My Mini 30 Is Now A Mini Grendel

[Birdog]

For those of you who have suffered over the Mini 30's inherently inaccurate barrel, I offer relief. Check out my Mini 30 conversion to a Mini 6.5! The work was done by Accuracy Systems, Inc. in Byers, CO. New furniture, 1x8 twist 21"x.850" satin finished bull barrel, 11 degree target crown, 3.5# trigger. I'm still wearing the new off of it, just completing barrel break in, but it's a sweet gun. Swarovski Z5 3.5-18x44 - BRX optics. Hoping to christen it on piggies in S. Tex this weekend, maybe even a turk. And who knows, in the spirit of Easter, I may have to feed the Grendel a bunny as well?

This conversion definitely adds a new twist to an old problem - factory built inaccuracy.

Mini Grendel.jpg

[Whelenon]

That's sweet, nice job. Keep us posted on it's performance.

[Drifter]

Looks good. I have a Mini Thirty, and your post certainly makes me consider a conversion.

What's the weight of your rifle?

[usmc1371]

Nice stick.

[WillD]

Sweet! Good hunting. I hope you forward your results to Ruger.

[LRRPF52]

Very nice-looking little Ruger Mini-Grendel. Do you have good eye-height with that scope height and stock comb? Interested to see your results.

[aclark]

That build would be an interesting set up as a scout rifle. Would be cool to see. Looks good!

[LRRPF52]

I've been thinking about one for years, with a pillar-bedded action, aluminum chassis, extended & floated gas system & barrel, custom stock. Make it look as close to a bolt-action rifle as possible, with a straight comb for good cheek/eye height above the bore for optics, and a vertical grip angle in the pistol grip section of the stock.

[Birdog]

Thanks to all for the positive feedback. I'm new to the site and have found it to be a valuable resource. I'll have to admit that when I sent the Mini in for the super tune I didn't even know the 6.5 Grendel round existed. As I examined my choices of calibers on ASI's website, I saw the 6.5 offered and went exploring, trying to find out what the heck it was. This site was one of the first information sources that I came across. Thank goodness it existed. As I read about the Grendel I was quickly sucked in. The more I read, the more I had to have one. By the time I turned my laptop off that first night, I was like a kid on the night before Christmas. Unfortunately, my gun was 4 months from being completed, so I had plenty of time to pace the floors in high anxiety. Unfortunately for me, I didn't see the present situation looming on the horizon, and I failed to stock up on ammo until the gun arrived. So now I'm scrapping for anything I can get while my ammo orders "mature" into their third trimester and arrive. That being said, let me offer a few replies about "The Mini Grendel":

First is weight. Obviously it's heavier than the original Mini 30. The new stock is denser than the original piece of "balsa". The barrel is not their fattest offering, it's the middle of the road. They offer a 1", an .875", and a .750". The choice to go to the 6.5 Grendel was a no brainer, but the weight issue weighed heavy on my mind and was perhaps the biggest decision I had to make in the deal. The folks at ASI were a big help. They fry that chicken every day and they know how to fry chicken. I'll say this - I wouldn't want it any heavier. I'll weigh it as soon as I can find a scale. The closest scale to me is at the post office, and I doubt I'd get far taking it there with so many peeps "going postal" these days. But I'll get it weighed. I'm guessing with optics it's in the 9.5 lb. range. It's slightly heavier than my Weatherby 7 mag with optics. Bottom line, if you want to lighten up, you could go to the smaller diameter barrel and shorten it up. I think I remember the Mini 30 coming with an 18" barrel. A .750" dia x 19.5" may be a pretty nice brush gun, but I'm very pleased with what I have and don't feel like Conan when I shoulder it.

Eye relief - I'm happy with where I'm at on this. The original Mini 30 scope rings set the scope at 1.5" above centerline of barrel. I could get the 44mm scope on it, but didn't have enough clearance from the hand guard to get the scope manufacturer's lens cap over it. I could get a Butler Creek cap on it, but to do so the cap was in tight compression with the hand guard and I didn't want the vibration against the optics when firing. So I bought an after market picatinny rail and weaver rings. It lifted it about 1/2", and now it fits well and feels fine with about 1/4" to spare when the cap is on.

Now the CONS. As far as I can tell, the biggest con is the clip. In it's former life as a Mini 30, I never found a hi-cap clip that functioned properly in the Mini 30. And I bought a bunch. But in the interest of full disclosure, I gave up on the hi-cap clips before Ruger's offering hit the market. So perhaps the Ruger clip worked when the knock offs didn't. I can't say. In recent years, Ruger offered the Mini in 6.8mm SPC. That's the clip ASI uses for the 6.5 Grendel. ASI is telling me the 5 round clip is the only clip I can use. I'm guessing that's because Ruger never offered the 6.8 in hi-cap, but I haven't checked it out. I can get 5 rounds in the clip, but to do so I have to shove the first round into the barrel with my palm instead of just pulling the clip back and letting it go. The 6.5 brass is a fatter than the 6.8, so ASI recommends 4 rounds or less in the clip. Oops. Now they tell me! For now I'll probably stick with 5 and shove the first round, but 4+1 ain't bad for me either. Bottom line, if you need to have the "big banana", it probably aint happening here. I'm OK with that, though, because I prefer to lay my gun on a rest and an extended clip is awkward for my needs. I do, however, have a pretty good inventory of 5 round 6.8 Ruger clips in case the zombies get hungry and want to be fed fast.

So that's about it. Sorry if I rambled. It wasn't my intent. Just trying to throw out some facts for you guys to digest. Thanks again for having me, and I look forward visiting again with a positive report after my hunt this weekend in George West, Texas.

[Cstewart14]

Great post!!

[babaganoush]

I also thank you for the background on your build. But, alas, by my count you owe 12 quarters to the "Clip Jar". There are some who would tear their clothes over your referring to that weapon's magazine as a clip.

Your build, however, excuses you. It makes me almost makes me wish I'd held on to my mini-14, but that chambering would not have provided as smooth a path to 6.5 land, as your mini-30 did.

David

[Keep The Change]

Very nice rifle. I applaud you for going all out on this and doing the research into the 6.5 Grendel. I didn't know much about the Grendel till this year. I mentioned to my brother in law that now that I have 2 AR-15's I'd like to build a distance gun but didn't want to spend the money on parts for a .308. I had a lower, upper, buffer tube assy, lpk under my bed already and he said the 6.5G was the only real choice I had and talked about it's advantages over a .308. I did a little research and now I'm feverishly trying to get one together. Looks like you had the same "light bulb" go off in your head about the 6.5 G.

Again, the rifle looks awesome and you did a great job. Post some shooting results for us.

[Birdog]

From Wikipedia:

Clip (ammunition)

Not to be confused with Magazine (firearms).
A clip is a device that is used to store multiple rounds of ammunition together as a unit, ready for insertion into the magazine or cylinder of a firearm. This speeds up the process of loading and reloading the firearm as several rounds can be loaded at once, rather than one round being loaded at a time. Several different types of clips exist, most of which are made of inexpensive metal stampings that are designed to be disposable, though they are often re-used.

The term "clip" is also frequently used to refer to a detachable magazine, though such usage is controversial. The defining difference between clips and magazines is the presence of a feed mechanism in a magazine, typically a spring-loaded follower, which a clip lacks.

Thanks for the heads up, babaganoush! See, I'm learning so much from visiting this site!

I just left the bank with 2 rolls of quarters. I'm sure I'll need them all for the various "jars" I'll have to feed as I go along on my journey here ;-). If you think I was messed up on the definition of a clip you should see how Wikipedia defines "furniture"!

[Roguer]

I remember reading Grendlizer, from the previous 6.5 Grendel site before it was hacked and destroyed, used 6.8 SPC Promags made for the Mini 6.8 for his 6.5 Grendel Mini.

For those more experienced people to reply to, as a guess wouldn't 7.62 mags work for the grendel with a different mag follower for the 6.5 G?

[Birdog]

Just wanted to give an update on my trip to George West, TX and the Mini Grendel's first opportunity to taste meat. Previous to this trip my only opportunities to shoot the gun were at the range. On day one I set up in my host's front yard, overlooking a feeder at 260 yards. I set my gun up on an old wire spool that turned out to be an assasination station. The wind was blowing right to left at 11 mph. A few hogs came through early but didn't stop. At 8:20 the feeder threw. 5 minutes later a hog showed up. I aimed for a neck shot, adjusted about 5 inches for windage, and dropped him like a rock. Never took a step.

Fast forward ten mins and a flock of turkey came in, but all were hens. Fast forward 5 more minutes, and more turks came in with a tom in the group. I aimed mid body and dropped him with the second shot ever on game. Layed him down 5 feet to the left of the hog. We went down to the feeder to check it out. The hog was shot in the base of the neck just ahead of the shoulder, The 123gr AMAX traveled through him, took a right turn, took out the top of his right elbow, and came to rest against his hide. I was impressed with how well the bullet held together (see pic). The turkey was hit at the very front of his left breast, barely disturbing any meat, and the bullet exited the base of his neck on the right side, leaving all of that meat intact.

See pic of the assassination station, the bullet, and the turkey & hog. By the way, that dog in the picture is a Blue Lacy. For those of you who are not familiar with the breed, it's the only dog to have originated in Texas, and in 2005 Gov Perry signed legislation adopting the Blue Lacy as "the official State Dog Breed of Texas". She's a hog catching fool. On Sunday I decided to hunt a different blind because nothing came through on Saturday. As I walked out of his trailer I saw another hog in the camp feeder. Same shot from the assasination station - 260 yards. I smacked him good but he ran. I must have yanked it a bit or didn't properly allow for windage. That bullet entered the front of his left shoulder and came out behind the right shoulder. He ran 72 yard and after a short search I found him laying in a pool of coagulating swine sangria. I finished off the weekend by nailing an easter bunny, actually a jack rabbit, at 80 yards. So I'm 4 for 4 on live game with the Mini Grendel and can't wait for my next outing!

turk hog dog.jpgpig2.jpgamax.jpgassasination.jpg