# Firearms and Shooting > Firearms, Optics and Accessories >  6.5 grendel for hunting

## Ftx325

Does any one have experience with the 6.5 grendel and using it as a hunting round? Any thoughts on the cartridge for a general all round bush and medium range hunting round through a Howa mini action specifically and with a 16 inch barrel. From my digging it sounds like a good round and should still be carrying around 2500 fps out of a 16 inch barrel.

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## GWH

It works just fine to sensible ranges.

Ive shot a few reds and fallow with my howa mini out to 400 yards. I wouldnt push it any further than that.  123gr eldm is the go. Ive been surprised at the damage the eldm does at just 2500 fps.

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## Pommy

Yes, it works, go buy one.

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## mikee

I have a mate with a Grendel and i have something very close to one (same calibre and similar velocities) both kill deer well inside 350m. Having said that bigger is always more better

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## gonetropo

i bought one for the missus after she was forced to hand her sks in, now she has a scoped rifle that will shoot 500m vs the i50 sks, 10 round detachable mag instead of inbuilt 5 and a whole lot more accuracy
i hope nz feels safer  :Psmiley:

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## Mathias

6.5G is a great wee unit to shoot. Shot fallow & goats with mine using 123 SST, never felt under gunned at sensible ranges.

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## Tentman

its the new 7mm-08!!

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## Ftx325

> Why 6.5 over 7mm?  Similar in recoil especially with 120's in the 7/08, for instance.  Easier to find ammo off the shelf and knock down power is enhanced.


wanting a calibre made in the howa mini action as I am going to build a custom rifle based around the new kiwi made howa chassis. Was going to go 223 as a general hunting round for small and medium game , but as mentioned bigger is better so seriously considering the 6.5 as a larger game rifle and perhaps also the .204 ruger barreled action for the pesties and just switch out the actions for whatever I intend to use it for.  450 bushmaster is unessecasry as already have the 45/70. I'm thinking I would rather have something bigger than 223 for piggies and deer. The missus already has her 7.62x39 which appears to have worse ballistics than the 6.5. And I have the 338 for when I know it will involve longer ranges but decided the howa chassis with a short supressed barrel would be a nice lightish bush/doc rifle when out for longer 2+ day walks , rather than the T-rex gun which gets a bit heavy and LOUD in tight bush, and don't know exactly what distances shots will be taken at. figured a calibre capable of shooting 0-250 mtrs accurately for pigs/deer would be the way to go and the 6.5 sounds like it would be ideal but I have no experience with that round.

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## Ftx325

> its the new 7mm-08!!


paint the rifle coffee colour ya reckon.... call it caffeine drab.... or latteflage camo

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## gonetropo

> paint the rifle coffee colour ya reckon.... call it caffeine drab.... or latteflage camo


soy latte at best  :Psmiley:

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## Pommy

> Why 6.5 over 7mm?  Similar in recoil especially with 120's in the 7/08, for instance.  Easier to find ammo off the shelf and knock down power is enhanced.


There's calculators online for working stuff like this out. With two 6lb rifles...

123gr @ 2500ft/s = 10.4ft/lb force @ 10.5ft/s velocity.
120gr @ 3000ft/s = 18ft/lb force @ 14ft/s velocity.

Grendel has significantly lower recoil. Also, if we go down the same route of using light-for calibre bullets in a Grendel:

90gr @ 2900ft/s = 9ft/lb force @ 9.8ft/s velocity. I.e. pretty much half the 7mm-08.

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## Timmay

I would probably lean towards a .260 or a 6.5mememore, you can always load them down to a 6.5G... either way a 123gr ELDM will kill plenty of stuff out to 400m with ease.

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## stevodog

Unless you download the 7mm08. Ill be using 145gr@2400  which should Be a bit softer than full house load

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## stevodog

> I would probably lean towards a .260 or a 6.5mememore, you can always load them down to a 6.5G... either way a 123gr ELDM will kill plenty of stuff out to 400m with ease.


yes, this.

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## Ftx325

Recoil is not an issue that worries me in the slightest...45/70 and 338lm are my favorite rifles and I imagine a grendel will feel like a 22 in comparison. And I am limited to calibres available in the howa mini line-up anyway.

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## kiwi-adam

Just got back from 6days hunting with the 6.5 Grendel. The Factory Hornady Blacks with the 123 ELD-M did the business.
1x Fallow Spiker at 30m, 4x Goats between 30-300m.
Wife had her 7mm08 as support, have fired them both 1 after the other, and they are chalk and cheese. 7mm08 doesnt have much recoil, 6.5g has next to zero recoil and is a tonne more fun to shoot!

Would be suprised if you get 2500fps out of 16in, im only getting 2350-2400 out of 20in...

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## Mathias

> Just got back from 6days hunting with the 6.5 Grendel. The Factory Hornady Blacks with the 123 ELD-M did the business.
> 1x Fallow Spiker at 30m, 4x Goats between 30-300m.
> Wife had her 7mm08 as support, have fired them both 1 after the other, and they are chalk and cheese. 7mm08 doesnt have much recoil, 6.5g has next to zero recoil and is a tonne more fun to shoot!
> 
> Would be suprised if you get 2500fps out of 16in, im only getting 2350-2400 out of 20in...


I'm getting 2505fps average with Hornady 123gr factory ammo out of a 17" barrel, so yeah maybe 30+ fps slower per inch, rule of thumb.

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## tikka

If I didn’t have a 300 blackout I would seriously consider the 6.5 grendel as a bush stalking rifle.

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## Ftx325

The 300 blackout was another option but that seems to be a better close range or sub round whereas the 6.5 seems to be the better option for the longer ranges so I have pretty much dropped that from the possibles list.

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## dogmatix

As a compact rifle its fine for hunting.
Mine was built to fit in my day pack when broken down.

But I had it confiscated last year as part of the bullshit and haven't seen anything suitable to replace it yet.

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## hotbarrels

I think the 6.5G is ideal for the Howa Mini, if you already have a 7.62x39. Its a slightly depowered Creedmoor in terms of ballistics and by far the most versatile cartridge for that length action in NZ hunting conditions. 

If it was for bush hunting only, I would probably stick to the 7.62x39 as it has plenty of energy for clean kills with minimal meat damage. I am disappointed with my Creedmoor only from the perspective of excessive meat damage, but nothing walks away. With ELDXs it destroys probably 5x the meat that the 7.62x39 Highland factory 123gr PSPs does. 

Also, if your wife is using brass cases ammo you can save it and resize it to 6.5G. 


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## Ftx325

She is but I am not a reloader but that may be next on the list to learn.

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## Rock river arms hunter

Got a good mate who uses one as his go to gun.

Mini action howa.

Tahr at 220 and anything else to 300 with ease.

Like shooting a 22 with more oomph. Just go and buy one. Their fantastic and I need one myself

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## Synthetic

I'm planning to make a similar setup at the moment.

Thinking of getting:

Howa 6.5 Grendel lightweight stainless 20 inch barreled action
Howa Alpine stock
Jefferson Outdoor's bottom metal
Gunworks 35mm diameter suppressor

Should be a pretty sweet setup suitable for 95% of shooting in NZ, but price would be getting up to $2200~$2300. Wonder if it's easier to just get a Sako A7 instead?

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## Steelisreal

> I'm planning to make a similar setup at the moment.
> 
> Thinking of getting:
> 
> Howa 6.5 Grendel lightweight stainless 20 inch barreled action
> Howa Alpine stock
> Jefferson Outdoor's bottom metal
> Gunworks 35mm diameter suppressor
> 
> Should be a pretty sweet setup suitable for 95% of shooting in NZ, but price would be getting up to $2200~$2300. Wonder if it's easier to just get a Sako A7 instead?


That's a great idea, but unfortunately the Alpine stock fits the short action 1500 (243, 6.5 Creedmoor, 7mm/08, 308 size). Your closest option for the Mini is the Henderson stock like @Dreamer recently got. I'm sure he won't mind posting up another pic! 

I was thinking in a similar way recently, so got the short action 1500 in 223 as it comes with a hinged floor plate internal magazine that can easily be modified to take rounds up to 2.45" long. It also comes with 1:8 twist now as well. Dropped it in an Alpine stick which is a nice shape. It's shooting really well now and is light and trim with an 18.5" barrel and the same 35mm Gunworks suppressor you're considering.

The foreend on the Alpine is fairly short allowing quite a short barrel with the right suppressor if you decide to go down the road of a Creedmoor instead of the Grendel.

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## Pommy

> She is but I am not a reloader but that may be next on the list to learn.


That's potentially an issue. Options for factory ammo are very limited. If you're happy shooting 123gr ELD/SST and can get a few boxes which will last you, great. Availability is sketcky though and there's no cheapo Federal, Winchester, Highland, PPU alternative.

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## Remmodel7

> That's potentially an issue. Options for factory ammo are very limited. If you're happy shooting 123gr ELD/SST and can get a few boxes which will last you, great. Availability is sketcky though and there's no cheapo Federal, Winchester, Highland, PPU alternative.


Seems to be a reasonable supply of factory around. Birthday black in a lot of stores. Have also seen grendel federal fusion and got a box of ppu 120gr for $40 the other day to try. I have one and am not a reloader and haven't had a problem finding ammo. Am keeping cases to possibly get someone to reload them for me. 
Love the grendel. Haven't fired any of my other centre fire rifles since I brought it

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## Ftx325

I am hoping it won't be to much of an issue. I don't need to rely on hunt& fish as we have a local gun shop Kelly Country ( blatant promo there guys.. discount next time?) who carry a pretty good stock above and beyond the usual as guns are their reason for being. I will have a chat with them about it though.

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## Dreamer

> That's a great idea, but unfortunately the Alpine stock fits the short action 1500 (243, 6.5 Creedmoor, 7mm/08, 308 size). Your closest option for the Mini is the Henderson stock like @Dreamer recently got. I'm sure he won't mind posting up another pic! 
> 
> I was thinking in a similar way recently, so got the short action 1500 in 223 as it comes with a hinged floor plate internal magazine that can easily be modified to take rounds up to 2.45" long. It also comes with 1:8 twist now as well. Dropped it in an Alpine stick which is a nice shape. It's shooting really well now and is light and trim with an 18.5" barrel and the same 35mm Gunworks suppressor you're considering.
> 
> The foreend on the Alpine is fairly short allowing quite a short barrel with the right suppressor if you decide to go down the road of a Creedmoor instead of the Grendel.





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## kiwi-adam

Had the 6.5 Grendel / Hornady Black ELD-M combo out for another 5 day hunt.
Dropped a 2nd Year Red Spiker on the spot from an 161m.
Had an elivated perch, shot entered top of neck, passed through lungs and out the lower shoulder. Couldn't be happier!

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## Wildman

Anyone had issues with terminal performance with 123gr SSTs as per factory ammo?

Opinions on "best" projectile for deer in the Grendel?

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## Micky Duck

the 123grn sst in the 7.62x39mm were the ducks nuts if your rifle liked them.....
its like anything projectile related,they all work if you put them in appropriate place...note I said appropriate not right...... wit ha varmit projectile thats either the crease with right angle or earhole....earhole being head or upper neck shots included... you relying on shallow severe wound to incapacitate aniaml who will die before recovering....Vs hard projectiles smack em in boiler room and take out front wheels at same time.... swap roles and your placement has to be 1000% spot on or animal can run off wounded.

and in these trying times of component shortage the answer to your question could well be "whatever the heck you can actually still buy"... many deer have died shot with 6.5mm FMJ..... ITS NOT PERFECT BY ANY MEANS but with correct shot placement...break shoulder bones to disrupt motion and hopefully create more internal trauma..... it worked. think of the SMLE and all the thousands of deer killed with them. same deal different decade.

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## mikee

> Anyone had issues with terminal performance with 123gr SSTs as per factory ammo?
> 
> Opinions on "best" projectile for deer in the Grendel?


Nosler 125gn Partition as long as you are shooting 300m or less, nothing beat them in my 6.5TCU. Other than that 123 SSTs or 130ELDm

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## Siteline

> Anyone had issues with terminal performance with 123gr SSTs as per factory ammo?
> 
> Opinions on "best" projectile for deer in the Grendel?


120eldm 2400fps vs stag at 200m

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## micknz

> That's potentially an issue. Options for factory ammo are very limited. If you're happy shooting 123gr ELD/SST and can get a few boxes which will last you, great. Availability is sketcky though and there's no cheapo Federal, Winchester, Highland, PPU alternative.


Factory ammo is bit limited down South... limited to mainly to Hornady Black and custom... my rifle was spraying them a bit (Black @ 2.3" at 100m). I've done some reloading and it seems that my rifle likes a seating depth of COBL 1.725"... so I reseated the factory ammo to that length and the grouping improved heaps (0.8", unfortunately the chrono didn't work for all the shots, but the two that it did work for were the exact same MV)... so just food for thought, if factory ammo is limited, they might just need a little tweaking to group better.

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## veitnamcam

> 120eldm 2400fps vs stag at 200mAttachment 192289


Shoot it again its still holding its head up!

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## quentin

> I would probably lean towards a .260 or a 6.5mememore, you can always load them down to a 6.5G... either way a 123gr ELDM will kill plenty of stuff out to 400m with ease.


260 rem, or a 6.5CM are definitely not fitting in a Howa Mini Action. Think Ftx325 is on the money with the 6.5 Grendel.

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## Bill999

> 260 rem, or a 6.5CM are definitely not fitting in a Howa Mini Action. Think Ftx325 is on the money with the 6.5 Grendel.


funnily they are the same action lenght and proportion to my kimber montana 308 length action
Id say with a little extension of the ejection port and mag well hole it would fit

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## GWH

> 260 rem, or a 6.5CM are definitely not fitting in a Howa Mini Action. Think Ftx325 is on the money with the 6.5 Grendel.


I don't believe he was saying those cartridges would fit in a Mini action, simply suggesting going with 260 or 6.5 Creed (in say a standard howa action) may be a better cartridge/rifle to look at, and he could always load it down closer to 6.5G velocities if wanted, but then have the ability to crank it up when required.

And I completely agree, the howa mini action rifle is really no smaller or lighter than any other normal short action rifle, so from my point of view there's no advantage at all over anything else.

I owned a mini in 6.5G briefly, it was heavier than other rifles I owned, and was well under powdered compared to my other rifles cartridges and for the type of hunting I do and the average distances I shoot deer at the 6.5G was marginal, worked fine inside 250 yards, beyond that i found it lacking, so for me i might as well be carrying one of my other hunting rifles that were the same size if not smaller, and were lighter and packed a much larger punch.

Hence why i moved the Mini 6.5G on

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## Mintie

I have a Howa Mini in Grendel, bought it new a few years back and had it cut down to pretty much minimum oal which only left about 10" of barrel. I struggled to get good groups from factory ammo but thanks to some friends have sorted a load out that works very well in it with Amax projectiles, nailed 3 goats with it last week and was very happy with the terminal performance. It lives in a modified plastic Howa stock but it's going to be upgraded sometime, the idea for me was a sub 300y rifle and I think it does the job well.

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## veitnamcam

> I have a Howa Mini in Grendel, bought it new a few years back and had it cut down to pretty much minimum oal which only left about 10" of barrel. I struggled to get good groups from factory ammo but thanks to some friends have sorted a load out that works very well in it with Amax projectiles, nailed 3 goats with it last week and was very happy with the terminal performance. It lives in a modified plastic Howa stock but it's going to be upgraded sometime, the idea for me was a sub 300y rifle and I think it does the job well. 
> 
> Attachment 194568


Shit thats short. 
What velocities are you getting?

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## Mintie

> Shit thats short. 
> What velocities are you getting?


Cant remember off the top of my head, need to check these new loads anyway so will report back. Think it was around 2250 fps with the factory loads

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## Intrepid

shot reds and sika from close in to 100m with the Hornady black 123 eldm, 
Works great. Its a Howa mini that loves to be feed the eldm but it has a rather strong dislike of the 123 sst factory ammo. Another guy at the range has had similar results with his Howa. If you want your factory mag machined down to be flush, holds three in the mag, let me know. Makes the balance to carry much nicer.

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## Ftx325

Well after selling off a few other toys I finally bit the bullet as it were and bought the howa in the grendel over the weekend.
Not a fan of the factory stock ..... but being a fan of carbon stocks I have a pretty good idea of what is going to happen - find more unused toys to sell to fund an upgrade !!
so if anyone wants a green factory stock let me know ....  :Grin: 
And then lop the barrel down so suppressor just clears the stock - I guess 16in ish .
Then I think I will have a pretty good set-up for myself or the kids for those places where a 308 is overkill , like close range goats etc and still leave the option for longer shots should they be required ..

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## Micky Duck

good article in latest NZHunter....

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## Ftx325

> I have a Howa Mini in Grendel, bought it new a few years back and had it cut down to pretty much minimum oal which only left about 10" of barrel. I struggled to get good groups from factory ammo but thanks to some friends have sorted a load out that works very well in it with Amax projectiles, nailed 3 goats with it last week and was very happy with the terminal performance. It lives in a modified plastic Howa stock but it's going to be upgraded sometime, the idea for me was a sub 300y rifle and I think it does the job well. 
> 
> Attachment 194568


So you find it still does the job ok with the short barrel  @Mintie ?
That is an option I have been considering as the velocities do not appear to drop off drastically as some rounds do and still appears to carry a fair amount of energy out to the 250-300 mtr mark , enough for reds even with proper shot placement .
No regrets cutting it that short ?
It will probably come down to which stock I go with as to where it gets the chop . I got an excl lite stock with it which I would consider cutting back and removing the bendy fore-arm if going short-short barrel , maybe 12" I was thinking , or take it off at 16 if I can find some funds for a carbon stock .  The 308 bushy I would use knowing I am targeting reds , But for general bush duties (and for the kids to use who don't like to shoot longer ranges) at what for me are generally close range (sub 100 ), usually goats or fallow or the odd pig (or piglet lately .. lol ) I like the idea of a super short lightweight rig , but a little worried I would lose to much power and I would regret cutting it short when that red deer steps out at 250 . But the AR guys in the states seem to think the short barrel is the ducks nuts and does not drastically limit performance at realistic ranges .... 250/300 mtrs .
 What's your take on it after running yours in the super short set-up ??
Or anyone else who has given theirs a short barrel .....

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## Ftx325

https://hosting.photobucket.com/albu...s3qydsyhd.jpeg

barrel length vs velocity for anyone interested .... don't know if it will work though .

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## High Hopes

Wondering how you are getting on with your 6.5 Grendel @Ftx325
Any trouble with ammo supply? what ammo are you using and how is performance? I'm considering a similar project for wife/kids rifle

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## Ftx325

Hiya  @High Hopes...
It's up and running in one of wingman's chassis systems and ended up cutting factory barrel down to an 11 inch .
I only got it shooting a couple of weeks ago and have yet to have a crack at any animals.
 I have been using the Hornady custom sst factory ammo for testing / sighting in and so far have been very impressed with accuracy....three rounds virtually the same hole at 100 , which if you believe the interwebs isn't supposed to happen as they all claim that the SST ammo is the least accurate of the lot. Certainly not my experience.
 Maybe shorter barrel has improved harmonics?
 I also bought a box of the Hornady black , eldm bullet,  as they rumoured to be the most accurate but returned them unopened. No way is it going to shoot any better than it already does....

This is 3 rounds of the custom sst factory ammo...



Been very happy with results so far...

 It has a little more kick , although hardly worth mentioning, over factory with the shorter barrel and a little more noise.

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