Reloading the 6.5 Grendel

[parallaxbill]

For those that load it, what is your trim to length? 

[zeus]

1.510-1.520 most likely.

[Encore64]

Yeah, 1.515"

[parallaxbill]

I've been trimming mine to 1.510" and it seems to work fine but a buddy who just bought one told me that Alexander Arms suggested 1.520 min to 1.526 max. So, it got me curious about it.
My Lyman 50 manual suggests 1.510 min, 1 520 max.

[cas]

I find if I don't measure them, I don't need to trim them.

I don't shoot tons of them, honestly it's never even crossed my mind to measure/trim them.

[Stump Buster]

1.506" for mine.

[x101airborne]

Dec 11, 2021 23:07:05 GMT -5 cas said:

I find if I don't measure them, I don't need to trim them.

I don't shoot tons of them, honestly it's never even crossed my mind to measure/trim them.

I dont think I have ever trimmed 223 / 5.56 yet I loaded some Hornady 6.5 Grendel brass that had two firings on them. Went to chamber a round and the bolt didn't go all the way home. I could not pull that bolt handle back to save both my legs. Got it home and cleared it with a brass brazing rod and I had a perfect crimp almost through the bullet jacket from the brass being compressed by the chamber. That coulda been bad had that bolt gone all the way locked. Never again. Yes, Alexander Arms upper. 

[dhd]

I trim mine to 1.520" when they need trimming. In my experience, that little case doesn't need trimming often and my particular chamber this number gives me enough wiggle room.

My Gendel was an AA Overwatch that became something else. I only use AA or Lapua brass (same thing) and it lasts a long time.

[dhd]

Dec 12, 2021 9:29:23 GMT -5 x101airborne said:

Dec 11, 2021 23:07:05 GMT -5 cas said:

I find if I don't measure them, I don't need to trim them.

I don't shoot tons of them, honestly it's never even crossed my mind to measure/trim them.

I dont think I have ever trimmed 223 / 5.56 yet I loaded some Hornady 6.5 Grendel brass that had two firings on them. Went to chamber a round and the bolt didn't go all the way home. I could not pull that bolt handle back to save both my legs. Got it home and cleared it with a brass brazing rod and I had a perfect crimp almost through the bullet jacket from the brass being compressed by the chamber. That coulda been bad had that bolt gone all the way locked. Never again. Yes, Alexander Arms upper. 

There were slightly different chambers when this thing was new. I seem to remember the main differences was the leade and there was some confusion and angst. My particular chamber was cut by Satern in one of their 26" SS cut rifled barrels and it has the shorter leade. I can jam if I choose and still have a little bit of room in the magazines. I find more consistent accuracy jumping, though it will also shoot well @ 600 jamming.

Did you find the issue with the ammo you were referring to? I always considered the 6.5 Grendel a hot rod and I had to pay attention to my handloads and resizing the brass particularly.

[bradshaw]

Dec 12, 2021 9:29:23 GMT -5 x101airborne said:

Dec 11, 2021 23:07:05 GMT -5 cas said:

I find if I don't measure them, I don't need to trim them.

I don't shoot tons of them, honestly it's never even crossed my mind to measure/trim them.

I dont think I have ever trimmed 223 / 5.56 yet I loaded some Hornady 6.5 Grendel brass that had two firings on them. Went to chamber a round and the bolt didn't go all the way home. I could not pull that bolt handle back to save both my legs. Got it home and cleared it with a brass brazing rod and I had a perfect crimp almost through the bullet jacket from the brass being compressed by the chamber. That coulda been bad had that bolt gone all the way locked. Never again. Yes, Alexander Arms upper. 

*****

Trey.... thanks for posting your introduction to what shooters should see as a huge cautionary tale. Might as well solder a bullet in the case as crimp the case neck between chamber and bullet. A bolt action, particularly one with 90-degree bolt lift, has far more calming leverage to chamber a tight round than other action types. A distorted or dented case sidewall doesn’t amount to much,. It’s the neck area which needs space for the case neck to expand enough to release the bullet. Otherwise, pressure shoots out of sight before the bullet moves. As propellant burns----from solid to gas----the bullet moves and the expanding gas sees it has a way out. Unless the bullet moves, it can’t serve its role as PRESSURE RELIEF VALVE. At which point the gas treats the whole chamber as a bullet.

I’ve never seen more motors blown that at tractor pulls. The deadliest moment occurred at the end of the pull, as the tires dug in and locked. Whether the driver let off the gas and gave it another jab, or the residual of nitromethane filling the intake system, the pistons (bullets) are locked and motor detonates.

In this environment, 1/1,000-second is a long time.
David Bradshaw