6.5 Grendel

[daisygordoninc]

Anyone believe 6.5 Grendel is heavy enough for elk or moose hunting ? I have believed because of the light
bullet weight it is probably not a good choice for large game ? I know many people believe it is just about
the perfect gun for almost anything. Anyone have opinions or experience with large game use ?

[stretch]

One can kill a moose or elk with it with a well-placed shot, of course, but
it wouldn't be my first choice.

I'd prefer a 180 - 200 gr.+ bullet moving at 2500fps or better. 30 cal. is good,
35 cal. is better, and 45 cal. is better still. Something like Remington's old
Core-Lokt would be a really good choice of bullet.

But a 6.5 with only an 85 gr. bullet at 2900 fps? How would that do on a quartering
shot through the shoulder on an 800 lb. moose? I'd like the penetration a heavier projectile
would provide. YMMV.

-Stretch

[piller]

No experience with the Grendel. It seems that the bullet weight would not carry enough momentum for larger than deer. That is only an opinion.

[Jay Bird]

My son once got an elk because it was shot earlier in the day with a 6mm Remington......it was walking with the rest and showed no sign of being hit......upon dressing it we noticed the previous hit ....a good one.......and a guy in the next camp told us about it a few days later...use enough gun.....you owe that to the animal.----6

[GunnyMack]

It's well proven the 6.5 caliber punches beyond its means. That said it works perfectly for moose in europe from the 6.5 Swede BUT with 140 gr & up bullets.
The lighter 6.5 are more of a varmint class bullets.
If the grendel was my only rifle and it was my only option I would find a homogeneous bullet like the barnes X type. Face it a 22 lr snuck between the ribs will get into the lungs but you better be one heck of a tracker!!
Personally I prefer .33 for elk/ moose.

[Thunder50]

Maybe, if you used something like a 120gr partition and kept it under 150 yds or so, as long as you can put it where it needs to go. My 6.5 Creedmoor, I would keep to 350yds or less and it has a lot more HP than the Grendel. I would go with a 6mm Br before the Grendel and a 6mm Creedmoor before the Br. I prefer the 6.5 Swede!!

[stretch]

This from a Swede on the 'africahunting' forum.

Interesting discussion on the 6.5 Swede for moose.......

-Stretch

https://www.africahunting.com/threads/6 ... ads.23381/

I don't think there are any great moose loads for 6,5x55.
It is our national caliber and many hunters have used them
for moose during the last 100 years,mostly because you could get
cheep or free army ammo for practice. I have some friends who are
specialists in trekking wounded moose with dogs,they says that 6,5x55 is the most
represented caliber for the wounded moose.
It is still used for moose but is slowly fading out.
There are better calibers like 30-06, 8x57,9,3 calibres.
And our moose is smaller than the North American variant.


Peter Larsson, Aug 2, 2015

[daisygordoninc]

I have shot and killed three moose in BC in recent years. I have used my Marlin 338 EXpress all three times. I have used a
200 gr. bullet all three times because I think anything with less weight might not get the job done. My shots have been
100yds, 150 yds, and 270 yds. I just can't think a light bullet would be better. I have had people tell me they plan to hunt
moose with a 6.5 Grendel, and they thought I was being silling in suggesting they needed something heavier. Thanks for
the comments.

[2ndovc]

I've shot Whitetail deer through the heart with a .30-'06 ( 125 Sierra JSPs) and saw them walk away. They didn't get far, but I was surprised how far they got. Shot a large boar with a .35WCF that took an hour to find. Both shoulders were shattered, but it still made it 80 yards into the brush. All I hunt with anymore is my .33WCF or my .450Marlin. Tired of chasing things. Nothing wrong with the '06, just like big bullets.

JB

[6pt-sika]

I’ve got three Grendel’s an AR and two bolt guns . I’ve killed a deer with the AR and one with the Howa bolt gun . Both were boom flop ! Do I think the Grendel is the end all deer cartridge ? Not hardly ! Do I think it’s the long range wonder of the free world ? Again not hardly ! Do I like the cartridge ? Yes I do within my own parameters for the cartridge . As to an elk or moose I’d give it a huge NEGATIVE ! When I still did FB I remmember reading about someone shooting a cow elk at 365 or so yards with a Grendel (don’t remmember the bullet weight) and they claimed it went twenty yards and fell over , that has got to be the exception to the rule !

[AJMD429]

"...use enough gun.....you owe that to the animal.----6"
Yep.

[Bill in Oregon]

I would not choose a 129-grain Nosler at 2500 as elk medicine. I have a Grendel upper that I haven't shot yet, but am thinking small deer, pronghorns if I decide to keep it. For elk, I would much prefer the old .256/6.5 Mannlicher with the 160-grain "pencil" at 2300 for this work. The great old Swede is even better!

[Dave James]

I love the little Grendel and have used it on Virginia deer, and coyotes, I have never had the chance to hunt elk, but have been up close to them, and JIMO, the Grendel is outclassed, any of the 6.5's based on the old 7x57 or 06 would be the way to go, if you have to the old 160 and 150 grain round nosed are famous for penetration, and taking larger game with a well placed shot

[vancelw]

I've got an AR in Grendel set up for coyotes and hogs, as well as a Howa Mini action bolt gun.
Great caliber. Low recoil and cheap to load.
I've had plenty of bang flops on whitetail and hogs.
It Would NOT be my 1st choice for anything larger than a whitetail. It wouldn't be in my top 15 choices of the calibers I own for moose or elk. For reasons mentioned by others above.

[DocRock]

Not enough for elk and moose. The sectional density fan-kids will suggest that .264" bullets penetrate like much heavier 30 cal bullets and others will repeat the old chestnut about the Swedes hunting moose with the 6.5x55. Well, I have lived and hunted in Sweden and I am a fan of the 6.5x55 but the Grendel isn't the equivalent and Swedish "moose" are about the size of our elk.

The Grendel is an interesting cartridge and in one of the mini-action rifles would do just fine for deer - is great on hogs for example. But not moose and elk. It's more akin to a light 30-30.

[OldWin]

A friend at work has a young daughter who shot a moose at almost 200yds last year with an AR in 6.5 Grendel. It dropped it. It was a good sized bull. She hit it high and got it at the base if the hump where there is a big CNS bundle.
IMO this was total luck and would be difficult to duplicate.
I think the Grendel is an excellent AR chambering, but not for moose.