6.5 Grendel Hunting Bullet Choice

[GoldenRing270]

What hunting bullet do you use in the 6.5 Grendel?

I'm thinking of hunting with a CZ bolt action chambered in 6.5G. It has a 24 inch barrel.

I'm torn on which bullet to use. Mostly have it narrowed down to the Hornady 123 grain SST and the Barnes 100 grain TTSX.  I have been using barnes bullets the last several years and have had good luck but the guns I used had muzzle velocities at or above 3000 fps. I'm expecting only 2750-2850 fps from the Grendel with the 100 gr ttsx and I'm a bit concerned about expansion. The SST isn't the type of bullet I would normally go for but after reading the internet it sounds like it performs well at the slower grendel speeds (2600 fps MV). All my shots on game will be under 300 yards.

Anyways, I'd be happy to hear some of your personal experiences with the caliber.

[yorketransport]

I have a CZ 527 in 6.5 Grendel with a 19" barrel that I had made right before CZ offered them from the factory. I started out using the 130gr Accubond at 2430 fps and it took a couple of deer with no problem. The expansion was modest but the penetration was pretty impressive. I shot a small buck head on at about 50 yards and I pulled the bullet out of the left hip after penetrating about 38". The other 2 deer were shot broadside between 80 and 125 yards with complete pass throughs. I switched to the 130gr Sledge Hammer to test that bullet last year but ended up only shooting a few small critters with it. Expansion of the 130gr Sledge Hammer on small critters like raccoons and porcupines was pretty spectacular given the low impact velocities.

If you wanted to use a lead core bullet I'd suggest trying the 130 Accubond. The SST/ELDm from Hornady shoot well and would probably work well on game at the relatively mild velocities from the Grendel. I've shot a lot of the 123 A-Max bullets out of mine for target practice and they shoot really well. I've also used a lot of the 130gr Berger VLD and 130gr AR Hybrid for targets and one or two small critters. The 130gr Bergers didn't expand well for me at the low impact velocities, but I really didn't expect them too.

[slavenoid]

Tagging along. I am shopping for 6.5 Grendel hunting ammo also. Sifting through the reviews it seams the SSTs fly great with the Grendel but have mixed results on impact.

[Yondering]

The 129gr ABLR (AccuBond Long Range) worked well for me in my SBR Grendel. That bullet is specifically designed to perform at lower velocity which is typically encountered at long range in normal hunting cartridges, hence the name. In my 12.5" barreled 6.5 Grendels, it can be launched about 2200 fps MV, which gives about 900 fps of working velocity envelope before it's going too slow to function well.

In your longer barrel, I'd guess you could do 2400 fps with it, giving you a little more room for comfortable expansion without turning it into a varmint bullet from going too fast.

I've also heard the 123 ELD-M works well on deer, and from what I've seen in testing that's probably true, but I haven't used it on deer myself. I'd expect it to be a bit more explosive and would go for rib shots instead of directly through a shoulder.

[Karl Blanchard]

Shot a couple boxes of 123gr SST's out to 500 in my grendel today.  Very happy with accuracy.  My daughter will be hunting with this setup this year.   SST is just fine and so are all the before mentioned bullets.  Bullet in lungs=dead deer.

[Dan-o]

Tagging.

I will be trying the 123 grain SSTs.

I don't reload anymore, so Grendel hunting ammo is limited......

[NWShooter]

123gr SST

[Wazukie]

Took a bear 2 years ago with 123 SST out of my AR-Grendel. Very accurate.

[carpsniperg2]

123 sst I have killed several big game animals with that load in my Grendel.

[GoldenRing270]

Thanks everyone. Glad to hear the SST's are working. The factory Hornady custom ammo is shooting super accurate in the CZ (after bedding the action and barrel channel... out of the box groups were 4-6'' at 100 yards

[headshot5]

I've been using the factory 123 SST's with great results.  I have some 125gr Nosler partitions I'm going to load up one of these days.  I'm shooting mine out of a Ruger American Predator.