6.5 Grendel vs .243 win

[Brian in Montana]

I have no experience with the Grendel, but a decent knowledge of what it does down range. The .243 I've shot much of my life. I'm thinking about a rifle my kids could shoot deer with primarily so my question is entirely about recoil. How do they compare?

I've never considered the .243 to be a kicker until I watched my 11 y/o daughter shoot it. Grendel might be an alternative.

 

[cahunter805]

Rifle recoil has many factors such as rifle weight, bullet weight and even recoil pad/proper stock fit. Both the 243win and 6.5 grendel are lighter recoiling rifles and probably very close to the same.
You could load up a reduced charge load with a lighter bullet in the 243win if it’s to much recoil for the kids.

 

[D4570]

A 6.5 Grendel will NEVER be a 243, ever...
Have you tried a limb saver recoil pad? Aut standing for ANY rifle.

 

[Deleted member 20812]

Reduced loads with H4895.

 

[Brian in Montana]

Anybody shoot both and have some first hand knowledge?

 

[coleslaw]

Get her an AR in 6.5 Grendel or 6.8Spc. No recoil, lightweight rifle and an adjustable stock to boot. Depending on where you hunt and the ranges you are shooting, either of those cartridges may be a great alternative. I have a 6.8 AR that I use for deer and it is one of my favorite rifles to bring to the woods.

 

[ShadowFast1]

I have no experience with the .243 but I've been considering one or a 6 Creedmoor. I have buddies that use 6.5 Grendel on hogs and I think they'd be great for deer.

To add to the list of options coleslaw mentioned, I'd recommend a .300 Ham'r from Wilson Combat. The rifles are expensive complete but if you're capable of building you can get into one without taking out a second mortgage. It uses a standard bolt and only requires a barrel change. I put a compensator and an adjustable gas block that really helped keep the muzzle flat and the recoil down. You'd want to use .300 Blackout magazines for reliable feeding. This will be my first hunting season carrying one for deer but Bill Wilson has killed everything from baboon to elk to zebra with it.

 

[D4570]

I have both.
and a 6mm rem.
The 6.5 recoil is slightly less. A Creemore is totaly different we have one too.
You just can't go wrong with any of them for youth deer but in my mind, the 243 gets the nod.
My little Granddaughter is going out this year and is 10 and MABY 70 pounds.
She is using a 7.62x 39 in a youths CZ bolt, as close as you can get to a 30/30 but in a bolt and pointed bullets.
With a Limb saver, 123gr bullet, and a normal load, the felt recoil is light.

 

[MThuntr]

I think I see the wheels turning on one of those Howa Mini's...worst case scenario is you'll have a full sized rifle if she doesn't like it

 

[p_ham]

I have both.
The grendel has less recoil than the 243, more than a 223. Its very tame.
With a 100gr bullet in the 243, and a 123 in the grendel, the 243 has 100ft-lbs more than the 6.5 at the muzzle. That drops to around 50ftlbs at 300, and the 6.5 takes the lead past 450.

Hunting distances on deer I dont think there is enough difference to matter. There are a lot more hunting bullet choices in factory ammo for the 243. The 6.5 you pretty much only get the choice of AMAX, ELD, or SST. If you reload its 6's either way.

 

[ImBillT]

What bullet weight was a potential issue with your daughter?

 

[MT_Chad]

brian, what about starting her on a 223 instead? A 223 with some good mono bullets will easily take deer. My buddies daughter shot the biggest bodied mule deer I've ever seen with a 223 shooting barnes 55 gr tsx bullets. That is my plan, when my girls are done with it I'll build a gopher gun out of it.

 

[cahunter805]

If you were considering buying another rifle a fast twist 22cal would be a great choice as stated above! 223 or 22-250 will definitely be good for deer.
I assumed you already had a 243 and could just load it down. But never a bad excuse to buy another rifle!

 

[tzone]

.223 Rem is your friend if the .243 is too much.

 

[tzone]

brian, what about starting her on a 223 instead? A 223 with some good mono bullets will easily take deer. My buddies daughter shot the biggest bodied mule deer I've ever seen with a 223 shooting barnes 55 gr tsx bullets. That is my plan, when my girls are done with it I'll build a gopher gun out of it.

That's exactly what my daughter did last season as well. Except it was a WT doe. My son shot a Mulie doe a few weeks before using the same gun and load. You couldn't have done more damage with a bigger cal than my son did to that doe with a 55gr TTSX.

 

[ImBillT]

I definitely agree on going to .223 or .22-250.

A .223 comes standard with a 12” and many are offered with faster twist. A 12” twist will stabilize the 60gr Part, 64gr BSB and 64gr Winchester PowerPoint and well as some monos. An 8” and maybe a 9” should stabilize the 70gr AB.

As mentioned above, in the case of the .22-250 you’re going to have to be careful with the twist. It comes standard with a 14” twist which will not stabilize any of those bullets. I’ve tried. The .22-250 made a name for itself killing deer, but we don’t have the bullets they were using back then. The original 60gr Part would stabilize in a 14” twist. The new one is longer and will not. Sisk made a 49gr bullet that was mostly copper with lead tip and could be run up to almost 4000fps in a .22-250. It was like shooting a mono with an exploding tip. Nosler made the Zipedo in 50gr and 55gr, which was like today’s BSB but not bonded. It was similar to the Sisk, but with more lead for expansion and less copper for penetration. On a side note, th original Solid Base was basically today’s BT Varmint except tipped with a lead soft point. With a 14” twist you’d be limited to a light mono or neck/head shots. There are some tighter twist guns from the factory, but they’re not nearly as common as tighter twisted .223’s, so if you’re looking used, it might be hard to find. You can always buy new, or of course have a gun rebarreled in any twist you want. Factory ammo in the hunting bullets may also be difficult to find. The .22-250 offers substantial advantage over the .223 if you get one with an appropriate twist and enjoy handloading. Otherwise, the .223 is a fine deer cartridge for youth hunters.

My wife killed her first deer with a .222Rem using a 55gr Lapua soft point, and I have killed many hogs with the same rig. It gave 18”-24” of penetration and a substantial wound channel. That’s not enough penetration in my book for mule deer, but for a central Texas whitetail it’s was plenty. The same bullet from a .223AI, used on a hog, penetrated about 4” creating a softball sized and shaped lump of goo. You’ll have to have a far tougher bullet to be effective at .22-250 velocities.

 

[D4570]

Never been a fan of a 22 for deer.
We have done it but with less than satisfying results.
Man if you hit a bone on a 250/300 pound mule deer your in for a long tracking job.
In my mind and results.

 

[kiwi hunter]

ive found the 22.250 to be a bloody noisy piece of crap using a 1/14 twist,,ridiculous,crazy
a 223 will do the job much more pleasantly but a 6.5 grendel is the next step up
i use a wildcat 6.5/204(same ballistics to the grendel)and using a 125 gr partitions have shot every thing walking in nz apart sambar,havent hunted them
a 85 or 90 gr projectile on varmits at 3100 does them no favours

 

[BuzzH]

The best hunting bullet I ever used in a 22-250 were the 55 and 60 grain nosler solid base. Why they quite producing those in all sorts of calibers is beyond me.

I used them as my first shot when hunting coyotes followed with hollow points. The first shots were usually close and they would only leave about a dime to nickel sized exit, which was easy to sew.

Those also worked really well on deer and pronghorn, I used mostly the 55 grain solid base, but also some 60's. They both stabilized with the 1-14 twist just fine.

Hey nosler, you reading this? Could use another run of 6mm 100 grain solid base and some 150's, 165's, and 180's in the .30 wouldn't suck either, to go along with the 55/60 grain .22's.

 

[Don Fischer]

I'm with the 223 also. She doesn't have to hunt right away, just let her shoot. I'm not crazy about the 243 for deer but it will certainly get the job done when she is ready. Why do dad's seem to push their kids into hunting before the kids might even be ready? Let her grow up and decide what she want's to do. Might find she like's shooting and when she's really ready to hunt maybe something like a 260/6.5 CM won't bother her. Another option, if you reload, is go to a 308 and load cast bullet's for her rather than starting at a 223. I worked up 180gr cast loads in 308 and 30-06 that I'd bet shed have no problem shooting at all! Geeze, let the kid grow up!