About to buy a grendel, help me with ideal barrel length!

[scroder]

I shoot mostly bolt action bench rifles and really enjoy taking my 6.5 creed to 1000y. My neighbor built a grendel with a radical arms 24" upper that he put 3 hits in a row on steel at 1000y with me spotting. Accurate little AR. Anyways, I would like to get one but don't want the weight of a 24" barrel. I'm wondering what the ideal barrel length for getting to 700 or 800y would be as I may use this on a deer hunt in the future and don't want the extra weight. Thanks,

Dave

[VASCAR2]

I personally think 18"-20" 6.5 Grendels hit the sweet spot for range and portability. A Friend built an 18" and used a Phantom Flash Hider and a Free Float Hand Guard. His 18" is the same length and weight as my 20" Shilen match profile barrel with target crown and no muzzle device. My barrel is a little heavier but evens out because I used a lighter hand guard.

My Son in Law has a 22" Lothar Walther 6.5 CSS and I think it is long and heavy for field use but I'm only 5'9". Seems like if your taller your longer arms handle the longer rifles better. My SIL is 6'4" and likes his build but doesn't shoot much off hand.

I have another Friend who built a 18" 6.5 Grendel and he was banging steel at 900 meters in Kentucky without using a canted mount. My Friend was using a Leupold Mark AR 4-12 mildot scope. His scope ran out of adjustment but with a mild-dot scope he was able to hold over the appropriate number of mils to get on target. If you intend on shooting at ranges beyond 700-800 yards it is wise to check the amount of elevation availabe on your scope. My scopes need a 20 MOA canted mount to reach 1000 yards with the 6.5 Grendel muzzle velocity.

I also have two 16" 6.5 Grendels and they can reach out to 600-800 yards easily depending on your elevation, thin air really helps. If I had a canted scope mount for my 16" 6.5 Grendel I'd shoot it at 1000 yards as the bullet is still super sonic past 1100 yards where I normally shoot. The biggest advantage of the longer barrel is velocity. Here are some chronograph results with factory Hornady 123 grain A-Max average velocity at 70 degrees last June using a magneto speed chronograph.

16" 2419

18" 2464

20" 2505

24" 2568

You can run the numbers on a ballistic computer and see which velocity meets your requirements but most barrels of the given lengths will be within 25-50 FPS of our results. The 123 grain seem to be the best overall performing weight for shooting at distance with the 6.5 Grendel.

[mdewitt71]

New to the 6.5G myself....
It looks like there isn't much difference from the 16 inch to the 18 inch; interesting.

[Mike Wood]

Go with a 20"...best combo of velocity, weight, range, etc

[jim_bob]

A 16" rifle and a mount with 20 MOA should get you out to 800 yards and it will be bearable to drag around in the field too. If you want a little more velocity and won't be humping your rifle too much, 20" will be a good length. I don't see much benefit in 18" grendels.

[AZ. Old Guy]

I have a friend that has a Lothar Walther 18" Sun Devil upper/lower new that he's trying to sell if you're interested I can contact him. He has two going to sell one.

[scroder]

I have a friend that has a Lothar Walther 18" Sun Devil upper/lower new that he's trying to sell if you're interested I can contact him. He has two going to sell one.

I'm interested and sent you a pm with my email.

[scroder]

Thanks for the info guys. I was between an 18" and 20", and 18" looks to be good for my application especially since I will likely run suppressed most of the time.

[mdewitt71]

A 16" rifle and a mount with 20 MOA should get you out to 800 yards and it will be bearable to drag around in the field too. If you want a little more velocity and won't be humping your rifle too much, 20" will be a good length. I don't see much benefit in 18" grendels.

Good info....
Don't want a 20 inch AR to pack around; might just have to stick with a 16"

[1911man]

Truly I dont see much of an advantage in going from 16" to 20"; especially if you handload. You can easily achieve the extra velocity by loading with Lever or CFE 223 but you dont necessary need it. Now if your going to go with a 16" I would go with a 1:7 twist like th AA 16" lite that will help stablize the bullets at longer distances but for 800 yards and under 2400 fps with the 123 ELD or AMAX will get you there just fine.

[mdewitt71]

I like the idea of hand loading with CFE223... I already have that powder for my .223 AR loads.
Even have Leverevolution powder for my 30-30.
Saw the Faxon 16" group buy thread on here... don't know much about the barrel but, will do some research.

[jim_bob]

There have been a few tack drivers built using barrels from the first Faxon group buy. Look towards the end of the "Closed" 16" group buy thread to see group pics. All builds posted have been MOA or better with "match" projectiles.

I just got mine together and hope to shoot for groups this weekend.

[maximus924]

I agree that the 18"-20" range is pretty solid. I went with a 18", hasn't arrived yet. Bill Alexander stated they had better results with slower twist rates at barrels 20" and up, but he said the additional rotation of a faster twist barrel is a benefit for keeping the bullet stable at 18" and below length barrels. I think he said 1:7.5 is ideal below 20", but essentially just try and stay away from 1:9 if you drop below 20".

I went with an 18", 1:8 twist.