6.5 Grendel in a bolt action

[Ivy Mike]

After browsing through te 6.5Grendel vs 6.8SPC thread, an interesting idea struck me...I happened to be holding a Type 44 Arisaka at the time as well, so perhaps you'll see where this is going.

I was wondering if there is any plausible chance of chambering an Arisaka (actually, it could be any bolt action given a strong enough action) for the 6.5 Grendel. Obviously, the bullet should fit, but the case dimensions as well as overall length would be a consideration. maybe a larger action (Enfield perhaps) with a new barrel.

Any thoughts? I think a carbine chambered for a round that competes with .308 would be an interesting proposition. Ammo is hard to come by, but if it got popular (good hunting round mayhaps) we could see more production of it.

Just a thought...and now I'd like yours.

 

[kaferhaus]

An interesting Idea, but with the 260, 6.5X55 etc. already out there, I wonder if any manufacturers are gonna get excited about it... especially when you consider that it's not likely the military is ever going to adopt it.

6.5X55 CAN be amazingly accurate and when used in a modern bolt gun it can be safely loaded to 308 pressure levels, add that to a higher volume case and you can achieve some impressive ballistics figures with it also.

The 260 was popular for awhile (and still is in some parts of the country I believe) but, it was a solution in search of a problem to fix which dooms many cartridges from long term mass appeal.

The 6.8 and the Grendel both still have a lot to prove. I'm not convinced that either one of them brings anything new to the plate for hunting or target work.

I don't think the military does either... folks on a lot of these threads seem to forget that little organization called NATO... If the US wanted too, they couldn't just arbitrarily adopt a new cartridge. The ammo standards are part of the NATO treaties.

I'm sure some guys will build some on bolt guns just for kicks which is fine and can be a fun thing. which if you've got the money to burn for a toy you may never have any long term way to feed is fine.

 

[Bigfoot]

A .260 reamer would clean up that chamber perfectly, function from the original magazine and would be able to use long, heavy bullets seated out to the Arisakas 2.94" OAL. It would be more versatal too since the Grendel is a compromised length cartridge because of the short AR action.

 

[Zak Smith]

At the range a few months ago, I saw something pretty strange: an Arisaka (all almost 30" of barrel!) reamed out to 6.5-284.

It didn't shoot very well (12" at 100), but I didn't want to get too close to it, based on its condition.

What twist does the 44 barrel have?

 

[Brian Williams]

I have been thinking about a Charles Daly Mini Mauser with a 7.62x39 bolt face and having it barreled in 6.5 Grendel. It is a very short action and it would just fit. With an 18 inch barrel it would be a great Eastern PA whitetail deer gun.

 

[kaferhaus]

BRIAN

That would indeed be a nifty lil gun... I like it!

 

[Ian]

I have a bare Type 38 Arisaka receiver, and I was thinking about something like this myself (mainly because you suggested it ). Once I looked at the 6.5 ballistics, I changed my mind, though. It's a great cartridge for it's intended use: a more potent round for use in the AR platform. The problem is that rounds not limited by the size of the AR can outperform it without much trouble. Factory 6.5x55 Swede (140gr) has 100-200fps more velocity at the muzzle compared to 144gr 6.5 Grendel, and at 500 yards the Swede has a few inches less wind drift and about 100ftlb more energy. I expect that

Another thing to keep in mind is that the 6.5 Japanese is a semi-rimmed cartridge with a casehead not based on anything else (I can't find an exact diameter at the moment). You'd have to make sure that the Arisaka extractor would unction with 6.5 Grendel (or anything else). I tried fitting a 6.5x55 round on a Type 38 bolt, and while the Swede case head is a tiny bit bigger than the Jap one, it appears to function okay. The 6.5 Swede is what I'll probably end up using in my customized Arisaka.

OTOH, what Brian Williams mentioned sounds really cool. I wonder if CZ will offer their Model 527 in 6.5 Grendel at some point?

 

[WalkerTexasRanger]

I'll let you all know how it works in about a month. I have a Rem 700 action currently being tuned and fitted with a new Lothar-Walther 6.5 Grendel barrel.

I already have a factory Grendel upper, shoots great. I thought I would just keep my handloading simple so went ahead with a bolt gun as well.

Range report will be forthcoming...

Good shooting!!!

 

[only1asterisk]

I am thinking about a pair of little bolt actions in 6.5 Grendel and 6.8 SPC. Maybe CZ527 or MiniMausers. Another interesting action is the Montana 1999 Mini action. It is still in design, and it may or may not be suitable when it comes out. Right now the design calls for a .223 boltface with a 2.75†magazine. That would be great for the 6.8 SPC provided the final bolt/extractor has sufficient diameter to allow for opening it up. Seating the bullet out could enough powder room to make 130 grain bullets viable.

Ian,

The 6.5x50 uses a semirimmed case. The rim is close enough to standard casehead to allow the rifles to chamber and extract them with little or no modification.

David

 

[Grendelizer]

David wrote, "Seating the bullet out could [give] enough powder room to make 130 grain bullets viable."

Probably one of the first public comments I made about the 6.8 SPC when it was dawning on me that it was almost there but not quite, was that it should have a built-in ability to take the wide variety of 130gr .270 bullets.

I'd like to see a 6.8 (that's six-point-eight) Grendel, as well as perhaps a .250 Grendel. As always, my main point is that compact, intermediate cartridges at moderate velocities need high BC bullets — with their inherent momentum — to wring out their full potential.

John