6.5 Grendel velocities

[Huntchic]

Over the last couple months ive been working on loads for a new 6.5 Grendel with 18" Faxon barrel. I have been using CFE223 and Tac powders. Bullets are 123gr. SST and 125gr Partition. I started my first ladders with my crono and Shortly after that my crono got hit while testing some 10 mm with a friend. so since then ive been working up loads based on accuracy but no velocity numbers. I borrowed a crono yesterday to test my final loads and not sure if my numbers are correct or not. Can someone with experience using TAC and 123 SST and or 125 Partition tell me if these numbers seem correct or close. Not used to this crono so kinda want to see what others are getting and if im somewhere close.

TAC @ 28.0 125gr Partition 5 shot average 2420 fps
TAC @ 28.2 123gr SST 5 shot average 2456 fps
TAC @ 27.6 123gr SST 5 shot average 2411 fps

CFE @ 31.2 123gr SST 5 short average 2489 fps
CFE @ 31.2 125gr Partition 5 shot average 2451 Fps

 

[Mulyhuntr]

Not sure about tac but your cfe numbers are very similar to my 18" barrel velocities.

 

[Huntchic]

Thanks Mulyhuntr
I was concerned the results were bit high with the chrono i borrowed being its bit cheaper model and i had never used it before.
My biggest issue so far has been that its really hard to find anything much on the 125 Partition with Grendel shooters.

 

[Vern400]

The SSTs will probably hold together pretty good at those velocities. There's probably not a tremendous difference in penetration. They both initiate expansion pretty quickly. SSTs are a lot cheaper. It's nice to see somebody starting out with do really good candidate bullets.

One of my friends has shot hundreds of wild hogs with SSTs it does velocities. They work really well. Deer too. And coyotes.

I use partitions on hogs. It's all fun and games below 200 ~250 lb. But if all you get is a body shot on a 300 pounder... Let's just say it's better to knock them down on the spot then to track them into bushes you have to belly crawl through. Tracking is for bad shots or not enough gun around here. Enjoy your Grendel!

 

[Huntchic]

How do the Partitions do vs the SST on the hogs? Sounds like they are about equal. I was hoping on deer the partitions would work on shoulder shots and pass completely through.

 

[Vern400]

You have a better chance of pass thru with the partitions. But at your velocities a pass thru on a mature boar with thick shields isn't assured. I still think the Grendel is a good hog gun.

They aren't THAT hard to kill. Especially being the ear is good. But a friend bow shot a big boar and found a cyst in one shoulder. He cut it open and found a 270 bullet. Completely healed up. It was prolly a quartering away shot that would drop a deer. But that's speculation. We measured though and it was a .277 well before any 6.8 PRC.

So yeah- just pick your shot, and shoot them till all the squeal and wiggle is gone. If you track one they're likely to come outta the thick and grab you. Sometimes they swipe and run. Sometimes it's a revenge tour. One friend got brucellosis from a nick, and another got his archeles tendon severed from a bite in Florida.
( His rifle was laying on a dead boar, and the other boar in the fight came back) But these guys are lifetime hardcore hot guys. That crap is rare, and we're old now. I'm a lightweight.

I hit a 250 pound boar on Cumberland Island with a 308/150 partition. Broadside chest shot. 2+ inches of shield. He went down screaming, got up and ran at me (30 yds on the ground). He didn't know where I was.
I hit him again near the sternum and he went down flailing and screaming. I try to headshot and missed. Last shot went between the jowls, and out the top. Done.

So for me, they're easy to kill with the first shot, and very difficult to kill with the second, third, and fourth shot . And no, I'm not some jerk making stuff up. Most of them drop like a brick or run a short distance. If a big one doesn't, be dang careful if you're on the ground.

 

[Huntchic]

Wow. I’ve never hunted hogs but if I ever do I’m thinking my 300 win. Now. lol.
Be like hunting or fishing in Alaska around bears where you can’t have to much gun and want to be sure first shot is perfect.

 

[Vern400]

The 300 win is different. We stalked a 210.pound boar out in the salt flats where he was eating fiddler crabs. No cover so we belly crawled through the low tide muck. After the forward shoulder shot we went 225 yards to get him. That darn 300 blew a quarter size exit, blew blood 3 feet out of both nostrils and his eyes were not in the right place anymore. I asked Joe if the hog was dead enough. He said "What? You think I made him too dead?". Your Grendel will do fine. And I can't shoot a 300 well. It's all fun, and all hogs need shooting.

 

[Huntchic]

lol. I was joking about using the 300 for hogs. It would definitely work but yep it’s pretty potent round and recoil.