Home Forums Hunting & Shooting AR and Tactical Rifles 6.5 Grendel loads for deer sized game

Out of the hundreds of 6.5 Grendel loads people have shared, what's you favorite handload and factory ammo for deer sized game?

David, you've probably seen me mention the 129 ABLR for this, I like that one over a healthy dose of Lever. The operating range of that bullet is pretty ideally suited to the Grendel.

I have not killed deer with any of the 123's yet but would be willing to use either the ELDM or SST, but others can report more accurately on those. I have not worked with the 100 or 125gr Partition at all but would consider them if the 129 ABLR were not available.

130gr Berger, 129gr ABLR, 123gr ELD-M and SST.

I like them all terminally.

I haven't shot a deer yet with mine, but it shoots the Nos 120 BT better than anything I've tried and is what I'd use. BL-C(2) and TAC are the powders that work best for me.

I've shot 2 deer last year using the 123gr Hornady SST and 29gr of 748. It chronographed at 2450 fps out of a 20" barrel. The range was less than 100 yds, but the results and tissue damage appeared comparable to my 7mm-08 I have used for years at that distance. Very consistent and accurate with or without my suppressor, but had to adjust gas block and rezero when I added the suppressor. Accuracy was the same maybe a little better. I used 748 powder simply because I had a lot I wanted to use up, worked well enough I didn't really see the need to try anything else. I was curious about CFE-223, but haven't tried it yet, really like it in the 5.56/.223 cartridge. One of the deer was a 190 lb field dressed buck, didn't go far after the shot. This is becoming my favorite deer gun and caliber.

Those LRABs are spendy!

https://www.midwayusa.com/product/1010504851?pid=137565&cm_vc=S014

As opposed to the Sierra 130 Game Changer

I am liking the 120 grain bullet of your rifles choice with a 31.5 grain charge of leverevloution.

We have used this combo in 3 rifles 18 in.and 2 20 in.

I might use the 120 grain Gold Dot this year.
It really hangs together on 200+lb.hogs.
Even when shot in the shield.

When picking your bullets, remember you are limited to COL in the AR magazine. Not so much maybe in a bolt gun I guess. My max COL is 2.275" in the magazines I'm using and that is all I can get. That's one reason I settled on the SST 123s.

I get the seconds or overruns from Nosler's Shooters Pro Shop, usually about half price.

I wouldn't consider any other tipped bullet a substitute for the ABLR; it's designed to work in a lower velocity range (hence the LR part of the name) than other more conventional bullets, which fits the Grendel perfectly, especially the short barrels.

I have never fired a single 6.5 Gren factory round. But I had the very best results in killing antelope and deer with the 125 grain Nosler Partitions. I used various powders and weights depending on the gun and the barrels I used, but on game the results were as good as I could ask for.

Have seen what you ask for. LOL. But it does work.

My experience with my 6.5 Grendel is limited to Hornady 123 gr .ELDM. Though they are a match bullet, I would not hesitate to shoot a deer or similar thin skinned animal with them. I'll be honest, thou my time with my 6.5 Grendel has been limited, it's quickly becoming my favorite gun to shoot.

Hornady Black 123 ELD performs great on deer.

Hornady 129 GR SP is about as reasonable price as 6.5 projectiles come & is one of the most impressive Grendel bullets I Have tried. Again over a Healthy compress load of LVR. Fastest Grendel load of any bullet weight I have seen or tried load in the Grendel. I feel this bullet and LVR were made for the Grendel. The flat base bullet allows for more fuel in the furnace.

I abandoned the 6.5 Grendel for the 6mm version before I could ever put the 6.5 to work, but this is how I saw the problem also. The 129 ABLR seems to be taylor made for the Grendel.

After seeing how the 120TTSX works at 2,800 from a lightly-loaded 7mm-08 carbine, I'd be tempted to try the 100gr 6.5mm at roughly that same speed from a 20" Grendel, if I owned one.

Damn, you guys are going to keep on till I rebarrel my 6.8 over to 6.5 and do the associated other changes. I have regretted not picking the Grendel from the git-go. My 6.8 has killed a few deer though...

Whitaker's has the Howa Mini youth 6.5 Grendel again...

^^^

Which is actually where the Grendel makes the most sense to me.....small, handy bolt gun with some extra mag space.

I shot this sow last Sunday with the Howa Mini 6.5 G Youth Model. Used a factory 90 Gr Federal TNT at 25-30 yards and dropped her. Estimated 250 # plus. Damage in neck was significant. I think it would work on deer but definitely under 100 yards.

I've taken several animals with the 123 scenar out of a 6.5 gren in an AR. I like what I see but it is still pretty new to me. I have yet to recover a bullet. Terminal performance so far has been very good, at least in my book. Looks very similar to performance I've got with the 139 out of faster rounds.

The Federal Fusion load has devastated some TN whitetails for me.

Under 100. LOL. While that would not be my choice, out to about 300 yards pretty easy in the ribs should be no issue for a load like that on deer.

If we think we'll be shooting pigs as close as 20-30 yards we use the suppressed sub sonic 10-22. Not that the grendel won't work just fine.

No doubt a .22 sub or some buckshot, maybe turkey load, and many options in between would’ve killed her. Just so happened they came out that close to my blind , where I just so happened to be sitting with my Howa 6.5 Grendel with factory 90 gr TNT in a 300 yard long field so I picked the biggest one, aimed for the neck and shot, where she dropped dead.
I knew the round killed pigs so very comfortable using it.. I’m still not comfortable shooting a deer over 100 yards with the TNT because I have not seen what it will do on a deer. I am very interested to see or hear about some actual experiences on deer with the round no matter the distance.

I used a Nosler 120gr Bal Tip on antelope last year. 268 yds. In and out. First shot I over compensated for the wind and put it in the guts. Next shot was in the neck and lights out.
16" AR platform

Finally got a shot on a deer with the Howa Mini 6.5 Grendel this morning. Small 8 point at 80 yards with Hornady Black. He dropped like a sack with high shoulder shot. No exit at all but heart lung area mashed up good. Loving the rifle and cartridge. Would like to find a factory load that provided some exit but guess can’t argue with results.

Looks great, about like a 223 with heavy bullets.

That's a ELD M bullet ?

For factory loads that will give you an exit, I would recommend the Federal Fusion 120 grain, the Hornady 123 SST, or the Underwood 110 controlled chaos. I shot two deer with the Hornady load in Texas and didn't catch either bullet. I would imagine that the 115 fusion and 110 grain controlled chaos would give similar performance.

For a handload option, check out Cavity Back Bullets. The 105 grain MKZ bullet is strong medicine on deer. The cavity in the base of the bullet allows for more powder capacity while still seating to mag length for the AR platform and it is designed to open and perform reliably at lower impact velocities. I used it on two Texas Axis (a buck and a doe). Both shots were just a hair over 100 yards and both died within 20 yards of where they were standing at the shot.

Unless you want to punch paper at 1000, I don't see any reason to switch to the 6.5 grendel. Sure wouldn't do it for 400 yard hunting.

My best results were with Nosler 125 grain Partitions. When I had my 6.5 G. I killed both antelope and deer. Several of each. I used other bullets too, but the Partitions were the ones that seemed to drop them best overall.
123 grain Hornadys did well, but with some breaking up and not exiting. The Hornady 129s also did ok. But the Partitions were about the best of the lot for me.

Great. Thanks for sharing that. "Dropped like a sack." Dead is dead.

Took 3 whitetail a few weeks ago with the 120 gold dot over CFE223. Ranges from about 100 out to 390. Expansion looked good based on exam. All bullets exited. Small sample but I liked what I saw.

Yes it was the Factory 123 grain ELDM bullet. For some reason I could not get SST to group well at all with this gun. I don’t reload yet...so may get some Fusion to try. I have also read good things about the Underwood loads. Hard to be bit too picky when you see his feet fall out from under him though.
So far with the Howa:
1 250# plus sow DRT 25 yards.- Federal TNT 90gr
1 coyote - 200 yards anchored but finish shot added-Hornady Black
1 young 8 pt - 80 yards DRT- Hornady Black

I’m sure 6.8 is great for same scenarios but I’m a Grendel fanboy for sure. Picked up an ALexander Arms upper and and getting back into the AR game soon so will play with some other offerings.

Mine is a Ruger bolt action... But I think of the Grendal as a 30/30 equivalent, using more aerodynamic bullets, giving it further range. and I am using 129 gr SP and 140 grain SPs, which gives it excellent penetration...

I like the 125 partition mentioned above. The season I have some 105 grain SMP Partitions I picked up years ago from Shooters Pro Shop, factory seconds intended for the European Market. Well see if a candidate shows up to test them out for me...

Plenty of deer in the front yard daily... and this afternoon, I came out the front door and their was about 20 cow elk grazing in the grass and on leaves, along with 5 bulls, the biggest being a 6 x 6. That was around 2 PM this afternoon. They are usually here earlier in the morning or early evening just after the sun has set.

NOT going to use the Grendal on those tho....

I haven’t had the chance to try it on a game animal but the 123 gr SST is very accurate in my Alexander Arms with a 20” barrel. On top of 26.7 gr of Benchmark it foes 2475 fps. I can get more fps with CFE223 but the Benchmark is a temp stable powder. I’m hoping to harvest a deer or some pigs with the Grendel this year

I"m way late on this. I know. Just back to decent internet since April.

That said I gave up on Sierra regardless price. Just way to erratic bullet performance on game. In fact the most reliable performance with Sierra has been their match kings non tipped( never seen or shot a tipped one) and they don't suggest them for game... go figure.

Game is to valuable and my ethics are such Sierra on game is just a no go anymore. And thats from seeing it from 3 sides. Hunter. Guide. Taxidermist. Over many years.

Oops.. bullet answer.. so far 123? Scenar. 120 ttsx. 120 Berger. The hornadys et all are reliable to do more damage than I care to see on a deer and have proven just a bit iffy on pass throughs on bigger pigs.

A sleeper might be the 108 scenar. I’ll be giving those a try this year. 2660fps from an 18” barrel, suppressed. I’ve used both the 123 eldm and the PPU 120 hpbt. Eld was predictable, the 120 was a grenade but still exited.

I have been so satisfied with the 100g NBT that I haven't tried anything else--maybe a bad thing. They have all exits and dropped deer from 150-250 yards. The only problem with them is they are not currently available, so unless that changes, I'll have to try something else.

The 123 grain SST with H335 powder shoots very good out of my Howa Mini, so that's what I'll use come deer season. I wanted to work up a load using the 120 Gold Dots, but that will have to wait until next year. It also shoots the 90 TNT very well, but I don't consider that a deer bullet.

I killed a deer with the 129gr ABLR two years ago. It ran in a circle and died within a few feet of where it was shot. I really like the 100gr Partitions and 120gr Rem CoreLokt PSP for deer. My friend Brian tests different bullets for me. He's probably the smartest hunter I know.

https://youtube.com/c/HornHillRange

I have some 100 grain ballistic tips and 100 grain partitions. This is the ideal bullet weight for that cartridge if you can find them! I run them over Tac powder and they work awesome. I have a bunch of the 123 sst Hornady, 120 gr fusion and Nosler with 129 AB also, but I really like the 100 gr much better. The lower velocity helps the BT actually hold together too. I have 3 Grendel’s and that cartridge is great, but it doesn’t have the throttle to run 120-130 gr bullets properly for hunting situations. Especially if you are running them out of a 14.5” gun

This is the path I'd take. 100gr NBT over 8208 as hot as I can load it and get good groups.

in my testing, within 300 yds or less... which would cover about 99.9% of the distance game is taken at...
at Grendel speeds, about anything will work...

I have found the plain old Hornady 129 and 140 SP work just fine...

or a plain old 120 Ballistic Tip or a 125 Partition....

and even a 100 grain Partition or Ballistic Tip...

I have 120gr ballistic tips, and 125gr partitions loaded for mine. I'm good for thin skinned, and deeper penetration.

FIREARM: Howa Mini 6.5 Grendel
BULLET: Barnes 100gr TTSX
CASE: Starline (Trim to: 1.506”)
PRIMER: CCI 450
POWDER: H335
COL: 2.235”
CRIMP: Yes
AVG VEL: 2725fps

The above combo has worked well on two Blacktails so far. One taken a little something over 100yds and another somewhere around 45-55yds.

I use 100 gr Bal Tip over CFE223 in my T/C G2, Mini MkX and both AR's. Just took a nice 8 point last weekend with the G2 rifle @ 182 yds.
IMR 8028 XBR provides about the same accuracy in my guns.

Steve...........

for factory loads the 120 gr federal fusion does well. this 180# buck went 20 yards after the shot

Nice buck RR

thanks jake!

My go to coyote load is with Sierra 85g jhp on top of h335 at 2930 fps, my deer, goat load is with noslers 100g hbt on top of h335 at 2700 fps
100 to 600 yds, no problems.

I've posted this before but here is this for reference:
Hornady 123 custom factory ammo
2620 fps @ 24" barrel (CZ 527)
2500 fps @ 20" barrel (AR15)
2300 fps @ 12.5" barrel (AR15) [corrected]

No field validation to relay but I expect them to work fine for deer out to ~1000 ft-lb range.

Is the 1300 a typo? Seems awful slow.

You know what, yes. that is a typo. should have been 2300.

Stump Buster,

What stock is on your rifle? The wife just bought me a Howa Mini 6.5 Grendel for my birthday.

Hudge,

Congrat's on the great birthday present, you'll love it! The Pendleton Composite Stock and bottom metal are from Oregon Gunsmithing.

Happy Hunting,

Stump

Thanks for the info! I kind of figured it was a Pendleton and Oregon Gunsmithing bottom metal, but wanted to ask the source. Now I’ve got to pinch my pennies and save up.

Years back, my brother and I shot 4 Mule deer and one spike Elk with 16” Grendel AR’s. All but the he Elk were one shot stops. The deer were shot at 120, 260, 302 and 496 yards. The deer he shot at 496, I was backing him up with a .375 Ultra Mag. In case it didn’t get the job done. That shot was with a 120 Ballistic Tip. He hit the buck center of the body about the 3rd rib back. The buck was facing up hill, after the hit he dropped his head. Turned down hill, took 3 or 4 steps and laid down. Slowly rolled onto his side and that was it. Upon field dressing it. The bullet exited but there was minimal damage around the small wound channel through both lungs and out the other side. All of he deer were shot with the 120 BT but one. The he deer I shot at 120 yards was shot with Hornady factory 123gr A-Max. Destroyed the lungs. The Elk was really pushing it. But then again I was backing him up with a .300 Win Mag. The shot was at 411 yards and it took four 120 BT’s to put him down. The shots were fired fairly quickly. Since then I switched to a .243 LBC.

Wonder how the 6.5G would be in a Ruger #1A.......