Home Forums Hunting & Shooting AR and Tactical Rifles 6.5 Grendel - 20 in. PSA Upper

Yesterday I had the chance to spend some time w/ a PSA 18 inch rifle, SWFA 3-15x and several boxes of Hornady 123 gr. SST and let's just say it was surprising out to 300 yards.
The rifle was stock w/ no modifications, the scope mount was a Warne and worst group was 5 shots into 3.28 inches at 300 yards.
The owner of the rifle uses it for deer and pigs on his farm in the "low country" of SC with much success.
I do not have first hand experience with PSA stuff before yesterday and the reviews are all over the place but the consensus is that they are "good for the money".

I have a RRA NM rifle in 5.56mm just gathering dust that would be a great candidate to have a PSA 20 SS inch 6.5 Grendel upper added to it for deer and pigs.

I think it might be the next fun project.

Any pros/cons on PSA 6.5 Grendel uppers/rifles is greatly appreciated.

Recommendations on 6.5 Grendel magazines (5 and 10 rounders) is also appreciated.

StarchedCover

I don’t shoot as much Grendel as I used to, but I don’t recall any issues with the 18-20” PSA stuff used, and they were accurate....especially for the $. The AR15 Performance (ARP) 264/Grendel barrels I tried on builds were more accurate, but the PSAs were more than accurate enough to hunt varmints to deer/hogs to beyond 300, or ring steel past 600.

10 round pmags will run with 4 rounds of grendel. More than that bows the mag out. ASC mags are good for holding more cartridges.

Haven't tried PSA Grendel.

elander for mags. i bought mine from larue

Elander. +1

I bought a 20" PSA upper a few years ago. Great shooter and absolutely no problems. Another vote for elander mags. I had the best luck with 123 scenars and 8208 xbr.

I have an 18" 3 groove 8 twist BHW. It loves 123 amaxes over 8208 xbr. Chronied them at 2500, very accurate. I bought a bunch of Asc Grendel mags that work great.

Bb

+2

I have the E-Lander 4rd, 10rd and 17rd magazines and no issues.

Here's one of the cool things about the Grendel that a lot of the detractors don't get - it works really well in both long and short barrels. I'm using the same bullet and powder as BB, but with a 12.5" barrel instead of 18" - and my accuracy load is only 140 fps slower, at 2340. It's a sweet little package in a short barrel. Even just recently I've seen guys claiming you have to use a 22-24" barrel to get good performance from a Grendel; not true, the medium and short barrels perform really well too.

Been thinking I’d like some form of AR in a “bigger “ caliber, maybe 6.5 Grendel but more likely.300 BLK. Since where I work is only a few miles from PSA’s manufacturing facility I’m of a mind to try one of theirs. My sons both like their stuff.

I am so happy to be in South Carolina I really need a rifle that says “Palmetto State on it.

I have the ASC mags both 10 and 15 round.

The 6.5 is a fun gun to get after pigs and coyotes.

Mine just don't like the 123 grain Hornaday custom ammo.

I have a box of Black that i want to try,hope they do better.

Really ran into a load for the 120 grain gold dot as well as the 110 Lehigh controlled chaos bullets .

These have worked in 3 rifles so far and both do a good job at dropping hogs.

I have an 18" PSA complete upper, and I have eLander and Stoner AR mags and no hiccups with any of it so far. I'll be honest, I've only gotten out once with it since I put it together. It shoots the Hornady Blackbox really good. I want to try some other factory rounds soon, and hope to start reloading in the near future. Since I started work and have every other Friday off, I have been booked with vehicle repairs, honey do's, and now a kitchen/dining room remodel due to a flood in the kitchen 5 weeks ago today. Sorry for ranting, I'd rather be at the range today than waiting in line at the DMV.

I have a 20" PSA Grendel upper I put on a RR lower I had with a SWFA rail mount and Argos 5-15 MIL scope that does good. I just need to get a decent trigger group for it. 120 Amax and 8208 XBR work good in Hornady small primer cases. The only problem with the Grendel is you need to keep them trimmed to length. I seat them a little longer than factory Hornady Black Match 123 ELDM and they work well in my rig.

This is my first AR so I'm new to all this and I've found that it's a pita to get a case stuck in the chamber. They may be a simple gun but they have their own specific problems and solutions. Lots to learn. I may have to chamber a bolt gun for the Grendel. It's a fun cartridge to shoot.

I'm curious what you mean there, since that's true for every bottleneck rifle cartridge. Are you having some specific problem with case length, or just discovering that rifle cases need to be trimmed sometimes?

Trimming needs for the Grendel aren't any different than for 223, 308, or anything else really.

Case length seems to be more problematic for the Grendel than for other bottle neck cartridges. I know this you don't want them stuck in the chamber. It's a PITA to get them out. Of course this is my first AR so...

Not having a bolt the cases don't chamber well if they are the least bit long so I check them for length and trim if necessary. It's not as much trouble with a bolt gun. Other cartridges based on the 220 Russian are prone to lengthen . Some more than others. Gene Beggs designed his Beggs Russian to mitigate that somewhat. When I first got mine I didn't check some cases and got a couple of loaded rounds stuck in the chamber. That was an adventure to get out since there's no bolt. Trimming solved that issue.

That's not any different than other bottleneck rifle cartridges. All of them have to be trimmed to length, and the Grendel is nothing special in that regard.

Getting cartridges stuck in the chamber sounds like a sizing issue though. Long case necks don't cause that, they just keep the bolt from closing. It sounds to me like you've mis-identified your problem, and should probably re-visit your sizing method.
I'm not clear what you're saying about "not having a bolt". If you don't have a bolt, you must not even be shooting this AR yet, so why are cases getting stuck in the chamber?

Oh it has a bolt all right but it is missing a bolt handle as in like a bolt gun. The AR 15 charging handle doesn't have much purchase on the bolt to pull back on a cartridge stuck in the chamber even if it isn't stuck very hard. I don't think I'm having sizing issues as I'm using a Hornady FL die set up in a RC press. I measured the case that I extracted and pulled the bullet from and it was a little long so I trimmed and reloaded it and it fit. These were factory new Hornady cases. I have used new and used cases. They work well if you check length and trim to spec.

I built three AR's in 6.5 Grendel a few years back. All used RR lowers, and the first was a bone stock Alexander Arms upper. Second used a billet upper with an Alexander Arms premium barrel and an Adams Arms gas piston operating system. The last was a mid length carbine , standard type upper and White Oak barrel. Comparing the two long guns, I cannot tell much difference in the gas piston and impingement systems

I did initially have trouble with new sized brass, some Lapua, some reformed from IMI 762x39 brass, not chambering completely, and getting stuck in the chamber. My solution was to slowly by hand grind some metal off the upper surface of my RCBS shell holder, so the case could enter my sizing die a little more. I do not know how much i removed, just went slow and got to the point where a sized case would chamber and extract properly in all three rifles..

One trick to help that's widely taught, is to grip the charging handle pulling to the rear, and bang the rifle but on the ground. It'll clear most every minor hang up.

What Nate said.

This is a very good reason why all of my charging handles have extended latches on them.

Clearing a jam is no time for small parts, especially when the chips are down.