The 6.5 Grendel gets adopted by SAAMI

[BillytheKid]

On another thought about fewer rounds in the mag. The SOCOM operators always argue that with me, I always win the argument, my response is.."what do you want, thirty, in-effective rounds or twelve totally effective rounds". For every four rounds they take to make a kill or almost, I only need one, and even if it only just wings them, they still die, post-haste..

..t

This concept has been backed up many times by Jeff Cooper.

[Colohunter]

I definitely agree that you don't need as many rounds if they are more effective, but I still don't see the widespread military adoption of a round that greatly reduces the amount of ammo that can be carried in the gun/magazine.

When the larger rounds hit their target, they will be more effective. Though a miss with a big bullet doesn't do any good. And with automatic fire capabilities, a lot of bullets don't find their mark. Plus, you would reduce your ability to provide cover/suppressive fire.

I could definitely see the larger rounds used in a DMR or semi auto sniper role.

[Texas Sheepdawg]

I would rather have a weapon that produces one kill with one shot. But with the history of the AR platform in 5.56, I've always wondered why it had to be a .224 cal bullet they chose. Yeah, it's lighter to tote the bulk ammo in the field due to size, but I have to agree with the arguments that the 5.56 is not always a bang flop round. The 7.62 NATO (308 Win) seems to be a much more plausible alternative. But then you have brilliant guys out there like Tim showing us that there are still other alternatives. What if instead of the 5.56 they had gone with a round like the 450 Bushmaster in Vietnam? It's a rhetorical question, so don't get excited. It's just something that I ponder. Those little VC warriors would not be as likely to keep running at our troops after one hit of a 450 B. Jeff Cooper was right. And I am very happy to see Tim prove that the AR is capable of so much more. The same goes to Bill Alexander and his 6.5 Grendel and 50 Beowulf. My hats off to both of you.

[BillytheKid]

It's a rhetorical question, so don't get excited. It's just something that I ponder.

Awe, man, and here I was gettin' all excited. LOL

[Texas Sheepdawg]

It's a rhetorical question, so don't get excited. It's just something that I ponder.

Awe, man, and here I was gettin' all excited. LOL

Well stop it.... This is a family channel.... LOL!

[wildcatter]

You guys mentioning Col. Cooper, brings back many fond memories. He'd take vacations out here, to hang in my shop, shoot on my range, he'd brag up my cooking, and sleep on my couch, while we swapped, Swamp Lies at the speed of light..

..t

[BillytheKid]

I never met Col. Cooper. I was one of the rangemasters for a personal defense pistol course in California from 1982 to 1995. The Head of that course was Ron Leskocheck, who graduated Jeff Coopers trainer course, and also instructed the Richmond SWAT guys. I lived by his book, "Principles of Personal Defense", and used to have copies of his color code videos.

[Texas Sheepdawg]

A few weeks ago, I was test firing my New 6.5 Grendel Build trying to get my scope on paper. After getting it on at close range, I played around a bit and starting plinking various smaller targets from about 25 yards. I set up a couple of coke cans and popped them. Later, as I was cleaning up around my backstop area, I noticed this.


I had set one of the cans right in front of one of my steel plates. Oops.....and WOW!
For some of you who aren't aware, this is the same steel plate that I have been
testing with my big bore AR15, the 450 Bushmaster. Originally, we thought this plate
to be 3/8" thick, but when we measured it, it is actually 7/16" thick.







This and the last picture showing depth of penetration. Ironically the penetration was deeper than the thickness of the plate, but the bubble created on the back-side prevented full penetration. FYI, that depth shown is approximately .450".


Needless to say, the 6.5 Grendel put a pretty good smack down on the steel. It did not penetrate, but still, this
tells me I need not test the Grendel on any plates thinner than .421" thick.
What ammo was I using?
Factory Wolf Gold 6.5 Grendel
120 grain Copper MPT
To sum up, I don't have military background, so I am not going to step into that discussion. However, I think I can safely say that the 6.5 Grendel has potential. Maybe the Military and politics of our current administration can't see it yet. Maybe we need to stop and think about the current constipation of our Congress and senate that has ALWAYS tied the hands of our military in the field. I fully support our troops. I fully support moving forward and improving what our warriors need to make them safer. However, I do also support that maybe the time has come to improve upon the 5.56 NATO. Living in Texas, we are permitted to use .224 caliber as long as it is centerfire on Deer. And I have seen it successfully used time and time again on everything from coyotes to hogs to deer to jack rabbits. But I also have an open mind and welcome new ideas. So maybe the military has a lot of red tape and grid lock going on, and yeah, our tax dollars are under huge burdens right now. But I do see the Grendel as a very viable and practical Law Enforcement weapon. And maybe with some patience and time and the changing of this administration in 2012,our military can move closer to bettering their already superior capabilities to a level unprecedented in previous decades.

[Texas Sheepdawg]

Okay, so I took a few minutes to Chronograph my 6.5 Grendel while I was getting on paper at 50 Yards.
Please don't think these rounds are inaccurate, my bench is an old scool desk and it is very wobbly and one
of the legs was in a drought crack in the ground. I could have done MUCH MUCH BETTER. What's important
to me right now are the velocities and the consistency of this Serbian made ammunition.
Here are the results.
6.5 Grendel 24" Alexander Arms Barrel.
Ammunition
Wolf Gold
6.5 Grendel 120 Grain MPT

Range 50 yards.
Out of 20 rounds, I chronied 12. ( I was so into shooting, I forgot to look at the Chrony F1)
FPS
2628
2627
2624
2615
2628
2640
2642
2608
2641
2647
2649
2638
2632.666 FPS AVG