Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Single Shots Talk me out of buying a 6.5 Grendel barrel

For my Contender.

My preliminary work tells me that 120 gr. bullets (maybe 129 gr.) are about the heaviest that can be used - without seating the bullet too deeply, that is.

So 100 to 120 gr. deery bullets would be the ones. Apart from the reason, "Just because I can,", there isn't a good reason to even bother. I have a 243 and a 6x45mm.

In Ontario, and this is the reason why I am considering it, we cannot hunt with a CF rifle whose bullet dia. is greater than .275, south of the French River. I hunt there sometimes. The Grendel works, but I have 6mms.

Don't buy it!

You're right. I should.

I used 129gr ABLRs in a CZ with no issues.

Why don't you get a .257 Redgwell?

I had 14" Contender in 6.5 TCU...always thought that would be a good number in a carbine Contender. Don't know how that would compare to Grendel.

I have a CZ-527 American in 6.5 Grendel. I like it and think it would be great in a Contender. It worked well on the only deer I shot with it last year. I did not get opportunity to use it on any others but did not feel under gunned though where I hunt ranges are relatively close. Most of my shots are 40-60 yards so loss of velocity really isn’t an issue.
I’ve found it a fun little cartridge to play with and would do it again FWIW to you.

FWIW 6.5 Grendel supposed to be for G2 Contender only.

It's hard to resist either the 6.5 Grendel or the 257 Redgwell. If I ordered the barrel today, I would have it in the new year.

It might be fun at that. Ballistically superior to the Creedmoor because it would be my rifle, and I can say whatever I want. Personally, I'd prefer a Contender barrel. The problem I have with the CZ is that strange black growth just forward of the trigger.



The 257 Redgwell

Sorry, I can't talk you out of it. I just bought a Howa Mini Action for my daughter to use. I've taken to it myself. I have loaded 100g NBT at a little over 2600 fps. It is an accurate pussycat.

thread title: "Talk me out of buying a 6.5 Grendel barrel"

why in the world would you ask a bunch of co-dependent, enabling, rifle loonies to talk you OUT of buying a rifle?!?!?!?!?!?

the only reason one of us would tell you not to buy it is if it was the last one in the shop and we wanted first!

A friend of mine killed an elk (that's a large deer-like mammal that lives out here in the west) with a 6.5 Grendel, (in an AR-15 of course).... I would not have used a caliber so small, but it works for lots of stuff, some day I'll get one (in an AR-15 of course) but not if there's a new run of Ruger No1 rifles in some classic caliber that same paycheck...

shoot good!

Poole

Up here, there is a company called Tradeex that has hundreds of 6.5x55s in stock, starting at $250. The inexpensive ones are used M96s, but most are in VG condition. They also have new Zastava Mausers for $695. That also happens to be the price of a new Contender barrel in Canuckian Dinars.

Here's one of their used, professionally redone M96 sporters in VG condition. Perhaps you can understand my dilemma.

Such burdens we carry, hey?

Can't you get a contender in 250 Savage? I know I've seen 300 Savage barrels.

If i could get one of those at a reasonable price and in excellent condition, I would jump on it. Now I have built 3 AR types in 6.5 Grendel and finally last year got my hands on a pretty little CZ 527 American in 6.5 Grendel. I started early in the 6.5 Grendel game, when brass was expensive and hard to find so got a large quantiy of IMI 7.62x39 brass and sized it all down in 6.5 Grendel dies to be fireformed, which is easy and straightforward with that little cartridge.

It's probably the mildest shooting caliber I have, recoil even in the lightweight CZ is much less than a 6.5x55 Swedish Mauser.

I think the appearance of the 6.5 Creedmoor, and many younger shooters not wanting a used rifle, has caused these rifles to sit. They have been on Tradeex's shelves for a long time. Recoil of these reworked M96s, scoped, is about 12 ft/lb. Quite mild. I had a few of the M96s years ago, but never got around to fixing them up, and sold them off. With so many rifles in the $225 to $300 range, it would probably be foolish to bother with a Grendel or a Creedmoor.

I could loan the .30 Sneezer reamer. Bullberry knows how to use it. Hornady knows how to make the dies.

It's an interesting thought. My buddy and I were talking about this dilemma on Saturday. He reminded me that I had a couple hundred new 6.5x55 Lapua cases and at least the same number of once or twice fired under my bench.

"Why bother getting all that new equipment when you've already got everything here? If you really want a 6.5 again, use what you have!"

Sometimes, I hate the voice of reason.

Where do I get a Redgwell reamer??

I had MGM make a 22" stainless 6.5TCU carbine a little over a year ago, and load it with 100gr Partitions...my load notes say 27.7gr AA2230 with that bullet yielded 2650fps in the 'tender carbine..... and, its pretty handy to pack around. And, it shoots those partitions decently enough.

Dont have the Grendel in a 'tender, but do have a howa mini in Grendel, complete with that "Low Hanging Fruit" magazine swinging in the breeze....

Don't get the Grendel. I like old school cool stuff. That's why I have an original 1899 Savage with a 20" barrel and an 18" Malcolm scope, in 22 HP, and a 1928 model K 99, in 300 with Noske scope. I always liked P.O. Ackley, so I'd go with the 25 Ackley Mag.

Hi. I understand that you don't like the 6.5 Grendel. No problem. If there is one thing that some folks on this board don't seem to understand, it's that we all have our likes and dislikes. They are generally based on where we live and what we hunt. For that reason, there are some cartridges that you, me and others just can't be bothered with. That's okay.

With the old school stuff in mind, and after discussing it with a good friend, I will be buying the 6.5x55mm. It's woody, and has tenure...even if it isn't as old as the 303 British.

Don't get me wrong, I like the Grendel just fine. You said talk me out of it, was just trying to help. I bought a contender when I graduated high school in 74, then traded it to a friend. I'm going to try and get it back, it had a 14" 35 Rem bbl on it, a 45 Colt, 9mm, and a 22lr. Then I might be looking at a 6.5 Grendel.

I had decided not to get it after talking with my old high school buddy. I'm not sure if there is such a thing as having too many rifles, but I am going to have be more selective.

I got a Contender a few years ago. I now have four barrels for it. The trigger is nice and it's a dream to carry.

Welcome to the age of reason. Got one more in the pipe for my old-age plinker, then the counter's going to start spinning the other way.

[quote][/quote]The only.place for the Grendel is because it fits in an .220 Russian/.223 length repeating action.

Darm sure no intelligent reason to use one in a single shot that has no cartridge length restrictions.

Unless you are already set up with brass and dies for the Grendel , I would go 6.5 ×55 Swedish.

Handloaded, it will do amything on the low end a Grendel will do and on the high end anything a Creedmoor or .260 Rem will do.

It's also just unusual enough to be cool.

That doesn't make any sense. He wants you to buy something you already have? What's the point? Doesn't sound reasonable to me at all.
You need to find new friends.

I just placed the order for this rifle. I guess this means another winter project. The 6.5 Grendel probably won't happen. Possibly a 357 Maximum barrel from MGM later.

I only have one little safe for bolt guns, and that one could sit right in the front, next to my 1919 NRA Match Rifle.

Swede?

Yes. An M96 sporter. VG bore. Stock needs refinishing. About $190USD.

Good for you. I picked up a Husky (FN) .30/06 a year ago and it's good shooter, but kind of rough around the edges. Might drop it into another stock I have. Might just sell it. There's an awful lot of "deer rifles" around here. The madness has to stop sometime.

Tradeex has a number of 1600s, M96s, M98s and more at good prices, but people want to buy Creedmoors. That's fine. I'll take one of the discount "other 6.5s".

We all should have a few PPC rounds in guns at some point in our life....

I had MGM spin me up a 22” 6.5 Grendel in stainless matching the old 21” barrel taper. I’ve not shot it much but factory ammo looks good enough I don’t know if I’ll even bother to reload for it.

Could be, I have pretty well stopped shooting the AR types and stick with the CZ in 6.5 Grendel. I have accumulated six or seven of the 96 Swedes and all are fantastic shooters, I got lucky when I came across one at a gun show, I did not know what it was and I don't think the dealer did either. It was actually a M38, a 1900 year model, made by Mauser Obendorf, with a two digit serial number, all parts matching. After some reading and posting on the Swedish Military rifle forum I learned it was one of a special run of 5000 made in 1900 by Mauser. I recently put a little Leupold scout scope one using a BadAce scout scope mount that replaces the rear sight, a fantastic product out of Canada. I had previously tried a B Square mount and could not get the scope even roughly bore sighted. The BadAce tactical worked fine and allows the use of standard Pictnanny type scope rings.