I got one last fall, and have been playing with it a lot since then. I love it from the fact that there is practically no recoil, and it's a good mid-range cartridge. I've shot mine out to 300 yards on steel, and it's an accurate rifle. The drawbacks are that the magazine setup sucks big time, the trigger is a two stage one that can be hit and miss, and the Hogue stock is unnecessarily heavy and clunky feeling. There are solutions to the drawbacks.............you can modify the mag setup or replace it with a better one, you can adjust the trigger or replace it, and you can replace the stock. However, in my way of thinking, you can soon have a lot of money tied up in what was a rather inexpensive gun to begin with. With all that being said, they are nice little rifles, and if one is wanting a low recoil cartridge for a young shooter, the Grendel is a great choice.
Th trigger on mine is fine. I put a hinged floorplate and stock from Wayne York on it and brought the weight down with a Trijicon 1-6 to 6lbs 9oz. It’s one of my favorites. Have about a grand in it, and don’t regret a dime of it. A new Carbon Stalker is a touch lighter, but starts out as much as I spent and still leaves you with the magazine issue.
Mine came with two stocks, so I had MtBoomer trim and paint the adult one and gave it to my grandson for his 7.62, then had Wayne send him a floorplate too. He’s still small, so is still using the youth stock his rifle came with for now. Three bucks have fallen to that 7.62, including a 200 pounder.
The Minis are inexpensive, but built traditionally, with forged actions and true one-piece bolts that take down with a twist of the wrist. More and more folks are catching on to their potential. If I ever go to the Midwest for deer, I can pick one up in .350 or .450 for $500 and be all set.
