6.5 grendel Hunting loads.

tahunua001 · January 28, 2014, 02:32 PM

hello all,
so I just got my 6.5 grendel put together and I am starting to look at hunting loads for it. if a person was going to hunt for larger deer and smaller elk, what bullets and weight would you suggest? the 140s have ballistic coefficients but what reloading data I've read claims that grendel does best with bullets between 120 and 130 grains. would you suggest a 123gr hornady SST(weight retention) or a 130gr berger VLD(more explosive wound tract)?

people generally do not recommend SSTs for elk and tend to heavily recommend bergers but common sense would seem to suggest that weight retention would be better for medium to large game. I hear a lot of good things about partitions but the BC seems a bit low compared to most and I've had bad experience with 6.5 accubonds so I really don't want to go that route. I'm having a bit of a conundrum...

Geo_Erudite · January 28, 2014, 03:03 PM

For large deer and/or elk I would possibly look at Barnes TTX OR TTTX Bullets, Nosler E-Tips, or Hornady GMX. These lead free, monolithic bullets will give you the most penetration for the game you are looking at hunting with a 6.5 Grendel. All of these bullets are in the 120-130 grain range.

Vihtavuori Data

Hodgdon Data (just use the search functions)

Nosler Data

steve4102 · January 28, 2014, 07:53 PM

I have/hunt with a Grendel so I am not bashing you here, just commenting.

The Grendel can be a Great little "Deer" cartridge with the proper bullet. Problem is, most of the 6.5 Hunting bullets are either to heavy or to hard for the Grendel velocities. That leaves the SSTs, Ballistic tips, TSX/TTSX and maybe the VLD.

I have had very poor results with the Ballistic tips and the SSTs in my Grendel on MN Whitetails. My go-to-bullet now is the Barnes TTSX 100gr, 2750fps and DRT. YMMV

As far as Ballistic Coefficients go, I'm not so sure I understand the need. The Grendel is a little cartridges that launches little bullets at anemic velocities or heavier bullets at even slower velocities. For Target shooting out to 600+ yards by all means look at BC, for Hunting big deer and BIG Elk, no need. If you are going to Kill that BIG Elk with that little Grendel you need to be up close and personal and BC will have little or no affect on you Hunting bullets performance.

tahunua001 · January 28, 2014, 08:38 PM

I never said I intended to hunt BIG elk with it. I'm talking about 400 pound cows max and max range would likely be 300 yards. I also have the 20 inch rifle so my velocities will be slightly above average.

bedlamite · January 28, 2014, 08:58 PM

If you want to hunt elk with the 6.5, please use at least a 260 Rem or 6.5x55.

tahunua001 · January 28, 2014, 09:05 PM

interesting request seeing as with 120-123gr ammo the average difference in velocity between grendel and swede is 150 FPS... is that much velocity at short range really that big of a deal?

bedlamite · January 28, 2014, 09:35 PM

Both can be reloaded to get a 140gr bullet to about 2700fps, that's significantly more than the Grendel can hope to.

tahunua001 · January 28, 2014, 10:44 PM

point taken.

steve4102 · January 29, 2014, 12:22 AM

Back to your hunting bullets. Elk, big or small is some kinda tough, a blow-me-up Ballistic Tip/SST is not my idea of a "good' bullet. YMMV. Like I said I have had issues with them in MN Whitetails and they don't even come close to the mass and power of an Elk.

All that said, If i were to hunt elk with my Grendel I would prolly use the 120gr TTSX with a house full of Accurate 2520.

tahunua001 · January 29, 2014, 01:53 PM

so how would one compare the TTSX to a Nosler E tip? supposedly(according to nosler) the E-tip has 95% weight retention and has a better BC than anything barnes makes in that weight.

Jimro · January 29, 2014, 02:25 PM

400 yards is definitely on the far side of where I feel comfortable using something like the 6.5 Grendel as a hunting round.

However I don't see why it wouldn't kill even an elk just as dead as anything else at shorter ranges. For example a 120gr Nosler E-tip at 2650 fps doesn't drop below 1000 ft/lbs of energy until 350 meters. If you limit yourself to shots under 300 meters and the bullet will have over 1165 ft/lbs of energy to expend in the animal.

Since the E-tip is solid copper except for the polymer tip, I would expect good penetration, expansion, and weight retention.

Good hunting, whatever you decide to hunt with.

Jimro

tahunua001 · January 29, 2014, 02:58 PM

for my intentions this would be a 300-ish yard deer rifle and less than 200 yard elk rifle, I like it for elk as a brush gun, if I was going on open breaks i would likely take something better suited to long ranges. I'm not sure if I'll be able to push it far above 2500 FPS but yes Jimros data of best case scenario is what I'm basing my expectations of performance and why I'm limiting to short range fr larger game.

steve4102 · January 29, 2014, 05:06 PM

If you are going to limit your Elk hunting to 200 yards or less, BC is going to be insignificant. A bigger concern IMO would be bullet performance at Grendel velocities.

January 28, 2014, 02:32 PM	#1
tahunua001 Senior Member Join Date: July 21, 2011 Location: Idaho Posts: 7,839	6.5 grendel Hunting loads. hello all, so I just got my 6.5 grendel put together and I am starting to look at hunting loads for it. if a person was going to hunt for larger deer and smaller elk, what bullets and weight would you suggest? the 140s have ballistic coefficients but what reloading data I've read claims that grendel does best with bullets between 120 and 130 grains. would you suggest a 123gr hornady SST(weight retention) or a 130gr berger VLD(more explosive wound tract)? people generally do not recommend SSTs for elk and tend to heavily recommend bergers but common sense would seem to suggest that weight retention would be better for medium to large game. I hear a lot of good things about partitions but the BC seems a bit low compared to most and I've had bad experience with 6.5 accubonds so I really don't want to go that route. I'm having a bit of a conundrum... __________________ ignore my complete lack of capitalization. I still have no problem correcting your grammar. I never said half the stuff people said I did-Albert Einstein You can't believe everything you read on the internet-Benjamin Franklin

January 28, 2014, 08:38 PM	#4
tahunua001 Senior Member Join Date: July 21, 2011 Location: Idaho Posts: 7,839	I never said I intended to hunt BIG elk with it. I'm talking about 400 pound cows max and max range would likely be 300 yards. I also have the 20 inch rifle so my velocities will be slightly above average. __________________ ignore my complete lack of capitalization. I still have no problem correcting your grammar. I never said half the stuff people said I did-Albert Einstein You can't believe everything you read on the internet-Benjamin Franklin

January 28, 2014, 08:58 PM	#5
bedlamite Senior Member Join Date: August 10, 2000 Location: WI Posts: 1,395	If you want to hunt elk with the 6.5, please use at least a 260 Rem or 6.5x55. __________________ A plan is just a list of things that doesn't happen.

January 28, 2014, 09:05 PM	#6
tahunua001 Senior Member Join Date: July 21, 2011 Location: Idaho Posts: 7,839	interesting request seeing as with 120-123gr ammo the average difference in velocity between grendel and swede is 150 FPS... is that much velocity at short range really that big of a deal? __________________ ignore my complete lack of capitalization. I still have no problem correcting your grammar. I never said half the stuff people said I did-Albert Einstein You can't believe everything you read on the internet-Benjamin Franklin

January 28, 2014, 09:35 PM	#7
bedlamite Senior Member Join Date: August 10, 2000 Location: WI Posts: 1,395	Both can be reloaded to get a 140gr bullet to about 2700fps, that's significantly more than the Grendel can hope to. __________________ A plan is just a list of things that doesn't happen.

January 28, 2014, 03:03 PM	#2
Geo_Erudite Senior Member Join Date: January 26, 2013 Location: SE WI Posts: 158	For large deer and/or elk I would possibly look at Barnes TTX OR TTTX Bullets, Nosler E-Tips, or Hornady GMX. These lead free, monolithic bullets will give you the most penetration for the game you are looking at hunting with a 6.5 Grendel. All of these bullets are in the 120-130 grain range. Vihtavuori Data Hodgdon Data (just use the search functions) Nosler Data

January 28, 2014, 07:53 PM	#3
steve4102 Senior Member Join Date: December 23, 2005 Location: Minnesota Posts: 2,955	I have/hunt with a Grendel so I am not bashing you here, just commenting. The Grendel can be a Great little "Deer" cartridge with the proper bullet. Problem is, most of the 6.5 Hunting bullets are either to heavy or to hard for the Grendel velocities. That leaves the SSTs, Ballistic tips, TSX/TTSX and maybe the VLD. I have had very poor results with the Ballistic tips and the SSTs in my Grendel on MN Whitetails. My go-to-bullet now is the Barnes TTSX 100gr, 2750fps and DRT. YMMV As far as Ballistic Coefficients go, I'm not so sure I understand the need. The Grendel is a little cartridges that launches little bullets at anemic velocities or heavier bullets at even slower velocities. For Target shooting out to 600+ yards by all means look at BC, for Hunting big deer and BIG Elk, no need. If you are going to Kill that BIG Elk with that little Grendel you need to be up close and personal and BC will have little or no affect on you Hunting bullets performance.

January 28, 2014, 10:44 PM	#8
tahunua001 Senior Member Join Date: July 21, 2011 Location: Idaho Posts: 7,839	point taken. __________________ ignore my complete lack of capitalization. I still have no problem correcting your grammar. I never said half the stuff people said I did-Albert Einstein You can't believe everything you read on the internet-Benjamin Franklin

January 29, 2014, 12:22 AM	#9
steve4102 Senior Member Join Date: December 23, 2005 Location: Minnesota Posts: 2,955	Back to your hunting bullets. Elk, big or small is some kinda tough, a blow-me-up Ballistic Tip/SST is not my idea of a "good' bullet. YMMV. Like I said I have had issues with them in MN Whitetails and they don't even come close to the mass and power of an Elk. All that said, If i were to hunt elk with my Grendel I would prolly use the 120gr TTSX with a house full of Accurate 2520.

January 29, 2014, 01:53 PM	#10
tahunua001 Senior Member Join Date: July 21, 2011 Location: Idaho Posts: 7,839	so how would one compare the TTSX to a Nosler E tip? supposedly(according to nosler) the E-tip has 95% weight retention and has a better BC than anything barnes makes in that weight. __________________ ignore my complete lack of capitalization. I still have no problem correcting your grammar. I never said half the stuff people said I did-Albert Einstein You can't believe everything you read on the internet-Benjamin Franklin

January 29, 2014, 02:25 PM	#11
Jimro Senior Member Join Date: October 18, 2006 Posts: 7,097	400 yards is definitely on the far side of where I feel comfortable using something like the 6.5 Grendel as a hunting round. However I don't see why it wouldn't kill even an elk just as dead as anything else at shorter ranges. For example a 120gr Nosler E-tip at 2650 fps doesn't drop below 1000 ft/lbs of energy until 350 meters. If you limit yourself to shots under 300 meters and the bullet will have over 1165 ft/lbs of energy to expend in the animal. Since the E-tip is solid copper except for the polymer tip, I would expect good penetration, expansion, and weight retention. Good hunting, whatever you decide to hunt with. Jimro __________________ Machine guns are awesome until you have to carry one.

January 29, 2014, 02:58 PM	#12
tahunua001 Senior Member Join Date: July 21, 2011 Location: Idaho Posts: 7,839	for my intentions this would be a 300-ish yard deer rifle and less than 200 yard elk rifle, I like it for elk as a brush gun, if I was going on open breaks i would likely take something better suited to long ranges. I'm not sure if I'll be able to push it far above 2500 FPS but yes Jimros data of best case scenario is what I'm basing my expectations of performance and why I'm limiting to short range fr larger game. __________________ ignore my complete lack of capitalization. I still have no problem correcting your grammar. I never said half the stuff people said I did-Albert Einstein You can't believe everything you read on the internet-Benjamin Franklin

January 29, 2014, 05:06 PM	#13
steve4102 Senior Member Join Date: December 23, 2005 Location: Minnesota Posts: 2,955	If you are going to limit your Elk hunting to 200 yards or less, BC is going to be insignificant. A bigger concern IMO would be bullet performance at Grendel velocities.