6.5 Grendel Hunting Bullet Question

[tpepper70]

After all the bullets I have tried I have settled on the 120 NBT.

As luck would have it.......it flies right with the 120gr SMK.......same exact load.......same exact POI......same accuracy.

The same thing happened to me with these 2 bullets. Makes life so easy.

[txhoghunter73]

OP have you tried the Federal Fusion MSR


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No. It has a terrible BC

[Ron]

I load my own with Lupua cases, NBT. Very accurate and kill game on contact.

[TxAg]

Saw this on midway’s site.

[switchbackxt]

The 6.5 SST and the ELD-M ARE NOT THE SAME BULLET. The ELD-M is a match bullet NOT A HUNTING BULLET. I called Hornady and verified.

The 6.5 SST ammo is readily available online and actually cheaper than buying at Academy.

[kmon]

Quite a few bullets will work for the Grendel for hunting but the most used and tested is the Hornasy 123gr SST, some other good bullets from Alexander Arms are very good. If you reload there are lots of other choices, this year I will be using 129gr Long Range Accubonds loaded to right at 2500fps.

For some good information on the Grendel bullet selection for hunting get the second volume of the Grendel handbook form http://www.arbuildbox.com the guys that wrote it put a lot of effort into those books.


I got a good deal on a bunch of 129 Nosler Long Range Accubonds that are loaded up for this year to try.

[KC Huntin]

Quite a few bullets will work for the Grendel for hunting but the most used and tested is the Hornasy 123gr SST, some other good bullets from Alexander Arms are very good. If you reload there are lots of other choices, this year I will be using 129gr Long Range Accubonds loaded to right at 2500fps.

For some good information on the Grendel bullet selection for hunting get the second volume of the Grendel handbook form http://www.arbuildbox.com the guys that wrote it put a lot of effort into those books.


I got a good deal on a bunch of 129 Nosler Long Range Accubonds that are loaded up for this year to try.

How are these LRABs working for you? My grendel doesnt like the SST very well (loves the ELDM though) and im looking for another hunting bullet

[kmon]

they shoot very good, just have to get something legal to cooperate to test out on game. As to the myth about bonded bullets not opening at Grendel velocities in another thread I posted a pic from another location showing a grey fox shot with one. Big exit hole on a small critter. On hogs one guy that shoots a lot of hogs said almost all exited and there were large permanent wound channels. That bullet you have to be careful seating and use a VLD seating stem or you might crumple it, the front jacket is that thin with real thick back on the shank to stop expansion.

Here is the grey fox pic that was posted on another forum




Nosler reloading data lists the accurate load for the bullet at I was told 30.6gr CFE223 which is what I had settled on before reading they even had data published

[pure lefty]

Attached Images
*What kind of buttstock is that, good looking rifle!

[kmon]

Couple hog videos from Brian using the 6.5 Grendel on hogs/pigs. Subscribe to Brian's channel for lots of videos of hogs being taken out with the Grendel. He switched to it a few years ago from the 308, as he says yes you can tell the difference when doing a necropsy but there is still plenty of damage to kill hogs dead from the Grendel

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZnFKYxgbCMA

https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=7&v=RoLuYE1n4pU

The write up he did on the boar, the bullet went through heart, at least one lung and into the guts. The hog did squeal which indicates some air in the lungs but on opening the chest cavity most of the lungs were mush or pieces. I think the bullet went through the heart and one lung with secondary projectiles hitting the second lung and compression helped tear that lung apart when it squealed the one time, it having been damaged by secondary projectiles.

How many heart shot boars that weigh 225 drop on the spot with any rifle. let alone the little GRR

[txhoghunter73]

Just wanted to update this thread for those of you shooting tbe eld-m like myself. I shot a doe tonight at 85 yards with my 6.5 Grendel 123 ELD-M(Hornady black). Shot at a hard quartering angle. Probably 80ish degrees. I lined my shot up where the bullet would enter at the last rib back in front of the hind quarter and exit just in front of the shoulder on the far side. Bullet entered and split into 2 pieces. One peice stopped after travlong 8 inches. The other larger piece kept going and continued to break apart all the way through the guts, liver, heart and lungs, eventually stopping at the hide in between the hide and the scapula. I will post some pictures tomorrow. Not sure how great they will be, but there will be proof that this bullet is a good hunting bullet. The deer ran about 35-40 yards leaving absolutely no blood trail (imo this is typical when there is no exit wound) good thing I have a great tracking dog. She took us right to it. I will continue to hunt with the 123 eld-m. I have read lots of story's on Grendel forums with SSTs not exiting. This bullet travelled roughly 24 inches even after fragmentation.

[txhoghunter73]

Also this doe weighed in at 110 lbs. That's the biggest doe recorded weight on our ranch.

[Mike D]

Just wanted to update this thread for those of you shooting tbe eld-m like myself. I shot a doe tonight at 85 yards with my 6.5 Grendel 123 ELD-M(Hornady black). Shot at a hard quartering angle. Probably 80ish degrees. I lined my shot up where the bullet would enter at the last rib back in front of the hind quarter and exit just in front of the shoulder on the far side. Bullet entered and split into 2 pieces. One peice stopped after travlong 8 inches. The other larger piece kept going and continued to break apart all the way through the guts, liver, heart and lungs, eventually stopping at the hide in between the hide and the scapula. I will post some pictures tomorrow. Not sure how great they will be, but there will be proof that this bullet is a good hunting bullet. The deer ran about 35-40 yards leaving absolutely no blood trail (imo this is typical when there is no exit wound) good thing I have a great tracking dog. She took us right to it. I will continue to hunt with the 123 eld-m. I have read lots of story's on Grendel forums with SSTs not exiting. This bullet travelled roughly 24 inches even after fragmentation.

Hmmmmm well you just changed my mind against using the ELDM. I consider that performance a failure. I thought maybe it would be ok at the lower velocities of the Grendel but it looks like that’s not the case.

I’ll probably go back to my 100 grain Barnes TTSX or maybe even give the 120 grain ballistic tip a try.

Although my gun really seems to like the Berger 135 grain classic hunter bullets.


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[kmon]

Tests on hogs the Berger 130gr VLD hunter usually produced an exit. The 129gr accubond LR is on rib shots getting quarter to half dollar entrance and exits on mature whitetail bucks with mush in between. Lots of quick expansion on entry then the shank and rest of bullet continues to plow through. Haven't heard of any of them recovered yet. The good old SST round is the one most still compare bullets to in the Grendel, if you always want an exit the 125gr partition, one of the mono-metal bullets or accubonds either flavor do well. The 120gr ballistic tips have their following as well since Nosler beefed up the shank section of that bullet.

[Mike D]

Tests on hogs the Berger 130gr VLD hunter usually produced an exit. The 129gr accubond LR is on rib shots getting quarter to half dollar entrance and exits on mature whitetail bucks with mush in between. Lots of quick expansion on entry then the shank and rest of bullet continues to plow through. Haven't heard of any of them recovered yet. The good old SST round is the one most still compare bullets to in the Grendel, if you always want an exit the 125gr partition, one of the mono-metal bullets or accubonds either flavor do well. The 120gr ballistic tips have their following as well since Nosler beefed up the shank section of that bullet.

I REALLY want the ABLR to work in my Grendel. I think it would just about be the perfect design with the lower velocity expansion threshold. So far I’m still chasing accuracy with them in mine; at least what I consider acceptable accuracy.

I had forgotten about the good old 125 grain Partition. If Nosler would PLEASE come out with a tipped version, I think that would be about as good as it could get.


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