6.5mm Grendel | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Type | Rifle | |||||||||||||||||||||||
Place of origin | United States | |||||||||||||||||||||||
Production history | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Designer | Bill Alexander and Janne Pohjoispää | |||||||||||||||||||||||
Designed | 2003[1] | |||||||||||||||||||||||
Specifications | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Parent case | .220 Russian (5.6×39mm)[2] | |||||||||||||||||||||||
Case type | Rimless, bottleneck | |||||||||||||||||||||||
Bullet diameter | 6.71 mm (0.264 in) | |||||||||||||||||||||||
Land diameter | 6.50 mm (0.256 in) | |||||||||||||||||||||||
Neck diameter | 7.44 mm (0.293 in) | |||||||||||||||||||||||
Shoulder diameter | 10.87 mm (0.428 in) | |||||||||||||||||||||||
Base diameter | 11.15 mm (0.439 in) | |||||||||||||||||||||||
Rim diameter | 11.2 mm (0.44 in) | |||||||||||||||||||||||
Rim thickness | 1.5 mm (0.059 in) | |||||||||||||||||||||||
Case length | 38.7 mm (1.52 in) | |||||||||||||||||||||||
Overall length | 57.5 mm (2.26 in) | |||||||||||||||||||||||
Case capacity | 2.3 cm3 (35 gr H2O) | |||||||||||||||||||||||
Rifling twist | 1 in 200 mm (8 in) or 1 in 230 mm (9 in) | |||||||||||||||||||||||
Primer type | Small rifle | |||||||||||||||||||||||
Maximum pressure | 360 MPa (52,000 psi) | |||||||||||||||||||||||
Ballistic performance | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Test barrel length: 24 inches (610 mm) Source(s): Alexander Arms Pressure-safe Load Data |
The 6.5mm Grendel is an intermediate cartridge jointly designed by British-American armorer Bill Alexander, competitive shooter Arne Brennan (of Houston, Texas) and Lapua ballistician Janne Pohjoispää, as a low-recoil, high-precision rifle cartridge specifically for the AR-15 platform at medium/long range (200–800 yard). It is an improved variation of the 6.5mm PPC.[4]
The 6.5mm Grendel cartridge was first unveiled in May 2003 at the Blackwater Training Facility in North Carolina, where it remained supersonic at 1,200 yd (1,100 m) range and out-shot the 7.62mm NATO with only half the recoil.[5] Since its introduction, it has proven to be a versatile cartridge and is now expanding into other firearm design platforms including bolt-action rifles and the Kalashnikov system.[6]
The name "Grendel" is inspired by the mythical monster antagonist from the Old English epic poem Beowulf.[7] It was a trademark owned by Alexander Arms (Bill Alexander's company in Radford, Virginia) and manufactured at Radford Arsenal,[8] until legally released in 2010 for SAAMI standardization with collaboration from Hornady.[7][9][10]
Guthrie 1
was invoked but never defined (see the help page).