Hello
Got a Lilja 6.5 grendel barrel for my ar and was wondering what grain bullets and what brass are yall running... saw lapua makes brass but don't wanna be that guy digging in the grass looking for my brass..

There really is no "cheap" Grendel brass. Hornady, Nosler, Norma, Lapua, and Prvi make it. I'd run a brass catcher. I'd get Lapua.

The most common bullet weight will be the 123 grain for longer ranges. I've loaded some 130 grain Berger AR Hybrids in them, also. Some lighter hunting bullets can also work well. It just depends on what your need is.

Main thing is deer and yote and hogs.. not worried about fur damage as the yotes end up being food for the others... doing away with my 223 and converting it to the grendel.. optics will be nf

PPU will be the cheapest brass and I have some for when I don't want to chase the brass or have a brass catcher attached. PPU uses Large rifle primers and you will most likely experience loose primer pockets by 5 rounds loaded in it or less. Hornady expect 10 or more loadings from each piece. Lapua brass 15 to as much as 20 loading is not uncommon so that makes Lapua cheaper per shot fired than the PPU but I hate to loose it. Have some Nosler here but haven't tried it yet.

Bullets there are lots that will work well from the Grendel for those critters, remember it is not that fast so cup and core bullets work fine for hunting. I have mostly hunted with Hornady A-Max and SST. Both work well.

Lilja will have a SAAMI chamber instead of some of the other ones that are around so you have it as Alexander designed it to be on his final iteration. This year I am planning on using the 129gr Long Range Accubond have some loads that are very accurate with CFE223 COAL 2.271 inches. Same load also shoots well with the 130gr Berger Hybrids.

Nosler has data listed online now for the Grendel. There are a couple reloading manuals dedicated to it available at www.ar15buildbox.com. Volume 2 covers hunting bullet selection and expansion for game.

Kmon... is that the beat powder to go with is the cfe223? What primers are you running ? And what dies?

Using Hornady dies. CFE is one of the preferred powders but many other will work though with the 130gr size bullets it and Leverevolution yield good results. There are some that use CFE with bullets as low as 100gr with good results.
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With 123gr bullets XBR-8208 has a strong following with 28.5 gr being considered the Max load to be approached with caution

There are lots of powders that work with that cartridge but those seem to be some of the most popular.

Funny about CFE223 and the Grendel, Hodgdon has no data for it listed in their reloading data center and says it is too slow for the Grendel but Hornady and Nosler list it and quite often it generates the highest velocity listed.

Primers most use CCI small rifle magnum primers or CCI 41 I think it is for the thicker primer cup when loading for ARs to help avoid possible slam fires. I have used Winchester small rifle primers and am now using CCI small rifle BR primers which have the same cup thickness as the Magnum or 41s.

$15 Caldwell mesh brass catcher works just fine on my LR308, and it doesn't get in the way. I hate loosing brass! Mainly because of all the prep time, and I fit it perfectly to the chamber.

will pick up one and try it out..

which one do you get the one that mount on your rail or the velcro one?

Velcro. Thick wire frame that hooks behind the forward assist. So if you don't have the forward assist, it won't stay put.

Mildly off topic question. Can you use a 243 donor action for a Grendel build without changing the bolt face? Will a 243 magazine work for a Grendel? Savage action if it matters.

I'm pretty sure the answer is no.

I assume u mean from a bolt gun, but regardless, I believe only a 7.62x39 aka the AK round will work as a donor action if u want to use he same bolt.

The Grendel case head is smaller than the 243, Like KR said it is the same as the 7.62X39, 220 Russian, 22 and 6mm PPC...

I think the guys at Gun Shack usually have what you need to convert a Savage to the Grendel. Might PM or email Varget708 Josiah@gunshack.com if you are serious about converting one to a Grendel or just pickup a Howa for a boltaction Grendel. Brownells has them in stock as do some other places now.

Cliffy on here has or had a Savage he built up in 6.5 Grendel so he could answer Redchevy's question I would imagine also. Bought some Grendel ammo from him and we talked about the Grendels some, that was a few years ago.