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Howa 6.5 grendel


ChrisF

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Hi Guys ,

 

Just picked up a Howa mini 1500 in 6.5 Grendel , the HB model , 20 inche threaded , looks nice , blued in a green plastic stock .

Have mounted a Leupold M2  2.5-8x36mm , scope size suits this little rifle , will use a TI QD  suppressor , will use as a farm/truck gun , seems a smooth nice little rifle .

Will zero it next week , its going to be used as a goat/hare rifle .

Cheers  Chris

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I looked about for one of these but never found one. Eventually I got an exceptional deal on a 24" CZ 527 American and never looked back. (As I shoot a pair of 527's in 7.62x39 I was automatically stocked with magazines, too. This was an incentive...) I have killed deer using Hornady's 123 grain "Black" ammunition and I can testify that this cartridge punches well out of it's weight class. I have since loaded for this cartridge with Nosler  130 grain, Hornday SST 123 grain and lately, Sierra 120 Game Pro.  The latter has provided superb accuracy and assurance that it will perform on deer sized game. What bullets are you planning on shooting?? ~Andrew

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Yeap ,

 

I have 120 & 123gr , BUT really want to try some around 100gr , its just going to get used as a Goat/Hare gun on the farm , I have a few 527s as well , and like them , but this had some benefits , close to 1/2 the price of a 527 , and having a threaded barrel , more makers should offer their rifles threaded , as I tend too always run rifles with cans on , my gunsmith can be either un-available or have a 3-6 mths back log .

The Mini Howa , just needs to have a floor plate option , and a lam/wood or a glass stock , as these plastic ones are not that good looking .

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Screw the looks. Put on some custom hard use scratches! I agree about the threading. CZ just came out with a walnut stocked heavier taper gun but it is ugly. I won't spend another $800 just to get a threaded barrel, either, as no where here are suppressors a requirement. I also want as much barrel as I can get so I won't be cutting back the 24" pipe I have. BEsides, it shoots very well when I do my part.

As to bullets, I have used several in the Grendel but the one bullet I have not used is the Sierra 100 grain Varminter that shoots so very well from my 6.5 Creedmoor.(around half MOA with foreforming loads when making 6.5CM from 22-250)  Since I plan on using this rifle for larger game, I have not bothered with these in the Grendel but were I in your position, I might.

The powders i use are probably banned in the UK by now but they are IMR XBR8208, H335, and CFE223. The XBR and H335 have given the top performance.

Please let us know how  the Howa shoots. It will be a tack driver, i'm sure.~Andrew

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That was me being nice , actually the stock dosnt feel good , but I  have not even shoot it yet , hope it likes the lighter bullets  , & for me it  is close to what I want , for my use I would actually prefer a 6mm version of this round , but that means , custom build ( new barrel/reamer etc ) , and stuffing around with a necking down of 65 gren , & custom dies etc ,so for now its not happening .

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Frankly, I have an affinity for ugly rifles that shoot well. I have two Ruger American Ranch rifles and one Predator (223, 300 AAC, and 6.5 Creedmoor, respectively)  and love them. Under $400 each and they shoot like 4 times that price. I get them muddy, I hose them off. put a deep slice into it with a strand of barbed wire and I file off the burr. What is not to love?

As I said, I wanted that Howa you bought when I first got the Grendel bug so I researched it. I've never read a bad review. I love my CZ. It's got a 'glitch' in the trigger I need to adjust out but otherwise is 100% compatible to my shooting needs. I call it the "Deer Hammer" because for a little round it really slams them down. Have you watched the THLR Long Range Blog on the Grendel?

https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=3&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=2ahUKEwi3kLf8_cXcAhVL74MKHco_CLAQwqsBMAJ6BAgGEAQ&url=https%3A%2F%2Fnovom.ru%2Fen%2Fwatch%2F9w6t2WNUmZU&usg=AOvVaw2j7oKC4X9PHO3rg-VsLfOm

His rifle shoots! ~Andrew

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Just shot her 1st time , & not bad , remember I mainly shoot sniper  rifles , so I maybe expect too much .

Its 1st group is 3rds into 30mm at 100 yds , maybe it will get better ? , it seems it wants to shoot , at least its zeroed , & this is my 1st reload , 120gr amax over 28.0gr  IMR 8208 , CCI 450 primers & Lapua brass , seems too hot .

Will try lower , anyway heres a pic .

DSC00179.thumb.JPG.c39f4fd4c0dee5189021c35e3af271f6.JPGDSC00180.thumb.JPG.b335c0ccd8d5dcdde9cd4840d9b58c7e.JPG

DSC00179.JPG

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  • 3 weeks later...

First time out? Keep shooting. Clean it as minimally as possible. That IMR8208 is supposed to be balls of fire in the Grendel and I tried it, but I actually had better results with H335 with 120's. I'm going to experiment with Accurate 25-20. Or the Lovex equivalent.~Andrew

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I can't say for sure as this stock looks a later model but I've had two Howa rifles both in 204 and I found the standard stock was rubbish. As soon as I shot them off a bipod the groups opened up!Very difrent when supported close to the  action off a bag suggesting that when using a bipod the  forend touched the barrel. A change of stock greatly improved accuracy.

 

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I don't know if you can still get H335 but I tried some comparing it to Accurate 2520 which is a highly rated Grendel fuel around here. My speeds with a 120 grain Pro Hunter averaged 2554 fps and the SD was around 10 from some brass that should have been annealed on the previous go-round.  I still have another grain and a half left before MAX and I might push that way as the cases were easily extracted and looked good. This CZ Grendel of mine shoots better the hotter I push it.~Andrew

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  • 3 months later...

So far I have wanted to do 3 things with this rifle , use lighter bullets , ie the 95gr , pull the action from the stock & enlarge the barrel channel ( as I think the crap/flexiable stock is hitting the barrel ) , and clean the barrel out .

Done 2 , the stock channel is now bigger , & have loaded some 95gr bullets .

I would like a stiffer stock , either glass or lam wood .

 

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I have yet to clean the bore on my CZ other than to wipe a scantily (a drop) oiled patch through it. I did up the charge of H335 by a half grain and saw little difference. I pillar bedded the front action screw relying on the factory pin on the rear and made suer of the stock bolt torques. It is still shooting in the .6 range at 100 and double that at 200. Fine for deer. Now that hunting season has ended here (other than for larger game than the Grendel is good for) I will get out the Sierra Varminter 100 grain and have a lay with these. Coyotes are always in season,~Andrew.

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  • 3 weeks later...

Just clocked the speed at avg of 2601 fps , with 95gr Vmax , over 29.0 gr of XBR 8208 , 0.564 center to center 3 shot & 0.916  5 shot group ,  I feel it wants to shoot , need to work on stock , open barrel channel more , and polish the bore , maybe ?

 

Cheers  Chris 

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