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Howa 1500 in 6.5 Grendal review

Posted By: txtrophy85

Howa 1500 in 6.5 Grendal review - 06/15/18 01:06 AM

Gave my son a new Howa Ranch Rifle in 6.5 grendal for Christmas. kept shooting the .22-250 so it stayed in the safe till sunday.

new to the round but I thought a 7mm-08 was a tad too stout for him. I shot the rifle a few times and was surprised at the amount of recoil.....def. more than a .243.


I like these little Howa's. not fancy but solidly built bolt guns.


shot ok....thin barrels heat up quick. the scopes they came with are crappy (both were package combos, the only way to get a howa around here apparently) and I have not upgraded them yet.

I am wondering how the performance is on deer sized game? I kinda want to go find him a cheap sheep to shoot somewhere to see how it works.
Posted By: scottfromdallas

Re: Howa 1500 in 6.5 Grendal review - 06/15/18 01:26 AM

It will work fine. The Grendel is a great round. I'm surprised you thought it kicked more than a 243.
Posted By: ImTheReasonDovesMourn

Re: Howa 1500 in 6.5 Grendal review - 06/15/18 01:39 AM

Originally Posted By: scottfromdallas
It will work fine. The Grendel is a great round. I'm surprised you thought it kicked more than a 243.


I'm surprised too. The Grendel shouldn't have anywhere near the recoil of a 243. It's got about half the case capacity.
Posted By: txtrophy85

Re: Howa 1500 in 6.5 Grendal review - 06/15/18 01:41 AM

Originally Posted By: ImTheReasonDovesMourn
Originally Posted By: scottfromdallas
It will work fine. The Grendel is a great round. I'm surprised you thought it kicked more than a 243.


I'm surprised too. The Grendel shouldn't have anywhere near the recoil of a 243. It's got about half the case capacity.


didnt'make sense to me either. I guess I expected it to be along the lines of my .22-250 because the case is so small.


for how small a round it is it had a bit of pop
Posted By: ImTheReasonDovesMourn

Re: Howa 1500 in 6.5 Grendal review - 06/15/18 02:01 AM

Originally Posted By: txtrophy85
Originally Posted By: ImTheReasonDovesMourn
Originally Posted By: scottfromdallas
It will work fine. The Grendel is a great round. I'm surprised you thought it kicked more than a 243.


I'm surprised too. The Grendel shouldn't have anywhere near the recoil of a 243. It's got about half the case capacity.


didnt'make sense to me either. I guess I expected it to be along the lines of my .22-250 because the case is so small.


for how small a round it is it had a bit of pop


It might just be the difference between the weights of the rifles. I imagine that micro action Howa is a pretty lightweight rig.
Posted By: kmon11

Re: Howa 1500 in 6.5 Grendal review - 06/15/18 02:24 AM

Weight of rifle and how the sock fits the shooter has a lot to do with perceived recoil. There are getting to be more options for the little Howa Mini action DIP inc is making an aluminum bottom metal for it instead of the plastic one it comes with.

To me my Boltaction CZ 527 Grendel recoils less than the 243 that weighs a pound and half more. As far as how it works on deer and hogs you will find it works very well for both and while not great long range it can do quite well to 600 yards and beyond with trajectory about like a 308.

The Magazine latch is one of the more common complaints of the little Howa Mini rifles. there is a mod you can do to it and make it a lot less likely to be bumped and drop the mag unintentionally.

So far all things I have shot with the Grendel have expired within sight with nothing going over 20 yards.

For cheap ammo check ammoseek.com and you will find plenty of steel case ammo for around $6 for a box of 20
Posted By: Pig_Popper

Re: Howa 1500 in 6.5 Grendal review - 06/15/18 03:16 AM

Originally Posted by txtrophy85

shot ok....thin barrels heat up quick. the scopes they came with are crappy (both were package combos, the only way to get a howa around here apparently) and I have not upgraded them yet.

I am wondering how the performance is on deer sized game? I kinda want to go find him a cheap sheep to shoot somewhere to see how it works.


You can buy the Howa’s as barreled actions from Brownell’s as an alternate method to the scoped package

Grendel performance.....

Well, deer and pigs are within the realm of this round for sure

But what could I show you that would bring the point home....

Think about this:

A 240 grain bullet going at 2500 FPS impacts a target at 100 yards. AR10 wildcat cartridge

Versus

A 120 grain bullet at 2500 FPS (Grendel) in an AR15 platform

I’d of bet good money that the ballistics of the AR10 would be superior in every way above the Grendel

Ahhh but the mystery of this little Monster just lives on - see for yourself

Posted By: Double Naught Spy

Re: Howa 1500 in 6.5 Grendal review - 06/15/18 02:10 PM

Pretty impressive on the Grendel. It does penetrate well.
Posted By: chalet

Re: Howa 1500 in 6.5 Grendal review - 06/15/18 02:25 PM

I have been eyeballing the 6.5 Grendel barreled actions on Brownells. Thinking about the sporter barrel dropped into a Boyd's At-One stock for the kids. Seems like it'd make a nice shooter.
Posted By: QuitShootinYoungBucks

Re: Howa 1500 in 6.5 Grendal review - 06/15/18 02:27 PM

Originally Posted by Pig_Popper
Originally Posted by txtrophy85

shot ok....thin barrels heat up quick. the scopes they came with are crappy (both were package combos, the only way to get a howa around here apparently) and I have not upgraded them yet.

I am wondering how the performance is on deer sized game? I kinda want to go find him a cheap sheep to shoot somewhere to see how it works.


You can buy the Howa’s as barreled actions from Brownell’s as an alternate method to the scoped package

Grendel performance.....

Well, deer and pigs are within the realm of this round for sure

But what could I show you that would bring the point home....

Think about this:

A 240 grain bullet going at 2500 FPS impacts a target at 100 yards. AR10 wildcat cartridge

Versus

A 120 grain bullet at 2500 FPS (Grendel) in an AR15 platform

I’d of bet good money that the ballistics of the AR10 would be superior in every way above the Grendel

Ahhh but the mystery of this little Monster just lives on - see for yourself



I'd have to say the opposite. The Grendel was impressive but those .45s, despite being almost twice the diameter to begin with and much larger than that upon expansion, penetrated like a mofo. The wound cavities wouldn't begin to compare. But I'm sure there's a corresponding amount of force on the other end of the gun too, as compared to the Grendel.
Posted By: J.G.

Re: Howa 1500 in 6.5 Grendal review - 06/15/18 02:33 PM

Impressive video. The Grendel punches outside its' weight class.
Posted By: txtrophy85

Re: Howa 1500 in 6.5 Grendal review - 06/15/18 02:37 PM

This gun is gonna he used to shoot hill country deer at 85-125 yards
Posted By: kmon11

Re: Howa 1500 in 6.5 Grendal review - 06/15/18 03:04 PM

Originally Posted By: txtrophy85
This gun is gonna he used to shoot hill country deer at 85-125 yards


No problem it will do that task easily.
Posted By: javman

Re: Howa 1500 in 6.5 Grendal review - 06/15/18 07:25 PM

Have one in a Ruger A P, recoil is no where near a 243.
Posted By: eneat1119

Re: Howa 1500 in 6.5 Grendal review - 06/15/18 07:30 PM

Killed several deer last year with 120gr SSTs ranging from 65-200yds. Most deer dropped in their tracks while one managed to run 30yds. Blood trail was easy to follow. Love the 6.5 Grendel for a lightweight/Low recoil cartridge but heavy hitting power.
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