Aero Precision/Ballistic Advantage
SAAMI chamber
Grendel bolt compatible
Pricing - $275-$300
Quality -
Accuracy -
Customer Service -
Notes -
Alexander Arms (AA)
SAAMI Chamber
Grendel bolt standard
Pricing - $204.75
Quality - Mid range
Accuracy - varies with barrel, some sub-MOA 5rd groups, some MOA, some 1.2-1.5 MOA with factory Hornady SST
Customer Service - Consistent, responsive, will handle defects with quick shipping label
Notes - The original 6.5 Grendel. Fluted lite option is nice for $195 price.
AR-Stoner
SAAMI Chamber
Grendel bolt compatible
Pricing - $119-$145
Quality -
Accuracy -
Customer Service -
Notes - Sold by Midway as "AR-Stoner" barrels. These are possibly re-branded Bear Creek Arsenal barrels
Bear Creek Arsenal (BCA)
SAAMI chamber
Grendel bolt compatible
Pricing - $80-$150
Quality - Good
Accuracy - MOA
Customer Service - Fair
Notes - BCA offers a huge variety of barrels in the 6.5 Grendel. The quality and accuracy of these barrels by forum members seems to be constantly good. The "finish" of the barrels aren't as good as more expensive brands. You can see more machining marks on these than on the Faxon barrels for example. BCA makes barrels for a lot of other gun manufactures and are they sold on line by many dealers. You can buy from BCA directly as well. They offer a good vet discount. Complete uppers with the correct BCG are offered by BCA and are good deals. One downside is that their barrel profiles are based on their standard 223/5.56 products and aren't "optimal" for the 6.5 Grendel. Customer service can be slow to respond, but they always seem to correct any issues. They ship a great many barrels every week and your one order may get "lost" or delayed in the system for a while. Some BCA barrels use 5R rifling while others not.
Brownells
Chamber -
Grendel bolt compatible included
Pricing - $280
Quality -
Accuracy -
Customer Service - Very Good (Brownells)
Notes - Brownells sells their own brand of barrels and claim that they are sourced from Satern Barrels. These are from the "Liberty" line of barrels (see below under "Liberty) and should not be confused with the "Satern" line of barrels.
BSF
SAAMI Chamber
Grendel bolt compatible
Pricing - $450-$600
Quality -
Accuracy -
Customer Service -
Notes - Carbon fiber wrapped stainless steel barrels with "vent holes" in the carbon fiber. These use 5R Button Rifling.
Columbia River (BHW)
Most are chambered in .264 LBC with polygonal rifling
Most are .124" bolt face depth, although there was a run of actual Grendel bolt compatible barrels (.136" face depth)
Pricing: $295-$600+, custom-configurable with various fluting and finish options
Quality: Mid-high depending on user preferences
Accuracy: Consistent MOA or better accuracy over the years
Customer Service:
Notes: BHW has been making .264 LBC chambered barrels for several years and has been around before most of the new entrants into the market, right around the time after Les Baer introduced the .264 LBC-AR chamber. .264 LBC-AR uses .295" neck diameter in the chamber with a conventional target leade of 1.5˚ with freebore set-up for the 123gr SMK loaded at 2.260" COL.
CORE Rifle Systems
SAAMI chamber
Grendel bolt compatible
Pricing: $390-$475 for barrel/bolt/magazine/gas block/muzzle brake kits
Quality: Medium-Med/high
Customer service
Notes: One of the few that uses correct bolt terminology on their site
DoubleStar/J&T
SAAMI chamber
Grendel bolt compatible
Pricing: $210-$239
Accuracy: Typical of barrels in that price range with a spread from sub-MOA to 1.7 MOA with brass-cased ammo
Customer service: Good
Notes: One of the first adopters of 6.5 Grendel. They provide actual Mil-Spec materials and processes FCGs too with correct detent metallurgy. Great company that has been in the AR15 business for many years.
Faxon
SAAMI -
Grendel bolt compatible
Pricing - $225-$330
Quality - Very Good
Accuracy - MOA
Customer Service -
Notes -
Grendel Forum Group Buy Barrels (Custom Faxon Barrels)
SAAMI - Yes
Grendel bolt compatible
Pricing - ~$180
Quality - Very Good
Accuracy - MOA
Customer Service - Excellent
Notes - These are custom orders for this forum. The profile is determined by Blunt Force Trauma (BFT), and are specifically optimized for the 6.5 Grendel. They are accurate and well finished.
JP Enterprises
SAAMI chamber
Grendel bolt compatible included. JP also makes their own high-strength bolt and extractor now
Pricing - $529
Quality - High
Accuracy - MOA and sub-MOA repeatably
Customer Service - Excellent reputation and backs up their product
Notes - JP is one of the first adopters of 6.5 Grendel, making one of the finest high-end 6.5 Grendel barrels on the market. 18" and 22" options with light and medium profiles. JP is the first in the industry to innovate performance-based AR15s with free-float handguards, adjustable gas, billet receivers, improved fire control groups, different weight carriers, the Silent Capture Spring, ambi controls, heat sinking ventilators, competition muzzle breaks, thermo-fitted barrels to receivers, and a holistic approach to elevating the AR15 into something entirely different than what it was conceived as. JP is a competitive shooter as well, and is a huge support to the competitive shooting, as well as military/security markets with products and training.
Krieger
Chamber: custom order
Custom order
Pricing - ~$690
Quality - High, one of the standards in cut-rifled barrels
Accuracy - Sub-MOA is normal
Customer Service -
Notes - Custom order
Lilja
SAAMI chamber
Grendel bolt compatible
Pricing - ~$595
Quality - High end
Accuracy - Superb, consistent sub-MOA with many different barrels, profiles, and loads
Customer Service - Exceptional
Notes - Lilja was the first barrel maker to respond positively to a forum group buy request back in 2013. Lilja is traditionally known as one of the top handful of barrel makers for benchrest, precision rifle, precision hunting, as well as accurate barrels for specific military sniper and DMR programs not commonly advertised.
Liberty
SAAMI and other chambers have been used
Grendel bolt compatible, includes bolt
Pricing - $315
Quality - Mixed
Accuracy - Mixed
Customer Service - Mixed
Notes - These have very mixed reviews from people on this forum. In general, it appears that they had issues with a number of their barrels and their customer service back before 2015. Recent reports have been much better. Some members if this forum are very happy with the barrels and report sub-MOA groups, while other members here will never use them again. Liberty barrels was started by Debbie Satern as a more economical, mass-produced barrel line aside from the cut-rifled line of barrels from Steve Satern. On the 18" MLGS barrels, be aware that if the port is .094" as most have been, you will need some type of adjustable gas as a rule.
Maxim Firearms
6.5 Grendel II
Grendel bolt compatible
Pricing: $320
Quality:
Accuracy:
Customer Service:
Notes: 16" MLGS, 18" MLGS, 20" RLGS. Maxim Firearms offers 6.5 Grendel bolts and BCGs.
McGowan Barrels
Chamber: 6.5 Grendel SAAMI or .264 LBC custom order
Grendel bolt compatible
Pricing: Custom order $245 base price, $320 with 8 flutes
Quality:
Accuracy:
Customer service:
Notes: They have full custom ordering process where you can select 4140 Chromoly steel or 416R stainless, custom length, 1-7, 1-8, 1-8.5, 1-9, 1-10 twist rates, chambering, gas system length (Pistol, CLGS, MLGS, RLGS), .750/.875/or .936 gas journals, lightweight, modified HBAR, HBAR, or custom profile, 11˚/recessed/flat crown, custom muzzle thread pattern, machined/matte/polished/blued/or Cerakote, 6 or 8 flutes.
Odin Works
SAAMI chamber
Grendel bolt compatible
Pricing - $290-$460
Quality - Very Good
Accuracy - MOA
Customer Service - Good
Notes - These often come with a tunable gas block and gas tube. Some of their barrels use an "Intermediate" length gas tube. They are reported to be accurate. The "fit and finish" is good with attention to detail. Odin Works carries everything from 12" Ultralight to 20" heavy barrels.
Precision Firearms
SAAMI chambered
Grendel bolt compatible
Pricing: $325 - $595
Quality: Exceptional
Accuracy: Among the best in the 6.5 Grendel world
Customer service: PF backs up their products with accuracy testing and support.
Notes: Offers Bartlein, Criterion, Lilja, Krieger barrels at lengths from 7" to 24". Precision Firearms has been in the Grendel game from very close to the start, learning a lot of the lessons about what makes Grendel function and shoot straight in the AR15. Barrels are among the finest and user feedback is consistently pleased with sub-3/4 MOA accuracy as the norm, usually more like 1/2 MOA.
Proof Research
SAAMI -
Grendel Bolt compatible
Pricing - $410 for steel, $940 for Carbon Fiber wrapped
Quality - High
Accuracy -
Customer Service -
Notes - Proof Research offers all steel barrels as well as carbon fiber wrapped steel barrels.
Satern
SAAMI or custom request chamber
Grendel bolt compatible, includes bolt usually
Pricing: $600
Quality: High end, cut-rifled 5R barrels from renowned service rifle barrel maker, Steve Satern
Accuracy: One of the best
Customer service:
Notes: AA used to use Satern barrels for the high-end product line. The AA/Satern barrels are some of the most accurate Grendel barrels produced, and included fluting.
T-Box
SAAMI -
Bolt -
Pricing - $540-$575
Quality -
Accuracy - Sub MOA
Customer Service -
Notes - These come with a matched bolt. They use 1:7.5″ twist are are designed/advertised to be sub-MOA.
SAAMI chamber
Grendel bolt compatible
Pricing - $275-$300
Quality -
Accuracy -
Customer Service -
Notes -
Alexander Arms (AA)
SAAMI Chamber
Grendel bolt standard
Pricing - $204.75
Quality - Mid range
Accuracy - varies with barrel, some sub-MOA 5rd groups, some MOA, some 1.2-1.5 MOA with factory Hornady SST
Customer Service - Consistent, responsive, will handle defects with quick shipping label
Notes - The original 6.5 Grendel. Fluted lite option is nice for $195 price.
AR-Stoner
SAAMI Chamber
Grendel bolt compatible
Pricing - $119-$145
Quality -
Accuracy -
Customer Service -
Notes - Sold by Midway as "AR-Stoner" barrels. These are possibly re-branded Bear Creek Arsenal barrels
Bear Creek Arsenal (BCA)
SAAMI chamber
Grendel bolt compatible
Pricing - $80-$150
Quality - Good
Accuracy - MOA
Customer Service - Fair
Notes - BCA offers a huge variety of barrels in the 6.5 Grendel. The quality and accuracy of these barrels by forum members seems to be constantly good. The "finish" of the barrels aren't as good as more expensive brands. You can see more machining marks on these than on the Faxon barrels for example. BCA makes barrels for a lot of other gun manufactures and are they sold on line by many dealers. You can buy from BCA directly as well. They offer a good vet discount. Complete uppers with the correct BCG are offered by BCA and are good deals. One downside is that their barrel profiles are based on their standard 223/5.56 products and aren't "optimal" for the 6.5 Grendel. Customer service can be slow to respond, but they always seem to correct any issues. They ship a great many barrels every week and your one order may get "lost" or delayed in the system for a while. Some BCA barrels use 5R rifling while others not.
Brownells
Chamber -
Grendel bolt compatible included
Pricing - $280
Quality -
Accuracy -
Customer Service - Very Good (Brownells)
Notes - Brownells sells their own brand of barrels and claim that they are sourced from Satern Barrels. These are from the "Liberty" line of barrels (see below under "Liberty) and should not be confused with the "Satern" line of barrels.
BSF
SAAMI Chamber
Grendel bolt compatible
Pricing - $450-$600
Quality -
Accuracy -
Customer Service -
Notes - Carbon fiber wrapped stainless steel barrels with "vent holes" in the carbon fiber. These use 5R Button Rifling.
Columbia River (BHW)
Most are chambered in .264 LBC with polygonal rifling
Most are .124" bolt face depth, although there was a run of actual Grendel bolt compatible barrels (.136" face depth)
Pricing: $295-$600+, custom-configurable with various fluting and finish options
Quality: Mid-high depending on user preferences
Accuracy: Consistent MOA or better accuracy over the years
Customer Service:
Notes: BHW has been making .264 LBC chambered barrels for several years and has been around before most of the new entrants into the market, right around the time after Les Baer introduced the .264 LBC-AR chamber. .264 LBC-AR uses .295" neck diameter in the chamber with a conventional target leade of 1.5˚ with freebore set-up for the 123gr SMK loaded at 2.260" COL.
CORE Rifle Systems
SAAMI chamber
Grendel bolt compatible
Pricing: $390-$475 for barrel/bolt/magazine/gas block/muzzle brake kits
Quality: Medium-Med/high
Customer service
Notes: One of the few that uses correct bolt terminology on their site
DoubleStar/J&T
SAAMI chamber
Grendel bolt compatible
Pricing: $210-$239
Accuracy: Typical of barrels in that price range with a spread from sub-MOA to 1.7 MOA with brass-cased ammo
Customer service: Good
Notes: One of the first adopters of 6.5 Grendel. They provide actual Mil-Spec materials and processes FCGs too with correct detent metallurgy. Great company that has been in the AR15 business for many years.
Faxon
SAAMI -
Grendel bolt compatible
Pricing - $225-$330
Quality - Very Good
Accuracy - MOA
Customer Service -
Notes -
Grendel Forum Group Buy Barrels (Custom Faxon Barrels)
SAAMI - Yes
Grendel bolt compatible
Pricing - ~$180
Quality - Very Good
Accuracy - MOA
Customer Service - Excellent
Notes - These are custom orders for this forum. The profile is determined by Blunt Force Trauma (BFT), and are specifically optimized for the 6.5 Grendel. They are accurate and well finished.
JP Enterprises
SAAMI chamber
Grendel bolt compatible included. JP also makes their own high-strength bolt and extractor now
Pricing - $529
Quality - High
Accuracy - MOA and sub-MOA repeatably
Customer Service - Excellent reputation and backs up their product
Notes - JP is one of the first adopters of 6.5 Grendel, making one of the finest high-end 6.5 Grendel barrels on the market. 18" and 22" options with light and medium profiles. JP is the first in the industry to innovate performance-based AR15s with free-float handguards, adjustable gas, billet receivers, improved fire control groups, different weight carriers, the Silent Capture Spring, ambi controls, heat sinking ventilators, competition muzzle breaks, thermo-fitted barrels to receivers, and a holistic approach to elevating the AR15 into something entirely different than what it was conceived as. JP is a competitive shooter as well, and is a huge support to the competitive shooting, as well as military/security markets with products and training.
Krieger
Chamber: custom order
Custom order
Pricing - ~$690
Quality - High, one of the standards in cut-rifled barrels
Accuracy - Sub-MOA is normal
Customer Service -
Notes - Custom order
Lilja
SAAMI chamber
Grendel bolt compatible
Pricing - ~$595
Quality - High end
Accuracy - Superb, consistent sub-MOA with many different barrels, profiles, and loads
Customer Service - Exceptional
Notes - Lilja was the first barrel maker to respond positively to a forum group buy request back in 2013. Lilja is traditionally known as one of the top handful of barrel makers for benchrest, precision rifle, precision hunting, as well as accurate barrels for specific military sniper and DMR programs not commonly advertised.
Liberty
SAAMI and other chambers have been used
Grendel bolt compatible, includes bolt
Pricing - $315
Quality - Mixed
Accuracy - Mixed
Customer Service - Mixed
Notes - These have very mixed reviews from people on this forum. In general, it appears that they had issues with a number of their barrels and their customer service back before 2015. Recent reports have been much better. Some members if this forum are very happy with the barrels and report sub-MOA groups, while other members here will never use them again. Liberty barrels was started by Debbie Satern as a more economical, mass-produced barrel line aside from the cut-rifled line of barrels from Steve Satern. On the 18" MLGS barrels, be aware that if the port is .094" as most have been, you will need some type of adjustable gas as a rule.
Maxim Firearms
6.5 Grendel II
Grendel bolt compatible
Pricing: $320
Quality:
Accuracy:
Customer Service:
Notes: 16" MLGS, 18" MLGS, 20" RLGS. Maxim Firearms offers 6.5 Grendel bolts and BCGs.
McGowan Barrels
Chamber: 6.5 Grendel SAAMI or .264 LBC custom order
Grendel bolt compatible
Pricing: Custom order $245 base price, $320 with 8 flutes
Quality:
Accuracy:
Customer service:
Notes: They have full custom ordering process where you can select 4140 Chromoly steel or 416R stainless, custom length, 1-7, 1-8, 1-8.5, 1-9, 1-10 twist rates, chambering, gas system length (Pistol, CLGS, MLGS, RLGS), .750/.875/or .936 gas journals, lightweight, modified HBAR, HBAR, or custom profile, 11˚/recessed/flat crown, custom muzzle thread pattern, machined/matte/polished/blued/or Cerakote, 6 or 8 flutes.
Odin Works
SAAMI chamber
Grendel bolt compatible
Pricing - $290-$460
Quality - Very Good
Accuracy - MOA
Customer Service - Good
Notes - These often come with a tunable gas block and gas tube. Some of their barrels use an "Intermediate" length gas tube. They are reported to be accurate. The "fit and finish" is good with attention to detail. Odin Works carries everything from 12" Ultralight to 20" heavy barrels.
Precision Firearms
SAAMI chambered
Grendel bolt compatible
Pricing: $325 - $595
Quality: Exceptional
Accuracy: Among the best in the 6.5 Grendel world
Customer service: PF backs up their products with accuracy testing and support.
Notes: Offers Bartlein, Criterion, Lilja, Krieger barrels at lengths from 7" to 24". Precision Firearms has been in the Grendel game from very close to the start, learning a lot of the lessons about what makes Grendel function and shoot straight in the AR15. Barrels are among the finest and user feedback is consistently pleased with sub-3/4 MOA accuracy as the norm, usually more like 1/2 MOA.
Proof Research
SAAMI -
Grendel Bolt compatible
Pricing - $410 for steel, $940 for Carbon Fiber wrapped
Quality - High
Accuracy -
Customer Service -
Notes - Proof Research offers all steel barrels as well as carbon fiber wrapped steel barrels.
Satern
SAAMI or custom request chamber
Grendel bolt compatible, includes bolt usually
Pricing: $600
Quality: High end, cut-rifled 5R barrels from renowned service rifle barrel maker, Steve Satern
Accuracy: One of the best
Customer service:
Notes: AA used to use Satern barrels for the high-end product line. The AA/Satern barrels are some of the most accurate Grendel barrels produced, and included fluting.
T-Box
SAAMI -
Bolt -
Pricing - $540-$575
Quality -
Accuracy - Sub MOA
Customer Service -
Notes - These come with a matched bolt. They use 1:7.5″ twist are are designed/advertised to be sub-MOA.
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