6.5 Grendel Preferred Loads

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  • LRRPF52
    Super Moderator
    • Sep 2014
    • 8569

    Originally posted by Rickc View Post
    anybody tried the 123 Matchkings for an accuracy load?

    going to try them next weekend with 8208 and CFE
    I've shot a bit of PF factory 123gr SMK and they are extremely accurate. I think they use 8208XBR with that load, but I'm not sure. They are somewhere around 28.0gr IIRC. Lapua brass. CCI 450s I think.

    I lost count of them going through the same hole from a 20" Bartlein barrel.
    NRA Basic, Pistol, Rifle, Shotgun, RSO

    CCW, CQM, DM, Long Range Rifle Instructor

    6.5 Grendel Reloading Handbooks & chamber brushes can be found here:

    www.AR15buildbox.com

    Comment

    • Arrieta578
      Unwashed
      • Dec 2016
      • 18

      Originally posted by ripcord View Post
      Hey all....FNG here. Just bought two 6.5's...a 24" AR upper and a Howa heavy barrel. I have worked up a trial load of 30.3 grains of BLC(2), 123 grain Hornady AMAX and CCI #41 primer. Loaded to 2.245". Haven't been able to fire these yet as it is raining these days in God's Country here in Central FL and ruining my range time. This load was given to me by a fellow club member that heard I was "Grendelizing"...hope it works as well for me as it does for him. Any thoughts or comments on this load? Especially the BLC(2) powder? (I have a lot of it)
      From one FNG to another, would love an update!

      Comment

      • GeauxTide
        Unwashed
        • May 2015
        • 7

        In my AA Overwatch, cut to 20", I loaded the following in Hornady cases: 30gr of CFE223, WSR primer, 123SST. 3 shots, .30". 10 shots in one inch. Will bring chrony on next trip, but should post great numbers with that grouping.

        Comment

        • Clausewitz
          Unwashed
          • Dec 2016
          • 18

          Finally got a chronograph and took it out yesterday.
          Temp: 57
          Wind: Swirling
          Humidty: 39%
          Elevation: 600ft

          I did a full 50rd load workup (5 rounds each per charge) : Hodgdon lists 25.5-28.5 for 8208XBR but i always skip the first charge and go a little over max checking for pressure signs along the way. Standard disclaimer, don't do what some random guy on the internet does! So 26.1 - 28.8, and I found 2 accuracy nodes

          Powder: 8208 xbr 27.6
          Primer: rem 6 1/2
          Brass: lapua (1 fire formed, the rest new same lot)
          Bullet: 123gr Nosler CC
          COAL: Mag length
          Barrel length: 20in
          make: Shilen SS
          FPS AVG: 2462

          Powder: 8208 xbr 28.5
          Primer: rem 6 1/2
          Brass: lapua (1 fire formed, the rest new same lot)
          Bullet: 123gr Nosler CC
          COAL: Mag length
          Barrel length: 20in
          make: Shilen SS
          FPS AVG: 2591
          (For those of you not doing the math at home, that's 1200 FPS at 1k yards)

          Comment

          • 37L1
            Warrior
            • Jan 2015
            • 273

            Probably shouldn't be using Rem 6 1/2 primers in an AR.

            Warning:
            Remington does not recommend this primer for use in the 17 Remington, 222 Remington, 223 Remington, 204 Ruger, 17 Remington Fireball. Use the 7-1/2 Small Rifle Bench Rest primer in these cartridges.

            This 6-1/2 Small Rifle primer is primarily designed for use in the 22 Hornet.

            Comment

            • Clausewitz
              Unwashed
              • Dec 2016
              • 18

              Originally posted by 37L1 View Post
              Probably shouldn't be using Rem 6 1/2 primers in an AR.

              Warning:
              Remington does not recommend this primer for use in the 17 Remington, 222 Remington, 223 Remington, 204 Ruger, 17 Remington Fireball. Use the 7-1/2 Small Rifle Bench Rest primer in these cartridges.

              This 6-1/2 Small Rifle primer is primarily designed for use in the 22 Hornet.
              Heard the same thing about Winchester Primers. Never had any problems with them either.

              Comment

              • 37L1
                Warrior
                • Jan 2015
                • 273

                This is what can happen to your bolt face.





                Firearm Discussion and Resources from AR-15, AK-47, Handguns and more! Buy, Sell, and Trade your Firearms and Gear.


                That Remington warning is written on your primer box, BTW. But it's your rifle. . .
                Last edited by 37L1; 03-21-2017, 12:00 AM.

                Comment

                • Clausewitz
                  Unwashed
                  • Dec 2016
                  • 18

                  Originally posted by 37L1 View Post




                  Firearm Discussion and Resources from AR-15, AK-47, Handguns and more! Buy, Sell, and Trade your Firearms and Gear.


                  That Remington warning is written on your primer box, BTW. But it's your rifle. . .
                  Why'd you have to go and provide evidence

                  Sigh....off to the reloading store.

                  Good looking out though, I appreciate the heads up. I was under the impression that pierced primers and slam fires were the only possible issues and it was a simple firing pin replacement.

                  Comment

                  • Cali-Coon-ass
                    Unwashed
                    • Oct 2015
                    • 7

                    I REALLY LOVE this forum!

                    I am a member of so many: Marshall Amplifier forum, Shovelhead Forum, Scar 17 Forum... and you all. This one is a totally awesome community. I have learned so much here and spend WAY to much time reading EVERYTHING. Remembering that I live in California, and now we are relegated to registering everything including Swiss army knives as assault weapons, and having those with more than 10 tools declared as high capacity army knives and therefore a nuisance to society... Be that as it may, I have taken all your load data to heart and done quite well with Hornady brass and Amax bullets. My best load is with CME powder at a consistent 1/4" groups at 100 yards. I bought an AA 24" Overwatch upper when they were on sale at Midway, (and actually in stock, so that is a double bonus), and then eventually built up an AA lower with a Geiselle totally adjustable match trigger. DANGEROUS for the uninitiated. The first time you touch that thing it goes off! Love that. No flinchy I call it. Then bolted on a Vortex Viper 4x16x50. I can finally reach out and touch something! Makes for a pretty heavy tool to field while hunting though. My Scar weighs a LOT less!

                    So we have recently been bestowed with yet another issue out here on the left coast, non-lead bullets for hunting. I began reviewing the different offerings and came up with some great vids about the lead in the meat, and that was all I needed, laws be damned. Turns out what's good for the California Condor and other carrion consumers, is good for the hunter as well! Not to mention the absolute devastating performance of copper bullets... IF you get them to push out to the recommended velocity. There is a great thread about this on here, thank you very much Rick O'Shay: http://www.65grendel.com/forum/archi...p/t-13324.html and great references to the bullet manufacturers that I had never heard of... http://www.gscustomusa.com/264086HV234.html Definitely going to try these, as these guys have a VERY scientific approach to design and I love that. Besides, research is just plain fun!

                    Meanwhile, I got one of those little sample packets with various bullets in them for my Scar in .308 and tested them all including Barnes TTX and the Nosler E-Tip. I worked up a load for E-Tip and actually took a Russian Boar for the first boar hunt of my life with an E-tip at 150 yards on the run. I didn't lead it enough and blew both hams into sausage basically. At least there was no worry of eating lead in that sausage. The TTX bullets MUST be pushed so fast that they are not really an effective bullet as per the discussion by Mr. O'Shay for 6.5, as the effective range is nil. (Also a very informative and scientific approach to the kind of info I NEED. So, finding the E-Tips in 6.5 has been challenging, having waited for 18 months for them to be made, and then getting the email that Midway finally got them, and then they were already GONE!!! I did manage to buy out another supplier and yet a third, so I have 9 boxes, since it will require firing a few to work out a load, right??? I did discover the Precision Arms AA labeled offering of this bullet in Lapua brass, with "proprietary components" as in secret recipe, and I don't like paying a bunch of money for something that may or may not shoot well, and as we all know here, you can dial in a perfect load for YOUR gun, so....

                    I began yesterday with the Lapua brass that many of you have so diligently recommended for number of reloads, etc. so I just knuckled down and sprung for it. I tried IMR 8208 XBR and got favorable pressure signs with the maximum load and CCI 450 and Federal 205 primers, however, lousy grouping. Bummer. Like REALLY lousy. 3"! I then realized today that I used the maximum COL, and not the tested COL. Silly me! Not sure how I missed THAT... As per the procedure on the GS Custom website, I will now adjust COL for accuracy, NOT the powder charge, and then the powder charge as well to fine tune. I will post the results here.

                    As many of you already know, this cartridge can really be the all-around round due to the performance in a Modern Sport Rifle, which is the California friendly name for an AR, etc... (I'm moving to Nevada!) So, finding the perfect hunting load that doesn't poison the meat, and able to reach out to stupid yardage, and potentially get sniper grade accuracy serves many applications, including devastating terminal performance on would be poachers that come with mal intent. (The ever present ubiquitous Zombie Meth Monkey armed with stolen a weapon, and yes, we have those here in Cali, and my GF has run them off with her .357 Python. Seems they actually shy away from lead whizzing inches overhead... One well placed round stops the Zombie from firing randomly in our direction and causes them to flee...) We also have bears here, but being wild trash bears, we have been lucky so far to be able to scare them off with only a glance, or at worst, a warning shot, and not leaving trash around, EVER.... Be that as it may, and though not recommended, if you had to shoot a charging bear with a copper 6.5, you might likely have a chance, and any of those are scenarios that we regularly face here in the wild wild west.

                    Comment

                    • AR-180
                      Unwashed
                      • Sep 2014
                      • 23

                      Odin 20" barrel here.

                      MOA or better with the Nosler 123 CC using 31.2 of CFE223, 28.0 XBR, and 28.5 XBR.

                      All three of these loads are listed by other posters here. We're starting to find some consistency.

                      Comment

                      • tucansam
                        Bloodstained
                        • Dec 2016
                        • 62

                        CFE, XBR, and ARComp are on my list. This will be the first time I am loading for the Grendel. 20" 1:8 PF and a 12" Faxon.

                        I've shot 123gr Hornady's out of the PF and they don't do well. 2MOA @ 100y. Some of it was definitely me, but not all.

                        Using some filters on Midway's site, there are 77 6.5mm bullets to choose from.... Obviously I am looking at 130gr and below, so that number will reduce somewhat.

                        Goal is long-range precision.

                        To avoid a huge order that then takes me a year to test many different bullets and loads, what are the top four or five "go-to" bullets I should be trying?

                        Thanks.

                        Comment

                        • StoneHendge
                          Chieftain
                          • May 2016
                          • 2009

                          Originally posted by tucansam View Post
                          CFE, XBR, and ARComp are on my list. This will be the first time I am loading for the Grendel. 20" 1:8 PF and a 12" Faxon.

                          I've shot 123gr Hornady's out of the PF and they don't do well. 2MOA @ 100y. Some of it was definitely me, but not all.

                          Using some filters on Midway's site, there are 77 6.5mm bullets to choose from.... Obviously I am looking at 130gr and below, so that number will reduce somewhat.

                          Goal is long-range precision.

                          To avoid a huge order that then takes me a year to test many different bullets and loads, what are the top four or five "go-to" bullets I should be trying?

                          Thanks.
                          I don't think most have had too much success with 129/130s. They just sit too deep. I would try the 123 SMKs and 123 Scenars next. Those 2 are where you would find your best combination of velocity/BC. Hopefully you can find something that works with those.
                          Let's go Brandon!

                          Comment

                          • cb4017
                            Warrior
                            • Dec 2016
                            • 183

                            I'm fairly new to the 6.5 Grendel but I have settled on a starting go-to load of 31.2gr CFE-223 behind a 123gr bullet. I also have XBR and AR-Comp on hand. The 123gr bullet is going to be the Nosler CC since I got a couple thousand of them on sale as over-runs.

                            I'm a little puzzled by my new PF Criterion barrel. It's a work of art but so far is about a 2 MOA shooter. The rack-grade Odin Works barrel it replaced would shoot almost everything I put through it MOA or better.
                            Cliff
                            USN Ret., FPD Ret.

                            Dues Vult

                            Comment

                            • tucansam
                              Bloodstained
                              • Dec 2016
                              • 62

                              Originally posted by cb4017 View Post
                              I'm a little puzzled by my new PF Criterion barrel. It's a work of art but so far is about a 2 MOA shooter. The rack-grade Odin Works barrel it replaced would shoot almost everything I put through it MOA or better.

                              Exact same barrel here. 20" PF Criterion, 1:8. Looks like it was built in a NASA lab, its very pretty. Only took 18 months to arrive. I'll never do business with PF again, ever.

                              Won't group factory Hornady to save its life. I'm hoping reloads will work better. Very surprised that it doesn't shoot considering the hype around this barrel when I bought it two years ago, and the price I paid for it at the time.

                              Comment

                              • maxxmojo
                                Bloodstained
                                • Jul 2016
                                • 99

                                18" 319 Lilja barrel. Finally got my pet load worked out for it:

                                27.4 grains of AR Comp in Hornady brass, CCI450 primer, 123gr Hornady ELD-M bullet set to 1.663 base-to-ogive (~2.245 COAL).

                                This shoots extremely well. It's worth noting I started seeing pressure signs at 27.6 grains (velocity dip and primers starting to flatten).

                                Comment

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