stronger bolt material for high pressure loads??

[JASmith]

If a 200-yard deer killer is the goal, the 223 is surprisingly effective (with appropriate bullets)...

Indeed, MidwayUSA lists seventeen factory loads classed as for "Medium Game" for the .223 Remington. The .223 may take a lot of deer, but I assert that more are lost, especially the larger ones, than many admit. The trend toward heavier bullets and premium bullets has helped with game harvesting reliability but this caliber exemplifies the value of shot placement.

The .243 Winchester has sixteen factory loads classified as medium game loads with bullets weighing less than 90 grains. This tells us those largely premium lighter bullets work well enough that people continue to buy them.

Going with a lead-free bullet in the 70 - 90 grain range would give the Grendel enough velocity to be seen by some as more interesting.

I would concur, however, that those of us who want to bust things out further than about 300 yards will continue to use things like the 123 gr SST and smile!

[LRRPF52]

I certainly don't want to see any changes to the pressure. High pressure will gas check the throat, leading to early erosion. I'm old enough to start stepping away from the allure of super high pressures, and nestle comfortably in ~52,000 psi or even less, especially after seeing what a 16" Grendel with factory ammo does at 1200yds.

[BluntForceTrauma]

If a 200-yard . . . For 300 yards . . .

Unless you just like a lot of different guns — and, hell, why not? — the 6.5 Grendel works beautifully at 200 yards . . . and at 300 yards . . . and beyond.

One of the strange mentalities I've observed, and it comes from those searching to somehow make a distinction between the 6.5 Grendel and the 6.8 SPC, is to think that because the 65G does well at long range, it must mean that it ONLY does well at long range, and somehow can't perform at short or medium range. It's the same mentality that says because it does well at punching paper, it SHOULD only be used for punching paper.

I'm perfectly comfortable saying that the 65G replaces the 68SPC at ALL ranges: short, medium, long.

If you want a 68SPC for 300 yards, by all means get one. But the 65G will do just as well and give you range as a bonus. Or is that just crazy talk?

This is where the 68ers jump in and say "But . . . but . . . we have more available PARTS!!!"

John

P.S. I guess I wandered from my point: Give the 65G BOTH lightweight, low BC pills AND the heavier, high BC bullets. Lots of flexibility built in, no need to limit it one way or another.

[mongoosesnipe]

If a 200-yard deer killer is the goal, the 223 is surprisingly effective (with appropriate bullets).

For 300 yards, the 6.8 works nicely.

The appeal of any 6.5mm cartridge is high-BC bullets, which increase effective range as both a hunting and target round.

Everyone seems to agree that a higher MV (without hot-rodding) is desirable for hunting applications, but it appears that bullet construction and design (and the degree in which BC is sacrificed) is where opinions seem to vary.

I'm not holding my breath for a new bullet offering when there seems to be no clear-cut answer, as I doubt that a bullet manufacturer will commit resources to something new when it might appeal to only a relatively small percentage of potential buyers.

But no harm I suppose in discussing our wish lists...

I am not saying a high bc is a bad thing I am just saying people tend to get hung up on bc when inside of 300 yards it's just a number and doesn't have all that much effect on the bullet flight for hunting purposes beyond 300 yeah it starts becoming very important and if starting with a fresh bullet why not get as high a bc as reasonable and preferably get a lower expansion velocity if you copy the 123 amax profile in a monolithic with an expansion threshold of 1300fps that would probably be just about ideal for the Grendel

That said 90% of hunting happens inside 200 yards....

[bwaites]

I am not saying a high bc is a bad thing I am just saying people tend to get hung up on bc when inside of 300 yards it's just a number and doesn't have all that much effect on the bullet flight for hunting purposes beyond 300 yeah it starts becoming very important and if starting with a fresh bullet why not get as high a bc as reasonable and preferably get a lower expansion velocity if you copy the 123 amax profile in a monolithic with an expansion threshold of 1300fps that would probably be just about ideal for the Grendel

That said 90% of hunting happens inside 200 yards....

Probably well more than 90%, and from what I've watched at the range when hunters are "sighting in" their guns its a good thing! 6-8 shots at 100 yards, "yep, still zeroed from last year" then pack it up and gone! No practice, no change in distance, 100 yards and that's it!


Here in Eastern Washington, where terrain is like Wyoming, much of Montana, or parts of Utah, Idaho, and Eastern Oregon, sometimes it takes a bit more range. A good friend dropped his deer at 427 yards, and his son dropped his a few minutes later at 275. (No not with Grendels, he likes RUM's.) I can't figure it out, because he admits that 20-30 rounds of practice and he feels like he has been in a boxing match!

[mongoosesnipe]

Probably well more than 90%, and from what I've watched at the range when hunters are "sighting in" their guns its a good thing! 6-8 shots at 100 yards, "yep, still zeroed from last year" then pack it up and gone! No practice, no change in distance, 100 yards and that's it!


Here in Eastern Washington, where terrain is like Wyoming, much of Montana, or parts of Utah, Idaho, and Eastern Oregon, sometimes it takes a bit more range. A good friend dropped his deer at 427 yards, and his son dropped his a few minutes later at 275. (No not with Grendels, he likes RUM's.) I can't figure it out, because he admits that 20-30 rounds of practice and he feels like he has been in a boxing match!

I was trying to be generous to appease the western horde in reality most deer around my parts ar probably shot withing 50 yards half the state is shotgun ML only ohio and Indiana are both shot gun states with a dusting of hand guns and handgun chambered rifles in the mix. Honestly unless I go hunt a bean files there is hardly a place where I could even seen game at distances exceeding 100

[Drifter]

In a nutshell, I see a a big gap between 100gr and 120gr 6.5mm hunting bullets, and I think that gap would fit the 65G nicely.