6.5 Grendel decisions

I'm in the market for a 6.5 Grendel bolt rifle. I know most shoot this round out of an AR style rifle but I want a bolt gun. So it seems that there are only a couple options in my price range….. under 650 for rifle alone. I see the Ruger predator gen 2 in 20 or 22" barrel. Or a howa mini. Thoughts which would be the better option and better barrel length. Primarily a hunting setup with the occasional long range target. Any thoughts would be great.

Have heard good stuff about the howa. I'm waiting for sig to make it in the cross rifle.

I have a Ruger Gen2 standard,,,, really like it. I shot it to 984 this morning . Little breezy here in Cali,,, held 9 minutes wind.
Dang rifle is just fun. I put a strike eagle 5-25 on it.
Shot at a friends range yesterday . 3,4 ,6,700 1000 yards. Ping the steel. And murdered a good sized hog last evening,
The Ruger is a nice gun for the $.

I have the Howa mini in the ultralight configuration. Super thin barrel but still shoots sub MOA with factory ammo.

I'm not a fan personally of Ruger, but they do make good factory rifles. Howa in grendel have been phenomenal as well out of the box.

Any thoughts on barrel length. I've read that the 22 will clearly give more velocity. But in real world use…. Would I truly see or feel the difference in the barrel length. Hunting I don't expect shots over 300 and target to 700.

16-18" is more than enough at those distances for hunting. If you wanna run 130gr or a little heavier if you have the 1/8 twist barrel, depending on which rifle you pick, then I'd say 22" barrel for sure.

Have 2 Mini's, w/ heavy barrels. Not really a heavy barrel, but thicker than the pencil barrel. Both are sub MOA. But I've not tried stretching them out past 200.

I will say the B&C stock made the rifles action smooth up considerably. I'm guessing maybe the original stock I swapped was binding it somehow.

I've got the Howa in 20". Planning on picking up a Howa 6 arc in 22" and swap in same stock. Don't know but I have a feeling the 22" will balance and point better.