AK in 6.5 Grendel w/ AR Magwell?

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JesseL

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Ever since I put together an AK on a Romanian 'G' kit and marveling and just how easy it was (rivet build), I've been pondering variations on the project.

I'm thinking that if I buy a .264" barrel blank, it should be trivial to give it a correct AK profile on my lathe and ream the chamber to 6.5 Grendel. After that I was thinking I'd bend/weld up a simple STANAG magwell out of sheet steel that could be either welded or riveted to the AK receiver. Biggest issue will probably be getting the mag height and angle right for reliable feeding.

So, are there any show stopping issues I'm overlooking? Does it sound cool? Waste of time? Whaddaya think?
 
6.8 (.277") barrel blanks are readily available too, but the 6.5 Grendel has the advantage of sharing the same case head size as the 7.62x39, unlike the 6.8SPC.

If I need too, I can always tweak the bolt a little to match the magazines.

Edit:
It looks like you edited the question. AFAIK the only 6.5 Grendel chambered barrels are for AR-15s, and I'm not sure that they've got enough material left to be made to fit the AK trunnion, gas, block, etc. And then the headspace probably wouldn't be right either.
 
It seems like a misuse of an AK to me. I don't know why but that's the feeling I get...
 
yeah I saw i had put in 6.8 and i corrected myself. my mistake though.
I am not really familliar with the 6.5, but this sounds reasonable from a mechanical engineering standpoint.
how about a 5.45x39 barrel and reboring it? oh wait there is the fabled, going around the ass to get to the elbow.

your getup sounds fair.
 
You presume there's something wrong with the 5.45, 5.56, 7.62x39mm, 7.62 Nato chamberings already being used? What more does 6.8mm add? A poorly designed, questionably reliable magazine? I submit they'd feed better from a fully curved AK magazine than from a monstrosity like the AR mag.
 
Nope, there's nothing wrong with the existing chamberings. I'd just like to do it because it would be interesting and unique, while hopefully remaining reasonably functional.

The primary reason for using AR magazines, is because they're currently the only ones available for the 6.5 Grendel, and curved 7.62x39 AK mags won't work too well with the Grendel because it has far less taper than the 7.62.
 
why not just buy a 7.72X39 upper for an AR if you want an AK/AR hybrid?

Or a Keltec SU16? I've even heard of folks rebarelling to 6.5
 
JeepGeek said:
why not just buy a 7.72X39 upper for an AR if you want an AK/AR hybrid?

Or a Keltec SU16? I've even heard of folks rebarelling to 6.5
Click to expand...

That doesn't sound like a very interesting project.

I want to do it because I can. It's not as much about having it as doing it.

Besides, with an AK I can pull off the whole thing under $300 and I've got more time and tools than money.
 
JesseL, I'd give Bill Alexander a call and see if you can get some advice out of him, I think there are bolt action match shooters in 6.5g, maybe Bill can fix you up or Les Baer can help too....check out the 6.5forum too, Arnie used to roam around there, he has the competition shooting sports web site.
 
corncob said:
Update??
Click to expand...

I've got a 'G' kit that I'm slowly pulling apart. Currently keeping an eye open for a good deal on a suitable .264" barrel blank and trying to decide if I want to further complicate the project by adding an AR-180 style gas system.

Jim Watson said:
You could do it if you can do it.

I question why you would want a bullet hose like an AK in an expensive caliber like 6.5 G.
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An excellent tautology.:D

I guess I'm curious how well the AK will work as something other than a bullet hose. Kinda continuing the long American tradition of making silk purses out of sow's ears.

Besides that 6.5 Grendel shouldn't be too expensive if I reload for it or go with the $12.00/20 Wolf stuff.
 
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I'm not sure if it would work in an AK, but there's a Galil mag adapter that let's you use AR mags. You might be able to adapt one to an AK and save yourself a lot of bother.

golani_fastfire-1.jpg
 
I'm not sure if it would work in an AK, but there's a Galil mag adapter that let's you use AR mags. You might be able to adapt one to an AK and save yourself a lot of bother.
Click to expand...

I've been thinking about that. I'd love to examine one of those adapters and see how well it would work, but they're a little pricey and not easy to find.

I'd also like to achieve a little cleaner look by dispensing with the AK magazine latch.

Hmmm, ponderponderponder...
 
why? i hate that question!

why the hell not is what im thinking.

now how hard would it be to get an ak47 mag that could hold 6.5? i know they have the same case head and the rest of the cartridge is a little like it.

im a big fan of the 6.5 and i think it would be a cool project. and its people like you that ask why the hell not instead of just why that create some really cool things, the people that are just happy with what exists will never create something unique. also a project like this will no doubt have a few road blocks and each time you solve each one you improve you machining and problem solving skills
 
I'm all for it. The problem is that the Grendel has a case taper of about 18 minutes of a degree. The 7.62x39 has a case taper of about 1.5 degrees. The AK mag is too curved for Grendel.
 
GunTech said:
I'm all for it. The problem is that the Grendel has a case taper of about 18 minutes of a degree. The 7.62x39 has a case taper of about 1.5 degrees. The AK mag is too curved for Grendel.
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Yep, that's precisely why I'd like to make it work with the magazines that were made to work with the Grendel.

I do recall hearing somewhere though, that 5.54 AK-74 magazines would work with a little modification to the follower and feed lips. I just hate the idea of modifying all the magazines I could want instead of making the gun work with existing magazines.
 
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I'm one of those that's had poor luck with Grendel mags. AA and CProd mags are equally poor in my AA upper.

The only mag that works is a MWG 10 rounder for the 7.62x39 cartridge. Feed lips judiciously filed. The MWG limits the OAL to 2.238, so it really only works for 120 grain SMK's. Unfortunately my upper doesn't like 120g SMK's.

Anyway, the MWG mag may be worth a look for this experiment.
 
I'm shooting 6.5G in a turnbolt (CZ-527) so no problems here.

That Adams and Bennet is a deal. Lot's cheaper than my Montana rifleman and Liljas. I'm half tempted to by one myself, for another CZ project.
 
why the hell not is what im thinking.
Click to expand...

Amen to that.

And I say "nay" to the gas system change. It might mean the difference between shooting the first groups with your own unique rifle in a few weeks and shooting the first groups with your own unique rifle in a few months. Save that for 6.5 Grendel AK Prototype No. 2.
 
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