Which 6.5 Grendel? – Buy or Build

T

Treillw

New member
Hello,

I’m a new fan of the 6.5 Grendel. I’ve been reading a lot about it and think it will be a great setup for coyote and wolf hunting. I am a little confused about the best way to go about getting one however. There aren’t many “typical” manufactures that offer them from what I’ve seen. It seems like lots of people build them from parts, buy uppers, or just rebarrel existing rifles. I have come across a few manufacturers that appear to build high quality rifles.

My top priority is long range accuracy. I have a bolt gun that is setup for long range and lots of gadgets for calculating corrections that will also work for a Grendel. I would like the gun to shoot sub half MOA groups and be 1000 yard capable. Second priority would be weight. I’m OK with carrying a gun that has some meat on it, but don’t want to go over 9lb. I am OK with paying for quality. It would be awesome to be in the $2000 range, but my arm could be twisted to cough up some more.

I’m sure a number of you will tell me to build one. I don’t know if that is a road that my obsessive compulsive self wants to go down though. I currently have no clue how to go about building one, but I am pretty handy and I’m sure I could figure it out with help from the internet and kind folks such as you! What I don’t know is if I will be able to achieve the same build quality as somebody who does it every day for their occupation.

What is your opinion on the best option for achieving my desired result? Which manufactures/components would you suggest that produce highly accurate rifles?

Side question: I see that Les Baer makes a .264 LBC-AR cartridge. Is this the same as the 6.5 Grendel? Better or worse? Pros/cons?

Thank you!
 
The 6.5 Grendel and the .264 LBC are for all intents and purposes the same thing, with minor variations. Purists will tell you that I'm full of baloney, but I'm loading 6.5 Grendel brass on 6.5 Grendel dies and shooting it through an AR that I put together last year with .264 LBC on the barrel and doing fine with it. It has a Black Hole Weaponry barrel, and will print nickel-sized groups at 100 yards all day using my reloads when I do my part (I haven't taken the time to do any shooting any further than that. Life keeps getting in the way.).

Putting an AR together isn't especially difficult. There are a few specialty tools that it is helpful to have, but aside from that it's pretty much a piece of cake. The main things that everyone will tell you is to make sure that you have a good barrel and a good trigger; the rest is just stuff to support that barrel and trigger.

On the other hand, I've heard nothing but good about Ritch's Precision Guns here on this forum. If you're concerned about building one yourself, he would be a good first step. It's my understanding that he only builds uppers, but he could probably point you toward a good lower.
 
The difference is the LBC neck is smaller snd uses a normal 1.5 degree angle vs. a compound throat of 0.5 to 1.5 in the Grendel. The bolt in the BHW LBC is 0.125 like the 7.62X39. The Grendel is deeper at 0.136. Bolt breakage with the 7.62 in the LBC is virtually non-existent. They break shooting the steel cased ammunition that is also tapered much more than the Grendel case.

Give Ritch a call for an entertaining and informative discussion.

Greg

BTW A 243 LBC is better at 1000 than either 6.5.
 
Originally Posted By: GLShooterThe difference is the LBC neck is smaller snd uses a normal 1.5 degree angle vs. a compound throat of 0.5 to 1.5 in the Grendel. The bolt in the BHW LBC is 0.125 like the 7.62X39. The Grendel is deeper at 0.136. Bolt breakage with the 7.62 in the LBC is virtually non-existent. They break shooting the steel cased ammunition that is also tapered much more than the Grendel case.

Give Ritch a call for an entertaining and informative discussion.

Greg

So in the LBC do you just fire Grendel ammo to form the LBC brass or it it a reload from the beginning round?
BTW A 243 LBC is better at 1000 than either 6.5.
 
Originally Posted By: ncyotecallerOriginally Posted By: GLShooterThe difference is the LBC neck is smaller snd uses a normal 1.5 degree angle vs. a compound throat of 0.5 to 1.5 in the Grendel. The bolt in the BHW LBC is 0.125 like the 7.62X39. The Grendel is deeper at 0.136. Bolt breakage with the 7.62 in the LBC is virtually non-existent. They break shooting the steel cased ammunition that is also tapered much more than the Grendel case.

Give Ritch a call for an entertaining and informative discussion.

Greg

So in the LBC do you just fire Grendel ammo to form the LBC brass or it it a reload from the beginning round?
BTW A 243 LBC is better at 1000 than either 6.5.

It is the same ammunition loaded on the same dies. After firing in a Grendel chamber the neck expands 0.005 more than on the LBC. The Grendel dies just size it down the extra amount and finished rounds are identical. A Grendel neck is 0.300 the LBC is 295.

I have both chamberings. I also have over half a dozen LBC wildcat barrels in chambers from 20 to 30 caliber. The 243 rules them all.

Greg
 
Originally Posted By: Treillw What is your opinion on the best option for achieving my desired result?


You will need some tools to do a proper build and I doubt you would want to invest the time and expense to build a single rifle. If you want a custom rifle you might just buy the parts and have a reliable gunsmith put it together for you. He should be willing to offer advice along the way when purchasing parts.

I would start with the barrel. Do some research and find a good custom barrel that will attain what your goals are with respect to range and your planned use for the rifle. Barrel length, barrel material, twist rate, profile, etc. It makes things easier if you can purchase a head spaced bolt along with your barrel also. If you plan to add a suppressor buy a threaded barrel.

Next find the Upper and Lower receiver you want to use for the build. I prefer Mega Arms but that's just my personal choice and there are a lot of high quality manufacturers to choose from.

The third major consideration is your trigger. Find something that works for you.....single stage, two stage, break setting, etc.

Some other things to consider are gas length, adjustable or fixed setting gas block, buffer and spring weight, bolt carrier weight and material and the list goes on.

I just put a Grendel together a few weeks ago and you can see by the parts list that there are a lot of decisions to make. It takes a lot of time to research and find the exact parts you want so if you are not willing to make the effort you might just try to find a high quality rig ready to go out of the box.

Parts list for my Grendel build:

Mega Arms Ambi Billet Upper/Lower Set
Mega Ams Wedge Lock M-Lok Handguard - Extended Length
AR Performance 18 inch 6.5G SS Melonite Barrel with 750 HD Bolt and Barrel Extension
Primary Weapons Enhanced Buffer Tube
JP H2 Silent Spring
Magpul ACS-L Stock
Magpul M-Lok Polymer Rail and Angled Fore Grip
Limb Saver Butt Stock Pad
CAA Adjustable Grip
AR Vent
Battle Arms Development Enhanced Pin Set
Battle Arms Development Ambi Safety
CMMG Lower Spring Kit
Forward Controls Augmented Bolt Release
Forward Controls EMI Mag Release Button
Norgon Ambi Mag Release
Geiselle SSA-E Two Stage Trigger
SLR Sentry 7 Adjustable Gas Block
Voodoo Innovations Lifecoat Rifle Length Gas Tube
AXTS Raptor-SD Ported Ambi Charging Handle
Nightops LLC Anti Tilt NB Bolt Carrier
YHM QD Flash Hider

If your first priority is a 1000 yard rifle maybe you should consider a 6.5 Creedmoor.

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What is the recommended Grendel barrel length for just hunting? Would probably never be shooting over 300-400 yards. Just want something that hammers coyotes without hammering me as I could care less about fur friendliness. The 95gr V-Max sounds perfect for my purpose.
 
Originally Posted By: ncyotecallerWhat is the recommended Grendel barrel length for just hunting? Would probably never be shooting over 300-400 yards. Just want something that hammers coyotes without hammering me as I could care less about fur friendliness. The 95gr V-Max sounds perfect for my purpose.

18" should cover it nicely. I prefer a bit longer barrel like a 22". You could suppress the 18" and not be too unwieldy.

Greg
 
Originally Posted By: GLShooterBTW A 243 LBC is better at 1000 than either 6.5.

Does the .243 LBC fit in the AR 15 platform, or must you go to the AR-10?
 
Originally Posted By: TreillwOriginally Posted By: GLShooterBTW A 243 LBC is better at 1000 than either 6.5.

Does the .243 LBC fit in the AR 15 platform, or must you go to the AR-10?


Yes it is in the AR15 platform.
 
Originally Posted By: TreillwOriginally Posted By: GLShooterBTW A 243 LBC is better at 1000 than either 6.5.

Does the .243 LBC fit in the AR 15 platform, or must you go to the AR-10?

It's a necked Grendel so the 15. Buy the ASC magazines. Cost is low and you can load long to 2.316 nominal and that is a plus.

Greg
 
Seems like there are very few people using the 243 LBC. Even fewer than the grendel. Makes me a little nervous. Why don't more people rave about it?
 
Originally Posted By: TreillwSeems like there are very few people using the 243 LBC. Even fewer than the grendel. Makes me a little nervous. Why don't more people rave about it?

Probably because you can buy a Grendel in tons of places and the LBC in only one mainly. Plus the use of OTC ammunition is a big selling point. The wildcat concept is like voodoo for many. We have many sophisticated handloaders here that can do a cat but lots of guys have a turn key mindset. Both groups are good. I just like the non-standard stuff.

One that is popular too is the 6X6.8 abd is the 6.8 equivalent and there's a short ton of them being used here. It does better with 90's or less but stepping up to the 95+ gives an edge to the LBC.

Lots of options out there. I like so many of them I'm writing a book for contrast and comparison.

Greg
 
You could simply buy a Radical Arms 6.5 Grendel upper assembly with 20" SS barrel like I did last week. It cost me $449 with the BCG and charging handle from Primary Arms. All you need to do then is swap the 6.5 Grendel upper on to any mil spec AR lower. You could just buy a complete lower from Palmetto State Armory for around $179 or so. Now your into the 6.5 Grendel game for around $650 !

They also had a 6.5 Grendel upper assembly with 24" SS barrel for the same price....
smile.gif
 
Originally Posted By: FredMcIntireYou could simply buy a Radical Arms 6.5 Grendel upper assembly with 20" SS barrel like I did last week. It cost me $449 with the BCG and charging handle from Primary Arms. All you need to do then is swap the 6.5 Grendel upper on to any mil spec AR lower. You could just buy a complete lower from Palmetto State Armory for around $179 or so. Now your into the 6.5 Grendel game for around $650 !

They also had a 6.5 Grendel upper assembly with 24" SS barrel for the same price....
smile.gif



Thanks for the info. How are you getting it to group?
 
Originally Posted By: TreillwOriginally Posted By: FredMcIntireYou could simply buy a Radical Arms 6.5 Grendel upper assembly with 20" SS barrel like I did last week. It cost me $449 with the BCG and charging handle from Primary Arms. All you need to do then is swap the 6.5 Grendel upper on to any mil spec AR lower. You could just buy a complete lower from Palmetto State Armory for around $179 or so. Now your into the 6.5 Grendel game for around $650 !

They also had a 6.5 Grendel upper assembly with 24" SS barrel for the same price....
smile.gif



Thanks for the info. How are you getting it to group?

I have not had a chance to shoot it yet. The weather has been pretty nasty and cold here. I see no reason why it shouldn't shoot well though. It appears to be very well built.

Fred
 
FredMcIntire, Please keep us informed about your Radical Arms upper!!! I'm getting interested in the 6.5 Grendal. And I saw that ad for the RA uppers. I'm very curious as to how well they shoot!!!! I have a lower just waiting for a new upper...... Thanks, Idaho-45
 
Originally Posted By: Idaho-45-5RFredMcIntire, Please keep us informed about your Radical Arms upper!!! I'm getting interested in the 6.5 Grendal. And I saw that ad for the RA uppers. I'm very curious as to how well they shoot!!!! I have a lower just waiting for a new upper...... Thanks, Idaho-45

Yes please!
 
I am in the process of building my first. It will be 264 LBC, with a BHW barrel I bought here.

If you have any experience with a wrench, punch, hammer, screwdriver, this is not hard stuff at all. Mind you I'm not shooting mine yet, but I have completed a lower, and almost finished the upper and haven't had any problems so far.

If that Radical Firearms upper shoots with the higher priced stuff, it will be awesome.

I bought a H&K pistol with polygonal rifling and love it. I can't wait to try a BHW barrel with P3 rifling.
 
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