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+--- Thread: Do I have the lightest Grendel rifle in world? (/showthread.php?tid=25453)
Do I have the lightest Grendel rifle in world? - Owyhee H - 03-09-2023
Yes, Pendleton. I am close enough to their shop that I had it bedded for the skinny barrel prior to paint, it is designed for the bull barrel. It has been working well.
The bottom metal is nice. It holds 4 down but the first round is pretty stiff to load so I typically only carry 3 in the magazine.
Do I have the lightest Grendel rifle in world? - raamaudio - 03-10-2023
I get it, much fun in setting up a low weight little bugger we can do with this dang fine cartridge, cool you are doing so!
I will have to look up my older posts as sold the 12.5" 4.2 lb AR pistol after it bruised my shoulder and finger at the stop, that was with a heavier barrel than I had planned to to replace and get under 4 lbs.
My Howa Mini with highly modified stock, slip on limbsaver, barrel cut down from 22 to 16.1 with pin and weld KAW Valley liner comp, bottom metal, QD sling mounts, pretty darn light, will have to weight it again.
Working on a pin and weld low budget 16" AR, right now around 5lbs and 25% the investment in the 4.2 lb mentioned above.
Low weight is something I have been doing for over 50 years, race cars, bicycles, guns, etc
Rick
Do I have the lightest Grendel rifle in world? - Stinky Coyote - 03-10-2023
Owyhee H Wrote:Yes, Pendleton. I am close enough to their shop that I had it bedded for the skinny barrel prior to paint, it is designed for the bull barrel. It has been working well.
The bottom metal is nice. It holds 4 down but the first round is pretty stiff to load so I typically only carry 3 in the magazine.
Well if Hokey's bottom kit will fit you may wanna try, it feels pretty close to the same all the way through 4 on mine, I was surprised how much I liked how it fed, my favourite so far from stock to the CZ kit he makes also.
Do I have the lightest Grendel rifle in world? - Owyhee H - 03-10-2023
Stinky Coyote Wrote:Well if Hokey's bottom kit will fit you may wanna try, it feels pretty close to the same all the way through 4 on mine, I was surprised how much I liked how it fed, my favourite so far from stock to the CZ kit he makes also.
It could be an upgrade but not worth the $$ at this point as I don't have an issue with only having 3 shots. I typically carry 10 in my pack and try for 1 shot kills. Sometimes throw a few in my bino-harness but that is probably a waste of weight. I can get 4 down but chambering the first is always tight. I don't keep a round in the chamber all the time. I would have gone with Hokey but his was not out when I got my bottom metal.
Do I have the lightest Grendel rifle in world? - raamaudio - 03-17-2023
Weight my $633 budget Howa Mini today, scale only goes to 5lbs but very accurate, had to take the action out and weight it and stock separately.
Besides mods listed in last post it has the bottom metal is the DIP. 2.5lb very fine DIY trigger as well as Outer impact rail.
Stock has taped and screw in QD mounts.
I just realized I forgot to bed the action but that will not add much weight.
I am quite content at 5lbs 5.8 ounces.
With out rail and lower weight butt plate it could get real close to 5lbs.
With Talley and the Leupold I am looking into it would be well under 6lbs.
I do not want it any lighter as both shoulders damaged on active duty, had to sell my beloved .545 Casull Rossi 6lb lever gun, 10mm Glock and do some serious work on the semi auto shotgun so I can still shoot it.
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I do highly commend those that do what it takes to make their guns as light as they want them to be!!!
Rick
Do I have the lightest Grendel rifle in world? - Harpoon1 - 03-17-2023
Quote: .545 Casull Rossi 6lb
Think you meant .454 Casull! Never heard of the .545 Casull!
Do I have the lightest Grendel rifle in world? - Modoc - 03-18-2023
I was very happy with the Pendleton stock and Oregunsmithing bottom metal for the buildup I did for my dad. Everything else is stock Howa or Leupold. 3-9x40 VX-Feedom with standard rings and bases,
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Do I have the lightest Grendel rifle in world? - 188mule - 03-27-2023
Stinky Coyote Wrote:That's a beauty, I think maybe one of the other lightest ones on here from what I've seen. It's hard to carry theme through every aspect, rings, optics etc. but you've done well and looks good. Some talley's would likely bring you down a couple ounces and if doing math on action work then 3 oz there and from recollection when I had my 20" lightweight and 22" and pulling barrels and weighing against each other the 22" was 4 oz heavier than the 20" but I could not see a difference in contour between them so I left 20" alone in a build(sold) and kept the 22" for the one I knew I'd chop off. I don't have exact difference of what that 3.5" of barrel would weigh but have to assume at least an ounce per inch but suspect that's more like 1.5 minimum. That math would add up as our builds are similar enough to deduct. You know where you'd end up if you decided to swap rings and get a machinest involved.
Awesome rifle!! I'm thinking of buying one of the mini carbon stalkers. Yours is exactly what I was thinking of doing if I purchase one. In this post did you say you reduced the action/bolt weight by 3oz?
Did you weight the barreled action before any work was done?
Do I have the lightest Grendel rifle in world? - Stinky Coyote - 03-28-2023
188mule Wrote:Awesome rifle!! I'm thinking of buying one of the mini carbon stalkers. Yours is exactly what I was thinking of doing if I purchase one. In this post did you say you reduced the action/bolt weight by 3oz?
Did you weight the barreled action before any work was done?
in my posts you'd have to search I weighed everything between 20" lightweight, 22" standard etc. and yes you can lose 1.5 oz from action by slabbing it, and 1.5 oz out of bolt by fluting and hollowing bolt handle
this one is 22" standard barrel cut down to 18.5"
order the heavy barrel stock to get a lighter stock with less material due to opened up barrel channel
was out shooting both this and my ruger ranch chassis set up on the weekend, that was eye opening but not surprising, everything about the ruger set up was better, the glass trijicon 3-9x40 accupoint vs fx2 6x36 leupold isn't even close, the trijicon kills the leupold, the ergos of pistol grip chassis and extra weight also much preferred, was so much easier to get on target, settle on target and shoot where you want quickly with the ruger, and ringing them out there at 400 able to catch impacts on the gong in scope with the ruger as well, it's 8 1/4 lb scoped vs 5 1/2, just sayin...howa is a fun project but won't be as deadly, no surprises when comparing ultralight to anything but still gets your attention when you get a chance to go back and forth between them
Do I have the lightest Grendel rifle in world? - tdbru - 03-29-2023
yep. physics. a lighter rifle will kick more, the heavier one less.
I may have to look through the trijicon, SC, but I am still loving my Leupys. How heavy is the trijicon, by the way?
I did pick up a couple of 3x9 AR patrol or something like that name when they were discontinued. Nice TMR reticle, mil knobs, and a battery lit, strength adjustable illuminated dot at the center of the reticle. red. can adjust from off thru dim on up to bright. still good optics and not very heavy. It's on my mini Howa and still the whole rig only hits 6lb 5oz with sling.
however, when I get a chance to do some still hunting, the light weight is appreciated as I'm sure you can attest to. And your's is as light as it gets it seems. well done.
-tdbru
still, even in the mini howa I have, the 6.5 Grendel doesn't generate much recoil. Since I cannot hunt at night here, as interesting as they appear, and IR scope, for me, would not be of much good. The illuminated dot Leupy will have to suffice.
Do I have the lightest Grendel rifle in world? - Stinky Coyote - 03-30-2023
tdbru Wrote:yep. physics. a lighter rifle will kick more, the heavier one less.
I may have to look through the trijicon, SC, but I am still loving my Leupys. How heavy is the trijicon, by the way?
I did pick up a couple of 3x9 AR patrol or something like that name when they were discontinued. Nice TMR reticle, mil knobs, and a battery lit, strength adjustable illuminated dot at the center of the reticle. red. can adjust from off thru dim on up to bright. still good optics and not very heavy. It's on my mini Howa and still the whole rig only hits 6lb 5oz with sling.
however, when I get a chance to do some still hunting, the light weight is appreciated as I'm sure you can attest to. And your's is as light as it gets it seems. well done.
-tdbru
still, even in the mini howa I have, the 6.5 Grendel doesn't generate much recoil. Since I cannot hunt at night here, as interesting as they appear, and IR scope, for me, would not be of much good. The illuminated dot Leupy will have to suffice.
the recoil isn't bothersome, still a pussycat to shoot, but you don't catch impacts in scope, the worst part of the lightweight is trying to settle the crosshair for the shot, when shooting side by side with my 8 1/4 lb ruger chassis it's night and day difference, much easier and faster with the ruger, and for shooting multiple targets or wanting to 'stay in the game' for potential additional hits on one target then the heavier rig was in a different league for keeping the action in the scope to increase opportunity and or effectiveness
the trijicon accupoint 3-9x40 is 13.4 oz, still a very lightweight scope, they have illuminated by battery models also in credo line but are 17 oz, there is no comparison on the glass and image, that was first time on range I had put both side by side like that and the trijicon definitely worth the extra money over the typical 1" leupold and 30mm tube 40mm objective options
the illumination from the fiber optic goes well to about 45 minutes past sunset, I bet if a guy used those small 1" fishing glow sticks, you can often find them at dollar stores also, and fashioned a little stretchy sock to go over the fiber optic window for night hunts that would be a pretty stellar way to illuminate a lightweight scope with far better glass, that's how kick azz these scopes are imo, I'd rather glowstick a portion of the window under a dark sock or neoprene scope cover cut to just the eye piece end, or just use good ole electrical tape over the glow stick, in fact I may keep this on hand for when hunting from blinds, that's the down side to the fiber optic is that it needs to be out in the ambient light where you will be pointing the scope, from inside a blind or building you may not get the same light and you're reduced to just a regular crosshair, hardly a big deal but once you get used to that illuminated dot for hunting it's so intuitive and fast...would just keep a bag of glow sticks and roll of electrical tape in the same bag as the blind and all set for full days in a blind, I have these for fishing, I'm gonna go do this right now and see what I think lol
edit, just tried the glow stick under electrical tape, it didn't work, was still getting more light to reticle with what was available in the room, would need brighter source, two of those would have easily fit and maybe that would be enough but thinking but some small led like for boosting fiber optic archery sights etc. might be better option if trying to do something like this for the fiber optic boost for night work
Do I have the lightest Grendel rifle in world? - Stinky Coyote - 03-31-2023
Rifle with Holosun 407c red dot (2.5 oz and no batteries required solar), Burris xtr steel 3 slot front base (0.5 oz). Rifle weighs 4 lb 13.5 oz with red dot. I like the trijicon accupoint on my rugers for stretching things out and didn't have a close range speed/truck/camp option so decided to give this a shot.
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Do I have the lightest Grendel rifle in world? - 188mule - 04-01-2023
Has anyone tried the SWFA ultralight scope? Says 9.5 oz.
Do I have the lightest Grendel rifle in world? - 188mule - 04-01-2023
That's an awesome rifle! It is frustrating that you had to do all that work just to get to Howa's advertised weight. Thanks for building it!
Do I have the lightest Grendel rifle in world? - Harpoon1 - 04-01-2023
188mule Wrote:Has anyone tried the SWFA ultralight scope? Says 9.5 oz.
Yes, have several! Got them when they went on sale! $259? Glass is fine and they are light but, they are tight, small field of view, almost claustrophobic. Like looking through a soda straw! If I could do it over again, I wouldnt. They work, and are lightweight but I definitely wouldnt try one at full retail. Theyll go on sale again probably around tax day, Memorial day, 4th July, etc ..!
Do I have the lightest Grendel rifle in world? - Stinky Coyote - 04-01-2023
188mule Wrote:That's an awesome rifle! It is frustrating that you had to do all that work just to get to Howa's advertised weight. Thanks for building it!
Thank you!
And yeah, legacy sports needs new management from the top down, if you want a lesson in how to do it wrong the first time, second time, and third time...look no further lol
Do I have the lightest Grendel rifle in world? - tdbru - 04-02-2023
SC,
that is a very interesting rig with that red dot. It never occurred to me about a forward mounted red dot. I am so used to scopes. what size is the red dot in the middle of the sight picture? 2MOA? How far do you think you could hit deer lungs with that red dot for an aiming point? 300 yards? Like I mentioned, always before I assumed scopes were for rifles and these red-dots were for pistols. For a bit more limited range, running a red dot over a scope would definitely lighten up the load !
well done SC
-tdbru
Do I have the lightest Grendel rifle in world? - biodsl - 04-02-2023
188mule Wrote:Has anyone tried the SWFA ultralight scope? Says 9.5 oz.
I have one with the 5.56 BDC on 5.56. I agree with Harpoon1; the eye box is frustratingly tight on 10X prone or on a bench. Better standing. I think it's pretty good at 2.5X. Primary Arms new SLx 3x Prism with the Griffin mil reticle is the new hotness. 8 ounces and durable.
https://www.primaryarms.com/primary-arms-slx-3x-micro-prism-red-illuminated-acss-griffin-x-mil-reticle
Do I have the lightest Grendel rifle in world? - Stinky Coyote - 04-03-2023
tdbru Wrote:SC,
that is a very interesting rig with that red dot. It never occurred to me about a forward mounted red dot. I am so used to scopes. what size is the red dot in the middle of the sight picture? 2MOA? How far do you think you could hit deer lungs with that red dot for an aiming point? 300 yards? Like I mentioned, always before I assumed scopes were for rifles and these red-dots were for pistols. For a bit more limited range, running a red dot over a scope would definitely lighten up the load !
well done SC
-tdbru
We will find out. Technically the accuracy is there. There are guys who shoot irons to 1000 and hit 5" targets prone with slings, forget the name of the the competition so it's doable. And quick research into the AR military guys who shoot these and irons to 300m proficiency seems to be the consensus on the man size targets, some guys comfortable further and some with astigmatisms and not as good eyes and not small enough dots shorter. We hunters tend to be pretty fussy as coyotes always on the menu too. A buddy of mine is pumped to try irons for awhile and has a cz ranger edition 308 coming so we will be playing with irons and this red dot, mine is 2 moa dot, which I assume is calibrated to appear that size from a certain distance from eye for pistols holding, maybe mine is closer to eye and ends up appearing larger, until I can get it on paper at 100 with measures I can't comment further on that part but it will let me know how to use as a rangefinder so to speak, like if I cover the vitals of a deer I'll likely know it's past point blank hold sort of self limiter. If dot ends up 3 moa it will cover 6" at 200 and 9" at 300 so could work out pretty slick and work well with the trajectory/point blank range of the Grendel and be intuitive and deadly? Personally I'll be aiming for 100 yard proficiency offhand and 200 yard proficiency rested on sticks/bipod/pack or something other than freehand and I'll try to get good to 300 as well but really if I'm solid to mpbr of about 240 yards I'll be happy. My buddy will be asking more from his set up as he's accuracy obsessed and has his own range so he will likely double what my goals are. I have ruger/trijicon that shoots awesome to 500+ so I'm not going to try and get carried away with this one.
Do I have the lightest Grendel rifle in world? - Stinky Coyote - 04-03-2023
Well, it may as well be able to handle some night protection duty if it's gonna be a handy little camp and bush rig.
Take off single slot aluminum rails, small wood screws, need to counter sink the rail to get the screw heads mostly flush so the qd light will mount. 5 minute epoxy them in. Added 1/2 oz. I believe the O-Light Baldr Mini is 2.5 oz additional but not really counting that as it just goes on optional at night time, off for hunting in daytime. Regular Harris bipods still go on no prob.
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