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Lightweight 6.5 Grendel SBR project

19,600 Views | 87 Replies | Last: 3 days ago by BenderRodriguez
BenderRodriguez
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3:57p, 2/17/20
AG
I've been wanting to put together a 6.5 Grendel for a while. After how much I've enjoyed my lightweight 5.56 AR, instead of putting together a heavy long range precision 6.5 rig (though I'll probably do that eventually too), I decided to make a lightweight 6.5 Grendel SBR.

Based on how everything weighed in, I should be right around 5 lbs empty and without optics. Since I was pulling everything out of packaging to weigh/inspect it anyway, figured I'd take some "before" pics.

Build starts with a matched receiver set from 2A Armament: Gen 1 Balios Lite upper and lower receiver.



Weight: 12.4 oz

Barrel is a 12" stainless 6.5 Grendel from OdinWorks with adjustable gas block and carbine length gas. 1:8 twist, 416R Stainless, 5/8 threaded muzzle



Weight for barrel and gas block: 22.5 oz

Lightweight bolt carrier from Aim Surplus, with a JP 6.5 Grendel bolt.



Weight: 8.8 oz

Speaking of JP, using their Silent Captured Spring set up for the buffer.



Weight: 5.3 oz

It'll be riding in a 2A Armament 8 position tube, secured with a V7 castlenut and endplate.



Weight: 3.5 oz

Using a MFT Minimalist stock.



Weight: 6 oz

Heading the other direction: Geissele Airborne charging handle.



Weight: 1.4 oz

Also using a Geissele SSA-E trigger.



Weight: 2.2 oz

and a Geissele LPK with their Maritime Bolt Catch (minus the safety and trigger guard). Instead I'm using a Radian Talon ambi safety.



Weight of LPK+safety: 2.1 oz

Magpul K2 grip:



Weight: 2.9 oz

V7 Ultralight port door and rod:



Weight (weighed all V7 parts together: castle nut, end plate, gas tube, and port door/rod): 1.4 oz

V7 extreme environment gas tube:



ALG 10" EMR V2 handguard:



Weight with all hardware/barrel nut: 9.9 oz

Finishing with the muzzle device...Rugged M2 brake so I can attach a Rugged Suppressor to the gun as well.



Weight: 1.6 oz

Total weight of all parts: 80 oz (or 5 lbs even).

Looking forward to getting this one put together and start shooting.

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Slamn Sharpe
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4:02p, 2/17/20
Total cost?
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BenderRodriguez
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In reply to Slamn Sharpe • 4:13p, 2/17/20
AG
I honestly have no idea. Parts accumulation has been going on for a year+ at this point. Some parts were gifts, the Balios Lite receiver set was bought on steep discount when they introduced the Gen 2 version, lots of the Geissele stuff was bought during Black Friday sales, etc.

I've been in no rush on this build, and waited for deals for a lot of the stuff I wanted for it.

But it's certainly getting into "if you have to ask, buy a PSA kit instead" territory, like all lightweight stuff does...even with deals/sales/discounts.
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Slamn Sharpe
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In reply to BenderRodriguez • 4:31p, 2/17/20
BenderRodriguez said:
I honestly have no idea. Parts accumulation has been going on for a year+ at this point. Some parts were gifts, the Balios Lite receiver set was bought on steep discount when they introduced the Gen 2 version, lots of the Geissele stuff was bought during Black Friday sales, etc.

I've been in no rush on this build, and waited for deals for a lot of the stuff I wanted for it.

But it's certainly getting into "if you have to ask, buy a PSA kit instead" territory, like all lightweight stuff does...even with deals/sales/discounts.


My AR class where we build an AR 10 started today. It will drag out around 7 weeks long. When I'm done I'd like to build another but it all seems to be overwhelming. I will probably stick with something that's easy because I don't want to finish to only find out I'm lacking a part or two.

Thank you for posting this the way you did, should be beneficial for those (me) that have yet to build one from scratch. Good luck
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ag0207
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In reply to Slamn Sharpe • 6:31p, 2/17/20
AG
McDadeTXAggie said:

My AR class where we build an AR 10 started today. It will drag out around 7 weeks long. When I'm done I'd like to build another but it all seems to be overwhelming.



Geez, how can they stretch it out for 7 weeks? When I put together my first AR I was nervous but once I had all the tools and actually started it took less than a few hours.
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CharlieBrown17
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In reply to ag0207 • 7:02p, 2/17/20
AG
ag0207 said:
McDadeTXAggie said:

My AR class where we build an AR 10 started today. It will drag out around 7 weeks long. When I'm done I'd like to build another but it all seems to be overwhelming.



Geez, how can they stretch it out for 7 weeks? When I put together my first AR I was nervous but once I had all the tools and actually started it took less than a few hours.


Week one is half the lower parts kit
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ag0207
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In reply to CharlieBrown17 • 7:22p, 2/17/20
AG
Weeks 2-6.....looking for all the detents and springs that went flying everywhere.

Week 7 buying a complete upper & complete lower from PSA and snapping them together.
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CT'97
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7:44p, 2/17/20
AG
I have thought about building a 16 in version.
I think that would be a fun blend of range and weight. No need to put in for the tax stamp.
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Slamn Sharpe
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In reply to ag0207 • 10:20p, 2/17/20
ag0207 said:
McDadeTXAggie said:

My AR class where we build an AR 10 started today. It will drag out around 7 weeks long. When I'm done I'd like to build another but it all seems to be overwhelming.



Geez, how can they stretch it out for 7 weeks? When I put together my first AR I was nervous but once I had all the tools and actually started it took less than a few hours.


The class is not JUST how to put an AR together. We're learning about all things AR to include some of its history
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SMM48
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1:54a, 2/18/20
AG
Been reading on muzzle velocity and sbr lengths....is 12 the minimum. Good enough for me. I have a couple of upper receivers that are begging for a barrel.
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BenderRodriguez
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In reply to SMM48 • 7:22a, 2/18/20
AG
SteveMedina said:
Been reading on muzzle velocity and sbr lengths....is 12 the minimum. Good enough for me. I have a couple of upper receivers that are begging for a barrel.

Not the minimum, but its a good compromise length.

I'm building this gun specifically to use for run and gun type matches, where you have to drag the gun with you the whole way, and still make good hits at distance. 12" in 6.5 is more than capable of still reaching out there, but is going to be lighter and easier to do that with than an 18" precision build.

At the same time, it's a cartridge and barrel length I'd feel comfortable taking hogs, deer, and pigs with. With a light and red dot on it instead of a variable, it would also serve well as a self defense gun.

I keep trying to build the "one" gun. If my house was on fire and I could only grab one rifle to do everything with, what would I reach for? This is the latest attempt at answering that question.
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reddog90
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9:01a, 2/18/20
AG
Nice parts Bender. Did you get a complete AIM BCG and swap out the bolt?
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BenderRodriguez
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In reply to reddog90 • 9:17a, 2/18/20
AG
Yes, I originally had a complete Aim Surplus lightweight BCG in my 14.5" pinned 5.56 lightweight build.

I lucked into a barely used 2A Titanium Regulated BCG a while back. Since my 5.56 doesn't have an adjustable gas block and this one does, thought it made more sense to use the regulated BCG on the 5.56 and swap the Aim BCG over to the 6.5G.

Adjust all the things, apparently.
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BenderRodriguez
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In reply to CT'97 • 9:19a, 2/18/20
AG
CT'97 said:
I have thought about building a 16 in version.
I think that would be a fun blend of range and weight. No need to put in for the tax stamp.


I really like my lightweight 5.56 gun. It's a 14.5" pencil barrel pinned to 16.

This gun should be a little under half a pound lighter than it. That pencil barrel in 5.56 makes a world of difference.
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SMM48
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In reply to BenderRodriguez • 9:58a, 2/18/20
AG
From Odin works....I might as well just get the barrel, gas block and bcg, Having pieced things together in the past, and having a failure......if one manuf offers all three might as well just go that route I think
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BenderRodriguez
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11:24a, 2/26/20
AG
Still need to build and sbr the lower.

Other projects, family passing around colds/coughs...haven't done it yet. Did get a couple magazines in for eventually testing. 24 and 17 round E landers, 10 round C Products.

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Log
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In reply to BenderRodriguez • 12:20p, 2/26/20
AG
E-Landers are solid, but they're a bit stiff during loading.

The C-Products are decent as well, but my two 10-rd mags only hold 9. They may have corrected this with the newer versions.

I use both when hunting and have never had a FTF. Usually have a 10-rd C-P in the SBR and a 17- or 24-rd E-Lander in a cargo pocket.
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BenderRodriguez
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In reply to Log • 9:47p, 2/26/20
AG
Good to know.

Figured a good variety of mags would allow me to troubleshoot more easily if anything doesn't work quite right at first.

I've got some 123 gr SST and ELD loads from Hornady, need to collect a few other ammo varieties for reliability/accuracy testing.
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BenderRodriguez
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10:14p, 3/14/20
AG
It's a crappy cell phone pic but I'm excited so...

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BenderRodriguez
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3:28p, 4/22/20
AG
AR guys will be all too familiar with this phenomenon....a part turned into an extra gun.

I picked up a Primary Arms 3-18x to put on a bolt action .22 for NRL22 matches.

Then Covid hit and the match got shut down, so now I'm sitting here with a scope and no gun that really needs it.

So I picked up a 20" PSA complete upper in 6.5 Grendel to go with my 12" build and slapped the optic on it instead.

Depending on how accurate the PSA upper is, I"ll keep it as a companion to the 12" gun, or if its a mediocre shooter I'll blast a bunch of Wolf Steel case through it and build it back up with a better barrel/optic later this year or next.

With the PA 1-8, the 12" pistol is 6lbs 9 oz empty. It's a 5 lbs gun without optics. Picking up a NX8 to throw in a Geissele mount to lose a bit of that top heavy optic weight.

The 20" gun is 8 lbs, 11 oz empty with the 3-18 on top. Not terrible for a musket length gun that wasn't built specifically to be a lightweight gun.

I've got some Hornady American Gunner 123 gr HPBT coming in that I'll be doing initial function testing and zeroing with for both guns. After that I've got smaller quantities of a bunch of different stuff to see what the guns like before I do a bulk ammo buy: Prvi 110 gr FMJ, Prvi 120 gr HPBT, Federal 130 gr Hybrid OTM, AE 120 gr OTM, Hornady 123 gr SST, Hornady 123 gr ELD, along with 10, 17 and 24 round mags to test with.

Also still need to get fingerprints done and send off the Form 1 for the 12" pistol to turn it into a proper SBR.



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DatTallArchitect
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In reply to BenderRodriguez • 3:47p, 4/22/20
AG
I'm wanting to build a SBR lower to throw my 6.8 upper on. Right now I have a pistol lower that I use my 300 BO (8") upper on and my 6.8 SPC II (11.3") upper on. After I put the Law Tactical folder on the lower, it has been a little annoying switching uppers. Seems like a good excuse to finally build out a SBR, and the 6.8 is perfect for it.

Also, I love my 6.5 Grendel with a 20" Shillen barrel. Need to get the glass to really stretch it out.
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2ndChanceAg96
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4:00p, 4/22/20
AG
I have a question. I am finishing up my 300 blk pistol finally. Need to figure out what brace to use but are you allowed to have a grip on the underside of the handguard?
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DatTallArchitect
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In reply to 2ndChanceAg96 • 5:03p, 4/22/20
AG
2ndChanceAg96 said:
I have a question. I am finishing up my 300 blk pistol finally. Need to figure out what brace to use but are you allowed to have a grip on the underside of the handguard?
You can put an angled grip on a pistol, but not a vertical grip.
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BenderRodriguez
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In reply to DatTallArchitect • 5:18p, 4/22/20
AG
Unless it's over 26" OAL.

But in general if you're uncertain about it, just leave it off. I only like them to index to a WML anyway.
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BenderRodriguez
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In reply to DatTallArchitect • 5:20p, 4/22/20
AG
I was debating between 18" and 20", 22" was ruled out since I'll eventually suppress it.

Figured since I already had a 12" I should go with the longer barrel.
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highvelocity
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5:44p, 4/22/20
AG
Intrigued. Was planning to have an integrally suppressed grendel built for me but this is an interesting option
Owner of Kool Provisions
www.koolprovisions.com
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BenderRodriguez
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In reply to highvelocity • 6:04p, 4/22/20
AG
highvelocity said:
Intrigued. Was planning to have an integrally suppressed grendel built for me but this is an interesting option


Build an integral bolt gun. An integrally suppresses 6.5 mini howa would be amazing.
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2ndChanceAg96
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In reply to DatTallArchitect • 6:07p, 4/22/20
AG
DatTallArchitect said:
2ndChanceAg96 said:
I have a question. I am finishing up my 300 blk pistol finally. Need to figure out what brace to use but are you allowed to have a grip on the underside of the handguard?
You can put an angled grip on a pistol, but not a vertical grip.
I was thinking that was the case. Thanks for verifying that for me. Now to find one.
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DatTallArchitect
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In reply to BenderRodriguez • 6:35p, 4/22/20
AG
BenderRodriguez said:
I was debating between 18" and 20", 22" was ruled out since I'll eventually suppress it.

Figured since I already had a 12" I should go with the longer barrel.
Here's mine

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highvelocity
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In reply to BenderRodriguez • 6:45p, 4/22/20
AG
its going to be a bolt gun. have you heard of black collar arms? going to have them build me a an integral pork sword in grendel once they get it lined out.

thoughts?
Owner of Kool Provisions
www.koolprovisions.com
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BenderRodriguez
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In reply to DatTallArchitect • 8:20p, 4/22/20
AG
Looks good!

I'm almost hoping this PSA barrel isn't great so I can burn through the steel case Wolf I bought with it and upgrade to try out the new Criterion barrels.
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BenderRodriguez
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In reply to highvelocity • 8:21p, 4/22/20
AG
highvelocity said:
its going to be a bolt gun. have you heard of black collar arms? going to have them build me a an integral pork sword in grendel once they get it lined out.

thoughts?

Picking up a 300blk Pork Sword pistol from them is actually on my project to do list....behind a lot of other things, but on there somewhere on the list behind finally getting the micro galil put together.
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D206
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In reply to BenderRodriguez • 8:35p, 4/22/20
AG
Looks awesome. I'm gonna build an SBR soon. What would you think about a Radian lower with the Balios upper? It seems like dropping the forward assist is the biggest weight reduction. I haven't actually put my hands on a radian but the ambidextrous catch is the draw to me.
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highvelocity
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In reply to BenderRodriguez • 9:12p, 4/22/20
AG
Good deal, maybe we'll time it at the same time. They're good dudes with a good product
Owner of Kool Provisions
www.koolprovisions.com
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AgLA06
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9:20p, 4/22/20
AG
I think I'm remember this incorrectly. Did someone say SBR wait times were down unlike the suppressor wait times?
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