6.5 Grendel Help Needed - OAL Check

[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.