Giday from New Zealand.

[sneaky one]

Von, I'm looking into a A I Grendel. Shhhhh.... Who said that? Shhhh... damn blabbermouth kids! Think of it as a Spec II style chamber.. more later, hopefully.

[Von Gruff]

Do you mean an AI on the grendel case as I can only see a move forward of the shoulder and throat to make a gain there. If you mean in the 7.62x39 case at least on the samples I have there is a possible gain in case length out to a trim length of 1.550 from the 1.557 at present so if the grendal shoulder and body taper was shifted forward to the same relationship with the case mouth I would think there would be enough gain to overcome the 2 gn difference between the Grendel case by Hornady and a reformed 7.62x39 case due to the brass thickness. Add a throat lengthening to max mag capacity and then custom reamers and loading dies to the mix.
Have you thought through the capacity gain and performance gain to come up with number yet or is this another one of those enjoyably speculative thought processes we all indulge in from time to time.

Von Gruff.

[sneaky one]

One of my old pals is a prototype machinist-he could make this happen, on the cheap- if I want my daydream to come true. Or just keep trying the newest powders to get a small step up in speed. I've already made great strides by using the 110 class of bullets.

[Von Gruff]

The bullet weight issue is something to be taken into account, along with the powder and barrel length i would think. I dont expect I would be shooting much past 250-300yds as the recovery may not be possible in the areas I often hunt and as the hunt is as much for freezer fill as the enjoyment of the hunt, recovery is required. While the landscape may look accomadating there is a spikey, scrubby bush called mataghouri that can be inpenatrable in some gullies like in the foreground here.

Then there is the steepness of the terrain and while this is nearly at one end of the area I shoot it dose show some of the elevations we hunt in.

This is at the far end of the bluffs with about a mile in between. There is a dry weather track into about this elevation and we have to hunt down into the bluffs with well over a 1000yds (abouts max's out my Leica 1200) to the bottom from here. Obviously wife and dog do not venture in with us but enjoy the sit and watch from on high. We can shoot right through to the face on the left of the creek but cant get across to recover animals without about a 4-5 hour detour each way and that is not worth it to recover one animal.


Von Gruff.

[Variable]

Beautiful pics!!!

If you are staying inside 300 yards, you might want to look into the Nosler 120 grain ballistic tips. They have a great track record for accuracy around here, and perform well on most everything shot with them. The Ballistic Tips got a bad reputation for blowing up too early in hyper speed magnums, but at the Grendel's velocity they perform very well. If you are shooting great big critters then you might want to step up to something of heavier construction, but your goats ought to drop pretty well with the Nosler BTs. I (and many others) have killed quite a few White Tail deer with them, so anything that size and smaller ought to be fair game for them.

[txgunner00]

Wow!


















Wow!!!!!!

[Von Gruff]

Since the replies from sneaky and the old man I have been thinking through this (ok, probably overthinking) decision but untill I have the little 601 in hand it is all pleasant speculation. Accuracy is certainlt up there as far as requirements go as the first part of any hunting trip is always a few hours on the rabbit areas and they can get right small looking from 200yds away, especially when shooting over standing sticks. I don't believe lethality will be a problem as the areas I hunt are specific to each species with no other likely animal being on offer. A friend runs his 223 with the 55gn Sierra SBT so I can't see any of the 6.5 bullets not at least being adequate bordering on superb. There can be a bit of updraft and breeze differences if shooting from one ridge over a couple of the smaller gullies so velocity has a place in the equation.
To a certain extent it will be the availability of some of the bullets that may have a hand in the decision as the smaller NZ market may not have all the range you guys may take for granted.
Have a friend who carries a lot of the Lapua offerings so the 108gn Scenar may get a look in.

Von Gruff.

[ricsmall]

that is gorgeous.

[Buster]

Awesome scenery! Makes me wanna do the tourist thing in New Zealand..

[Variable]

Looks like you have Noslers over there already.LOL
http://www.outdoorsupplies.co.nz/pro...11.htm#varmint