6.5 Grendel

[krhuntin]

Hey all, been trying to find a reload for my 6.5 Grendel shooting 120 grain pills. Friend h335 and 8208 xbr so far. Xbr has the better groups but only getting 1.5” groups. Has anyone found a decent load for 120s? Also I have 1 piece of ever try that has the mouth opened up and ripped. Any idea why this is happening. Also with running a can my brass is super dirty. Any info is appreciated.

 

[DiffEQ]

Have you annealed?
Measure a fired case (that hasn't ripped) to an unfired, loaded round to get an idea how much your brass is expanding.
Are you saying you only have H335 or 8208XBR?

 

[Bamban]

Here is mine, an AR15. Barrel was harvested from a 6.5x47 take off barrel. 2000MR load is 31.4. My buddy who ran the group through his app misread the numbers. POA on the L and R groups are the numbers "8"



No load work, just copied some known recipes from the Grendel forums. Brass are just range pick ups, no special prep using used Lee die set.

 

[ncageneral]

AR Comp is the only powder I have ever needed to try, works for 120 Sierra Prohunters and Matchkings equally well. 1/2 -3/4" five shot groups normally. I know its hard to come by now but its good out of a Grrrr.

 

[krhuntin]

Have you annealed?
Measure a fired case (that hasn't ripped) to an unfired, loaded round to get an idea how much your brass is expanding.
Are you saying you only have H335 or 8208XBR?

Yessir. I have annealed. I have other powders just not sure if they are any more suitable than these or just feeling of what other options may be good.

 

[krhuntin]

AR Comp is the only powder I have ever needed to try, works for 120 Sierra Prohunters and Matchkings equally well. 1/2 -3/4" five shot groups normally. I know its hard to come by now but its good out of a Grrrr.

That’s the powder I have been looking for with no luck.

 

[DDRanch]

ncageneral​

Care to share starting load for AR Comp?

 

[Oso]

AR Comp and H4895 are comparable in performance and both are temp stable. They aren't the same powder so you need to work up loads independently. My rifle loves both and shoots the 123gr SST bullets.

Other powders with more velocity that work well with +120gr are CFE223 and LEVERevolution. These two powders are temp sensitive so keep this in mind when developing loads during cool weather.

Based on the "6.5 Grendel Reloading Handbook", approx. 27.0gr - 28.0gr of ARComp to drive a 120gr bullet.

 

[NZ_Fclass]

Power Pro Varmint and 8208XBR produse the best results in my bolt gun. Benchmark and CFE223 are contenders too. Benchmark with 100g bullets is excellent.

 

[Laurie]

Viht N133 has so far given me the best results with the 120 Scenar L. I've yet to try AR-Comp, so that may better it. Ramshot TAC has given reasonable, but not outstanding results. Good MVs though.

What rifle, chamber, dies and brass are you using. Neck splits like that are indicative of excess case to chamber clearances and/or excessive brass working during the sizing / seating / firing cycle. How often have the scrap cases been loaded and fired?

 

[krhuntin]

Viht N133 has so far given me the best results with the 120 Scenar L. I've yet to try AR-Comp, so that may better it. Ramshot TAC has given reasonable, but not outstanding results. Good MVs though.

What rifle, chamber, dies and brass are you using. Neck splits like that are indicative of excess case to chamber clearances and/or excessive brass working during the sizing / seating / firing cycle. How often have the scrap cases been loaded and fired?

I am using a pieced together component AR style, i am using hornady brass, which has seemed to be the most consistent in my tests. My barrel is a 1:8 Faxon 20" barrel. I utilize expanding mandrels, so the brass isnt overworked. Anneal them between every load. I think you are onto somethign with the excess case to chamber clearances. How would one fix this issue if it is already excessive?

 

[DHD]

While I've never had a case quite that bad, my Satern cut rifled barrel (barrel extension actually) was not kind to the necks of my brass. I ended up gently filing and then polishing the 3ish o'clock locking lug recess and cutting a coil and a half off of the ejector spring. That took care of the gouge.

I probably have shot more 120 SMK's than any other bullet in my Grendel and both 2520 and LeverRevolution have always given the highest velocity and very good accuracy. I worked up to my charge weight and use AA/Lapua brass and that load shoots about the same with 450, 7 1/2, or Wolf SRM primers. I'd call it a stout load but brass life is 10+. I anneal often. The 120 SMK isn't as sexy as some of the other choices available (sort of available that is) but they aren't picky and are consistently accurate. I point mine.

My rifle started as a AA Overwatch and now is something else that I spent too much money on but shoots as good as I would hope for. It will shoot good groups to 600 yards. That's the limit of my range so...

 

[jbmarshtx]

8208xbr is one of the more popular powders on the 6.5grendel.com forum. 28.5ish is recommended absolute max for the 120 class as it apparently tends to spike pressure quickly.

I shoot a grendel bolt gun, but these were helpful when I started reloading for it.

6.5 Grendel Reloading HandBooks

Reloading Handbooks for the 6.5 Grendel Cartridge

www.ar15buildbox.com

 

[Bill K]

neck/shoulder hardening. Anneal those cases.

 

[darkangel_r2]

Hey all, been trying to find a reload for my 6.5 Grendel shooting 120 grain pills. Friend h335 and 8208 xbr so far. Xbr has the better groups but only getting 1.5” groups. Has anyone found a decent load for 120s?

Tell me about the gun. What parts does it have? Trying to use someone elses load can lead to a lot of tail chasing. Lucky for you xbr is one of the premer 6.5 grendel powders. So a proper load work up should yield results. What 120 are you using?

Also I have 1 piece of ever try that has the mouth opened up and ripped. Any idea why this is happening. Also with running a can my brass is super dirty. Any info is appreciated.

What's your gas system length? Do you have an adjustable gas system and/or different strength springs and buffer weights. My brother slapped together a 28" grendel on a standard rifle length gas system and since the bullets are slow in general the dwell time was hilariously excessive. It took an ar10 spring with an h3 buffer to stop it from destroying his brass (bent rims not split necks but still). I would suggest that you get an adjustable gas block if you don't have one as the strong spring and heavy buffer route alone can increase slam fire probability (you can get a light weight firing pin to reduce that).

Best way to get cleaner brass is with adjustable gas system too.

 

[Buzz]

@krhuntin Sorry if I missed it, but which 120’s are you shooting?

 

[Bigtee]

I’m shooting the 120 Speer Gold Dot in my Aero 6.5 Grendel. It has a 18” Faxon 5R barrel. Always shoots awesome. 26.7 grains of Reloder 15.

 

[HardwoodPro]

I’ve shot a ton of 123amax thru a 6.5g ar15 with satern barrels. 28.2gr 8208 worked well for me. Rl15 and benchmark also were useful. Never tried ar comp

 

[Sandstorm]

27.5 gr TAC behind a 123gr SST is lights out in my 24 inch X-Caliber barrel.

 

[krhuntin]

@krhuntin Sorry if I missed it, but which 120’s are you shooting?

hornady cx 120