Just after the turn of the 21st century, Bill Alexander of Alexander Arms collaborated with Janne Pohjoispää—a ballistician at Lapua—and veteran competitive shooter Arne Brennan of Texas, to release the 6.5 Grendel. The concept was to develop a cartridge suitable for the AR-15 rifle platform, capable of hair-splitting accuracy, yet with very little recoil, all the while giving reliable performance out to 800 yards. More than three years of research and development went into the 6.5 Grendel, but the end result checked all the boxes for Alexander.
Taking inspiration from the PPC line of cartridges developed by Dr. Louis Palmisano and Ferris Pindell, those in turn being based on the 220 Russian and sharing attributes with the 7.62x39mm. The case head measures 0.441 inches in diameter, requiring a different bolt face than the standard AR-15 provides, but no matter. The 6.5 Grendel uses a case measuring 1.52 inches, adhering to a cartridge overall length of 2.26 inches, matching that of the .223 Remington/5.56mm NATO, so the same length magazine (and magazine well) can be employed. Using a rimless design—which feeds oh-so-well in the autoloaders—the headspacing of the 6.5 Grendel is handled by its 30-degree shoulder, also lending a hand in the case capacity department. Shortened to be able to use those projectiles with a longer ogive, and therefore a higher ballistic coefficient (BC), the Grendel case uses a neck less than the oft-desired one-caliber in length, measuring 0.251 inches. However, that niggling little fact doesn’t seem to bother the 6.5 Grendel, as much like the 300 Winchester Magnum (that has a short neck as well) it just continues to deliver fine accuracy. The 6.5 Grendel is designed for use with small rifle primers, like the 6mm PPC and .22 PPC.
Building on the shorter/fatter concept nearly perfected by the 6mm PPC, and made largely popular by the 308 Winchester, the 6.5 Grendel looks more like a fire hydrant than a sleek rocket, but that’s alright. That short and wide powder column generally equates to a more uniform burn, and more consistent velocities. And with the real estate inside the case coming at a premium, you’ll find that a good number of loads for the 6.5 Grendel are approaching maximum capacity; this isn’t necessarily a bad thing, as it again can aid in uniform ignition.
From its inception, the 6.5 Grendel was not to be a speed demon; flying in the face of the theme of the Winchester Short Magnums and Remington Ultra Magnums of the late 20th and early 21st century. Instead, the 6.5 Grendel was among the earliest of the new wave of cartridges which relied upon BC rather than muzzle velocity for long range performance. Using a 1:8” or 1:9” twist barrel, the 6.5 Grendel takes full advantage of the sleek bullets in that caliber, offering supersonic performance nearly to the 1,200-yard mark, with a 123-grain bullet leaving the muzzle at a modest 2580 fps.
In the hunting community the 6.5 Grendel is, in the opinion of the author, far too-often overlooked. The love/hate emotions generated by the 6.5 Creedmoor have us all in a rage, no matter which side of that argument you fall on, but the simple fact remains that the bore diameter works very, very well with the common 1:8-inch twist rate to stabilize a great selection of projectiles, and that’s a definite part of the magic. For a deer hunter looking for a low-recoil option which gives the shooter the choice of projectile, fully capable of taking any whitetail or mule deer inside of 300 yards, you’d be very hard pressed to top the 6.5 Grendel.
Using a 200-yard zero, Hornady’s excellent 123-grain SST load drops 9.1 inches at 300 yards, where the bullet still retains just shy of 1,200 ft.-lbs. of energy. If you subscribe to the benchmark value of 1,000 ft.-lbs. needed to effectively kill deer and similar-sized game (I do not, for the record), the Grendel will deliver that out to around 425 yards. However, no matter the advances in projectile, barrel or optic technology, I still feel the vast majority of game is taken—or is attempted to be taken—inside of 200 yards, and the Grendel certainly shines in that zone.
Bill Alexander held the right to the Grendel name until 2010, when he relinquished them so the cartridge could obtain SAAMI approval. Working with Hornady, the cartridge was brought to the masses, and today, there is ammunition available from a number of sources. Federal Premium, Hornady, Nosler, Barnes and more. There are plenty of big-game loads, as well as those designed for target work, and even some for the dedicated varmint hunter, including the new Hornady V-Match ammunition. Rifles are not limited to the AR-platform choices—though they remain a perfectly viable option—as there are a good number of choices in bolt-action rifles. Ruger, Howa and CZ all offer quality bolt guns chambered for the Grendel, giving the hunter a choice of a light, handy and accurate rifle.
Named for the antagonist in the medieval classic Beowulf—the protagonist received accolades as the namesake of Bill Alexander’s .50-caliber cartridge—the 6.5 Grendel certainly delivers a performance level which belies the cartridge’s image. Don’t let that squat profile fool you; if you spend some time filling the freezer with the 6.5 Grendel, you’ll more than likely become a huge fan.
Looking for previous installments of our "Behind the Bullet" series? We've got you covered.
• .300 Savage
• .400 H&H Magnum
• .358 Winchester
• .318 Westley Richards
• .35 Remington
• .405 Winchester
• .350 Remington Magnum
• 400 Legend
• .17 Winchester Super Magnum
• 350 Legend
• .303 British
• 26 Nosler
• 6mm Remington
• .270 Winchester Short Magnum
• 360 Buckhammer
• 30 Nosler
• 7-30 Waters
• .370 Sako Magnum
• .17 HMR
• 6.5 Weatherby RPM
• .327 Federal Magnum
• .450 Bushmaster
• 7mm PRC
• .275 Rigby
• .340 Weatherby Magnum
• .416 Ruger
• 27 Nosler
• .257 Roberts
• 7mm Weatherby Magnum
• .300 PRC
• .350 Rigby Magnum
• .450 Nitro Express
• .17 Hornet
• 7mm STW
• 6.8 Western
• .375 Ruger
• .223 Remington
• 6.5x55 Swedish
• .416 Remington Magnum
• .300 Winchester Short Magnum
• 28 Nosler
• 6.5 PRC
• .22 WMR
• .458 Winchester Magnum
• .22 Hornet
• .280 Ackley Improved
• .240 Weatherby Magnum
• .458 Lott
• .264 Winchester Magnum
• .348 Winchester
• 33 Nosler
• .260 Remington
• .30-30 Winchester
• .416 Rigby
• .358 Norma Magnum
• .22 LR
• 7mm-08 Remington
• 8mm Remington Magnum
• .338 Federal
• .224 Valkyrie
• .338-06 A-Square
• 9.3x62mm Mauser
• .257 Weatherby Magnum
• .45-70 Government
• .300 H&H Magnum
• .25-06 Remington
• .30-06 Springfield
• 6.5 Creedmoor
• .300 Remington Ultra Magnum
• 7mm Remington Magnum
• .470 Nitro Express
• .280 Remington
• .300 Winchester Magnum
• .270 Winchester
• .222 Remington
• .45 ACP
• .404 Jeffery
• .44 Remington Magnum
• .41 Remington Magnum
• .243 Winchester
• .338 Winchester Magnum
• .357 S&W Magnum
• 6.5-284 Norma
• 8x57 Mauser
• .38 Smith & Wesson Special
• 7x57mm Mauser
• 9mm Luger
• .35 Whelen
• .454 Casull
• .375 H&H Magnum
• .45 Colt
• .22-250 Remington
• 10mm Auto
• .308 Winchester
