Would You?

[RustyMetal]

Would you hunt whitetail deer with a 6.5 Grendel at say, ....... 300 yards?

If not that, then how small would you go?

 

[1K6BRA]

It's kind of like real estate sales, it's all about location, location, location. The right bullet in the right place is better than a big bullet in the wrong place.

 

[Grimstod]

Absolutely. Shot placement first though.

 

[JBT47]

I take a lot of whitetails each year with a .223 and 80gr Amax’s...so I certainly would use a 6.5 Grendel.

 

[joshb]

.????? If it's a question of "kill probability", I'd go to a stronger cartridge. I have a rack of guns to choose from. I would pick one that served my purpose humanely and not "stretch the limits" of a lighter round for bragging rights. Just me. I don't own a 6.5 Grendel and don't know it's limitations, tho.

 

[ebb]

Have you looked to see how much energy a Grendel has at 300yds? Many states have a requirement of a minimum ft lbs of energy required to hunt deer , elk , ect in their state.

 

[Eric Leonard]

the 6.5 125 gr Nosler Partition at 2600 fps has 1150 FPE at 300 yards,,,I have been looking at the CZ 527 6.5 Grendel with its 24 inch bbl I think a person could beat 2600 fps from the Grendel case and it would make an awesome rifle to carry and hunt with.

the 142 Accubond at 2400 fps will carry 1350 FPE at 300 yards which would make it better than I thought it would be and could stretch the range a little,

 

[K22]

If your purpose is a light recoiling rifle why not go with a 243? There is an abundance of rifles to choose from and components / ammo is readily available. Keep it simple.

If you really anticipate shooting deer at 300 yards I'd opt for the 260 Rem (if light recoil is the issue) but the 243 can do the job with the right bullet.

As others said, it's all about shot placement with a quality bullet.

 

[DirtySteve]

Use it if you are comfortable shooting it, use it. But keep the shot at 300 or less. There are no magic bullets. Placement kills, hit the heart or lungs and it will die.

 

[people]

Would I? That depends on the rifle and how well I could shoot it.

The real question is how well can you shoot it? Will it get the job done? Quick answer is yes with a big depends. The depends is how you hunt.

 

[johnfred1965]

The depends is how you hunt.

If you hunt from a stand with a good rest, the grendel is plenty accurate and can do the job. If you are a still hunter, like my brother, the chance of a moving target and poor shot placement increase dramatically, and so should your caliber

 

[Tommie]

Would I?
If I didn’t already own another rifle with more “soup” then: yes. As others have stated, 1100 foot pounds of energy (at 300 yards) is adequate assuming very well placed shots. When you add the variables involved with connecting at 300 yards and all the human error possibilities, a more powerful cartridge can add a more forgiving margin of error.

 

[RustyMetal]

Have you looked to see how much energy a Grendel has at 300yds? Many states have a requirement of a minimum ft lbs of energy required to hunt deer , elk , ect in their state.

That is an interesting issue. More in a second.

Of course there are a few givens.
It would not be a close my eyes and hope it hits something type of shot. At 100 yards I do brain shots, but at 300 it would be a heart/lung shot of course.
I don't have a lot of guns to hunt with. This one is sort of bridging the gap right now between .223 and .30 cals. This was a pretty good deal for a complete upper for my AR-15. 24", fluted SS, etc.

I have some Hornady 123g SST's, and the muzzle energy is 1586 @ 100/yds & 1193 @ 300/yds. - I don't know if my Texas County has muzzle energy requirements or not. It's on private land anyway and Gamey would have to crash through a cattle guard gate. heh heh

This would also be my primary hog hunter as well. I also have a 30.06 and a 300 WinMag. Both with blind magazines, so very low capacity. 5 I think.

 

[perry42]

A 270 with a good 130gr bullet would do the job out to 400yds no problem. The shot placement depends on the skill of the shooter.

perry42

 

[4xforfun]

Have you looked to see how much energy a Grendel has at 300yds? Many states have a requirement of a minimum ft lbs of energy required to hunt deer , elk , ect in their state.

That "requirement " is energy at the muzzle. They have no way to regulate down range energy.

Lets say a 105 gn 6mm (BC..525) had the same energy at the muzzle as a 460 S&W (BC 100)... (I have NO IDEA if it does...just making up something to make a point). What do you thing happens at 400 yards?

Tod

 

[ebb]

Have the common sense not to shoot if you choose to go elk hunting with a 6mm. Most everyone on this board has more than one gun, and can pick something with enough power to ethically take game. The 6.5 Grendel is enough gun to hunt deer within limits, the hunter should know those limits and follow them. Locals used to hunt deer with 30 carbine, in my opinion its a 50 yd gun on a deer maybe less.

 

[people]

If you hunt from a stand with a good rest, the grendel is plenty accurate and can do the job. If you are a still hunter, like my brother, the chance of a moving target and poor shot placement increase dramatically, and so should your caliber

yes but nothing compares to accuracy. Well volume does kind of make up for it. I like saying "It does not take a belted magnum to kill todays modern smaller deer. It is just more fun."

 

[4xforfun]

Have the common sense not to shoot if you choose to go elk hunting with a 6mm. Most everyone on this board has more than one gun, and can pick something with enough power to ethically take game. The 6.5 Grendel is enough gun to hunt deer within limits, the hunter should know those limits and follow them. Locals used to hunt deer with 30 carbine, in my opinion its a 50 yd gun on a deer maybe less.

Watching a "hunting" show a couple years ago....they were shooting elk at over 800 yards with a 6-284!!

 

[ShootDots]

With the excellent bullets that are on the market today, the Grendel would have no problem with a clean kill on ANY Whitetail! Whitetail, even 200+ pounders, are rather fragile animals. Put a 125-140 class "bonded bullet" or a Nosler Partition into the "heart / lung" area of a Deer and he will not go far. It is very difficult to live when the lungs are torn to shreds and blood is flooding into them. Death will occur quickly. Having said that, WOULD I build a Deer rifle chambered in a Grendel? Hell no! There are too many other cartridges BETTER suited for the task at hand. If ALL I HAD was the Grendel, I would load it with a good bullet, keep the ranges 300 and under and go get a Deer. However, if I had a .260 Rem., 7mm-08, .270 / .280 etc.. I would much rather use one of them!

 

[FeMan]

A personal rule of thumb I have developed for thin-skinned game over 35 years of avid hunting is 1) use a good quality hunting bullet that will penetrate adequately and transfer all or most of its energy into the animal, and 2) has a minimum of 3-times the animals live weight in ft-lbs of energy at impact, and 3) has an impact velocity over 1800 fps.