Thread: 6.5 grendel for hunting

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

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

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.

Originally Posted by Wildman

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

Originally Posted by Wildman

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

Originally Posted by Pommy

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.

Originally Posted by Siteline

120eldm 2400fps vs stag at 200mAttachment 192289

Shoot it again its still holding its head up!

Originally Posted by 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.

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.

Originally Posted by quentin

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

Originally Posted by quentin

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

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.

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.

Attachment 194568

Shit thats short.
What velocities are you getting?

Originally Posted by veitnamcam

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

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.

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 ....
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 ..

good article in latest NZHunter....