6.5 Grendel advice please

I have an AR-15 lower that I would like to pair with a 6.5 Grendel upper. Any advice? Mostly want to use it for target practice at 100 yards. What length barrel and what ammo would you recommend? Also-Any particular magazines that I should look at buying?

Go with what ever barrel length you want 14.5 pinned and welded flash hider to make it 16 inches for rifle up to 24 inch barrel. All will get you to much further than that.

Mr. Alexander said well after the Grendel introduction 18 inches is probably the the best handy size barrel for hunting and targets unless trying to stretch it to 1000 yards then go 24 inches or longer but at 18 inches 800 yards ringing steel is no problem.

Main thing if for targets and wanting smaller groups go with a quality barrel.

There are quite a few good choices in Grendel ammo during normal times and Hornady black is the most common to find these days and shoots generally pretty good right around 1 inch plus or minus 1/4 at 100 yards.

Never tried it but there are good reports of accuracy with the Federal fusion load.

Those are the 2 I saw on shelves at Bass Pro last week.

On Mags I see Elander recommended a lot, I use steel mags that I do not know the manufacture on but being a reloader I can load a little longer with them than the polymer mags.

Palmetto State has some decent 18 inch uppers. I have had good luck with ACS magazines.

It's not that I don't believe you but... If you get a good Grendel upper/barrel it will sing to you day and night week after week to go shoot to 500 yards and beyond. It's like saying you'll only eat one homemade chocolate chip cookie. It is more temptation than a human can stand! Mine has a 20" barrel and I often wish it were 24". Mine is rock solid to 700 yards and then I have to start juggling its limiting factors. Good luck.

Probably one of the most under rated calibers ever.
I have told plenty of people I know that shoot and they are skeptical ...Until they shoot the Grendel.
Getting a bad one is a possibility but rare.
And as Sam said it will sing to you ....it's true. and it likes to go long!

^^^^ This is true... I built my upper with a 20" Lilja barrel and a compensator / flash hider on the front. ... nothing it can't do really well.... Metal mags from E-Lander, require a little breaking in but very good...

I'm using a 16" ballistic advantage barrel. I love it. It shoots Hornady black about 1.5", and my handloads about half that. I've never had an issue with the 17rd elander or 10 round asc mags. I know a local guy who says the 90grn tnt's absolutely slay hogs. I've been shooting the 123sst's with decent results.

Count me as a 6.5 grendel fan. Shot and reloaded some but not a ton. I really like it in a bolt gun format.

I do think 18" is probably my favorite because i tend to like a little extra speed but I don't know if there is any practical difference between it and a 16"

A short barrel is a stiff barrel. And a stiff barrel shoots more powder charges well, than a long barrel. Swapping bullets, powders, and powder charges the short barrel is likely to still shoot consistently. The zero may shift, but the consistency of POI will often remain. I think the barrel length of the Grendels I've spotted for were 20", and they made it to 800 yards with no problem.

My bet is a 16" would make it to 500 Y, and probably farther. I would have to see the MV of the 20" and work off that.

I agree the cartridge is underrated. I wish the military would have adopted it. It is far more potent than the 5.56mm.

Do yourself a favor and head over to the [url=https://www.65grendel.com/forum/][/url] You'll find all the info and other people's experiences/experiments (what works & doesn't). Good Luck

As far as barrel length, you are using a cartridge with 25% more powder volume when loaded as compared to a .223. You will not realize the velocity potential with a shorter barrel and also will then throw a lot of unburnt powder into your suppressor or out muzzle of barrel to then ignite...fireball. The advantage of the Grendel is the heavier bullet weights (100gr - 130gr) at reasonable speeds (2,500 - 2,600 fps). If this is a range rifle and hunting then you might consider 18" as a nice balance between velocity and portability. As you move shorter than 18", you start leaving a lot of meaningful velocity on the table.

If you have the budget then buy the best barrel you can... the cartridge is very accurate and capable of .5" groups or better at 100 yards with a quality barrel. You can always get a heavier profile barrel and flute it to reduce weight while maintaining rigidity. You get what you pay for... Just built an 18" AR for a friend using a barrel from Precision Firearms with a matching bolt. It shoots 3/8"-1/2" with factory ELD-Match ammo.

Elander is the preferred magazine.

I had one with a 24 inch BCA barrel and 4.5-14 Burris Droptine scope, and I no longer have it because my buddy's son fell in love with it after he shot it and gave me way more than I paid for it.

With 129 Grain Hornady SSTs, CFE223, Hornady Brass, and CCI450s I was getting 2650 fps with no pressure signs, ejector marks, etc., and 1 MOA accuracy. I hunted with it several times and every time I took it to the stand the deer were so afraid of it they did not show up lol.

IME the Grendel is one of the few mainstream AR cartridges that offers a measurable increase in on target performance over the .223/5.56.

I love my 18 inch, but plan on going down to 12 with the suppressor. It’s been my go-to pig gun for the past couple of years. It’s a light weight build that supports the thermal, and the 123sst have proven very effective from coyotes to pigs and whitetail