6.5 Grendel Help Needed - OAL Check

[luvmystang67]

I bought an AR Stoner 18" 6.5 Grendel barrel from Midway the other day and its seems to be a batch that had short chambers.  I am hoping to verify this before I try to return mine and buy one from Brownells instead.  I'm just wondering if anyone near Everett has any factory ammo I can drop in to see if I can get the supplied bolt to fit around it, or has some other way to help me check my barrel for chamber length.

The caliber is kind of funky so I cant find any ammo for sale.  Also, this is my first complete build and I"m not experienced with how to measure these things, but it looks like trying to work the bolt in behind some factory ammo can give you an idea of how tight things are.

Thanks in advance!

[Swannytheswan]

just curious why do you think you have a short chamber if you don't have any ammo??

[jay.sharkbait]

I would rather the chamber be short than excessive. If you have access to a reamer and gauges it would only take a minute to set the headspace.

[GLShooter]

After literally hundreds of postings on this on the Grendel forum you have a legitimate concern.  If I didn't handload I would just call Satern that made the barrel and ask them to give it the once over.  If that doesn't appeal to you I would send it back for a refund.  Barrels are out there from Lilja, Les Baer and Black Hole.

A lack of factory ammunition is really going to cramp your fun factor.  I would be finding a mentor very soon for a roll your own teaching session.

Greg

[luvmystang67]

After literally hundreds of postings on this on the Grendel forum you have a legitimate concern.  If I didn't handload I would just call Satern that made the barrel and ask them to give it the once over.  If that doesn't appeal to you I would send it back for a refund.  Barrels are out there from Lilja, Les Baer and Black Hole.

A lack of factory ammunition is really going to cramp your fun factor.  I would be finding a mentor very soon for a roll your own teaching session.

Greg

I plan to handload eventually, this was just a good excuse for me to build an AR from the ground up and pick and choose fun unique aspects of it.  I've always wanted a 6.5 Grendel, so thats most of the reason why. 

So Greg here's the question for you, I have a few options:

1) Take my existing barrel to a gunsmith and pay them to check it out and likely to make it right assuming there's an issue like everyone else.

2) Pay shipping both ways and have Satern fix it.

3) Send it back to Midway and buy one that is very similar (but different and the few people that have them haven't had this issue) and lower profile, for the same cost. 

Any of the options cost me shipping of some variety.  Lower profile would save on weight which might be nice.  I suppose the only way to know that it'll be right is to have the one that I've got checked and fixed if necessary, either by Satern or a gunsmith.  By the time I pay shipping both ways to Satern, am I better off to pay someone in Western WA to fix it and check it out?  If so, who's good near Snohomish.

Thanks,
Stang

[luvmystang67]

I would note that the other is from Brownells.

[Biggerhammer]

I would send it back, have it replaced. Call Satern, order a custom barrel to your specifications. Shoot the replacement barrel until Satern finishes your custom. Sell the current barrel, toss in some cash to cover the Satern and never look back.👍

[GLShooter]

I would return it for a refund and go for the alternative from Brownells.  There are some other sources out there if you look. Don't rule out the 264 LBC from various suppliers.  There are some pluses in the small changes that pay off for the shooter.

Greg

[mountainman]

Black Hole in LBC

[luvmystang67]

I ended up just sucking up the shipping and sending it back to Satern.  Really cool of them to take it back and make the change really.  They aren't the published maker anywhere and I didn't buy direct from them, I bought from Midway.  I'm happy that they're going to make it right and that it should be all good.  I'd rather deal with them as a ma and pop shop than go through the hassle of working with Midway to save $20. 

They didn't flat out tell me that they make the Brownells ones as well, but I would say there was a strong indication that they expected the brownells barrels to have the same chamber as the midway ones, even though the barrels had different outer profiles.

 

We'll see how it works.

[Biggerhammer]

Satern are good people.👍

[Heredoggydoggy]

You may have been trying to use the wrong bolt.  If you had a 7.62x39 bolt, it won't work.  Although the Grendel cartridge is based on the Russian case, the Grendel bolt is machined .10,000" deeper.  Make sure you have a Type II bolt... 

[Swannytheswan]

You may have been trying to use the wrong bolt.  If you had a 7.62x39 bolt, it won't work.  Although the Grendel cartridge is based on the Russian case, the Grendel bolt is machined .10,000" deeper.  Make sure you have a Type II bolt... 

*.011 deeper  7.62x39 is .125 deep and 6.5grendel is .136

[Heredoggydoggy]

You may have been trying to use the wrong bolt.  If you had a 7.62x39 bolt, it won't work.  Although the Grendel cartridge is based on the Russian case, the Grendel bolt is machined .10,000" deeper.  Make sure you have a Type II bolt... 

*.011 deeper  7.62x39 is .125 deep and 6.5grendel is .136

Thanks, Swanny.  A machinist friend that built a 20 LBC at the same time I did, measured the difference at about ten thousanths.  Knew there was a difference, but didn't know exactly how much.  (The 20 LBC is a 6.5 Grendel case necked down to .204)  Had to get Type II bolts.  It would save a lot of grief if the guys that made Grendel barrels supplied the bolt with the barrels...

[Biggerhammer]

Satern supplies a matching bolt with their Grendel barrels.

[mountainman]

Yes, make sure its a type II

[Swannytheswan]

You may have been trying to use the wrong bolt.  If you had a 7.62x39 bolt, it won't work.  Although the Grendel cartridge is based on the Russian case, the Grendel bolt is machined .10,000" deeper.  Make sure you have a Type II bolt... 

*.011 deeper  7.62x39 is .125 deep and 6.5grendel is .136

Thanks, Swanny.  A machinist friend that built a 20 LBC at the same time I did, measured the difference at about ten thousanths.  Knew there was a difference, but didn't know exactly how much.  (The 20 LBC is a 6.5 Grendel case necked down to .204)  Had to get Type II bolts.  It would save a lot of grief if the guys that made Grendel barrels supplied the bolt with the barrels...

haha no problem I'm a machinist so seeing ten thousandths(.010)  written  .10,000" kinda made me twitch

[luvmystang67]

Satern is actually getting me a new bolt (the bolt that originally came with the barrel is apparently not preferred or incorrect).  They machined out my barrel and are already done and waiting for a new bolt to come in to send my way.  Machining and new bolt were free, shipping both ways is me ~$40.  Kind of sucks since I expected this to all be good when I bought the set for $300, but at least they're making it right even though I purchased through Midway.

[Heredoggydoggy]

Good that they are standing behind their product.  Back in the early days of the LBC cartridges, (Grendel case necked to other calibers), there was a simple test to see if you had the right bolt:  Drop a sized and loaded cartridge into the barrel, followed by the bolt. If you can spin the bolt, the "fingers" on the bolt will lock up on the fingers on the chamber.  If you can't spin the bolt, the bolt won't lock up on chambering, and the bolt is wrong.  Then the Type II bolt became the standard, and the test was unnecessary.  Still, for the Grendel case, you need a Type II bolt...     

[Swannytheswan]

Just saw this on Saturns website:

 
 
6.5 GRENDEL ANNOUNCEMENT:
The chambers for the 6.5 Grendel and the throat are all SAAMI compliant. We cannot police ammunition manufacturers. Whichever bullet they put into a 6.5 cartridge is up to them, not our company. If your factory ammunition is not working with our SAAMI chamber, then you will need to contact them directly and complain.

We are using Go and No-Go gauges made to SAAMI specifications made by 3 different manufacturers, to cross check all barrels before they leave our shop. One thing to remember is that as long as the Go gauge is accepted into the chamber of the 6.5 Grendel barrel, it is a Grendel. We also have 3 reamer manufacturers who make our reamers and all of them are SAAMI compliant and have the same compound throat.

Here is how the history of the Grendel goes: Arne Brennan conceived the Grendel. Bill Alexander was introduced to Arne by John Fawcett. Alexander Arms adopted the compound throat from Lothar Walther. Alexander Arms then submitted it to SAAMI through Hornady. SAAMI adopted it the way Bill Alexander submitted it. We contacted SAAMI and they will not change the specifications. It is what it is.

With all that said, we are offering the Grendel II it will have the same throat as a 6.5x47 Lapua throat. By having the compound throat scraped out, it will allow for all forms of 6.5 bullets to be accepted. It is head spaced exactly the same as the 6.5 Grendel as is specified by the SAAMI drawings. We have OEMs and individual customers who have had zero difficulty with the compound throat. The throat change itself will be free of charge, but there will be a $20.00 return shipment fee. You can send your barrel and bolt to the below address, along with a note with your name, a return address, and contact phone number. We will call you before the barrel is scraped for shipping payment information. Thank you.