I have been receiving a lot of contradicting feed back on how well the 6.5 stacks up as a hunting round for deer, antelope and elk. I am very interested in investing in an Alexander Arms 6.5 Grendel but i just don't know enough about it yet. Someone take me to school please!
Welcome. I have 2 dedicated 6.5 Grendel bolt action deer rifles. Taken maybe 25 Southern deer at range 30-300 yards. Non have gone farther then 10 feet after being hit. I have trophy hunted deer the last 2 years with the 6.5 Grendel-no luck in that yet. I have taken small bear with the 6.5 Grendel- bang thump. I havent hunted elk with anything. I have an AR I hunt hogs with; maybe a couple hundred; some boars aproaching 300 pounds NONE have run more than 15 feet. I also plink at cans armidillos rabits coons skunks nutria coyotes gaters crows . It works every time the first time and with very little fuss. What kind of contradicting feed back have you heard?
Thanks for the info. Several sources I have talked to say that the 6.5 Grendel would be nothing better than a coyote round. Others, like yourself, are saying that it is a great deer rifle. I am a huge fan of the AR platform and have a strong interest in this particular round.
Shhh!Originally Posted by Reaper1
Don't tell this guy I was using a "coyote" round fired out of a 10.5" barrel to kill him and a bunch of his relatives.....
They might get mad at me and stop falling DRT if they hear I'm not using enough gun.LOL!!!
Well said, Variable.
I have taken 2 deer with my Grendel. One 275 lb 10 pt Ohio buck. Dropped in his tracks at 110 yds with my Hornady 129 SST loads. Shot a large Virginia doe probably 120 lb. at 92 yds, same thing, dropped in her tracks. I admit shot placement is key, but this cartridge is boss! Have taken other deer with .300 R U M, and they went 10 to 75 yds. So I am the head cheerleader of the Grendel for deer. I would not use it on Elk! Although I dropped a 1000 lb 8x8 Elk that actually hunted me & my guide, that was not normal, who decided to charge me at 8 steps. Double tapped him with my AR 10 in .308 with my own Barnes 180 gr TSX loads. He went less than 15 yds and crashed.
10 deer in 2 years Hunting All dead, no run offs. low recoil, low sound and I hear the hit ..
All pluses in my book ..
PS I own a gun shop, build and test many AR's and other guns and still love the grendel
have a hard time finding a hunting caliber for deer that will change my mind ..
Don't believe the ballistic information from the kids who ride the short bus to school. They may be well meaning but they know not of what they speak.
The 6.5 MM bore diameter is the minimum caliber I see as a true big game caliber, and in my opinion is the best bore diameter for North America big game hunting. This is because long for caliber bullets can be used that provide unequaled penetration with mild recoil. If the AR is your choice then the 6.5 Grendel is the best choice for an all around big game caliber in that platform, especially as the range extends beyond 300 yards.
If you will use the rifle under 200 yards then there are plenty of choices that are equally good. But as the range extends the others fall out of favor.
I'm a fan of the 6.5 caliber so you should know that. But you should also know how I became a fan, it was after encountering the 6.5x55 in the field, not by reading, although knowledgeable hunters have since reinforced my opinions. My first encounter was in the Brooks Range of Alaska guiding Northern European hunters for Dall Sheep, Caribou, Moose and Grizzly Bears. My thoughts at the time were that a .375 H&H was just right for the bears and moose and would do okay for the others. But as I was exposed to more and more kills with the 6.5, I became a convert. I could not distinguish the difference between a well placed 300 grain .375 or a 140 grain .264 bullet on the bears or moose. And the 6.5 truly outperformed the .375 on caribou and distant dall sheep.
At this point you might be thinking that the 6.5 Grendel is not a 6.5x55 and you would be correct, but the difference is minimal.
Since those early days in which I was first exposed to the 6.5 caliber I have taken over 200 head of North American big game and guided or accompanied others while taking yet another similar number of big game animals. As I have observed many combinations of caliber, bullet construction, shot placement, shot distance, shooter skill, and shooter discipline, I have become more firmly convinced that the 6.5 caliber is superior, especially so when considering the ease of shooting the caliber well.
Just so you know that I'm willing to put my money where my mouth is here are a couple of pics of animals I have taken with the 6.5 bore diameter. This was with a larger capacity case but, I can assure you the results would be the same had it been the 6.5 Grendel.
The first is a Boone and Crocket Bighorn taken in Arizona and the second is a Boone and Crocket Stone's sheep taken in British columbia which completed my grand slam of north american wild sheep #1042. I tell you these things not to brag but to let you understand that I have some experience to back my assertions. Also, I own several .257 cal, .277 cal, 30 cal, .338 cal and .375 cal mags I could have chosen but instead chose the 6.5 mm bore.
I have a lot of others.
Bob
Last edited by stokesrj; 02-07-2012 at 01:17 AM.
Wow stokesrj! That big horn is awesome! I worked for the grand canyon science center for a couple years before moving back to Missouri. I never did hunt out there because there was no hunting in the park, and I really didn't have any skills for the vast terrain of adjacent forest service land, and I didn't meet any co workers or befriend any hunters while out there working for the park service. Sure was different from Missouri. Lots of anti hunting vegetarians and hippies where I was Lol! But I sure loved watching the wildlife. I found an atypical mike deer shed with 9 points on one antler and always hoped to find a big horn skull but never did. I sure like that bighorn you got! I really like reading your posts too, sounds like you have a lot if knowledge to share.
Posting Permissions
Reply With Quote
