6.5 Grendal???

[Blackdog317]

What velocities are y’all getting with your Grendels? I’m going to be running a 16.5” 6.5 CM and want to try the 123 SST on whitetail. Speeds may be comparable.

2375 FPS with a 14" barrel and 6" suppressor (Hornady Custom, 123 gr SST)

 

[sierracharlie338]

What velocities are y’all getting with your Grendels? I’m going to be running a 16.5” 6.5 CM and want to try the 123 SST on whitetail. Speeds may be comparable.

2550 with an 18inch barrel and suppressor from Hornady Black ammo 123eldM

 

[docmay]

I love the 6.5 Grendel. It seems to out punch its weight class. I have killed pigs, deer and a nilgai cow with the sst. I just set one up with a thermal and shot 5 pigs and a red stag with the 123 grain eld-m. Stag probably 450 pounds and biggest hog 180 lbs or so. All one shot kills. Furthest track about 40 yards.

 

[PlumberED]

2400 FPS 16” barrel and suppressor.

 

[Johnboy041586]

haven't killed hogs, but killed 1 black tail deer (DRT) with a 18" AR. I liked it enough I just put one together in a bolt gun.

 

[minisaw249]

My middle boy shot a big one one almost 2 years ago (he was 8) using a 120 ELD-M in a 6.5 G. First time we killed with a match bullet and all the hype is true. His lungs were like a bowl of chili.

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I hunt exclusively with Match rounds. My go to are 168/175 SMK and 168 AMAX. They cause complete devastation internally utilizing the right POA/POI. The draw back is normally a lack of blood trail if you have bad shot placement.

 

[minisaw249]

I have taken 2 decent sized boars with my Grendel and the 123 SST (2375 FPS with a 14" suppressed barrel). Both were 80-ish yards away. Both ran about 75 yds and soaked up 3 shots (2 in the vitals and 1 far back while running). None of them exited. The Grendel can do it, but the big boars are pretty tough. Small boars, sows and Whitetail deer fall much quicker.

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Thanks for sharing. Those are some nasty looking hogs. I have shot numerous hogs with my .308 but the Grendel is new to me. I will post some pics and opinions after I down one with this rifle.

 

[Luke S]

I was wondering about the 6.5 Grendal too. I have no doubt it would work, after all we have a huge thread about the 223 working on big game. My question is this; is the 6.5 Grendal more likely to create an exit wound?
I did a bit of math and the recoil of a 7.25 pound 224 rifle would be roughly 5.6 pounds of recoil energy.
Now if I built a shorter/lighter 6.5 Grendal as a pistol or SBR it would be a nice host for my older suppressor. If I use the parts I have and don't go crazy with carbon fiber the pistol could be right around 4.5 pounds. Add on the suppressor and scope and the package would be about 7.25 to 7.5 pounds. Well with that weight a 8.4 pounds of recoil energy but that will be reduced somewhat by the suppressor.

So basically I could have a 223. rifle with no suppressor or a 6.5 Grendal Pistol+suppressor. The overall weight and length would be pretty close. The main differences would be that the Grendal would be (almost) hearing safe with the suppressor and it might give me better blood trails.

Am I missing something here? I was all set to buy a Grendal barrel but not it looks like the 223 is just as good. The main selling point was that I assumed I'd get more exits and blood traisl with the 6.5 G but that appears less likely now.

 

[bbell]

I was wondering about the 6.5 Grendal too. I have no doubt it would work, after all we have a huge thread about the 223 working on big game. My question is this; is the 6.5 Grendal more likely to create an exit wound?
I did a bit of math and the recoil of a 7.25 pound 224 rifle would be roughly 5.6 pounds of recoil energy.
Now if I built a shorter/lighter 6.5 Grendal as a pistol or SBR it would be a nice host for my older suppressor. If I use the parts I have and don't go crazy with carbon fiber the pistol could be right around 4.5 pounds. Add on the suppressor and scope and the package would be about 7.25 to 7.5 pounds. Well with that weight a 8.4 pounds of recoil energy but that will be reduced somewhat by the suppressor.

So basically I could have a 223. rifle with no suppressor or a 6.5 Grendal Pistol+suppressor. The overall weight and length would be pretty close. The main differences would be that the Grendal would be (almost) hearing safe with the suppressor and it might give me better blood trails.

Am I missing something here? I was all set to buy a Grendal barrel but not it looks like the 223 is just as good. The main selling point was that I assumed I'd get more exits and blood traisl with the 6.5 G but that appears less likely now.

I can only give you my small sample size. We killed two deer and a small black bear with our Grendel. All three were pass throughs. One of the deer and the bear also went through one shoulder. This was with the hornady black eldm ammo.

I think I would rather have the arc if I did it over again. Faster and better bc with only 15 less grain of bullet.

 

[HandgunHTR]

I was wondering about the 6.5 Grendal too. I have no doubt it would work, after all we have a huge thread about the 223 working on big game. My question is this; is the 6.5 Grendal more likely to create an exit wound?
I did a bit of math and the recoil of a 7.25 pound 224 rifle would be roughly 5.6 pounds of recoil energy.
Now if I built a shorter/lighter 6.5 Grendal as a pistol or SBR it would be a nice host for my older suppressor. If I use the parts I have and don't go crazy with carbon fiber the pistol could be right around 4.5 pounds. Add on the suppressor and scope and the package would be about 7.25 to 7.5 pounds. Well with that weight a 8.4 pounds of recoil energy but that will be reduced somewhat by the suppressor.

So basically I could have a 223. rifle with no suppressor or a 6.5 Grendal Pistol+suppressor. The overall weight and length would be pretty close. The main differences would be that the Grendal would be (almost) hearing safe with the suppressor and it might give me better blood trails.

Am I missing something here? I was all set to buy a Grendal barrel but not it looks like the 223 is just as good. The main selling point was that I assumed I'd get more exits and blood traisl with the 6.5 G but that appears less likely now.

The likelihood of a pass-through is more dependent on the bullet used than the cartridge that it comes from.

Use a bonded or mono-metal bullet and you will get a smaller wound channel and a higher probability of a pass-through.
Use a more frangible bullet and the wound channel will be larger and the probability of a pass-though will be less.

For me, I care about killing in the fastest way possible, which is why I have switched to the 123 grain SST and 120 Grain A-max in my Grendels. I was shooting 105 grain Cavity Backs.

Something that is often overlooked in these types of discussions is that when shooting a smaller cartridge, suppressed, is that I can spot my shots, hear the impact, and hear the deer running and crashing, if they happen to run out of sight. I have found I don’t need a blood trail because I know right where to find them as I heard them crash.

Had that happen on a Whitetail and a large hog in middle GA. Both shot with a 7TCU using 120 grain NBTs. No exit on either. Deer went 10 yards into the thick stuff, but I heard him pile up so I was able to walk right up to him. Hog went a bit further, but again, I heard him run and crash, so I had a very good idea of which direction he went, and the general area he was in. The guide and I were able to crawl through the tangle, and when I said “I am pretty sure he crashed right in here”, he was 5 yards away.

 

[Boltgun]

We have shot over 100 hogs with Grendel SST. Weights range from 5 lbs to the 250ish range. (We usually weigh them, but I can’t recall the biggest at the moment. 225-ish lbs is pretty common.)

It works great. Large wound channels, usually 18” of penetration, slightly less if you hit big bones like the spine, although it easily shatters those. Kinda makes a mess.

Shot placement still matters more than anything else. Gut shoot a hog with SST and they’ll go 50-100 yds, which is usually gone forever in the thick swamps. Shoot ‘em in the front half and they’re usually down within 10 yds.

Velocities are often slow, as we’re running primarily 11-12.5” barrels. The 16” barrels hover around 2400fps. Plenty of performance within 200 yds from either.

This last trip I switched to 223 TMK because of Rokslide. I only shot them in the CNS or medium (~100lbs) pigs in the shoulder. Performance matched Grendel SST, although I want a bigger sample size before I’m completely sold.

These were all Grendel pigs, to give some size reference.

 

[BjornF16]

American Eagle 90 TNT from short barrel Grendel works great

 

[sierracharlie338]

Hornady also has a new 100isg grain VT bullet coming out that I think will be a hammer in the Grendel. Soon as I can get my hands one some I plan on trying them.

 

[minisaw249]

The likelihood of a pass-through is more dependent on the bullet used than the cartridge that it comes from.

Use a bonded or mono-metal bullet and you will get a smaller wound channel and a higher probability of a pass-through.
Use a more frangible bullet and the wound channel will be larger and the probability of a pass-though will be less.

For me, I care about killing in the fastest way possible, which is why I have switched to the 123 grain SST and 120 Grain A-max in my Grendels. I was shooting 105 grain Cavity Backs.

Something that is often overlooked in these types of discussions is that when shooting a smaller cartridge, suppressed, is that I can spot my shots, hear the impact, and hear the deer running and crashing, if they happen to run out of sight. I have found I don’t need a blood trail because I know right where to find them as I heard them crash.

Had that happen on a Whitetail and a large hog in middle GA. Both shot with a 7TCU using 120 grain NBTs. No exit on either. Deer went 10 yards into the thick stuff, but I heard him pile up so I was able to walk right up to him. Hog went a bit further, but again, I heard him run and crash, so I had a very good idea of which direction he went, and the general area he was in. The guide and I were able to crawl through the tangle, and when I said “I am pretty sure he crashed right in here”, he was 5 yards away.

That is amazing if you can hear that. Most individual's hearing become suppressed or muted without EARPRO to the point where they are unaware of the severity of the noise until afterwards and it will shut down during shooting. There are some exceptions but if that happens with you, that is great.

 

[HandgunHTR]

That is amazing if you can hear that. Most individual's hearing become suppressed or muted without EARPRO to the point where they are unaware of the severity of the noise until afterwards and it will shut down during shooting. There are some exceptions but if that happens with you, that is great.

The key is shooting suppressed. With a suppressor, you can hear those things happen. Without, you can't.

 

[minisaw249]

The key is shooting suppressed. With a suppressor, you can hear those things happen. Without, you can't.

Shooting with suppressors are a game changer. Especially with muzzle rise in thick timber when you need to see what direction the animal runs if it does.

 

[Boltgun]

Suppressors are the bomb.

When shooting suppressed, you’ll know if you hit the pig. Sounds just like a baseball bat hitting a tire.

 

[Luke S]

I never heard a bullet smack but we did use a suppressed 308 for a couple bears over bait. It was nice because you could hear the bears crashing off. We also tried electric ear muffs on a non suppressed 358 and got similar results. We had a very good idea where the bears dropped. That 358 makes some impressive holes.

 

[HandgunHTR]

I never heard a bullet smack but we did use a suppressed 308 for a couple bears over bait. It was nice because you could hear the bears crashing off. We also tried electric ear muffs on a non suppressed 358 and got similar results. We had a very good idea where the bears dropped. That 358 makes some impressive holes.

Yes it does. Now that I have a .36 cal can, I am sorely tempted to build a .358 win. I have had a couple of them over the years and they are fun.

 

[jpmulk]

I have taken 2 decent sized boars with my Grendel and the 123 SST (2375 FPS with a 14" suppressed barrel). Both were 80-ish yards away. Both ran about 75 yds and soaked up 3 shots (2 in the vitals and 1 far back while running). None of them exited. The Grendel can do it, but the big boars are pretty tough. Small boars, sows and Whitetail deer fall much quicker.

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That is huge. How much does that thing weigh?