# Firearms and Shooting > Projects and Home Builds >  Operation Grendel Tactical Featherweight

## Wingman

Well as the title says, I wanted a super lightweight and short carry rifle in a do it all cal .Grendel was high on my list with its great ballistics but I also wanted a true micro short action wit a light and super compact action. 
Top of my list was a CZ 527. 
CZ America offer a 527 in Grendel but its not available here so I picked up a custom build.

The donor rifle is a CZ 527 carbine in 7.62x39 now fitted with a target profile Truflite 1-8 twist ultra match barrel at 14.5 long and fitted with a 6.5mm Hardy compact over barrel suppressor.



So the plan was to make it either a take down or be collapsible tanker style  to the most compact it could be (while remaining over 762mm) so a folding or collapsible stock was top of the design list. I also wanted to make a very light and minimalistic pistol gripped chassis to bed it in.

The barrelled action and other essentials weighed a fraction over 2kg. There wasnt a lot more weight I could safely reduce from those parts other than some barrel fluting or a carbon wrapped barrel which is on the to do list. 





I did drop a few grams by fitting a carbon/delrin extended bolt knob bit that was more to get better leverage on the tiny action. 
















Next up, into the 4 jaw chuck went a block of 6061 T6 square bar to machine a thread for a milspec AR15 buffer tube.













Once threaded it was into the mill to cut the inletting profiles of the action and magazine. 










After a few pre-fits and adjustments to get the mag catch working smoothly I took to it pretty hard with angled shaping drilling and fluting to remove any material that wasnt needed for structural strength. 

















One more pre-fit with some odd AR parts I had on hand and a measure up before prepping the new chassis and rifle for Duracoat. The 9 fore end, light weight adjustable stock and Fab defence AK grip were still on order.
Minimum length achieved with Magpul extending stock and the total weight is still a very respectable 2.6kg (5.7 lbs)







A good degrease, spray and bake with some Tactical OD Green Duracoat and it all looks like I had envisioned.  
















Final assembly once all the AR parts arrived and its mission complete.

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## stug

Awesome skills there, looks great!

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## nzfubz

Well done looks amazing 

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## Russian 22.

How is the handguard attached to the rifle? Looks pretty sweet

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## Wingman

> How is the handguard attached to the rifle? Looks pretty sweet
> 
> Sent from my TA-1024 using Tapatalk


Same as an AR15, a threaded bush at the rear of the barrel with six position locking screws.. cheers!

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## Mathias

Very nice. Thanks for sharing your skills with us. Whats your pet load for the 6.5G?

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## SixtyTen

My god that is an amazing looking rifle. I have a love of lightweight short suppressed rifles so this is fantastic. Nice machine work and nice project.

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## Wingman

> Very nice. Thanks for sharing your skills with us. Whats your pet load for the 6.5G?


The throat was set up for the short mag and 123gr Amax but Im getting 1/2 MOA groups with 28.2gr of BM8208  with a 123gr Lapua Scenar at 2430fps and they are still supersonic at 1000yds.
Going to give some 107gr TMKs a blast at some stage too.

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## Mooseman

Great workmanship and it shoots very well indeed.

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## jakewire

Your a clever bugger mate , well done.

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## Wingman

Thanks for the comments.
I dont understand why no one makes a chassis for the CZ527.. they make some great varmint rifles with a true micro action. 
Could be a market there for you DPT Darren? 
Ill trade you the drawings for a fluting job?  :Thumbsup:

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## ebf

> Same as an AR15, a threaded bush at the rear of the barrel with six position locking screws.. cheers!


What stops the bush from rotating around the barrel ? Pin into front of action ? Can't figure that out from your photos.

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## Wingman

Yes a dowel in the front of the bedding block and into the bush. There are also 6x 5mm grub screws securing it to the barrel. Its rock solid.. no flex

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## Bernie

You are very skilled love it

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## 300CALMAN

awsome

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## csmiffy

Good work.

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## Gibo

:Cool:

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## Mathias

> The throat was set up for the short mag and 123gr Amax but Im getting 1/2 MOA groups with 28.2gr of BM8208  with a 123gr Lapua Scenar at 2430fps and they are still supersonic at 1000yds.
> Going to give some 107gr TMKs a blast at some stage too.


Must give that 8208 a try in mine, others have reported very good accuracy.

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## HILLBILLYHUNTERS

Well done , hell what can you not like about it .

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## takbok

Just perfect!

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## Wingman

Thanks for the comments guys.. Its one of my more favoured rifles for sure. 
I have plans on another one even more "portable" and lighter still so you may see that one shortly too.
Found another couple of pics:

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## HLS

It was a great wee hunting rifle when I had it, shot lists of beasties with it.  But you have changed it into a cool tool know. Good work!

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## gonetropo

great job. estimated how many hours it took ?

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## IngloriousFame

Amazing craftsmanship and even more remarkable innovation! Well done! Looking forward to the next project post!

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## Wingman

> It was a great wee hunting rifle when I had it, shot lists of beasties with it.  But you have changed it into a cool tool know. Good work!


Thanks mate, its been an enjoyable hunter for sure. That 14.5 " tube still impresses me with the achievable velocities and knock down power.  It weighs no more now than it did in your carbon stock. May still flute it though, just dont want it to effect its stunning accuracy

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## Wingman

> great job. estimated how many hours it took ?


Thank you, took about 5 hours on the mill and another hour or so to prep and duracoat.

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## Flyblown

I’d invest in smart portability like this over just another expensive semi-custom bolt action any day. These kind of design smarts really appeal, as a carry rifle and a bike rifle this would work perfectly. Its a pain in the arse trying to handle even a 20” barrel suppressed rifle in and out of the SxS for a quick shot at a goat. Another win is the sensible cartridge choice that fits the task and rifle perfectly.

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## Sidney

Whats the scope Wingman?

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## Wingman

Fixed 10x Tac Vector Optics marksman.
Mil mil.. stunning clear German Schott glass and very usable reticle.

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## Sidney

I have an eye for a compact well proportioned scope....  it had me flummoxed ....

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## Russian 22.

> Fixed 10x Tac Vector Optics marksman.
> Mil mil.. stunning clear German Schott glass and very usable reticle.


Don't you find the fixed 10 power a bit.... Limiting? Good for tops but not for close range acquisition.

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## Wingman

No not at all, the property this rifle is used on most is open and rolling with animals on bush lines, the closest shots are about 160y all the way out to about 420y. 
The fixed 10x suits the "do all" nature of the 6.5 Grendel nicely.  I have other rifles for close range bush bashing.

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## Tahr

Here
https://www.amazon.com/TAC-Vector-Op.../dp/B00MTMDQEE

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## Russian 22.

> No not at all, the property this rifle is used on most is open and rolling with animals on bush lines, the closest shots are about 160y all the way out to about 420y. 
> The fixed 10x suits the "do all" nature of the 6.5 Grendel nicely.  I have other rifles for close range bush bashing.


That's good. The public land I do my deer scaring on is all thick so a fixed 4 or low mag would be good for me.

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## Wingman

I buy mine directly from Tac Vector optics in China. They are an American company and design using quality components and glass but assembled in China like 99% of other american brands these days. If you buy them factory direct you dont need all the export permit guff and wont get middle man inflated prices. I personally love these scopes and cant say enough about their value for money.. the optics leave many of the big expensive brands for dead and the track perfectly. The fixed 10x44 is my personal favourite as it is a low bulk no nonsense basic scope with great clear glass, followed closely by the 4.5-18x50. The 10x44 can be landed for about $240nzd from AliExpress.
TVO all have quite long eye relief so something to be mindful of when mounting. I own 9 TVO scopes and have had no issues to date with any of them. Ive sold high end scopes and put these in their place on several occasions. Check out the Marksman range if you are in the market for a no bullshit low cost scope with high end features. 

They make several 4x and 1-6x or 1-8x AR15 scopes too But stick to the SFP range.
Stay away from the cheaper end FFP scopes as they are very fish eyed at high mag and very eye position sensitive. 
They are fine on low mag but a lot of parallax error in the higher mags. 


The fixed 10x44 will get me to 1000y with 123gr Lapua OTM at 2450fps on the reticle but make easy work at 100y too.

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## Russian 22.

At that price it's worth a punt.

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## ChrisF

Thats a orsome wee build , I have just chronied my 65G , its got a longer barrel , 20 inches , 95gr vmax at 2601 fps , 29.0gr XBR 8208 .

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## Wingman

I finally got a bit of time to myself to test some loads Ive had made up for the Grendel for a while now.

The 123gr Lapua Scenar open tip match bullets @ 2450fps have been my "go to" with a load I worked up a while back,  28.2gr of ADI BM 8208 in lapua brass with CCI BR-4 primers and they printed a perfect 1/4 MOA group at 100 yards for me today. The Lapua Scenars also have the highest BC of the all 123gr bullet range.

The 107gr Sierra TMK and 123gr Hornady Amax did well at 1/2 MOA. both would probably do better messing with seating depths and fine tuning charges.

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## Flyblown

Would love to see this rifle shooting the Scenars at 400-500m @Wingman. I’ve been reading about some outstanding Grendel accuracy on one of the yankee forums, with the very same bullet. Some real eye opening groups.

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## Wingman

> Would love to see this rifle shooting the Scenars at 400-500m @Wingman. I’ve been reading about some outstanding Grendel accuracy on one of the yankee forums, with the very same bullet. Some real eye opening groups.


I have yet to shoot them past 250 yds so maybe next time we get out Ill bring it along  :Thumbsup:

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## Mathias

@Wingman has this got the compound throat or the standard 1.5 deg type? I see the bullets are loaded fairly well out of the case which make me think its the GII chambering.

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## Wingman

> @Wingman has this got the compound throat or the standard 1.5 deg type? I see the bullets are loaded fairly well out of the case which make me think its the GII chambering.


Im not to sure as I didnt chamber this one, pretty sure it was a custom odered reamer with a shorter throat to suit the CZ 527s mag length and 123gr A-Max's. Loaded to max mag length of 2.320" (COAL) gives the A-Max and Scenars a 10-15 thou jump

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## mikee

> I have yet to shoot them past 250 yds so maybe next time we get out Ill bring it along


In my TCU the Scenar's are much more consistently accurate past 500m that the ELD-M's of the same weight (123gn). For whatever reason the Eld-M's seem to fall "off the wagon " past 700m maybe velocity related as they don't have much to start with

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## Wingman

> In my TCU the Scenar's are much more consistently accurate past 500m that the ELD-M's of the same weight (123gn). For whatever reason the Eld-M's seem to fall "off the wagon " past 700m maybe velocity related as they don't have much to start with


You are right.. personally I am not a fan of Hornadys offerings other than the V-max for varmints.
They get overly carried away trying to get high BC figures with aggressive secant and hybrid ogives which need high velocities and long seating depths which many factory mag fed rifles are not well suited to.
All well and good at shorter ranges but the bullet design being lighter and longer in the front doesnt do as well at longer ranges as it slows down. 
A good test when deciding on a bullet is to load some at 1200 to 1300fps and try shoot a group at 100y.. you will find the Lapua with its tangent ogive and more centered center of gravity will always group best. 
I did these tests with my 6.5 Creedmore and a range of bullets.. the 143gr ELDX which shoots under 1/2 moa at 2900 mv in my rifle was unstable even with the 1-8" twist at 1200fps entering the paper sideways at 100y.
The Lapua 139gr scenar and 130ge Sierra TMK shot as well as they do at 2900fps and the 136gr Lapua with its hybrid ogive also showed unstable keyholes and wild groups.
In working terms, eg when used for long range hunting, a bullet that is stable at the transition to sub velocities is always going to fly straighter in the higher (usable hunting) velocities too.
Id put money on the ones that hit the paper sideways will have a wobble even before dropping to subsonic velocities.  


Give me a traditional tangent any day over the recent "fad" of low drag hunting/match bullets.

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## dudz

How do you know on the Aliexpress site if its SFP or not ? I cant see it stated.  I have a 6.5 grendel AR, looking to shoot 300 - 1000yrds

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## Tuidog

How does the handguard/forend attach to the barrel?

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## dogmatix

Great stuff. I love my 6.5 Grendel AR15 upper.

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## Wingman

> How do you know on the Aliexpress site if its SFP or not ? I cant see it stated.  I have a 6.5 grendel AR, looking to shoot 300 - 1000yrds


All the Marksman range are SFP.

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## Wingman

> How does the handguard/forend attach to the barrel?
> 
> Sent from my SM-A520F using Tapatalk


That question was answered on page 1 post 5... cheers

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## ANTSMAN

that is a fantastic build!

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## xring

awesome rig!

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## Vafanskajagmeddentill

How do you like the precision in the cz527 build? I was recommended to get myself a rem700 instead. For a 6,5 grendel build...

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## SixtyTen

I love your work, I'm currently working on something similar for a .223 Howa mini so I can burn my stash of .223
I am planning to make something very similar to your chassis and like the simplicity of it.

How does the pistol grip attach?

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## Wingman

> How do you like the precision in the cz527 build? I was recommended to get myself a rem700 instead. For a 6,5 grendel build...
> 
> Skickat från min SM-T800 via Tapatalk


I love the micro mauser cz actions. A Rem 700 would need a custom bolt face for a grendel and a sako or ar15 extractor fitted. There's no mag that would feed the grendel case in the Rem 700 unless you modded a howa 7.62x39 follower to fit. Could be done but its a lot of pissing about.

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## Wingman

> I love your work, I'm currently working on something similar for a .223 Howa mini so I can burn my stash of .223
> I am planning to make something very similar to your chassis and like the simplicity of it.
> 
> How does the pistol grip attach?


Thanks.
The grip is a FAB arms AK47 grip, it just bolts on like an AR15 grip with a 6mm cap screw from inside the grip

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## Vafanskajagmeddentill

> I love the micro mauser cz actions. A Rem 700 would need a custom bolt face for a grendel and a sako or ar15 extractor fitted. There's no mag that would feed the grendel case in the Rem 700 unless you modded a howa 7.62x39 follower to fit. Could be done but its a lot of pissing about.


Yes. The thing is that my gunsmith recommended that i get myself a rem700 instead. Something about the action is more sturdy. How would you say that the precision is on your build? Was thinking about the same caliber and about 48cm barrel.

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## Wingman

No more sturdy than a Howa mini in grendel. 
How would you rate my CZs precision with 1/4 moa 5 shot groups at 100yds?

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## Vafanskajagmeddentill

> No more sturdy than a Howa mini in grendel. 
> How would you rate my CZs precision with 1/4 moa 5 shot groups at 100yds?
> 
> Attachment 113204


Very nice how long distances have you shot? 
And what kind of muzzle velocity are you getting? 

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## Wingman

My pet load gives 2450fps with the 123gr Lapua scenars.
I haven't had the opportunity to stretch its legs much past 200 meters. I tend to grab the 6.5 Creedmoor or 6.5x47 Lapua for the longer shots.

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## Wingman

Finally got to stretch the little Grendels legs and test accuracy on a rock at 500m a couple of weeks ago with @Flyblown.
Even with a tricky little wind we managed to land 3 rounds each on the same spot.
Such a fun and accurate little lightweight rifle. I really should use it more.

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## A330driver

Well done mate...enjoyed that read......low recoil,but what about the front end noise???...hopefully that “can” doesn’t reduce its accuracy

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## Wingman

Its not too bad noise wise when suppressed. The BM8208 is quite a fast burning powder and only needs the 14.5" of tube to get max velocity with the 123gr and a full burn.. no big muzzle flash like a 7.62x39. 
Its much softer and quieter to shoot than my 6.5 Creedmoor with a fill burn loading of RL16 and a 147gr ELDX with a 19.5" barrel fitted with a DPT suppressor if that is a worthy comparison?

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## A330driver

Bloody good I reckon if your pushing it out 500 yds..... sweet

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## Wingman

Fairly decent energy retention at 500m too. About the same as a .243win with a 100gr projectile we worked out.

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## Gibo

> Well done mate...enjoyed that read......low recoil,but what about the front end noise???...hopefully that “can” doesn’t reduce its accuracy


How does a 'can' reduce accuracy?

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## Wingman

> How does a 'can' reduce accuracy?


Had me scratching my head too but I just figured maybe it was a cheap dig at Mr king of arrogance Hardy.. 
While the guy is a total plonker his compact suppressors are as good as they get for suppression in the light weight class

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## JD300

> Same as an AR15, a threaded bush at the rear of the barrel with six position locking screws.. cheers!


Hey Mate i'm still trying to figure out how you did this (Huge fan by the way) don't the AR rifles have a barrel thread that the bush screws onto and locks the barrel replacing the old barrel nut?
Did you thread the receiver or barrel to fit the handguard bush?
Or is the handguard bush clamped to the barrel then guard threaded on to the desired position then clamped?

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## Wingman

> Hey Mate i'm still trying to figure out how you did this (Huge fan by the way) don't the AR rifles have a barrel thread that the bush screws onto and locks the barrel replacing the old barrel nut?
> Did you thread the receiver or barrel to fit the handguard bush?
> Or is the handguard bush clamped to the barrel then guard threaded on to the desired position then clamped?

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## Sideshow

Picture speaks 1000 words  :Thumbsup:  :Cool: 

So thats 3000 :Have A Nice Day:

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## Sideshow

I know this is rather an oldish thread but well done!

Great write ups and a well thought out project.

Have you got to take many animals with this?

Also how noisy is it in the bush? With the likes of bush scrub and tingy sounds coming off the metal parts?

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## Wingman

> I know this is rather an oldish thread but well done!
> 
> Great write ups and a well thought out project.
> 
> Have you got to take many animals with this?
> 
> Also how noisy is it in the bush? With the likes of bush scrub and tingy sounds coming off the metal parts?


Thanks mate, 
Havent used it much as I have been hunting more open country since I built it so the Creedmoor and 6.5x47 Lapua has been favored. Its dropped a few goats and a couple of hares though. 

Noise wise Ive not noticed it being any different to a std format rifle. The suppressor has a neoprene sleeve and I sling it through the tight shit, its quite short and easy to handle so hasnt really been an issue.

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## Sideshow

Nice! Thanks for the reply. :Have A Nice Day:

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## 300CALMAN

> Fairly decent energy retention at 500m too. About the same as a .243win with a 100gr projectile we worked out.


Wow still supersonic (just) at 950m.

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