6.5 Grendel

I am looking at a youth centerfire round for my 9 year old son. I'm not a big fan of smaller and lighter bullets (aka 243 or bullets under 120gr). I'm not saying they're bad, but it is a personal preference. I know a lot of people that use it with good success. So when replying, PLEASE don't try to convince me about the 243.... It's not going to happen.

So anyway, I have a 7mm-08 that I absolutely love, but it too long for my son right now. I know that there are reduced recoil 7mm-08 and have considered going that route (I forgot to mention that he has an Encore I cut the stock down for and uses the 50cal Katahdin barrel with good accuracy. I've also considered going the 308 reduced recoil route. This way when he get's bigger, it will be an easy switch to go to full power loads.

This is where the 6.5 Grendel comes in. I don't know much about it and have been researching quite a bit on it. It's an accurate round no doubt. What I've seen so far is that it is more than adequate on deer, but have limited information on that. The factory ammo I'm interested in is Federal's 120gr Fusion (NOT Hornady's SST... another personal preference as to why not on those). What I've seen on ballistics data is that it seems to be more than sufficient on whitetails out to 200-250 yards (energy wise).

Since I already have the Encore, I'm looking at getting a barrel from MGM for it. I don't own an AR, which I know the Grendel was designed for (short barrel). I would LOVE to see Ruger or someone offer it in their compact versions for youth.

So based on this, I have a few questions...

1) What would be the ideal barrel length? Since it was designed for the AR platform and a shorter barrel on the Encore is perfect for smaller youth, should I stick with the 20 inch or would a 22 inch barrel be too long for that round?

2) How does the Grendel perform on deer at 150-200 yards? Where my son would use it, there are opportunities up to that range.

3) How is the recoil in a light bolt action or Encore rifle? I've seen some videos and it looks very mild on adults, but would like some other opinions if possible.

I'm torn between the Grendel and 7mm-08. I love the 7mm, but also love trying newer things and the Grendel really has my curiosity for a youth and/or mid range caliber.

CZ offers a youth oriented 6.5 Grendel in a Mini Mark-X type action. VERY cool little rifle but not super cheap either. The Grendel will hammer deer at 200 yards. I think Howa has or had a micro action too. Personally i would only buy a Grendel in a "micro action". Might as well step up to the 6.5 Creed if you have to get a typical short action. Its no real benefit in the Encore either. The Creed or 6.5x55 will do it all and more in the Encore.

120gr bullet at 2600fps+ is just fine.

WOW. Brownwells has the Howa barreled action on sale for $360.
https://www.brownells.com/rifle-par...ed-heavy-barreled-mini-action-prod113624.aspx


Super cool little rifle. I would love to have one.

My favorite rifle is a breech loader chambered in 6.5 BR magnum. Bullet is the 120g Ballistic Tip. It has killed antelope at 150 yard, and at about 310 yard. Deer have been killed at 165 yard, 250 yard, 255 yard, a few yard, and about 120 yard, and 30 yard. MV is 2650 fps; near what the Grendel would be using a 24" barrel. The Ballistic Tip isn't near as explosive as i thought it would be. Loaded with 125g Partition, i would not hesitate to use it for elk.

ronlaughlin said:

My favorite rifle is a breech loader chambered in 6.5 BR magnum. Bullet is the 120g Ballistic Tip. It has killed antelope at 150 yard, and at about 310 yard. Deer have been killed at 165 yard, 250 yard, 255 yard, a few yard, and about 120 yard, and 30 yard. MV is 2650 fps; near what the Grendel would be using a 24" barrel. The Ballistic Tip isn't near as explosive as i thought it would be. Loaded with 125g Partition, i would not hesitate to use it for elk.

Click to expand...

Ron, i shoot 120 Grain Nosler Ballistic tip bullets in my 6.5 Creedmoor and really like them! In fact i shoot Nosler BT’s in all 3 of my Centerfires 6.5, 7MM-08, and .308, They are My Favorite bullets for Whitetail

I love the Grendel for the AR, but it sure wouldn't be my first choice for big game. I mean, it should do the job for what you described. And it shouldn't kick much at all, which is important when the shooter is 9. I remember when I was 12, I thought my 30-30 kicked pretty hard. If you really what to go centerfire this year, it may be a good choice, but I don't know that it would grow with him for very many years.

If I was picking a single shot deer rifle for someone who needed to avoid much recoil, I'd let them use my MK85 with 240 grain sabots, and 80 grains RS. I've taken deer with that load at about 100yds, and think I would trust it to 150. But you've probably already thought of that.

I have an 18” Grendel upper in AR format, enjoyable to shoot. The round is fine for deer but it is kept to reasonable pressure for the AR platform.

I just chron’ed some 100 grain loads, 2520 FPS, towards the upper end powder charge. If I was getting a lower recoil SS or Bolt gun it would be an O.K. option, as would a 7.62 x 39, 6.5 Swede, or the popular Creedmoor. No matter the choice, reloading greatly improves versatility. The 7mm-08 is a great round, factory loads may have recoil not a whole lot less than the 308. I like the 20” barrel option on any.

I see you are IL, out of State deer hunting planned?

How far are you shooting? I know a youngster that took a spike buck at 43 yds, with a Rossi mod 92 in .357, shoots like a .22 and easy to practice with

The Grendel is a great cartridge. I emailed back-and-forth before I built one with Bill Alexander, the guy who created the round, and he developed it on an 18.5" barrel so the 20" would be more than adequate. They are most definitely deadly on deer in the ranges you spoke of; have done it myself. My nephew took a very nice MO buck this fall at a ranged 262 yards, though with the 123 grain Hornady rounds. Both ours are on AR platforms and recoil is very, very low, but I'm certain it'd be quite slight in a bolt gun as well.

Go with a 7/08, my wife has a rem m-7 youth for at least 15 years, my 11 year old a Ruger American compact. Low recoil and deadly, ammo available everywhere, bullets from 100 to 170 are available+ more as a reloading option, deer,bear,elk,moose, ya got it covered. The wife has killed a truckload of deer, my lil'buddy 6 all dead right there.

I would only do a Grendel in certain platforms. Its no benefit at all in rifles like the Encore or Rem700 SA. Might as well get a 260Rem or 6.5x55 if you got a Encore barrel. I never understood the fascination with the Creed. Rem offers a managed recoil load for the 260 also. 140gr bullet at under 2400fps. The sectional density of a 140gr 6.5 is excellent and a .435 BC. If you reload brass would be simple to make from 243 brass.

https://images.remington-catalog.com/568984ce4905c

I agree, if not looking as an option for an AR platform, I’d get another chambering. The 6.5 Swede is a winner.

My personal favorite is the Swede. Less pressure and it can handle any of the available bullet weights. It just wont fit in a typical short action bolt gun. Obviously thats not an issue in an Encore but the lower peak pressure is a small benefit. I do find the Howa or CZ mini action Grendel though to be really interesting.

I won't judge your decision... but precision of shot placement will be paramount.
I myself am a big Grendel fan and have found it effective at moderate ranges.
It is comparable to the 6.8 SPC and should be given similar considerations.
If you're deadset against the .243 Win then please consider the venerable 250 Savage.
It is a fabulous performer and steps up your game from a 30 Rem or 7.62 class cartridge.

Since your boy already is shooting a TC Encore with a 20in barrel. I would go on Haus of Arms site and look at there 20in MGM 357 Maximum and 20in 350 Legend barrels. The gun will be exactly the same size and there won’t be much recoil at all.

The 357 Max and 350 Legend are pretty much the same thing. But with the old 357 Max you will have to reload. With the new 350 Legend you will have 3 or 4 bullet choices over the counter. The 350 Legend has the AR style case head also.

With both you will have a good 150yd deer gun with 150-180gr bullets. With hardly any recoil at all. Both would be great calibers for kids and women. You can actually get the barrel cheaper from Haus of Arms than you can from MGM. Because Haus of Arms don’t charge shipping.

As far as youth and women bolt actions. I bought my son at 10 or 11yrs old a Browning Xbolt Micro Midas in 7-08. That’s a nice looking really accurate little gun. It’s pretty much a Rem model 7 with a 12.5in youth stock. They also chamber them in 6.5 Creedmoore which is right between a 243 and a 7-08 on recoil.

If you reload buy the 7-08 and load it down. I bought my son a 243 at 7yrs old. I had then loaded so light I was actually afraid of hangfires to start with. I just kept bumping up the powder every time we went to the range until he was shooting full power. He never even new.

With the Encore you could also look at the 300 blackout with 120gr Barnes TSX bullets. That wouldn’t have any recoil either. If you reload the Encore and Contender are both great in 30/30 for kids. When you run the pointed 120-130gr Barnes or 125gr Nosler ballistic tips. The 30/30 is a whole different gun.

I have 3 daughters that started with .243’s and they worked fine, no problem with recoil from 100 grain bullets or with killing deer. 2 of them drew moose permits when they were still pretty young so I bought them 7mm-08’s. They did not care for the recoil from those rifles but they each killed moose with them. I’ve always thought that a 6.5 mm cartridge would be a better youth rifle choice than a .243 or 7-08, but the options are fairly limited. A .260 Rem or a 6.5 Creed would be ideal.

I have 0 experience with the gendel so I'd look at the 350 legend but you are talking about a 6.5 or 7. Or I would look at a 7/30 waters or a 6.5 brm. You have the encore platform, so any of those 3 just change barrels and go Or you could go the 30-30 route on the encore. Or go to the 6.5 creed, walmart has the youth model axis for way under 300. My SS was only 296, but then I put a savage wood stock on it so it added 200 to that but it shoots very well less than 1/2 at 100 with handloads shooting 139 hornady interloc. Tikka also has a youth model but it's a lot more. howa and ruger make a 7.62 x 39 and the hornady (which you don't like) out of mine shoot about 1 1/8 at 100 the list goes on so basically it's your choice.

My Grendel AR shoots better than I can hold it. Hope to get a deer in front of me while carrying it next season.

I have been doing a lot of reading today about the 350 Legend. For a kid or a woman it’s a catridge worth taking a serious look at. It’s a 223 case with a .357 cal bullet. It only uses about 27grs of powder. The recoil is supposed to be 20% less than a 243 Win. It was also designed for a 20in barrel. It shoots a 150gr bullet at 2,375fps I believe. Winchester says it’s a 250yd and under deer killer. I’m not sure I would stretch it that far myself though. But Mark Drury did drop a Iowa monster in his tracks at 240yds with the 350 Legend and 150gr deer season XP. Between the Drury’s and Winchester they say they took over 30 whitetails with the 350 Legend last year.

The best thing besides very low recoil. Winchester is producing a 145gr full metal jacket bullet for 10-12 bucks a box. So a little kid can shoot it a lot and get comfortable with the gun before season. That’s a big deal for kids and first time shooters. If your not a reloader then they can still get a lot of practice in without spending a fortune on bullets. The Deer season XP’s should be 20-24 bucks a box.