This is my first choice when I need more bullet weight but don't want to lug around the extra weight of an AR-10 platform. The 6.5 Grendel provides terrific performance for an AR-15 with a very useable trajectory at normal hunting distances of 100-300 yards. For hunting, it performs best with bullets of 130 grains or less.
For my uses, I prefer 95gr. to 125gr. This gives me enough velocity to get good expansion from the lighter bullets on varmints but also adequate performance from the heavier bullets. My current choices are the 95gr. Hornady V-MAX for varmints and the 125gr. Nosler Partition for feral pigs and deer.
I run a suppressed 16.5" Grendel for animal abatement and a 20" gun for general hunting. Both provide excellent accuracy, and the trajectories are very similar to one of my favorite hunting calibers, the .308 Winchester. Both wear 1-4x scopes, which are more than adequate for general hunting in this cartridge. If you want more magnification, something along the lines of a 1-6x or 2.5-8x would be well-suited.
A good friend uses his Grendel as a prairie dog rifle. Given the excellent lighter-weight bullets that are available, I suspect it would excel at that. I plan to try mine for that purpose at the first opportunity.
An unexpected benefit of the 6.5 Grendel is that its small powder capacity lends itself very well to shooting suppressed. This is true even when using supersonic ammunition. The 6.5mm bullets cut through the air efficiently and kill game effectively. Due to the moderate velocity, premium bullets really aren't needed for medium game (250 lbs. or less). But if you want premium, they are available.
I've used 125 gr. Nosler Partitions with great success, and the 120gr. Hornady GMX shows promise. The normal bullets have provided adequate penetration for me as far as I've shot them. That was about 150 yards on a feral pig and just under 200 yards on a coyote.
The possible exceptions I can see are making a longer shot or a raking shot on a tough animal. If I thought that might be the case, I would look hard at a premium bullet. Otherwise, a standard production bullet does just fine.
The photo above shows a roughly 150lb. pig taken with a Hornady 120 A-MAX at about 75 yards. The bullet entered about where the rifle muzzle sits and traveled to the rear from there without exiting. The pig ran 50 or 60 yards and piled up.
I took another pig of about 200 lbs. recently with the same bullet at about the same distance, hitting it broadside. On that pig, the bullet exited, and the animal ran 40-50 yards before piling up in the brush.
Bullet performance on both these animals was good with lots of internal damage. This is very similar to what one would expect from a Nosler Ballistic Tip or Hornady SST. So, you can see that the 6.5 Grendel is an excellent hunting cartridge for medium-sized game using the small-framed AR-15.
This is a new caliber for me. I put one together for my fiancée for suppressed use during animal abatement. The Grendel does so well thanks to its small powder capacity. So, I figured I'd try doing the same thing but with a .30 cal. Plus, losing brass doesn't hurt the wallet near as bad.
I have not been impressed with the .300 when using heavy bullets subsonic on large, heavy-boned animals. So, my plan changed to supersonic, using good 110-130gr. bullets meant for bigger 30s and pushing them at 2200-2400 fps. This gives me a decent trajectory out to 150 yards and more than sufficient penetration, even on big pigs.
More and more manufacturers are coming out with good 125gr. bullets for the .300 Blackout. These are made specifically for this cartridge and the velocities it can produce. These bullets range from light-jacketed (almost frangible) bullets to premium hunting bullets designed for deep penetration and moderate expansion.
These bullets open up a new dimension for the slow, heavy bullets most often touted for use in the Blackout. This also allows for traditional scopes to be used without special low-velocity reticles that compensate for the very looping trajectory.
My fiancée’s gun is a flattop 16.5" with a carbine-length gas system that delivers 1-inch accuracy at 100 yards with Hornady 110gr. Spire Points. The gun is mainly for night shooting with NVDs, so 100 yards is a long shot with most being 30-80 yards. Bullet performance has been exceptional so far. A large bobcat was the first animal to fall to this new rifle.
This is another new caliber for me, but the concept is one I remember from the 1980s in the heyday of metallic silhouette.
The Sharps Rifle Company (SRC) offers this caliber as a conversion kit or a complete rifle. I purchased the higher-end conversion kit, which included an 18" medium-weight barrel. Even from the shorter barrel, it delivered more than adequate velocities for bullet expansion.
Loading for the Sharps, I have used:
These all shoot to the same relative point of impact at 200 yards, and they all land in a 3" group at that distance. I get 2500 fps from the 100gr. stuff and around 2300 fps from the Hornady, which are my dedicated pig bullets. The lighter bullets should work great on game up to deer-sized animals under 200 pounds like deer, antelope or pigs in that size range.
Each of these loads will fit into standard Mil-spec metal mags, but the Magpul plastic stuff will not accept the OAL, so I stick to the metal 10-rounders.
Recently, I took a medium-sized pig of about 80-100 lbs. with the 100gr. Prvi at a lased distance of 175 yards. I intentionally placed it on the point of the shoulder and fired. The bullet blew pieces of lung out at the impact site, and the pig was dead less than 50 yards away. Complete penetration with a nice hole on the exit that I could just get my finger into—perfect.
This conversion from SRC is a simple one and provides a very suitable trajectory for hunting out to 250 yards. Like the Blackout, it avoids the need for a special reticle to help compensate for a looping trajectory. The conversion works great without special care beyond standard AR maintenance.
Another added benefit is the easily available brass to make this round. Sharps supplies a set of Redding dies with the particular kit I bought. All it takes is a pass through the size die to convert from 5.56x45 to .25-45.
It looks like this conversion will provide roughly the same performance as my Grendels out to 200 yards—same basic velocities and trajectories. The main differences are the cheaper brass and slightly lower bullet weight. Either would be a good choice for medium game hunting if you want more bullet weight than what the .223/5.56 can offer. But, I could see the .25-45 easily surpassing the Grendel as my preferred AR caliber of the two.
That covers the small-frame cartridges I have the most experience with. If you’re new to AR shooting or skeptical, I hope I’ve given you some idea of what’s possible with this versatile platform. In the hands of a responsible shooter, an MSR is every bit the hunting rifle as your traditional bolt action.
Next month, I’ll be back to talk more about AR hunting, including my favorite large-frame calibers: the .308 Winchester and .260 Remington. Hope to have you back again.
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