Wondering what I need to expect from practical hunting distances all the way out to at most 350 yards? Wanting to hear from someone with real world experience. Thanks in advance.

I consider it a flatter shooting 30/30. That's the effect on game. The kids have been able to get within 100 yards of everything so far. So, no comment on stretching it out.

velocities are getting pretty low out that far. Why not use it where it works best, under 250 yards.

Have yet to take a poke at game with mine, but the bullets I have loaded and on hand, are designed to expand at lower velocities; Speer 120gr GDs and Nosler 129gr ABLRs. Pretty easy to check a ballistics chart or app to see how far out velocity and energy remain adequate. Don’t ever expect to stretch it past 200, given where I hunt, so a bullet that stays together on close-in hits is more important than LR numbers.

I've killed a truckload of deer and pigs with a 6.8 and lots of my hunting buddies use Grendels. As mentioned above, I think they are all pretty similar to a 243 (or maybe a 30-30) in terms of killing power: pretty reliable out to 100 yards, but even getting out to 200 yards you won't always get an exit or very impressive wounding. The Grendel carries energy better than a 6.8 or 300 BLK but none of those rounds with 28-30 grains of propellant capacity kill all that well at longer distances. I think we were all enamored of them for a while but except for pigs we've all since drifted back to cartridges that burn more powder.

Depends on what bullet you're running but at 350 yards, especially out of a 16-18" barrel (most of the published Grendel data is from a 24") I'd expect mild wounding, no exit, and a pretty long dead run.

This has been pretty much my experience with the 6.8. I've shot many pigs with it, making good hits, testing different bullets over the last two years. Found the 100gr Nosler AB to be the most reliable, but even then not so much that I'll deer hunt with it when i have other calibers better suited to the task.

Limited experience but I would agree that as yardages increase and velocity falls the kills are not spectacular. I am going to try the 100 Gr Nosler BT which I think should help in the velocity department and still hold together well enough for good performance, but I too would consider it a couple hundred yard deer rifle for optimum effect.

Thanks for the replies & info.

Mark LaRue took a bull elk at 405 yards with a 6.5 Grendel shooting a 120 grain Barnes TSX.

https://www.ar15.com/forums/Industr...reat-American-Safari-/219-164444/?page=1

I remember when that Larue story came out; it probably was part of the reason my buddies and I all started using ARs in those calibers. There was a 5 year period where just about everything I hunted in Texas I took with a 6.8. But once you've killed a lot of stuff with those little cartridges you start to see the problems. 30grains of powder just has its limits.

I’ve hunted with the 6.5 Grendel in CZ-527 for a few seasons now and killed deer with it. Hunting where I hunt in Mississippi my shots are close - all less than 100 yards, most 40-60 due to the heavy brush/cover. Much as I love the little cartridge if I was planning to routinely take shots > 150 yards on a regular basis I’d probably pick up my 7mm-08. Much as I like it, I think it’s running out of gas when you stretch it out. I HATE losing deer after I shoot them. While I’ve had pass throughs on all I’ve shot I’m at close range...

Bolt action or AR? What 's your barrel length? Factory or reloaded ammo? What load do you have in mind.

No real world experience with the 6.5 Grendel, but most that I have read about claim performance in the 243 and 250-3000 neighborhood, depending on loads and barrel lengths. 350 yards seems like it might be stretch, but proper bullet type and placement are generally more important than impact velocity.

I loaded up some 120g NBT for the kids to use. 2600 fps. According to the ballistic charts it drops below good expansion velocity just past 200 yards. My son killed a doe last year at 200 yards and it went down so fast I missed seeing it fall, but did see its legs sticking toward the sky. The exit hole was the size of a nickel so there was some expansion, but maybe not a lot. My daughter has killed 2 at from 100-150 yards and seemed there was more expansion and damage done. So with my load it is a 200 yard round to get expansion.

The nice thing about it is its light recoil and excellent accuracy in the Howa Mini action we use.

Mule Deer did an article on it in the recent Handloader. It would be a good source to look up.

Will be in a 20" AR. Will have reloaded ammo to run & not sure of the load yet. Like the 120 gr bullets. Any suggestions for loads would be appreciated.

Watching.
No experience with mine yet. 20 inch with 123 grain horady sst's (only ammo available)

I sighted it in Sunday and it will accompany my 3006 for northern MN whitetails in November.
I figure its a 250 yard gun similar to my 24 inch barreled marlin 336A shooting hornady LE rounds.

Its funny though... As a kid, the 3030 was called an underpowered 150 yard gun and people didnt want to use them, but you put something similar or less powered than a 3030 in a AR15 and it becomes an incredible long range deer slayer... :-)

It is interesting how that works, huh?

The Cavity Back 105gr looks real interesting. The length overcomes SD concerns and .480 BC extends the range if able to get 2800fps.

It's almost enough to make me buy dies.

I killed a 6 point whitetail at 80 yards with a 6.5 grendel 16 inch barrel 123 hornady sst. Buck went 20 yards and fell over dead.
If you can make an accurate shot. I would have no problem out to 300 yards. Bullet performed well

My 10yo has put 123gr SST clean through two ~5yo whitetails so far this year. One went straight down due to perforated shoulder blades and spine. The other high lung near shoulder blade ( yeah he missed) with good blood 30 yards. Less blood forty yards to dead buck.

I say the 6.G gives some extra help on recovery over usual 30-30 and 243.

I have built and owned two 6.5Gs for myself and about 15 for others here in Wyoming. I killed 7 head of game with my 2. I have seen about 25 other kills (antelope and deer) with the other 6.5Gs and I have full confidence in the cartridge. I used the 123 gr Hornady SST, the 120 grain Remington Core-Lokt and thee 125 Ge Nosler Partitions. Of the 3 the Nosler was the best killer, but all 3 bullet gave 1 shot kills with short runs most times under 30 yards. The closest kills were in the 20 yard range and the longest was about 400. Of the kills by friends Randy and John which I got to witness, all were with the 123 gr SSY and the 129 grain Hornady Innerbonds.

If you look at load data for those bullets in the old 6.5 Jap and the same bullets in the Grendel, you'll see the velocities are quite close. So the track record of the old 6.5 Jap is well known. The same would be expected from the Grendel. The Jap and the old 6.5M/S will shoot a much heavier bullet then the 6.5G at the top ends so in comparisons we need to do the "apples to apples thing" and look at bullet of about 130 grains and lighter. The 140, 156 and 160s available in the older 6.5s will give more penetration and/or cavitation then the 6.5G, but for the bullets of 130 and lighter, the difference is so small as to be insignificant.

Nothing wrong with the 6.5 grendel. I've shot a few and they were accurate. I dont own one, so I cant say anything about it. But, let's see if it's still around 126 years from now, like the 30-30 is, and still doing its job.

Lots of rifles have come and gone, but the 30-30 is still with us and for good reason.

The 6.5 Grendel is a great little cartridge. I built an AR for my 7yr old chambered in it. He has taken 4 deer with it and 1 ran about 70 yards. That one was ranged at 202 yards when he shot off a Deathgrip. He uses the 123gr SSTs. He did shoot a 200+lb boar last year that absorbed the 1st round in the shoulder. Had to put 2 more in him to get him down.

I have been thinking of getting a Howa Mini action or a CZ just for a kids gun.

Killed my first with it this weekend. 123 SST over a medium load of Accurate 2520 going 2360 FPS. Boy did that little round perform.

Hit a medium sized spike tucked tight into the shoulder and a touch low (intentionally) at 70 yards. He didn’t jump, just trotted about 10 yards and began to wobble over. It was like those Rage Broadhead videos where you can see a hose of blood shooting out every time his heart beat. Clean pass through and near instant death. I couldn’t be happier.

Ive used 6.8 SPC on deer, similar power level. Works great. Mine is suppressed so it's like shooting an air rifle.

I like my Grendel but have only used it on feral hogs at under 150 yards. My rifle is a 16 inch barreled AR. The load I am going to test soon is a 100 grain Partition at 2700 fps. From mid January til the end of March that will be my truck gun and load. I can say the round is a big step up from the 223.

Mine is a Ruger American Predator....I took a deer last year with it.. a good sized blacktail...but at about 100 yards...

it stopped heading away from me... and slightly uphill. I put a shot at right behind the shoulder and it came out of the lower neck on the left side...hit on the right side..

was shooting a 140 grain Speer, behind 29 grains of W 748... velocity was around 2150 fps...so sample of one..

however, chronographing the loads I carried this year, a suitable candidate did not show itself, so deer track soup...

however the velocities I was getting with 100 gr, 120 gr 123 gr and 129 grain loads, doing velocities I have used out of the 260 Rem with success...
with the right scope and knowing how to use it and judging your distance, I'd rely on it out to 300 with no issues... the 129 Hornady SP especially.

the 100 grain Ballistic Tip or the Hornady 100 gr SP, would both do the job leaving the Muzzle at 2800 fps...

the load I did with the 129 SP, was chronographed at 2490 to a hair over 2500.....not a load manual powder... 3031...

Randy,

with Walmart stopping to see guns and ammo, do you think them not carrying ammo, might put a big dent in the 30/30 use finally?

rifle use around here, for non handloader, depends if it is available at Walmart or not...

I’m practically certain that in 126 years I’ll be less than concerned, possibly sooner.

Do you have a .30/30 load that remains supersonic at 1000 yards?😜

I have done well with the Grendel out to 150 yards or so as that is all the further I needed to shoot on whitetail deer for the last 5 years. This has been with a CZ 527 that had been re-barreled to 6.5 Grendel.

This year I opted for a different caliber as the 6mm ARC became available. Again the CZ 527 was re-barreled to 6mm ARC. Last weekend The arc sent a 108 grain Berger Elite Hunter to take my nicest whitetail to date in very clean fashion at a smudge over 250 yards. Buck collapsed at the shot lights completely out in an instant. Was shooting for high shoulder & ended up a bit back from the shoulder on the lower side of the spine.

Point is with the right shot placement the 6.5 Grendel is easily up to the task of CPX class game. Not sure what barrel length you are considering though at the extended distances the longer barrels certainly can tip the moving velocity in your favor. 22" has been my favored barrel length for a utility hunting rifle.

120 Grain Fusion Work perfectly for deer. I would keep it 250yds or less. Not that it wouldnt be effective farther out. Just my opinion. Where I hunt 200yds is all the farther I can see.

My 100 grain partition load is just a bullet replacement for the steel cased Wolf ammo that came with a 100 gr. FMJ. Pull the FMJ, pour out the powder, chamfer case, put the powder back in and seat the 100 gr. Partition. It actually shoots pretty good. That said my Wolf steel case supply is not infinite. Are you using 3031 to get 2800 fps with 100 grain bullets?

I am using 8208 to get 2800 with the 100gr bullets.

Killed 3, 1 buck, 160 pounds live,, 2 does, 100 pounds or so,, with a Grendel so far this year. 125 Partition over 30.xx grains of Leverevolution. All complete pass through, even the buck with 2 shoulder joints taken out. Ranges from 40 to 90 yards, so no 300 yard experience. All 3 were shoulder shots, down where they stood. Personally, on those 3, they were just as dead, just as quick, as if I'd have been shooting a 300 mag.

Rifle is a re-barreled Savage 10, 26 inch Shaw, 1:8 twist. With a different bullet, Berger 130 AR Hybrid, I've used it to ring steel out to 1000 yards.

In the end, the Grendel will work, but not sure I'd push it to 300 on a deer. Steel,yes; coyotes, yes; pigs, maybe, but personally, I'd limit shots on deer to 200 or so. But, on the other hand, 99 percent of the places that I hunt, shots are limited to 150 yards or less because of the terrain and vegetation.

Rick,

with 3031/ 28 grain charge, and a 100 grain Hornady SP or A Max, the Ruger was chronographing right at 2700, not 2800 fps...

I save Ballistic Tips and Partitions for hunting in the field... Hornadys that I have a good stock of, use those for chronographing...

I practice shooting 300 yds, with downloaded 223 cases using shot gun powder or any powder that will match the Grendal velocity.

The biggest thing in shooting something at 300 yds, is practice.. which tightens up you eye to hand coordination.

I practice with my bolt action CZ 452 doing off hand shooting, to tune me up for being able to do with out a bench... tree stands are kinda useless deer hunting in my part of Oregon.

3031 with a 28 gr charge is getting me in the 2550 to 2600 fps, with 129 Hornady SPs.. primers are still tight, even tho the brass on this batch is buzzing 20 reloads...
primers still going in tight. that or a 125 partition I think are a good bullet combo.... or just the garden variety 120 gr Ballistic Tips...

I just looked at some Grendel data for 100 grain bullets. Several loads would have the 100 grain Ballistic Tip well above Nosler's recommended lower velocity level for expansion at 300 yards.

I'm down to a measly 1 1/2 pounds of 3031. Sad so sad. I can easily get BLC2 and burn a lot of it but it just isn't as accurate in my 260 which I now only punch paper with anyway. After guns deer is over in Latimer county I am taking the Grendel out to slay some pigs. It being a M4 copy it is light enough to carry as a second rifle while I am squirrel hunting.

I'll give y'all some feedback on how the li'l 6.5g works on deer, hopefully as soon as Kansas's opener tomorrow.

What load will you use?

Hornady 123 grain SST.

Nice Skeen.

I'm trying to find a howa carbon mini chambered from 6.5 grendel.
Thinking it would be a handy rifle for my 10 year old boy

I may have to rethink how far the Grendel is good for. My two sons got their deer with it this year with the shortest being 241 yards. The first took two shots through the lungs at 241 and 250+ yards and my other son took his at ~250, but through the spine so even a solid would have worked. It just surprised me how far it carried. My daughter killed her deer with the 6.5x55 at 247 yards and the deer did react more from it and went down within a step mainly because it was lacking a heart.

The 6.5 Grendel forum is a great resource.

"6.5 Grendel Forum : : For the 6.5 Grendel Aficionado"

https://www.65grendel.com/forum/forum.php

Thanks for all the feed back guys. I'm still learning about this little cartridge. Still on the fence if I wanna keep it or sell to someone else. With this being a new caliber to me, it is hard to get components to complete my reloading setup. If anyone is interested shoot me a PM and we can talk. Thanks again.

One of the reasons I got into the 6.5G is not having to load for it. I bought several cases of Wolf and enough 123gr SST to go for years.

I'd have no issues using it on a dear. it will probably work just fine on larger game as long as you keep it in the kill zone and the range reasonable.

The li'l 11.5" Alexander Arms Highlander, 6.5 Grendel, wearing a Steiner P4Xi 1-4x24, gettin' it done.

About 70 yard shot with 123grain SST, tucked just behind the left shoulder, 30 yard run and a coup de grace.

Healthy looking buck. My ears hurt just looking at your gun…

I am very seriously thinking of buying a 20" barreled custom CZ-527 and your question inspired me to run some numbers for the 4500' elevation I often hunt. With the 129 ABLR going 2500' at the muzzle, which Mule Deer's load work implies it ought to easily do, at 350 yards I calculated:
- 2,084 FPS (probably plenty for the ABLR, if Nosler's "expands down to 1300 FPS" is accurate)
- 1,244 Foot Pounds (which nobody argues is too little for deer and such)
- 16.3 inches low with a 200 yard zero. Accept a little further 230 yard zero for 3" high at 100, and it's only 13.3" low at 350.
This sounds pretty reasonable but maybe I am missing something?
I am giving my buddies the chance to talk me out of buying this rifle but so far they're just enabling...

Cheers,
Rex

Just for reference out of my rifles:
Hornady 123SST factory ammo, Nikon Spot-On G1 model.
Both results are based on my chronograph results.
CZ527, 24" BL: 2620fps --> 1000+FPE at 400yd
DIY AR15 ARperformance 3R, 20": 2500fps --> 1000+FPE at 350yd
PSA, 12.5": 2300fps --> 1000+FPE at 225yd

SST as many note expand rather violently; I would stick to just behind the shoulder with those.
It was really strange for the factory published fps to match the chronograph with the CZ.

Great thread. I’ve got a TC G2 Contender rifle and have a 20” 30-30 barrel for it. It would probably do 95% of what I hunt in. I’ve been thinking of getting another deer hunting barrel for it, just for the hell of it. I saw where MGM will make a 6.5G for a G2.

I’ve never shot the 6.5G, but seems most folks who has, would prefer it to a 30-30 for deer. Is that the case here with folks who own one? I understand it’s a great option for an AR, but just thinking out loud on a 20” Contender barrel.
Thanks

Was out a week or so ago, with my Ruger Predator in the Grendal...

100 grain bullets ( hornady SPs).... no problem off the bench hitting steel at 300 yds...

28 grains of 3031....

just know your scope settings and should be no issue, unless I jerk the trigger... which I do sometimes...

I have a 24 inch mgm on my G2 in 6.5 Grendel. It's shooting 2800 with 100 grain partitions and 2500 with 120 grain ballistic tips.

That 30-30 with a 125 grain Ballistic Tip would be tough to beat.

Re reading this thread I miss typed. The load my kids used was the 100g NBT not the 120 NBT.

Fair advice IMHO for the AR platform. Step this up to handholds In a bolt action rifle & your range may be stepped up a bit. May be a bit surprising for many, though the 6mm ARC is arguably more balanced offering out to the upper ranges the op is asking about. Don't get me wrong I have liked the 6.5 Grendel for deer hunting for 6 years or so in a mini bolt action rifle. very capable when properly employed.

If you have not noticed, as much as I like the 6.5 Grendel - I like the 6mm ARC more in both mini bolt actions & AR platforms.

Is that due to better range or better kills?

Seems here lately 6.5 Grendel is catching on more. It's a really good efficient cartridge but it does have its limitations. What's kind of funny to me is it took nearly 20 years since it's introduction to catch on. But the creedmoor on the other hand.....

I shoot the Grendal, and on steel out to 300 yds at our local range... even with 140 grain Speer SPs...

but then I shoot the same steel at 300 with one of my 260 Remingtons... when it hits steel at 300, the steel is spinning like it was hit with a 300 Win Mag...

I still like my Ruger Predator in 6.5 Grendal.... or my 6.5 Don't Need More as I sometimes call it...