectiles recovered...results..besides the obvious?

    Also, did you guys ever dial for the 185yd shot, and what technique did you use to deal with the wind...wait for calm, reticle holds, windage dial...?

    Did I mention these pics are stunningly beautiful?

    Comment


    • #3
      Yes great job on the pictures. I actually had an arguement with my Sgt because he said the grendel has no stopping power and can't be used to hunt......ill be showing him this thread
      How far did they go once shot? Or did they just drop on the spot?

      Comment

      • PA_Allen
        Warrior
        • Mar 2011
        • 333

        #4
        A big thanks goes to my buddy who took the photos. It's nice to have a great photographer along!

        No bullets were recovered; all were complete pass throughs. I don't really have much info on the 123 amax that my neighbor's brother in law used. He lives local, went home, and so I didn't get a good look at his pronghorn. I know that he hit it twice from about 300 yds. I think the wind may have bit him some on the first shot.

        My neighbor's doe was quarting toward us slightly 185 yds away. The wind was almost directly in our face, so I told him to ignore wind drift. We had zeroed his rifle at 200 yds, so he held dead on and made a great shot. The 120 NBT went in at the front of the shoulder and exited middle of the ribs on the opposite side, breaking 3 ribs on the way out. She just took a few steps and rolled down the hill.

        My shot was really easy at 80 yds. The biggest challenge was timing the shot between wind gusts because the strong gusts would blow the cross hairs from the vitals to the guts as I braced my hand against the side of a boulder. At the shot my doe turned 180 deg and I could see the exit wound in a good spot. I learned early in my hunting carrer to "shoot again" if the animalnis still standing, so I immediately shot again. The second shot went through the onside shoulder, severed the spine, and broke the offside shoulder and exited.

        YutYut tell your Sgt that I have shot about 20 big game animals (mainly whitetail) with my Grendel, and none of them have lived to complain about it!

        -PA

        Comment

        • StoneTower

          #5
          PA_ALLEN...how do they taste? My dad shot some back in the early 1960's and he said that the worst part was cleaning them.

          Did you notice any difference in the exit wound with the different bullets? I realize that they were a different ranges, but I was just curious. That hog that I shot with your load had 2 nice exit wounds that really impressed me for a 100g bullet.

          Thanks,

          David

          Comment

          • BluntForceTrauma
            Administrator
            • Feb 2011
            • 3897

            #6
            Originally posted by LRRPF52 View Post
            No No No No, this can't be true! I've been reading internet threads that say the Grendel is only a paper-killer!
            Funny that. Been reading the same and amazing how determindedly petty some are. They WISH they could pigeon-hole it as only a paper-killer. . . . And when the Rooski War Machine starts cranking out gazillions of steel-case 65G with FMJs for us, they'll still be comforting themselves that 6.5mm bullets harmlessly bounce off anything thicker than cardboard.

            Anyway, PA, thanks for the photos, and, a little off topic, but the sky in that shot of the guns is like a painting!

            John
            :: 6.5 GRENDEL Deer and Targets :: 6mmARC Targets and Varmints and Deer :: 22 ARC Varmints and Targets

            :: I Drank the Water :: Revelation 21:6 ::

            Comment


            • #7
              PA_Allen,

              Do you know what velocities you're getting out of each of those rifles with the loads you listed?

              Mine: 20” LW CSS barrel, 100 gr TTSX , H335 handload:
              Neighbor: 18” AA Grendel barrel, 120 NBT, TAC handload:
              Neighbor’s brother-in-law: 20” LW CSS barrel, 123 Hornady A-Max factory loads:
              Thanks again for a great report.
              Last edited by Guest; 05-21-2012, 04:52 PM.

              Comment

              • bwaites
                Moderator
                • Mar 2011
                • 4445

                #8
                I think its great that 3 different bullets were all equally effective!!

                Congrats, great pictures!! You have raised the expected quality of the photography on the board!!

                Comment

                • PA_Allen
                  Warrior
                  • Mar 2011
                  • 333

                  #9

                  Comment

                  • RangerRick

                    #10
                    Originally posted by PA_Allen View Post
                    Some answers:


                    LRRPF52,
                    I do not have any data on the fellow's 123 Amax factory load. Here is the data for the other two:
                    Hornady Brass and Rem 7.5 primers for both

                    Mine: 20” LW CSS barrel, 100 gr TTSX , 30 gr H335 handload, 2775 fps (impact velocity approx. 2600 fps. at 80 yds)
                    PA,

                    Do you see any pressure signs with that load? Alexander Arms lists a max load of 29.4 grains of H335 out of a 24 inch barrel. Maybe the shorter barrel keeps the pressure down?

                    Thanks,

                    RR

                    Comment

                    • PA_Allen
                      Warrior
                      • Mar 2011
                      • 333

                      #11
                      Originally posted by RangerRick View Post
                      PA,

                      Do you see any pressure signs with that load? Alexander Arms lists a max load of 29.4 grains of H335 out of a 24 inch barrel. Maybe the shorter barrel keeps the pressure down?

                      Thanks,

                      RR
                      RR,
                      No visible pressure signs. The load definitely appears safe in my rifle, and others on the Board have reported good success with the load as well.

                      As you stated, AA list a max of 29.4 gr of H335 with the 100 gr Lapua Secnar.
                      Hodgdon lists a max of 30.7gr of H335 with the 100 gr Nosler BT. I have loaded many rounds with 30.5 gr of H335 under the 100 NBT with great results. I stopped at 30 gr with the 100 TTSX because the velocity and accuracy were already great...no reason to push things.

                      More info is posted here:
                      Hello All, Here is some of the data that I had posted on the old site before the crash. I thought that repeating it here might be useful. These loads were safe in my rifle, but please work up to the max loads to ensure your own safety. All of the loads were fired through my 20" Lothar Walther Barrel with the CSS


                      Best,
                      PA
                      Last edited by PA_Allen; 10-22-2011, 07:08 PM. Reason: forgot to add link

                      Comment

                      • txgunner00
                        Chieftain
                        • Mar 2011
                        • 2070

                        #12
                        Very cool pictures.
                        NRA life, GOA life, SAF, and TSRA

                        "I ask, Sir, what is the militia? It is the whole people, except for a few public officials. To disarm the people is the best and most effectual way to enslave them."

                        George Mason, co-author, 2nd Amendment.

                        Comment

                        • Variable
                          Chieftain
                          • Mar 2011
                          • 2403

                          #13
                          Cool pics indeed. I missed this thread somehow. Thanks for sharing PA!
                          Life member NRA, SAF, GOA, WVSRPA (and VFW). Also member WVCDL. Join NOW!!!!!
                          We either hang together on this, or we'll certainly HANG separately.....

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