My old 85 y/o best friend said he would only build one last rifle, a 6.5 Grendel for me. Loving quality rifles, I have never had the opportunity to build one from scratch and not really familiar with the Grendel, but with a little research it seems as thought it could be an excellent deer rifle.
So, I'm considering any ideas and reasons for particular brands and parts that come thru this forum. I would like to keep it less than 1500, but not locked into that amount.
We will start the ordering of parts 6/1 or there about and will do the build documenting with commentary and photos along the way.
I probably have the chassy or stock and the only thing I think I really want is a 24" bull barrel other than that its up in the air.
Looking forward to work with forum members on this project, I consider members to be a a great knowledgable source, with a little BS mixed in.
okiehuntr

Forgot to mention, wanting a bolt action.
okiehuntr

A Tikka in 6.5 Grendel would be saweeeeet. The tricky part is the bolt face. I know guys that have built Grendels on 7.62x39 Howa actions because the bolt works for Grendel. If a .223 could be opened up, then your options would be limitless. Maybe Kmon1 will come around and share his knowledge on the subject.

Creedmoor would be easier to build.

Why?

For a build on a Grendel most go the route of a 7.62X39 with the CZ 527 being probable the most popular and actions are available from CZ now. Only problem most Smiths have with that action and the Howa is metric threads, my smith has no problem there.

The Remington 700 is another gaining popularity in the grendel using a pacific bolt for the PPC cartridges.

Probably more Savage boltaction grendels than any other out there.

As far as the grendel as a hunting cartridge, I love it and I have probably used more different ones than most on this forum than most. It is a great balance of low recoil, accuracy and enough power to cleanly take critters and go long range shooting with the same basic trajectory as a 308.

PM sent

I built a Grendel on a Savage action simply because I wanted a 16" barreled rifle that my kids could shoot deer with and not have excessive muzzle blast/have efficient powder burn. If the barrel is 24" long it would be chambered in 6.5 Creedmoor for me.

If you are set on the Grendel, I'd see what could be done with one of the new Howa mini actions.

Will not be much longer until the Howa mini will be available in the Grendel from the factory. Those that have tested the prototypes have reported good accuracy, some with handloads grouping under half MOA and factory ammo sub MOA.

My Grendel is an AR so this is not apples to apples but the 1:8 twist really likes 120 Noslers.

If you're doing a bolt action and are set on 6.5mm, go with Creedmoor. Better ballistics, more velocity, better bullet selection. Grendel has its limitations, because it was designed for an AR15 and is limited by the mag length. Anything over 129grs is going to lose a lot of velocity out of the barrel. The cartridge is designed really designed to throw 123gr and lower weight pills. Top it all off with a more solid action from a bolt action, and there's really no sense in sticking with Grendel.

If I were to build a bolt action, it's going to be Creedmoor, and I already have a Grendel.

Lot of truth here. If recoil is an issue you could always load the Creedmoor down to Grendel levels.

If you like the Grendel build it. Mine is fastly becoming my favorite hunting rifle for deer and hogs.

I have used about as many cartridges hunting deer as I would guess about anyone on this forum from 22 Hornet and 17 Remington to 300 Weatherby, 350 Remington and 45-70 on the larger side. Haven't found a cartridge with any better balance of light recoil (noticeably less than 243), accuracy, trajectory and enough bullet energy to ethically take deer and hogs much further than most including me should be shooting at deer sized game. The Grendel does that while burning 25 to 30% less powder than the Creedmoor. Trajectory of the Grendel is almost the same as a 308 out to 1000 yards so while not extremely flat it ain't bad.

Not sure if the OP would be like I am but if I want more speed in a 6.5 cartridge I just reach for the 6.5-284 or 264 Win Mag, both of which will shoot flatter than the Creedmoor which was developed for the AR10 platform.

The Creedmoor is a huge jump in velocity and range from the Grendel. Hornady factory 123 SST in the Grendel drops over 70" at 500 yds and is carying 900 ft-lbs energy. Hornady factory 129 SST in creedmoor drops about 43" at 500 yds and is carying just under 1500 ft-lbs of energy. That is using the velocity over my crono. Data has been confirmed in the field with the creed. I've only shot to 200yds with the Grendel. I really like the Grendel for what it is and it makes a very handy rifle but it's not as effective at range. Where is the data/information that suggests the 6.5 Creedmoor was designed for the AR platform?