Last summer I decided that I wanted to add another AR to the family, but this time I wanted something I could hunt with, AND something I could stretch out for plinking at some distance. I settled on the 6.5 Grendel. After seeing the prices on the finished uppers from some of the more well known brands, I decided to build one instead. Then I stumbled across Sanders Armory. They had complete 24" uppers available for less than I could build one. After spending some time on the phone with them, I decided to give them a try.
The upper arrived within the quoted lead time. I paired it with a lower that I had already assembled using a Rock River NM 2 stage trigger, and a PRS stock, and added 4.5-27 Athlon glass. Accuracy with factory 123 gr SST is right around 1" which is not impressive in my book. However, I've worked up multiple hand loads with the 123gr SST, and the 105 gr MKZ using 3 different powders and they will all shoot under 1/2 MOA out to 400 yards. Some are approaching 1/4 moa when I do my part. The 105 gr MKZ proved very effective on deer. With a BC in the high .4s and a muzzle velocity over 2700 fps, this load gives up very little to the 6.5 Creedmoor.
All in all, I am very happy with it. I've got around 300 rounds down the tube so far with no feed issus. I've been surprised at the lack of copper fowling from the new barrel and the all copper MKZ projectiles from Cavity Back Bullets. Love this combination. I'm looking forward to seeing what I can do with some 123 gr Scenar and N530. While I do wish there were more factory loads available, I'd still highly recommend this cartridge or the 6.8 SPC to anyone looking for an all around cartridge for the AR15 platform. I'd also highly recommend getting the upper from Sanders Armory. Nice folks who build a good product.
The upper arrived within the quoted lead time. I paired it with a lower that I had already assembled using a Rock River NM 2 stage trigger, and a PRS stock, and added 4.5-27 Athlon glass. Accuracy with factory 123 gr SST is right around 1" which is not impressive in my book. However, I've worked up multiple hand loads with the 123gr SST, and the 105 gr MKZ using 3 different powders and they will all shoot under 1/2 MOA out to 400 yards. Some are approaching 1/4 moa when I do my part. The 105 gr MKZ proved very effective on deer. With a BC in the high .4s and a muzzle velocity over 2700 fps, this load gives up very little to the 6.5 Creedmoor.
All in all, I am very happy with it. I've got around 300 rounds down the tube so far with no feed issus. I've been surprised at the lack of copper fowling from the new barrel and the all copper MKZ projectiles from Cavity Back Bullets. Love this combination. I'm looking forward to seeing what I can do with some 123 gr Scenar and N530. While I do wish there were more factory loads available, I'd still highly recommend this cartridge or the 6.8 SPC to anyone looking for an all around cartridge for the AR15 platform. I'd also highly recommend getting the upper from Sanders Armory. Nice folks who build a good product.
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