Last Minute Changes to my Hunting Build

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  • Frontier Gear
    Warrior
    • Nov 2017
    • 772

    Last Minute Changes to my Hunting Build

    Tonight after dinner I head out to the cabin. Tomorrow is opening day of late whitetail season. I finished the Grendel build just in time. It is going to be compared to my AR10 in 308. Both were exactly 9 pounds with optics. Which is light for an AR10 but a bit heavy for an AR15. The Grendel though has a longer barrel and a larger scope. The AR10 has a 40mm scope and the Grendel has a 50mm, both Redfields. The AR10 has a 16 inch barrel and the Grendel has an 18 inch barrel. The AR10 has a lighter carbine stock, but that has a bad habit of removing facial hair so I really prefer the rifle stock that is on the Grendel. The AR10 also has an aluminum barrel nut which is surprisingly lighter than the Grendel's steel barrel nut.

    Last night I decided to swap out the lower receiver on the Grendel to bring down the weight a bit. It was a very last minute decision, but it did bring down the total weight to 8lbs 13oz. The forged aluminum receiver was stripped and all the parts were re-assembled onto a Polymer80 that I milled out. I've been using the Polymer80 AR15 and AR10 lowers on my personal builds for over a year now and they really get abused in my Jeep and in the woods. I have no concerns about it holding up. That is actually how I got the AR10 to be so light. It uses the Polymer80 WarrHogg lower. Shot a bear with it this year in fact.

    My goal is to have a 250 yard hunting gun that is as light and handy as my 30-30, at least as close as I can get to that. The 308 is about as light as I can get it and it's still too bulky and heavy. The Grendel at 8lbs 13oz is still too heavy as well (at least I think it is). It is getting close though to my ideal hunting rifle. Next move may be to swap the barrel out to either a 16" Odin lightweight or an AA 16" lightweight. Then change the barrel nut from steel to aluminum.

    The test tomorrow is to see how it handles compared to the AR10 and how much extra daylight do I get out of the 50mm scope (is it worth the extra weight and bulk?). Of course the other test is how well does it work on deer

    My 300 blackout uses the Odin 16" lightweight barrel, Polymer80 lower, aluminum barrel nut, light carbine stock and a red dot. It's about 6.5 pounds. It is supper nice to carry in the woods, but lacks the range, light gathering, magnification, and still pulls out my facial hair.

    One of these days I'll get it figured out....
    Engineer, FFL and Pastor
  • Frontier Gear
    Warrior
    • Nov 2017
    • 772

    #2
    Well no bucks. I did get to see how it handled though. A few things I found interesting:

    Scope:
    When I first switched from open sights to scopes I was using a 2-7x33mm scope for a few years and then I tried the 3-9-40mm. There was a significant difference in light gathering between the two. So I was kind of expecting the same difference between the 40mm and the 50mm, but there wasn't. The 50mm had marginally better light gathering than the 40mm. It's not worth the extra weight and bulk. So the Grendel is getting a 3-9x40mm scope. It looks like I will shave off an additional 2oz by going that route.

    Handling:
    The AR15 is definitely more svelte than the AR10. Both have a slim hand guard but the AR15 is smaller and just feels so much better to me. The 18" barrel was okay, but I think that I would prefer the 16" barrel with only a thread protector after walking through the woods with it. So you will be seeing an 18" SS fluted barrel with 5R rifling for sale later.

    Magazines/Lowers:
    This one I'm still playing with. I need more ammo and range time to work it out. I purchased two magazines from Odin, a ten rounder and a twenty rounder. When I was sighting it in with the aluminum lower, I had three failure to feeds with the 10 round magazine. A good smack on the bottom of the mag fixed them. I had no failures at all with the 20 round mag. Then I switched to the Polymer80 lower and took the 20 round magazine hunting with me. With the magazine empty it is a little snug in the polymer lower. It's not tight but has a little "retention". However, with ammo in the mag it is downright tight. Which is interesting because I've never experienced this when using Lancer or PMags with the Polymer80 lowers. It's not an anomaly with this lower since it was previously on a 223 build and it never had an issue. The failure to feeds could be an issue with the upper/bolt, but right now I'm highly suspicious of the mags. The AA 4 round mag looks very tempting to try.

    Below is a picture taken a few days ago of where I was at.
    cabin.jpg
    Engineer, FFL and Pastor

    Comment

    • Lastrites
      Warrior
      • Apr 2017
      • 678

      #3
      Oh boy in my neck of the woods one would be a cooked goose if found with a 10 or 20 round mag hunting deer as we are limited to 5 rd mags though blocked mags are allowed.

      Comment

      • rabiddawg
        Chieftain
        • Feb 2013
        • 1664

        #4
        Help me understand, if you are so weight conscious why hunt with such big mags?
        Knowing everthing isnt as important as knowing where to find it.

        Mark Twain

        http://www.65grendel.com/forum/showt...2-Yd-Whitetail

        Comment

        • Frontier Gear
          Warrior
          • Nov 2017
          • 772

          #5
          Good comments. I'll try to explain.

          In WA there are no capacity limits for big game, predator or varmint hunting, only for waterfowl.

          When I purchased the mags from Odin I got two; one for hunting (the ten round mag) and one for range time (the twenty round mag). At the time, the ten round mag was the smallest that I was aware of. Odin doesn't offer a smaller one and I was not aware of the AA 4 round mag. Otherwise I would have purchased the AA mag. This isn't uncommon. When I hunt with the AR10, the smallest mag I can find holds ten rounds, same with 300blk.

          Just because a magazine can hold ten or more rounds doesn't mean that I load it up full. Just put 4 rounds in the thing and call it good. Keep more in your pocket, backpack, vehicle, cabin or whatever.

          The reason that I took the 20 round mag hunting was because I had three failures to feed with the smaller ten round mag and the twenty round mag had zero issues at the range. Again, I didn't load it up full while hunting.

          So I put some ammo in the ten round mag last night and tried it in the Polymer80 lower. It fits fine. There is a small amount of "mag retention" which is common for these lowers, but it is not tight like the 20 round mag with ammo in it. The twenty round mag is definitely widening more than normal when there is ammo at the top of the mag. I was just thinking of all the brands of magazines that I have tried in the Polymer80 lowers and none of them have done this.

          I'm all set to order the AA 4 round mags unless there is a better recommendation.
          Engineer, FFL and Pastor

          Comment

          • phishfood
            Warrior
            • Jul 2017
            • 156

            #6
            If you are planning on ordering 4 rounders directly from Alexander Arms, they are currently on backorder, I was told until the first of the year.

            If you do decide to go with a 16" barrel, take a look at the Faxon 16" Gunner. IIRC, it is a few ounces lighter than the AA.

            Comment

            • Frontier Gear
              Warrior
              • Nov 2017
              • 772

              #7
              Thanks for the heads up.

              I was able to do some ad-hoc target practice today. The Odin 10 round mag seemed to work well with the Polymer80 lower, and boy is it nice to shoot. Accurate too. I'm starting to like this more. I also ordered one 4 round AA mag and one 10 round AA mag as well as 140 more rounds of ammo. Hopefully they will go ahead and ship the 10 rounder if the smaller one is on backorder.
              Engineer, FFL and Pastor

              Comment

              • Arkhangel5
                Warrior
                • Apr 2016
                • 229

                #8
                Just so you know. MidwayUSA carries AR Stoner 5 round Grendel magazines.

                With a 5 round loaded magazine, my Grendel comes in at 9.5lbs. When I was building it, weight was not a concern, but might be if I ever decide to build another for hunting.

                I have never had an issue with the Stoner's. My Grendel has over 1k rounds thru it.

                SY

                Comment

                • Frontier Gear
                  Warrior
                  • Nov 2017
                  • 772

                  #9
                  Originally posted by Arkhangel5 View Post
                  Just so you know. MidwayUSA carries AR Stoner 5 round Grendel magazines.

                  With a 5 round loaded magazine, my Grendel comes in at 9.5lbs. When I was building it, weight was not a concern, but might be if I ever decide to build another for hunting.

                  I have never had an issue with the Stoner's. My Grendel has over 1k rounds thru it.

                  SY

                  Interesting. The 10 round AR Stoner mag looks exactly like the Odin 10 round mags. There are also a lot of complaints about the AR Stoner mags bulging when loaded, just like I am experiencing on the Odin 20 round mag. Although they don't specify if it's the 5, 10 or 25 round mags that are bulging. My guess would be the 25 rounders. The 10 round Odin mag looks to be performing well in the Polymer80 lower though. Once the ammo shows up I'll give it some range time to see for sure. Still no deer. I'll try again tonight...

                  IMG_20171114_072451669.jpg
                  Engineer, FFL and Pastor

                  Comment

                  • Jakegsxr11
                    Warrior
                    • Nov 2016
                    • 114

                    #10
                    I have an AA 4 round mag and AA 10 round mag, they are identical externally. There must be a stop inside the 4 round to only allow it to be compressed far enough for 4 rounds. I have not taken them apart or weighed them but I would not be surprised if the 4 rounder weighs more than the 10.

                    Comment

                    • howl
                      Warrior
                      • Nov 2015
                      • 236

                      #11
                      It's pretty easy to find a 2-7x32 that is brighter than a 3-9x50. Not with the same lenses and coatings, though. The question is if one set at 6x is any brighter than the other set at 8x.

                      Comment

                      • phishfood
                        Warrior
                        • Jul 2017
                        • 156

                        #12
                        Originally posted by Frontier Gear View Post
                        Thanks for the heads up.

                        I was able to do some ad-hoc target practice today. The Odin 10 round mag seemed to work well with the Polymer80 lower, and boy is it nice to shoot. Accurate too. I'm starting to like this more. I also ordered one 4 round AA mag and one 10 round AA mag as well as 140 more rounds of ammo. Hopefully they will go ahead and ship the 10 rounder if the smaller one is on backorder.
                        They (AA) will not ship until they can fill the entire order. I had ordered (1) 4 rounder, (2) 17 round, and (2) 25 round mags from them. I had to call them and ask them to ship the 17 round mags now and process the rest of the order when their stock is replenished.

                        Comment

                        • Frontier Gear
                          Warrior
                          • Nov 2017
                          • 772

                          #13
                          Well this is going to be frustrating if they don't ship the order because the 4 round mag is out of stock and when they finally show up the 4 round mag weighs more than the ten round mag.

                          I did pack the rifle around for about 3 more hours tonight while looking for deer. Some of it was through pretty thick woods. The length of the barrel isn't too bad, its the weight. It's not terribly heavy, but still a little more than I would like. Does anybody know of someone making a lightweight 18 barrel? I thought that I saw a website somewhere that let you customize your barrel order via drop down menus (length, steel, rifling, profile, etc...). They had really long lead times, but that wouldn't matter for next year's season.
                          Engineer, FFL and Pastor

                          Comment

                          • Jakegsxr11
                            Warrior
                            • Nov 2016
                            • 114

                            #14
                            Krieger Barrel 1-8 Twist Stainless Cut Rifled - Built to our specifications. 6.5 mm Grendel Krieger Barrel Chambered in house by Precision Firearms to SAAMI Specs. 1-8 Twist Available in 10.5, 11.5, 16, 18, 20, 22, 24 inch 10.5, 11.5 Carbine Gas 16 Mid Length Gas 18 Intermediate Gas, Gas Tube included Matched to bolt by PF Bolt Included Fluting available with 6, 8, 10 flutes front and back sections Dimple Flute optional 10 Rows Threaded 5/8x24 optional .936 Gas Block .920 Muzzle Delivery time - 20 weeks on Barrels,- 20 Weeks on Uppers


                            They also have different brands of barrels if you like; bartlein, Krieger, criterion, lilja...

                            Comment

                            • VASCAR2
                              Chieftain
                              • Mar 2011
                              • 6218

                              #15
                              I don’t own a 4 round E-Lander mag but the C Products and ASC 4 round mags use a full length spring compressed into the mag body to control the number of rounds the mag will accept. The extra weight is probably the extra spring filling the body.

                              Comment

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