So I was thinking of using my 6.5 Grendel AR to hunt with this year. And maybe this post belongs in rifles or reloading. Anyway I shot three shot groups with three different bullets. One of which was Barnes 100 grain ttsx. I had never used that bullet before. I was really impressed with the group. Less than an inch and it was blustery where I was yesterday. It shot the best group between it, 120 grain ballistic tip, and 123 grain SST. The thing is the group was a full six inches higher than the other two bullets. I really didn't want to fiddle with my scope that much this close to Deer season. However it's not the firearms deer season yet! What I'm wondering is, is the 100 grain ttsx a good bullet for deer in the 6.5 Grendel? It seems a little light compared to the 120 and 123. And yes I know lot of deer are killed with 100 grain bullets from a 243. I can still change my mind and sight in the rifle for that round if it seems to be a deer killer or not. Wondering what are others opinions?
-
Help Support TNDeer:
6.5 Grendel with Barnes 100gr TTSX
- Thread starter rifle02
- Start date
Drop it six inches and go kill the snot out of em with those barnes!!!
The 100gr TTSX is great in the 6.5G at around 2700 fps. You will likely get less "shock effect" with them than heavier lead core bullets, but you will get a good blood trail from a full pass through. Don't be scared of the shoulders
No idea why you don't want to adjust the scope. POI shifts are common when changing components or ammo. Make sure that you clean all jacketed fouling from it before shooting the monos though
No idea why you don't want to adjust the scope. POI shifts are common when changing components or ammo. Make sure that you clean all jacketed fouling from it before shooting the monos though
I don't mind adjusting the scope at all. It's just that I wasn't sure I wanted to do it to accommodate a bullet that might not be appropriate for deer. I do have 120 grain ttsx in 6.5 that I haven't loaded yet which might be a better idea.
Barnes like speed, so light and fast
From the Grendel the 100 would be better than the 120 but I'm not sure either beats the 120nbt or 123sst on deer.
I've killed a whole bunch of hogs with the 120nbt from my grendel and I've killed several deer with them from my 260 rem. They're an excellent bullet.
My experience with white tails and hard bullets if shoulders aren't broken has been it turns into quite a bit of tracking.
From the Grendel the 100 would be better than the 120 but I'm not sure either beats the 120nbt or 123sst on deer.
I've killed a whole bunch of hogs with the 120nbt from my grendel and I've killed several deer with them from my 260 rem. They're an excellent bullet.
My experience with white tails and hard bullets if shoulders aren't broken has been it turns into quite a bit of tracking.
I agree that the 100 TTSX will be better than the 120 due to speed. That 100 at 2700 should penetrate both shoulders if needed, and may drop immediately if you do a good point of the shoulder or quartering away shot on the offside shoulder. If you don't hit hard bone then it won't give much shock effect.
I also like the 120 BT or 123 SST at about 2450, but I would stay away from too much hard bone with the SST. Single shoulder is going to be 50/50 on exit wound with good shock and penetration, but double shoulder may not give you what you want on full penetration. The BT is slightly tougher. Both are best for the broadside, behind the shoulder shot. My kids have had high shoulder shots drop deer, but give poor penetration with SSTs that still required a finishing shot.
Both will kill deer just fine, just select the appropriate shot for the two types of bullets and go hunt. It is a great little cartridge, but don't expect it to have quite the same "oomph" as a 270/308/30-06 on tough angled shots
I also like the 120 BT or 123 SST at about 2450, but I would stay away from too much hard bone with the SST. Single shoulder is going to be 50/50 on exit wound with good shock and penetration, but double shoulder may not give you what you want on full penetration. The BT is slightly tougher. Both are best for the broadside, behind the shoulder shot. My kids have had high shoulder shots drop deer, but give poor penetration with SSTs that still required a finishing shot.
Both will kill deer just fine, just select the appropriate shot for the two types of bullets and go hunt. It is a great little cartridge, but don't expect it to have quite the same "oomph" as a 270/308/30-06 on tough angled shots
PickettSFHunter
Well-Known Member
Any of those 3 will kill deer just fine from the grendel. My personal hog hunting load for grendel is the 123 SST because I get great blood trails, easily available for reloading, economical etc. Yes my bullet testing is on hogs not deer. Plenty more targets available that way for testing. If a bullet performs well on a 100 pound hog, it will on deer too. I admit I would be more likely to be shooting light copper bullets in grendel or arc if it wasn't so expensive to empty a mag of them at pigs.
