6.5 Grendel questions

[nk02442]

It didn't do any one thing particularly well. It was ok for a compromise cartridge. I figured for the same price for components, I could reload for a cartridge that could get me out further, and hit harder if I decided to hunt with it.

If one is dead set on hunting with an AR15, it's a fine choice.

All cartridges are a compromise. What the 6.5G lets you do is have a small, lightweight package that you can still make hits out to 1200 yards.

6.5CM has more bubblegum but your bringing alot more weight and powder to the table.

FYI I shoot 130gr AR hybrids out of both.

 

[Poofelscotch]

Yea you can't trust that. They import components from china, slap them together and say made in the USA. It may be simply putting a turret cap on.

Burris is a trash low integrity company but that's another story for another day.

Gotcha, well I am sure it will hold up for my uses. I can't afford top of line stuff or even close to it.

 

[nk02442]

6.5mm 130 Grain BERGER Match AR Hybrid OTM Tactical (500)

shop.otmtactical.com

Its a 130GR pill optimized for AR mag Length loads. You loose some BC and SD compared to the longer stuff but you can run these out of a mag and they shoot fantastic. H335 for the Grendel and RL26 for the Creedmoor.

Federal gold medal match 6.5G also uses these bullets.

 

[Sbarton]

Check this guy out for your barrel and bolt. MONSTER 12 6.5 Grendel Barrel
The barrels are made by green mountain, bolts are headspaced. Decent guy to work with.
I have a set in 20". Shoots well, no problems.
I also have that same bca upper reciever, lapped the bearing surface, runs fine. Watch the charging handle, it gets loose.

 

[DirectDrive]

Agree with the others that you are leaning hard toward the low ball stuff.
Keep in mind that Bill Alexander was one of the developers of 6.5 Grendel and with his components, you will be money ahead.
6.5 Grendel - alexanderarms.com

 

[Unka-Boo]

What was the end result or process to the end result?
New barrel? Warranty? Sold it?
Thanks - P

Was bought on clearance, sat for a year then built...figured why bother with all the hassle for something that cost me $40.
It went as a "freebie" when I sold the bolt and mags.
I will do another grendel eventually, just not with anything BCA...you van see how chowdered the brass was...

 

[Silver Fox]

Since you asked................To be frank you are using mostly the cheapest junkiest parts u can buy.

+1

SF-

 

[DirectDrive]

BCA
Bad Components Anonymous
We hire illegals, no questions asked unless raided by ICE

True story

 

[Wombat of Doom]

Btw. I have a few Geissele triggers and that exact Elftmann. Imo the Elftmann is my second favorite ar trigger. The Geissele ssp takes first spot.

 

[slimmer13]

All cartridges are a compromise. What the 6.5G lets you do is have a small, lightweight package that you can still make hits out to 1200 yards.

6.5CM has more bubblegum but your bringing alot more weight and powder to the table.

FYI I shoot 130gr AR hybrids out of both.

I'd rather have multiple dedicated rifles that are better at their intended purpose. I have a 7mm rem mag for hunting and a 6.5CM for longer range target shooting, and some 5.56 ARs for plinking. All those rifles are better at what I use them for than an AR in 6.5G. YMMV

 

[michaeldw]

I own several bca uppers have not had an issue

 

[eldbillbo]

The only Grendel I have ever had a problem with was one directly from AA and their customer service at the time really sucked. It's a good thing I know a thing or 2 about the AR15 platform I just felt since it was a factory-built upper that they should have been more open to fix it or at least send me the parts to do so. I did fix it and got rid of it for a 6.8SPC for the most part from what I have read they are pretty much neck to neck in a 16" or less barrel but 18" they really excel.

I would use it for Black Tail and Mule deer but I would not attempt an Elk with it I know the data looks good and under perfect conditions, it could do the job but how often do we get perfect condition and I just don't want to chance losing an elk just because I want to relive my days in NAM hunting with an Ar15, oh wait I was just a baby back then.

Sometimes the HI-Cap mags can be finicky but I have had no problems with the 5 rd hunting mags. I bought a BCA Barrel from a member it damages the brass so the casings are not reloadable but it shoots fine its good for shooting wolf kind sorry I sold all the excess wolf ammo I had prior to the COVID Hoax I have a nicer 6.5 Grendel upper on the board that I would never feel wolf ammo to it so the BCA is fine for I intend to use it for.

 

[v0lcom13sn0w]

my $67 dollar 18" BCA 6.5 grendel barrel consistantly shoots 3" groups at 600 yards. it has 500ish rounds thru it.

i shot a nice 3x4 mule deer buck last year at 421 yards with handloaded 123gr hornady ELD match bullets.

i went with that barrel because of a friends experience with his 223 wylde barrel from them AND because i just wanted to get the build done without saving up for the ballistic advantage barrel i wanted initially. im happy with the BCA barrel and it'll stay on there until it stops shooting as good as it does.

 

[v0lcom13sn0w]

i wouldnt expect much out of the wolf ammo. no ones 6.5 grendel shoots it "well." minute of pie plate at best. its good for plinkin.

for some good stuff, i recommend hornady black. 123gr eldm.

mags: e lander and cpd.

i have a burris fullfield 1-4 on a 5.56 rifle and i really like it.

 

[Ahol]

I would recommend getting a quality bolt. Cheap ones can break with the grendel, not a lot of meat on them

 

[Mike7b]

I have more than a few BCA, all of which I have had no problems with, I will stick to what you asked for in the original post. My grendel is a 20" fluted stainless barrel upper, sold by midway as a r stoner, but I be live was made by BCA. I don't plan on sniping at 600 yards, so my criteria is method of whitetail, at one hundred yards, being a hundred yards would be a long shot where I hunt. I wrung it out last summer, three or four different powders, all the different bullets I could find, and they all shot good. The only bullet I didn't try was the 120grn speer gold dot, lot of good reviews, but couldn't find any. I'm very happy with mine, I would definitely do it again. Don't listen to the fanboys, your list looks good to me, do it.

 

[Rkangel]

Yeah, I have heard some bad stories about them. I will be inspecting the upper thoroughly when its received. I bought a BCA G26 barrel from them, and I am extremely accurate with that in my pistol. That's why I decided to give BCA another piece of my business.

There are also alot of good reviews through out other sites and videos regarding BCA.

Besides the BCA upper, you are also saying that the Elftmann trigger, Tiger Rock kit, M&P AR15 kit and my Burris scope are cheap garbage?

Thank you for your input.

- P

Elftmann is good in my opinion. I've never had any issues with my SE trigger.
In my experience BCA quality is hit or miss. IF you are fortunate to get a good barrel, they can shoot well. If not you will have to deal with customer service and hope they replace it with a good one. Their reputation with 6.5 grendel has not been the greatest. Their prices have gone up a lot thanks to the rush, so they are not the deal they used to be. BCA upper receivers are functional if not the prettiest. Meaning they seem to be in spec but have a lot more dings and dents than blems I've received from other manufacturers. But that's my experience with two BCA barrels and two receivers.

Tiger Rock is meh.... not a fan. A buffer and spring that I later determined to most likely be Tiger Rock were definitely lower quality. Buffer was solid steel, with no internal weights. Machining was rougher than any of my other buffers. The spring quality? Who knows. But the combination caused malfunctions right out of the gate. Tossed them into the parts bin.

 

[xiSHARPSHOOTix]

BCA has a terrible reputation, but we all know how often bad reputations get spread anecdotally and without actual hands on experience. I personally have 3 AR15s with bear creek barrels. I've even sent one barrel back as a precaution due to bad ammo that was way over pressured. Bear creek was nice enough to accept my return and even gave me an upgrade for free. This is just my experience and again anecdotal so take it with a grain of salt. By the way this is the antelope I shot with my 6.5 grendel with a 20in bca barrel.

 

[Poofelscotch]

The only Grendel I have ever had a problem with was one directly from AA and their customer service at the time really sucked. It's a good thing I know a thing or 2 about the AR15 platform I just felt since it was a factory-built upper that they should have been more open to fix it or at least send me the parts to do so. I did fix it and got rid of it for a 6.8SPC for the most part from what I have read they are pretty much neck to neck in a 16" or less barrel but 18" they really excel.

I would use it for Black Tail and Mule deer but I would not attempt an Elk with it I know the data looks good and under perfect conditions, it could do the job but how often do we get perfect condition and I just don't want to chance losing an elk just because I want to relive my days in NAM hunting with an Ar15, oh wait I was just a baby back then.

Sometimes the HI-Cap mags can be finicky but I have had no problems with the 5 rd hunting mags. I bought a BCA Barrel from a member it damages the brass so the casings are not reloadable but it shoots fine its good for shooting wolf kind sorry I sold all the excess wolf ammo I had prior to the COVID Hoax I have a nicer 6.5 Grendel upper on the board that I would never feel wolf ammo to it so the BCA is fine for I intend to use it for.

Thank you for your helpful response. I am only going to get the 10 round mags, which is what I have on order. Your right the higher cap mags seem not to be consisten from what I have read.

Im not interested in Elk with this platform/cartridge. I will use my .30-06 for that. But I will be using the 6.5 Grendel for Black Bear, Cougar, Mulely's and smaller.

my $67 dollar 18" BCA 6.5 grendel barrel consistantly shoots 3" groups at 600 yards. it has 500ish rounds thru it.

i shot a nice 3x4 mule deer buck last year at 421 yards with handloaded 123gr hornady ELD match bullets.

i went with that barrel because of a friends experience with his 223 wylde barrel from them AND because i just wanted to get the build done without saving up for the ballistic advantage barrel i wanted initially. im happy with the BCA barrel and it'll stay on there until it stops shooting as good as it does.

3" at 600 yards sounds great to me.

Thank you for responding to what I was asking in my thread. 420 yards is quite a shot. The ELD Match, thats the new BLACK ELDM right?

i wouldnt expect much out of the wolf ammo. no ones 6.5 grendel shoots it "well." minute of pie plate at best. its good for plinkin.

for some good stuff, i recommend hornady black. 123gr eldm.

mags: e lander and cpd.

i have a burris fullfield 1-4 on a 5.56 rifle and i really like it.

Thats my plan with the Wolf ammo, plinking.

I will be ordering some Hornady SST and BLACK to see what the barrel likes most for grouping.

 

[Poofelscotch]

I have more than a few BCA, all of which I have had no problems with, I will stick to what you asked for in the original post. My grendel is a 20" fluted stainless barrel upper, sold by midway as a r stoner, but I be live was made by BCA. I don't plan on sniping at 600 yards, so my criteria is method of whitetail, at one hundred yards, being a hundred yards would be a long shot where I hunt. I wrung it out last summer, three or four different powders, all the different bullets I could find, and they all shot good. The only bullet I didn't try was the 120grn speer gold dot, lot of good reviews, but couldn't find any. I'm very happy with mine, I would definitely do it again. Don't listen to the fanboys, your list looks good to me, do it.

Thank you for sharing your experiences and sticking to what I asked. I plan on zeroing the rifle at 200 yards. Should put me close to 2" high at 100 yds or around 4-6" low are 300 yrds (roughly) depending on the load I pick. I don't "plan" on shooting past the 300 yrd mark.....

Elftmann is good in my opinion. I've never had any issues with my SE trigger.
In my experience BCA quality is hit or miss. IF you are fortunate to get a good barrel, they can shoot well. If not you will have to deal with customer service and hope they replace it with a good one. Their reputation with 6.5 grendel has not been the greatest. Their prices have gone up a lot thanks to the rush, so they are not the deal they used to be. BCA upper receivers are functional if not the prettiest. Meaning they seem to be in spec but have a lot more dings and dents than blems I've received from other manufacturers. But that's my experience with two BCA barrels and two receivers.

Tiger Rock is meh.... not a fan. A buffer and spring that I later determined to most likely be Tiger Rock were definitely lower quality. Buffer was solid steel, with no internal weights. Machining was rougher than any of my other buffers. The spring quality? Who knows. But the combination caused malfunctions right out of the gate. Tossed them into the parts bin.

So the buffer has weights inside mine, but hearing about your experience hear will give me something to come back to if I have issues.

BCA has a terrible reputation, but we all know how often bad reputations get spread anecdotally and without actual hands on experience. I personally have 3 AR15s with bear creek barrels. I've even sent one barrel back as a precaution due to bad ammo that was way over pressured. Bear creek was nice enough to accept my return and even gave me an upgrade for free. This is just my experience and again anecdotal so take it with a grain of salt. By the way this is the antelope I shot with my 6.5 grendel with a 20in bca barrel.

View attachment 738596

Beautiful Antelope. Thanks for sharing your personal experiences. Sounds like the customer service with BCA seems okay.

- P