PA whitetail buck down with my new Grendel and handload 115 Barnes

[jrf]

Picked up a Ruger American Ranch in 6.5 Grendel a few weeks ago. This was my first gun in 6.5 Grendel and was purchased to be a backyard/close range hunting gun. Was lucky enough to get some American Gunner at a local sportsman's warehouse where I got the gun. That allowed me to get a scope on and zeroed and create some empty brass! Ordered up some 115 Barnes Tac-TX since I've used them in the past and saw they had dedicated Grendel Bullet (always a good sign). All I had was some TAC that looked OK on Quickload. I didn't have any other powders that might be better. So I loaded up some test rounds and finally settled in on a load. Running 2296 out of that 16" barrel.

Really long story short...I ended up taking this gun with me up to a tree stand on a friends property. I grabbed this gun because the stand is pretty tight and I thought it would be a bit more handy up there. Sure enough just as the sun was starting to go down this guy popped out. I was up about 18' and shooting downhill at him, he was quartering to and head down. I got him in the high right shoulder and the bullet travelled down and took out the left lung. He fell down right where he stood and rolled on his back. I did not look for an exit wound or the bullet...to be honest...I was a wee bit excited. I believe the temporary shock took out his CNS. That's my guess based on shot placement and how fast he dropped.

Either way...Nice gun...nice round. I think I'll stick with this bullet and see if I can eventually get some different powder to get it moving faster...

IMG_20201128_165201_01.jpg

[tdbru]

congrats jrf.
when components become more available, consider trying other powders to give you a wee bit more velocity. LFP need speed to open up well. but if you keep distances really close, like in this case it probably won't matter as impact velocity will still be adequate for expansion. just the lower speed might hamper your longer range shot terminal performance, should you ever run into that situation.
-tdbru

[jrf]

congrats jrf.
when components become more available, consider trying other powders to give you a wee bit more velocity. LFP need speed to open up well.
-tdbru

Completely agree! Luckily this was a 75 yard shot and I knew I wouldn't have any shots at distance where I was.

AND...speaking of, guess who was lucky enough to grab a pound of Leverevolution at the local store this morning!
I also just got some VV N540 which looks like it might be in the ballpark to net some more FPS out of it.

Hoping that will net me some more FPS than the TAC.

[sundowner]

Congrats on the buck , yes Barnes make really good bullets for hunting .

[peak98]

Congratulations on a outstanding buck!
peak98

[BLUESGUNNER]

Great Buck! I unfortunately can not hunt in my area with my 6.5 Grendel. It's considered a "shotgun zone" of sorts. I have a ton of fun on the range though.