I jumped in the 6.5 Grendel pool, need some info please.

[koger]

I just bought a CZ527, in 6.5 Grendel. It shoots great, with factory ammo, but I will be reloading for it. I have loaded about every other 6.5 round out there, but I thought I would ask the knowledgeable folks here about their forays into reloading this round.

1. What powder works best, I assume anything that works with a PPC would work well.

2. What bullet weight does the best. I am leaning towards the 120 for downrange energy, I may let the wife deer hunt with it 200yds and in. Any varmint loads appreciated also.
3. Any special nuances when loading for it, does a standard taper crimp die do well, or do you need a factory crimp die. I only currently use one for a .300BO, and it makes it shoot a lot better.

This rifle has the set trigger, and set it breaks at about 12 ounces, about 2# unset. The barrel is floated, but no bedding has been done, may not do any. But I have bedded every rifle I have used for the past 40 years, I just tend to think a bedded gun shoots better, every one I have bedded has improved.

Please feel free to impart your experiences, how ever bad or good they are to this thread. Thanks.

 

[F224]

Well if the rifle is shooting well, don't change anything! I have a Howa Mini HB that only shoots sub moa with 95gr Vmax bullets. I've settled on a full load of VV N530, Hornady brass, and Fed 205M primers. It will not shoot any factory 120-130gr load under 1.25moa. Hopefully it's just a fluke with this rifle.

Even after we cut the barrel down to 10.5" and pinned on the Creative Arms host tube, it still shoots the Vmax loads into .75moa.

 

[rockhound78]

Mine loves the Speer 90tnt with benchmark powder

 

[koger]

Mine is grouping just a little over 1/2", consistently, for 3 shot groups at 100dys, with the factory federal 120 gr loads. I have killed a lot of deer, out to 500yds with a 120gr Sierra sp in my 6.5Swede, and will try that for my first load. I have a bunch of 85 gr HP's Sierras that I used for varmint hunting with my Swede as well, will try them as a varmint load, since i have a bunch of them.

 

[Sniper338]

123 AMAX was the ticket for a 8.75 twist. I bought a bunch before they disappeared.

Reloader 15 is my most accurate load by far. Compressed load though. Find your own load work up if you try it.

 

[Lone Hunter]

I have a Howa Mini Action in 6.5 Grendel. I use 123 Hornady ELD M in it with IMR 8208 XBR with CCI primer. Shoots very good. Also use the same loads in my AR but different powder charges. The AR shoots better than the Howa. Haven't killed a deer with it yet, haven't used it much, but did kill a bobcat, DRT. For varmints I use Sierra 85 gr HP with H335. Very Accurate . Just don't use it like I do my other rifles but would have no reservations about doing so.
Hornady also has a ELD X so you might look at it too.

 

[South Paw Sammy]

I have gotten great results with 8208 and 100grn Nosler BTs on hogs out to 175yds.

 

[EdHarley]

My loads are for a gas gun but it still shoots under 1 minute to 600yds. 123 SMK, 28gn of AR Comp Fed 205M . Same load works just as well for the 123 ELD. I worked up a heavier load for deer as well with the 130 GMK and PP varmint at 27.5gn that shot well also.

 

[mac86951]

Powder; you're right lots work well
Bullets; some people like the 140gr class; but I'd recommend sticking to lighter than 130s

Reloading gotchas? There is 6ppc flash hole brass circulating; i found this with my universal decapper and bummer is the result. Otherwise, loading is quite easy.

-Mac

 

[Hohn]

123 AMAX was the ticket for a 8.75 twist. I bought a bunch before they disappeared.

Reloader 15 is my most accurate load by far. Compressed load though. Find your own load work up if you try it.

Might try AR Comp as it's denser and might get you out of compression. I've found it to be far more temp stable too and basically no longer use RL15 after burning a few pounds of AR-Comp.

 

[Hohn]

Powder; you're right lots work well
Bullets; some people like the 140gr class; but I'd recommend sticking to lighter than 130s

Reloading gotchas? There is 6ppc flash hole brass circulating; i found this with my universal decapper and bummer is the result. Otherwise, loading is quite easy.

-Mac

Heck , you could run a 147 in a Grendel if you give it about 0.600 freebore and don't mind 2300fps speeds.

 

[Laurie]

To date, my Howa 'Mini' Oryx has given best results with the 120gn Lapua Scenar-L. I had just started to try 107/120/123/130 Sierra MKs and TMKs when Covid shut things down and we're not yet allowed to use bench equipped covered firing points here. I don't see it as being worthwhile trying anything heavier than the 130gn Berger OTM Tactical and same weight Sierra TMK, unless you had the barrel 'throated out' a LOT as @Hohn says.

But Viht gives loads data for 136 to 156gn bullets in addition to the more usual suspects. The highest MV quoted in its data for the 156 Lapua 'Mega' is all of 2,123 fps for N540 out of a 24-inch barrel. Wow!

Ramshot Tac and Viht N133 have given me best results to date. Tac gives slightly larger groups but >100 fps additional velocity over N133's 2,400 with the 120 Scenat from 20-inches. IMR-8208 XBR produced good MVs but indifferent groups. I'm waiting on getting AR-Comp (like Hen's teeth in the UK) and QuickLOAD suggests Ramshot Wild Boar is yet better suited to the cartridge than Tac. Wild Boar is a Europe only powder, but the Western Powders loads data table for the Grendel with Accurate-2520 is identical in every respect to its Wild Boar table for European shooters suggesting they are the same powder under two labels. There have been suggestions on the AS Forum that 2520 is US made (sourced from General Dynamics / Primex in Florida), but at least some lots have apparently come from Eurenco PB Clermont in Belgium which manufactures most Ramshot grades. Our stuff is definitely Belgian and comes to the UK distributor direct from the factory missing out the transatlantic round trip to Western in Montana.

 

[HandgunHTR]

I have a 24" Encore barrel in 6.5 Grendel and it is quickly becoming my favorite whitetail/Axis gun. I have taken 4 Axis and 2 whitetails with it. All using the 105 grain Cavity Back MKZ bullet and 8208 powder (28.2 grains and a CCI 400 primer). I am getting right at 2600 fps with that load.
I have also gotten really good groups with Hornady 123gr SST over 28.5 grains of AA2520.

 

[jbmarshtx]

I have a howa grendel heavy barrel for hunting. I use 100gr barnes ttsx with 29.0gr VV N133 powder. I am close to the VV published max for the 100 scenar. No idea on velocity. I've probably shot less than 100 rounds through this one, but it's a pretty accurate load.

I have a remington 700 grendel that I use for highpower silhouette. From the grendel forum, most ball powders will give better velocity, but they are also more temperature sensitive. I'm using Varget for 100 grain ELDM, no velocity idea. I am using H4895 for the 130 berger AR bullet. Nosler lists H4895 for the 129/130 grain bullets. The suggestions on the grendel forum are 8208 xbr for 120s and lighter and depends for the heavier bullets. H4895 I think provides more temperature stability than some of the ball powders but likely a little lower velocity.

Added. Before I did my 100ttsx loads for the howa, I did shoot 2 deer with it using factory Alexander Arms 120tsx ammo. Performance for a lung shot was as expected. Both shots were probably only about 75 yards.

 

[2506]

I have two ARs in 6.5 Grendel one 20" the other 18". Both do their thing with IMR 8208 and 120s. One AWESOME deer bullet is the Speer 120 Gold Dot that I run at 2550 fps out of the 20" with a bit more IMR 8208 than Speer's data list as max with no problem. Their load data is quite low in my experience. I run the 120 Sierra Pro Hunter at 2550 fps in my 18" . I killed a deer with this combo this past season and it did well but I prefer the Gold Dot. Both are very accurate bullets. I as well as others have had best results using CCI 450 primers. There is really no need to crimp your bullet in a bolt rifle. Many like the Hornady 123 SST bullet which really flies great for them but neither of my rifles like them with any load and even factory ammo. Could not get them much under 2" groups. As for powders H335, AA2230, IMR 8208, ARcomp, AA2520, H4895 are good ones.

 

[ncageneral]

I use AR Comp under Sierra 120 Prohunters for deer, 120 Matchkings for everything else. Frankenrifle , Satern 24" barrel, PSA blem upper and lower. It shoots good enough that I've never used a different powder. This is sighting in after deer season with the Matchkings . 1 shot low, adjusted and fired 4, and called the last shot high. It shoots pretty good . Its deadly on deer with Prohunters. I wouldnt be afraid to try one at 300 yds, but wouldnt push it past that range. Picture is sideways for some reason.

 

[brainiac]

My buddy at work shoots 90 to 100 gr bullets with 8208 and most shoot under a minute out to 300.

 

[Lefty Trigger]

I'm running 123gr Sierra's and AR Comp powder in mine. You can load AR Comp almost exactly the same as H4895 data as I have found them to be darn near identical. I'm loading for a 26 inch barrel and not driving them hard at 2500fps.

 

[duke260]

This is the load for my ar. Works great on steel out to 500. That’s the farthest I’ve pushed it.

 

[Bat Rastard]

120 Gold Dots over lots of aa2520 was doing very well from my Ruger American.