The Story of the Grendel bolt

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  • bwaites
    Moderator
    • Mar 2011
    • 4445

    The Story of the Grendel bolt

    I've had some requests that I make this its own post and sticky, so I'll put it up as such and if its a worthwhile I'll sticky it.

    And yea, verily, I say unto you, before there was Grendel, there was Beowulf. And Beowulf required a bolt, for it was a rebated case, and Bill Alexander did search high and low, and went hither and yon, and did labor greatly to find a bolt that would make Beowulf a usable cartridge. For Beowulf was the first of the large bore cartridges for the AR15, and as yet, no one had found a bolt.

    And he did peer into the archives, and found the work of Colt, for Colt had done much work with the 7.62x39. And Bill Alexander did note that the rebated rim of the Beowulf could be designed to be like unto the diameter of the 7.62x39. And Colt had discovered that the rim of 7.62x39 was thicker than the rim of 5.56. And Colt did recognize that rim thickness was important, and they did make the depth of the face greater than the bolt of the 5.56, and this did allow the extractor to have greater purchase, yea and that did allow the bolt to work more effectively. And Bill Alexander saw that it was good, and he did design the bolt of the Beowulf to be like unto the bolts that Colt did produce in the past. And he did make some enhancements, for verily, verily, there were enhancements to be made. And it was good, and thus Beowulf came to be, and it became much desired. And Alexander Arms did begin to sell many of the Beowulfs and great was the demand for ammunition and rifles.

    And Bill Alexander did begin to desire a hunting cartridge for the AR15. And he did believe that a short, fat cartridge would be good and that a 6.5 mm bullet would be optimal for the case capacity. And he was introduced to Arne Brennan, and Arne Brennan had many similar ideas, and had begun shooting a 6.5mm cartridge based upon the 6mm PPC cartridge, which was itself based upon the .220 Russian cartridge, which itself was based upon the 7.62x39 cartridge. And Bill Alexander saw that it was good. And he worked with Arne Brennan, and then with Lapua, and they made changes and improvements, for verily there was indeed room to make changes, and to improve upon the long neck of the PPC cartridge. And so the neck and shoulder geometry was improved with the help of the Finns. And Bill Alexander did pay greatly for the tooling to build the cases in Finland. And the new cartridge was called the .264 Grendel, and David Fortier did say unto Bill Alexander, "No way Dude, it should be the 6.5 Grendel!" and he did argue persuasively, and thus it was.

    And because Bill Alexander had based the Beowulf rim upon the earlier work done by Colt upon the bolt for the 7.62x39, and because Colt had far more experience with the AR15 designs, and because the 6.5 Grendel case was based upon the .220 Russian, and the .220 Russian was based on the 7.62x39, verily the bolt had come full circle and now it was seen that the same bolt could be used for 2 different cartridges, without changes.

    But others did not have access to the Colt designs, or they did not do sufficient research and simply opened up 5.56 bolts and used the same face depth and called the bolts "7.62x39", and many of them broke easily, while others worked well. But there was great confusion, and thus it continues, even unto this day. And often, those who are not aware of the history cry out, "Why, oh why, did Bill Alexander design a proprietary bolt for the Grendel?" For they fail to seek out the answer, yea, verily, even though the facts are available on the internet!

    And thus it is that the Grendel bolt came to be, for it is not, in reality, the Grendel bolt, having been designed BEFORE the Grendel came to be. Yea, it should indeed be called the Beowulf bolt, and then all might easily understand the history!
    Last edited by bwaites; 11-11-2013, 08:47 PM.
  • rasp65
    Warrior
    • Mar 2011
    • 660

    #2
    Well said unto the hoard Bill. Perhaps you could call this the Grendel Bible and end it "So sayeth Bill"

    Comment

    • Tedward
      Banned
      • Feb 2013
      • 1717

      #3
      Yes, very good info!

      Comment

      • wheelguner
        Warrior
        • Oct 2011
        • 407

        #4
        Thou hast a tricky wit and a glib tongue.

        Comment

        • stevegun 1

          #5
          Bill, well done!

          Comment

          • BluntForceTrauma
            Administrator
            • Feb 2011
            • 3897

            #6
            Yea, verily, can I get an "amen!"?

            John
            :: 6.5 GRENDEL Deer and Targets :: 6mmARC Targets and Varmints and Deer :: 22 ARC Varmints and Targets

            :: I Drank the Water :: Revelation 21:6 ::

            Comment

            • Tedward
              Banned
              • Feb 2013
              • 1717

              #7
              Hallelujah...

              Comment

              • Keep The Change
                Warrior
                • Mar 2013
                • 590

                #8
                "And Bill gazed upon his creation on the 7th Day and was pleased. Then Bill rested on this day of 7".

                Comment

                • ejkoechling
                  Bloodstained
                  • Jan 2014
                  • 75

                  #9
                  Thank you. I'm learning soo much It's scares me. lol

                  Comment

                  • NugginFutz
                    Chieftain
                    • Aug 2013
                    • 2622

                    #10
                    And thus, the masses were enlightened, and Bill saw that it was good.
                    If it's true that we are here to help others, then what exactly are the others here for?

                    Comment

                    • BluntForceTrauma
                      Administrator
                      • Feb 2011
                      • 3897

                      #11
                      This infographic addresses the confusion about bolt-face depths:

                      :: 6.5 GRENDEL Deer and Targets :: 6mmARC Targets and Varmints and Deer :: 22 ARC Varmints and Targets

                      :: I Drank the Water :: Revelation 21:6 ::

                      Comment

                      • jose
                        Unwashed
                        • Jan 2014
                        • 23

                        #12
                        Dear Leader:-)
                        Do you have the MFG specs on the lug depth and bolt length. IE +- tolerance?
                        Thanks

                        Comment

                        • A_National_Acrobat
                          Unwashed
                          • Dec 2019
                          • 13

                          #13
                          Thank you for that great information.
                          I am wondering than, can I use my DLC coated toolcraft 6.5 G bcg in a 7.62*39 upper?

                          Comment

                          • VASCAR2
                            Chieftain
                            • Mar 2011
                            • 6219

                            #14
                            Most 7.62x39 bolts are .125 inch bolt face depth. The 6.5 Grendel bolt (Type 2) use a .136 inch depth bolt face. Using a .136 bolt with a barrel chambered to use a .125 bolt would cause excessive head space or at least shorten the life of your brass. There have been barrels chambered to shoot 6.5 Grendel ammunition but used a .125 inch bolt face depth bolt. Black Whole Weaponry/Columbia River Arms sold many 264 LBC chambered barrels which used a .125 inch bolt. BHW coined the term Type 1 to signify barrels chambered to use .125 inch bolts and Type 2 for barrels chambered to use 6.5 Grendel .136 inch bolts.

                            JSE Surplus has sold several barrels chambered to use a .125 bolt as have a couple other manufacturers.

                            Comment

                            • A_National_Acrobat
                              Unwashed
                              • Dec 2019
                              • 13

                              #15
                              Thanks Vascar2; My TC is the .136.
                              That means resizing 7.62*39 brass is a no go too than? Too bad I have over 4500 large BR primers. I bought them for my 5r 300 winney 700 Rem., That won't get used in 3 lifetimes.��

                              Comment

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