Video up. What would you choose, 5.56 or 6.5 grendel for better ballistics at longer ranges?
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Grendel is alive and well...and short, with a side folder.
- Thread starter Cjwise5
- Start date
You need an 80 grain 5.56mm bullet to get close to the same BC as you get with a 123 grain 6.5mm. That bullet needs to be pushed to 2600 FPS to equal the ballistics of factory Hornady 6.5 Grendel ammunition. Can you push a 80 that fast from a mag length cartridge In a 5.56 NATO? Given the choice of 6.5 Grendel or 5.56 NATO, I’ll take the Grendel. And I have, twice. That said, I’m getting very good accuracy with 88 grain eld-m bullets traveling at 2800+ from a 224 predator. This kicks the 6.5 grendels ass.
...but you know how the argument goes...if I need it in an EOTW scenario there will obviously be piles of 5.56 just laying around. Like a respawn or cache point in video games. So why pick a "boutique caliber"? LOL
I've owned a 6.5 Grendel AR twelve or thirteen years now. (20" with both barrels it's had) It's a solid choice. It was a pain in the nuts in the early days when you couldn't find ammo or brass for it, but at this point it's pretty readily available.
Pro's: AR-15 form factor, good to great accuracy, good ballistics, decent energy retention, quality components available.
Con's: AR-15 bolt requires pressures kept down to 52k range, expensive to shoot vs 5.56, reduced ammo and parts availability.
As far as the "end of the world" type arguments I think that's pointless. The majority of us will have a 5.56/223 upper if not a second complete rifle. And truthfully, if you're out video game-gun fighting your way to survival, you're going to need be able to pick up an upper or rifle before you're out of your own ammo, or its game over anyway.
If I was starting over again today would I buy a Grendel as a new to me caliber? Probably not. I would probably buy a 6mm Grendel based barrel, 6mm AR, AR turbo, LBC ect. But if I wanted off the shelf availability then I would stick with, and buy Grendel again.
Pro's: AR-15 form factor, good to great accuracy, good ballistics, decent energy retention, quality components available.
Con's: AR-15 bolt requires pressures kept down to 52k range, expensive to shoot vs 5.56, reduced ammo and parts availability.
As far as the "end of the world" type arguments I think that's pointless. The majority of us will have a 5.56/223 upper if not a second complete rifle. And truthfully, if you're out video game-gun fighting your way to survival, you're going to need be able to pick up an upper or rifle before you're out of your own ammo, or its game over anyway.
If I was starting over again today would I buy a Grendel as a new to me caliber? Probably not. I would probably buy a 6mm Grendel based barrel, 6mm AR, AR turbo, LBC ect. But if I wanted off the shelf availability then I would stick with, and buy Grendel again.
Great video!
Drop in a Bootleg Adjustable Carrier and you can dial it to the fully suppressed position with a flat head right through the ejection port without having to use any special tools or deal with set screws and all that.
I've used Bootlegs on 2 different 12" Grendels so far, and they run like raped apes.
I'm doing a 10.5" Criterion barreled Grendel next for an even shorter blaster. I got that pipe from Precision Firearms.
The two 12" barrels I got from the Faxon barrel group buy.
Pistol Grendels are do-all little blasters that weigh less than an MP5, but can reach much farther out than I originally thought.
I've been 9 for 10 on a 2'x3' steel buffalo sil at 800yds down at North Springs several times using both Federal 120gr Match and 123gr Hornady American Gunner, neither of which have BCs that are much to write about. That was with a 1-4x24 GRSC using the magazine as a monopod. When I took my family down there for a shooting trip a while back, my little boy kept saying "ding" every time he heard the impact on the 800yd steel, which was after each shot.
The top one you see in the pic has been dialed-in with the 107gr SMK by another forum member I built it for. He's getting great performance on top of 8208 XBR in the 2450-2500fps range. I used a 2A Balios Lite receiver set and handguard for that one. Both of them have LaRue MBT-2S triggers. Both have ThunderBeast Ultra .30 cal suppressors.
120gr Federal Match is doing 2400fps from mine suppressed.
90gr TNT is averaging 2683fps suppressed, 15ft from the muzzle, so over 2700fps at the muzzle.
I have so much factory ammo that I haven't loaded for it yet, but I'm interested to see what 130gr Nosler RDF will do. The G7 modeling looks pretty insane, especially at our higher altitudes.
+1 to everything in that post. Figured I'd quote just this part to show the pic below, I've been doing the same in my 12.5" Grendel for a few years too. Note the little flat head screwdriver tool I made and attached to the bottom cap for the Magpul K2 grip, that way I don't have to pull out a Leatherman or knife every time to adjust it.
I've only taken mine out to 750 yards so far, but I continue to be impressed how well it works at distance. In any kind of wind, I find it a lot easier to hit with this short Grendel and the 123gr ELD than with my 16" 223 Wylde and 75gr BTHP ammo.
This pic was at 650 yards (that's my riding buddy, not me) with the Grendel upper on a folding pistol lower so I could carry it easily on my dual sport bike; it was still easy to hit head-sized rocks with that setup and an improvised field position (no rear bag, just a bipod and folded up jacket).
