New 6.5 Grendel hunting rifle

Gatehouse

Gatehouse

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Pemberton BC
I have a number of AR15s that were banned so when Spectre Ballistics introduced their new straight pull bolt action receiver sets I bought a couple. One I set up as a .223 M4 style rifle with Magpul furniture for a fun range gun

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The other became a 6.5 Grendel shorty rifle.

12.5" IBI barrel
TNA Coronus handguard
Fab Defense pistol grip
NEA light carbine stock
Vortex 1-6 Strike Eagle
NEA prongy twisty muzzle device (I would rather just have a regular A2 flash hider but didn't have one in 5/8-24 in the parts box)


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Collapsed it's 29"

Nice and handy, great deer gun to 300 yards and great gun for just going for a walk in the mountains behind my house too, but I will probably swap a red dot onto it for non hunting season wandering around. Light and handy, I think I am going to sell my M94 trapper 45 Colt that I usually carry for bush walks. :)

Haven't had much time at the range with it as it's hunting season and I just put it together. I will work up a few loads for it when I get some time. I'll also add a push in sling mount on the side of the handguard to attach a Magpul sling so I can carry it in front chest or on my side. Magpul slings are great for versatility for anyone that hasn't tried one.

I'll load some barnes 115gr for hunting and/or bear defense and someNosler 100 gr for target fun. Might swap the scope out for a different style of illuminated reticle but we will see

So far I am pretty stoked on the rifle though. :)
 
Nice looking rifles. I have a question for you. I read that these are "spring assisted" straight pull rifles (MRA, pretty sure Specter says the same though). Does this mean you just pull the bolt to the rear, let go and it "slams" home, or do you need to manually push it into battery?

Thanks, Jim
 
My 105 year old Steyr M95 laughs at your straight pull shorty Grendel; it has a flatter trajectory, less wind drift, and more energy at 300 yards than the Grendel has at the muzzle, it's light, 39 1/2" long and mounts a bayonet for proper bear defence. And does all this without a single piece of plastic.

It also has more energy at 300 yards than the 6.5 Creedmoor has at 200 yards.


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MiG25 said:
My 105 year old Steyr M95 laughs at your straight pull shorty Grendel; it has a flatter trajectory, less wind drift, and more energy at 300 yards than the Grendel has at the muzzle, it's light, 39 1/2" long and mounts a bayonet for proper bear defence. And does all this without a single piece of plastic.

It also has more energy at 300 yards than the 6.5 Creedmoor has at 200 yards.


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:stirthepot2:
 
Workin Man said:
Nice looking rifles. I have a question for you. I read that these are "spring assisted" straight pull rifles (MRA, pretty sure Specter says the same though). Does this mean you just pull the bolt to the rear, let go and it "slams" home, or do you need to manually push it into battery?

Thanks, Jim
Click to expand...

The MRA one is like that. These ones are Spectre and you pull bolt back and push forward. No spring assist. I'll try out a MRA set in the future, I see benefits to both styles.
 
MiG25 said:
My 105 year old Steyr M95 laughs at your straight pull shorty Grendel; it has a flatter trajectory, less wind drift, and more energy at 300 yards than the Grendel has at the muzzle, it's light, 39 1/2" long and mounts a bayonet for proper bear defence. And does all this without a single piece of plastic.

It also has more energy at 300 yards than the 6.5 Creedmoor has at 200 yards.


View attachment 427989
Click to expand...

Cool. You should drill and tap it for a Picatinny rail and add a red dot.
 
What do you see as the pro's and con's of the two? Just curious. BTW I have an A2 in 5/8x 24 new in the plastic that I am never likely to use, yours for the cost of shipping if you want it.

Jim
 
Workin Man said:
What do you see as the pro's and con's of the two? Just curious. BTW I have an A2 in 5/8x 24 new in the plastic that I am never likely to use, yours for the cost of shipping if you want it.

Jim
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I don't have an MRA yet so this is somewhat speculative but the MRA might be a bit faster to operate as you just pull it back and release, although it's not like the SBI is "slow." In fact it is very fast to operate. Mra looks a bit more stylish. The SBI is simple and sleek and because the bolt carrier is smaller and there is no buffer the SBI should end up being lighter. I expect I will end up with both and liking them both. I'll send you a PM about the A2, thanks!
 
Hey Gate, how did you make out with ejection? Im still getting %100 fte with my grendel . Took it to the range again last night and got pretty 1" groups though..... set up for my young girls hunting rifle
 
Gatehouse said:
You don’t want to be wimpy with the bolt but the force required is not anything unusual. I wouldn’t mind a larger bolt knob though.
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Hockey tape works OK as a stop-gap, until someone comes out with bigger/better knobs. Roll some tape into a rope and wrap it around the end of the knob (like alot of us do with the ends of our hockey sticks). Put a couple wraps of tape around it and you're done.
 
islandhunter said:
Hey Gate, how did you make out with ejection? Im still getting %100 fte with my grendel . Took it to the range again last night and got pretty 1" groups though..... set up for my young girls hunting rifle
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Ejection is fine but I haven't tried Starline brass yet, just Hornady. My bolt is a Toolcraft which I think is the same as you. I had ejection problems using Starline and a Odin bolt in my SLR. If your problem persists with Hornady brass too, I would say your extractor/ejector or bolt is defective in some way.
 
Unholysavage said:
Hockey tape works OK as a stop-gap, until someone comes out with bigger/better knobs. Roll some tape into a rope and wrap it around the end of the knob (like alot of us do with the ends of our hockey sticks). Put a couple wraps of tape around it and you're done.
Click to expand...

Well, it's not so bad I want to go full Red Green on it. Laugh2

But yeah a larger bolt handle might be nice. Maybe a L shape one would be cool.
 
I haven't had time to work up a load for the rifle yet but I tried some 129gr LRAB ammo I had made for my 20" Grendel. Avg 2255 FPS in the 12.5", 2410 FPS in the 20"

So about 160 FPS total/21 FPS per inch of barrel. Rifle shoots well, MOA with both factory and the 129gr. When I go to work up a load I'll swap in a bigger and better scope but it's hunting season so I'll leave the Vortex 1-6 on it for now. With a 100 yard zero the BDC reticle is bang on for deer kill zones at 200 and 300 yards, which is nice. This scope holds it's zero fine but doesn't track worth a schit though so it's going back to Vortex after hunting season.

Really enjoying this rifle so far. I will definitely keep it handy for the rest of deer season. Maybe I will run into a bear, too. :)
 
Why did I not know about these!? I'm a sucker for straight pulls. Do any of the sight sponsors have the reciever sets? Company seems to be out and doing another 'Sticker" order. Gatehouse you feel its worth it? Peaks my interest, I was just toying with getting myself and nice nimble 45 Colt lever for walkabouts.
 
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