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.
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.