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6.5 creedmoor to 6.5 grendel

Hey guys, got a gunsmithing question for all of you. I built my kids a rifle this summer. Bartlein carbon barrel on a 700 action. I had it chambered in 6.5 creedmoor. It is short, finished right at 17" barrel. The kids are having a hard time handling the recoil. I normally shoot suppressed but I've even tried a brake but didn't seem to solve the problem.
So my question is, can I take a 6.5 creedmoor and convert it to a 6.5 grendel? I realize the bolt faces are a little different, could that be solved with a extractor? It seems to feed ok from AI mags, am I missing something there? Would the entire chamber area have to be removed? It would make the barrel short, but I could pin weld for a can if I need to.
Thanks in advance,
Matt
What you may want to look at is the type of brake you are using, I have two Creedmoors the barrels are both longer, 22 and 24 inch, bergara HMR and an AR10. Both have ZRO-Delta Brake which I don't think you can find easily anymore. But the issue with that short of a barrel may be the sound concussion back to the shooter with a brake, have purchased a Indian creek Design"Any Brake Blast Forward Device, Website www.iodproducts.com. When installed looks like a mini suppressor. pushes the sound forward away from the shooter and recoil straight back into the shoulder. My 14 year old daughter has no problem shooting either Creedmoor been shooting them for a few years now, the AR10 was initially over gassed had to install an adjustable gas block, this blast forward device is only on the bolt gun.
 
Since you reload trying reduced loads in your current rifle seems like the cheapest and most sensible answer. The kids will get used to shooting that rifle and as they are able to take more recoil you can up the power of the loads and the only thing that will change is the recoil and the dope card. They won't have to get used to a new gun. If that doesn't work out I'd vote for an AR in 6 ARC, 223 or 22 Valkyrie. ARs are relatively cheap to build and easy to change.
 
Hey guys, got a gunsmithing question for all of you. I built my kids a rifle this summer. Bartlein carbon barrel on a 700 action. I had it chambered in 6.5 creedmoor. It is short, finished right at 17" barrel. The kids are having a hard time handling the recoil. I normally shoot suppressed but I've even tried a brake but didn't seem to solve the problem.
So my question is, can I take a 6.5 creedmoor and convert it to a 6.5 grendel? I realize the bolt faces are a little different, could that be solved with a extractor? It seems to feed ok from AI mags, am I missing something there? Would the entire chamber area have to be removed? It would make the barrel short, but I could pin weld for a can if I need to.
Thanks in advance,
Matt

Simpler: Just down load the 6.5CM to Grendel vels and bullets, and you have a reduced recoil load/rifle that can expand as they grow more tolerant. Many of us have done this for decades with varied calibers, and it works well.
 
17" barrel is the issue here IMO. Try loading a lighter weight bullet with a faster powder but well below max load. Shorter barrels need faster burning powder. I do this with a 18" 308, run a 130 Barnes TTSX and recoil is very manageable. Maybe try with a 100 Grain Barnes TTSX or something similar. Short barrels with MB's can be intimidating as the muzzle blast can be fierce. I imagine it's the muzzle blast the kids are feeling and not the recoil, if that makes sense?
 
6 GT would be just a barrel change with quite a bit less recoil. Load up some 80-100 grain copper bullets and it will be good for deer. Plenty of 105-110 grain options for lead core bullets for anything else. The other thing you could try is to weigh down the rifle somehow which should reduce the felt recoil.
 
Hey guys, got a gunsmithing question for all of you. I built my kids a rifle this summer. Bartlein carbon barrel on a 700 action. I had it chambered in 6.5 creedmoor. It is short, finished right at 17" barrel. The kids are having a hard time handling the recoil. I normally shoot suppressed but I've even tried a brake but didn't seem to solve the problem.
So my question is, can I take a 6.5 creedmoor and convert it to a 6.5 grendel? I realize the bolt faces are a little different, could that be solved with a extractor? It seems to feed ok from AI mags, am I missing something there? Would the entire chamber area have to be removed? It would make the barrel short, but I could pin weld for a can if I need to.
Thanks in advance,
Matt
Skimmed the replies and didnt see anyone suggesting this so apologies if this is a duplicate, but I would just have your smith spin up another barrel in something mild like 6mm Dasher (or anything with the same bolt face) and make it a switch barrel rig. I built a 16" 6mm Creedmoor for my son to shoot (he was 9 at the time) and with 103gr factory ammo its very tame (dig through my old posts if you want the details on the rig).

You can also just try loading lighter bullets at mild charge weights in the 6.5 CM. I had a pet load running a 120gr ballistic tip at ~2800fps (cant remember exact specifics but it was about a grain below max on the Nosler book for H4350, also duplicated this velocity with slightly higher SD/ES with Varget); it absolutely decimated deer and was a joy to shoot even in a lightweight wood stocked sporter rifle.
 
If you want a 6mm rem call me, I'll sell it for a fair price and include the ammunition that I have
 
It's been suggested, but I would load down the 6.5 creedmoor with H4895. I think that the short carbon barrel probably contributes most to the unpleasant recoil for kids. Also suggested is to put together a howa mini grendel. I had a howa mini grendel and 6.5 creedmoor hunting rifle, and I've simplified mine down to just the creedmoor. But, the grendel was fine for all the shots that I needed to take.
 
Hey guys, got a gunsmithing question for all of you. I built my kids a rifle this summer. Bartlein carbon barrel on a 700 action. I had it chambered in 6.5 creedmoor. It is short, finished right at 17" barrel. The kids are having a hard time handling the recoil. I normally shoot suppressed but I've even tried a brake but didn't seem to solve the problem.
So my question is, can I take a 6.5 creedmoor and convert it to a 6.5 grendel? I realize the bolt faces are a little different, could that be solved with a extractor? It seems to feed ok from AI mags, am I missing something there? Would the entire chamber area have to be removed? It would make the barrel short, but I could pin weld for a can if I need to.
Thanks in advance,
Matt
Being that the Grendel case head is the same as the PPC. Some guys do not have to alter a .308 bolt face to shoot the PPC. You would have to rechamber the barrel to the Grendel case. An option is the Ruger American Predator in 6.5 Grendel
 
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