600 yards - NRA MidRange High Power match with 6.5 Grendel - mixed results (big post)

[LRRPF52]

My lightweight Lilja Grendel barrels would match or out-shoot your Shilen .223 barrel.

I've rapid-fired full magazines into the head of 18" Sils at that distance off the bipod on a concrete bench, to the point it wasn't really much of a challenge.

If you really want to smoke that course of fire though, you need to look at the 6mm AR with 107s or whatever new hotness 6mm bullets there are.

You get the same speed and better ToF than .223, with way higher BC, and a very flat trajectory.

If someone is looking at this as a solid Grendel vs .223 Wylde conclusion, they shouldn't, and should pay very close attention to the fact you recognize that this is a Shilen vs economy barrel really, though the .223 Wylde will have flat trajectory and the newer high BC .224" bullets are more competitive than 69gr or 77gr SMKs.

If I was pursuing the paper discipline, I would definitely invest in at least 2 6mm ARs and do all the brass-prep and fire-forming necessary for that.

I personally really enjoy the immediate feedback from steel, and do a lot of field positions in unmolested terrain out in the Mountain West region, so the Grendel is Goldilocks for that since there is a ton of factory ammo and the projectile weights impact the steel with enough authority to hear the hits even out to much farther distances.

None of that impact energy matters on paper, as long as it groups well, so there is a distinct difference.

Thanks for the detailed report. Would love to see it with a Shilen, Lilja, Krieger, Criterion, or Bartlein Grendel and 123gr ELD-M, SMK, or Scenar. 120gr Scenar-L would be another good bullet, as would the 107gr SMK.