My 6.5 Grendel and why I love it.

It was inevitable really. Sooner or later I have to right something about firearms.

For those of you who don't "get it" firearms as a hobby is the same as any other hobby, an interest taken to the next level. Just like cars, toys, baseball cards, or whatever else you can think of, firearms are just another inanimate object that have been given a value and personal status with specific people for varying reasons. I'm no militant, I'm not necessarily a "prepper" (technically) but I'm no gun snob either. I am about to use some terminology that will leave those of you with no interest in firearms in the dust, although I'll try to keep it as simple as possible. Don't say I didn't warn you.

Because I'm a police officer by profession my taste in firearms tends to gravitate around law enforcement / patrol use weapon varieties. I like pistols, semi-automatic rifles and 12 gauge pump and semi-auto shotguns. As my profile indicates, I'm also a weapons instructor and armorer with factory certifications from Remington, Glock and Armalite. Because of my armorer responsibilities I keep my skills sharp by working on and generally tinkering with firearms of the type I would use at work.

As far as I'm concerned only ugly, utilitarian, semi-auto, magazine fed weapons are interesting. My father, was puzzled.

The primary way in which my hobby manifests is I build on a regular basis Ar15 rifles for myself and others. The nice thing about the Ar15 platform is it's modularity and ease of obtaining parts. After obtaining a lower receiver (either completed or stripped) through a licensed dealer, all other parts and accessories can be delivered directly to you by the service of your choosing.

This, by the way, is a very good thing. Regardless of how you may personally feel about private ownership of firearms, you might get the hint from my previous blogs that I have my own opinion on the matter and it is set in granite.

My latest rifle build was in a fairly new cartridge, the 6.5 x 38 mm, also known as the 6.5 Grendel or .264 LBC depending on your loyalties. I prefer to think of it as the Grendel since it was originally called that by it's co-developer, Bill Alexander of Alexander Arms. Co-developed because while he originally came up with the concept he eventually discovered that the Russians were already on the right track of what he wanted, a superior cartridge to the 5.56mm Nato capable of being fed through an Ar15 platform with limited modification to the firearm (ie: changes to the barrel, bolt and magazine). You can find more on this through Wikipedia if you are interested. But, long story short it goes like this: 7.62x39mm (Ak47 round) to .220 Russian to 6.5 Grendel (with some other ideas thrown in for spice). It was primarily a compromise decision for ease of manufacture but the results are stunning.

The 6.5mm bullet has been around for a very long time. It has persisted because it has an extremely good ballistic coefficient (how efficient the round goes through the air basically). Bench-rest / long-range competitors keep going back to it (including the 6.5 Creedmore, a necked down .308 case).

In the 6.5 Grendel you get a more efficient and heavier bullet that travels flatter and farther than the 5.56mm round that also delivers much better terminal ballistics and accuracy. While it has a much lower velocity when it initially leaves the barrel (about 2400 feet per second plus or minus depending on bullet weigh versus near 3000 fps for the 5.56mm) it is actually going faster out at about 1000 meters (slower than it's muzzle velocity but it looses much less velocity due to drag than the 5.56mm which has slowed down to sub-sonic velocity at that range).

Considering that the standard .308 / 7.62 Nato cartridge is a 150 grain bullet traveling at about 2800 fps at the muzzle (roughly 2600 ft lbs of energy) and the Grendel is optimized for the 120 grn bullet at around 2700 fps generating just shy of 2000 ft lbs of energy you can see why it's considered a capable intermediate cartridge. All that with far less recoil than the 7.62x51mm with better accuracy and higher velocity maintained at greater ranges.

While most compare the 6.5 Grendel to the 5.56mm Nato load I find this horribly unfair to the little .22 round that McNamara birthed. I think the 6.5 measures up very favorably against the .308. Yes the .308 definitely has more power but the 6.5 gives good power, better penetration against barrier and does it with better average accuracy and more rounds carried in fewer magazines for the same load-out. And it can be used in the much lighter Ar15 / M16 that everybody knows and loves (or at least grudgingly tolerates).

It's at this point I start fantasizing about a M249 type weapon with a 150 round linked belt of Grendel....

...I just wooded.

My rifle is a bit of a mutt. I built it using primarily Alexander Arms primary components )barrel, bolt, upper receiver, stripped lower receiver). I filled in the empty spaces with small parts from DPMS and BravoCompany (I love those guys). Of course, all of my furniture and a few add-ons are all MagPul. I topped it off with a Leupold Vari-XIII that I got from my dad (bought originally in 1967, three years older than me).

Bear in mind that I am a mediocre rifle shot at best, my skill weapon is a handgun. But, even with me handicapping the rifle I'm still averaging just under 1" groups at the 100 yard mark. With a better rifleman behind it that group shrinks (BtW, I'm getting these groups with the cheaper Wold Gold 120 grn Multi-Purpose, the Hornady 123 grm A-Max does much better).

I'd post a picture or two but I don't host photos anywhere, (too lazy). When I get around to doing that perhaps I'll put up some pics.

Happy shooting.