Thread: 6.5 grendel for hunting

Originally Posted by 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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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 .....

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

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

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

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.

Hey @Ftx325, sorry for the necro mate. Just wanted to check in with how you’ve gone over the past couple years with the 6.5G 123gr SST’s and your chopped down rifle? I’m looking at either .223 or 6.5G myself.
Cheers