Home Forums Reloading Big Game Rifles Bullet Wt Preference for the 6.5 Grendel..

For hunting deer?

I've taken several with the rifle since I got it... ( Ruger American Predator)...

140 grain Speer, fueled by 29 grains of W 748..

at around 100 yds...no running.. DRT...

was thinking of going lighter this year, for further distances..

28.5 grains of W 748, I've been ringing steel at 300 yds with 129 SP Hornady and 140 grain Speer SP...

also been thinking of 100 grain Ballistic Tip, 29 grains of H 322....

I'm not a fan of the 100gr NBT at Grendel speeds. IME it acts more like a varmint bullet. I have settled on 120gr Rem PSP-CL bullets and 100gr Nosler Partitions. The Partitions are loaded to 2800fps with A2520 and the CLs are loaded to 2300fps with CFE223. For longer shots I would consider the 129gr ABLR with it's low velocity expansion capability. I killed a young buck with an ABLR two years ago.

I've never killed a deer with my Grendel, but I do plan on using it some this season. I'll use either a 123 SST or a 120 Speer GD. I have two shooting houses that I hunt out of on my farms, and can shoot at distances out to a little over 400 yards at both of them. I regularly practice at that range with my 243's, 6.5 CM's, and 308 rifles, and although I prefer a closer range shot, I would under the right circumstances take a shot at that range. However, I will limit my shots with the Grendel to about 250 yards, as I have not had a lot of luck shooting it at longer distances.

I’ve killed a bunch of hogs with my Grendel using 120 NBT, 120 Sierra Pro Hunters and 123 Hornady BTHP. I would use any of them on a deer.

I settled on the 100g NBT. It acts wonderfully at 6.5 Grendel velocities. Out of our Howa Mini Action it gets ~2600 fps with a max load of TAC. Very accurate and easy to shoot. My kids have taken 5 deer ranging from 150 yards to 250 yards. All but one was a one shot kill. The one that wasn't was shot through the lungs and when he turned, we good see good blood on the opposite side. One more shot and he was done. That was the 250 yarder after the first at 241 yards. The only problem with the 100g NBT right now is finding them. I might have to go to 120s after this year if I don't find some soon.

I’d give the 120 NBTs a try or even 120 ELD-Ms a try. To date I’ve only messed with the 120 ELD-Ms for handloads in my Grendel.

123 SST, 123 Scenar, 120 Gold Dot and the 90 TNT have all worked great for me. I think at grendel speeds most cup and core will likely work well.

John try some 120+- bullets.

In 3 rifles they shoot somewhat better than heavier bullets.

Thanks for the input Gentlemen...

My stash of 120 gr bullets is getting light, minus match bullets. I've seen Nosler available on the shelves locally, and on the internet, but I admit to boycotting Nosler, as they have started to have a drug dealer mentality with the prices on about anything. I've sent them multiple emails back when I get advertisements from Shooters Pro Shop, telling just that. I haven't seen Sierra 120 SP on the shelves in 6.5 caliber for a couple of years.

129 Hornady SPs and 140 Hornady and Speers show up on the shelves over at Sportsman's WhoreHouse, so have been playing with them..
Gold Dots, I haven't seen on the shelves at all...If they are being shipped, they are pretty much long gone when I stop by the supply stores.
So no chance to try them. ELD bullets have been readily available.

The 90 grain TnT been used successfully on deer interests me.. just since I have a decent supply of them, and a real decent supply of 90 Nosler Varmaggedon bullets, bought when they were Cheap, before the Plandemic. Same with a supply of 100 gr Hornady SPs, bought like 1500 of those on close out from one of the on line retailers, for like $10 a box.

Gotta admit, that Ruger American Predator I've got, that thing shoots about anything I feed it, regardless of powder or bullet weight quite well.
That 4.5 x 14 Burris Full Field E1 on top, its a light rifle to carry. walking up and down the sides of Oregon Mountains. The reticle on the Burris, makes shots at under a 100 yds, out to 300 yds, pretty darn simple to hit. Off the Bench at the range, it hits steel targets pretty consistently at 300 yds about 90 % plus of the time. I'm sure the 10% of the time it misses is more operator error than the rifles fault.

Must be elk breeding season, because the elk in the backyard and on the bordering property are sure bugling like crazy this morning...
Catches your attention, and breaks one's train of thought. They wander thru and feed on what use to be an old golf course we live off of...

What size are the steel targets?

140 grain

I much prefer the 120 or 100 grain to any heavier. Was not a fan of performance of the 123 ELD-M. I had good performance from older Speer 120 spitzers and I "think: the 100 Nosler BT has much promise at 2700-2800.

No deer yet, but I’m running 120 GDs until I kill something with them. Like the Nosler LRAB, they are supposed to work well at lower impact speeds. I’ve shot them on steel to 300 yards. Have about four boxes IIRC. If I run out, I have a good supply of the LRABs too. Speer data showed PP2000-MR as the best powder and it works very well for me.

Just picked up some Nolsler RDF 123s cheaply from SPS. Hoping they shoot well so I can save the GDs for “bidness”.

The little 6.5 is a real enthusiasm of mine. Have a fair amount tied up in my tricked-up Howa, but not nearly as much as my FC, and I like it nearly as well.

They vary, from about 12 inch width ( circular shape) down to about 5 inch.

Both of my Grendel rifles (TC Encore and a Ruger American Pred) shoot the Hornady 123 grain SSTs very well. For the Encore, however, I have settled on Cavity Back 105 grain MKZs for hunting. They perform wonderfully on whitetails and axis deer. Regardless of whether you believe the marketing on the website, I have to say that they are well worth the $ I spent on them. They shoot great and perform exactly like I want them to. So far, I have shot 4 axis (2 bucks, 2 does) and 3 whitetails (2 does and a buck) with them, shots were from 35-157 yards, and have yet to recover a bullet or have the deer go more than 30 yards after the shot. If you are looking for budget bullets, they may not be for you, but they are right in line with other mono-metal bullets and perform much better at lower velocities than their competition, in my experience.
I haven't shot an animal with the Ruger yet, but when I do, it will be with the SSTs.

I just loaded a bunch of 129 ablrs over 8208xbr for my son's first hunt tomorrow. I had them up to about 2450fps but I reduced them to about 2350fps because my kids only 10. I picked the ablr because it's a soft bullet and expands well at lower speeds. If I would have had some 100g nbts or NPTs I'd have probably just loaded them to keep recoil down. It's a howa mini in an mdt lss.

The back up is a 243 700 youth in an mdt lss with 85g npts.

I'm also throwing in my lightweight 16" ar with some 60g npt loads and my long range heavy 6.5 Creedmoor tac 30aw with a Bart 24" sender's. It wears a dmr2 bushy elite 3.5-21x50 and almost always shoots .3 moa or better with 140 vldh bullets over h4350 at 2820fps. If we have to go long I'll set him up on it and get him dialed. It's a pretty consistent milk jug killer out to 1000.

Bb

Hi Burleyboy,
What was your load that produced 2450 FPS with 8208 and the 129 ABLR? And what is the barrel length on your Howa Mini?
I am getting the same speed with129 ABLR and 31.5/CFE223 in my 20" CZ527 but would much rather shoot a temp resistant powder like 8208.
That CFE223 sure is accurate though.
Thanks,
Rex

I loaded my Howa with the 129gr ABLR and CFE223. 2 years ago I shot an average E. Virginia deer buck it. Ray Charles could have followed the blood trail, but the deer just ran in a circle and died in the field it ran from.

125 grain partition or the 129 grain Hornady SP are as heavy as I have went. Leverevolution is my favorite propellant for these 2 bullets with CFE 223 a distant second choice for velocity. If you have Leverevolution I really encourage working up a load with those 129 grain SP. If you are working with a chronograph I think you will be pleasantly surprised with achievable velocity from the Grendel case. In terms of pressure I could not get too much propellant in the Grendel case for my bolt action CZ 527 rifles. Id start at 29 grains of LVR & work up to 32 grains. Accuracy started to deteriorate over 31. 8 grains as I recall.

I am evolving to using all copper bullets & 6mm ARC is my new favorite caliber in the CZ 527 action.

The 120-123 gr class of bullets strike me as the ideal combination of SD and trajectory for the 6.5 Grendel