6.

5mm Grendel: The Round the Military Ought to Have

by J. Guthrie November 16, 2012

After almost two hours of discussin the lon , tortured, and circuitous develo!ment and !roduction history of the 6."mm Grendel, # finally came ri ht out and as$ed develo!er %ill Ale&ander if he thou ht the Grendel would ever et a shot at re!lacin the much'mali ned "."6&("mm NA)* cartrid e. +,ho $nows-. Ale&ander as$ed rhetorically, $nowin there is no clear'cut, defined !ath to ado!tion by re ular /.0. military units. +#t1s not about ood wea!ons and ammunition any more, it1s a !olitical ame.. After leavin the %ritish defense industry and settin u! sho! at 2adford Arsenal in 3ir inia, Ale&ander s!ent his time desi nin rifles and cartrid es for Americans, not studyin the !rocurement !rocess. #f there were a clearly defined !rocess, it could be u!set at any !oint by meddlesome !oliticians, defense de!artment bureaucrats, or the odd eneral. 4es!ite the va aries of the military1s e5ui!ment selection !rocess, a 5uic$ analysis shows that the 6." Grendel is a le itimate contender to re!lace the entire 6(7616A2 family of rifles, includin the 046'2 and 0A6'2 rifles, the 61('based family of enhanced battle7s5uad desi nated mar$smen rifles, and the 6110 sni!er7s5uad desi nated mar$sman rifles. And it could be accom!lished with two different u!!ers and loads. 0ince it snuc$ onto the scene bac$ in 200(, the 6."mm Grendel has 5uietly built a devoted followin of shooters who li$e to do 8ust about everythin with one cartrid e that will fit in an A2'1". #t has also

enerated its fair share of controversy, from who actually develo!ed the Grendel to 5uarrelsome trademar$ a reements. +)he ."0 %eowulf was our first !ro8ect, and then we did another rifle in ".("&9:mm and could not ive the bloody thin s away,. Ale&ander said. +)he Grendel came alon in 2009 after $ic$in the idea alon for a cou!le years. #t really started as an amusin wildcat. )he ."0 was a 200'yard un at best, and # was loo$in for somethin with more le s, somethin you could hunt whitetails with.. )he ori inal Grendel conce!t, based on the 6."mm ;;< case, was certainly not the only 6."mm wildcat floatin around, and %ill Ale&ander certainly was not the only uy wor$in on an A2'com!atible cartrid e. Arne %rennan1s 6."mm wildcat was very similar to the Grendel=Ale&ander and %rennan com!ared notes on their !ro8ects from time to time=and he can be credited with a tremendous amount of develo!ment wor$ in the 6."mm A2 arena. Ale&ander did finali>e the dimensions for what became the Grendel case, chamber, and throat after wor$in closely with ballisticians from ?a!ua, notably Janne ;oh8ois!aa. +@rom the ;;< cartrid e we $e!t the 90'de ree shoulder an le, but shortened the nec$ and increased the nec$ thic$ness,. Ale&ander said. +,e also ended u! $ee!in the small !rimer and flash hole because that1s what ?a!ua was usin in the .220 2ussian brass, which is what we made Grendel brass from. After we finali>ed the dimensions, the Grendel sto!!ed bein an interestin wildcat and turned into a !roduction cartrid e.. Ale&ander trademar$ed the name and s!ecs soon after so the Grendel would not be bastardi>ed out of e&istence, a fate that has befallen several other cartrid es lac$in the bac$in of a ma8or ammunition manufacturer. +)he first 900 cases were carried over in the suitcases of ?a!ua re!s arrivin for the 200( 0A*) 0how,. Ale&ander said. +# started tryin loads and ot an in$lin of what we had. )he Grendel was more fle&ible and shot better than # ever ho!ed and wasn1t the !ain in the butt # thou ht it would be.. Buite a few other A2 manufacturers soon reali>ed the Grendel1s !otential, but the trademar$ was the source of a lot of un industry acrimony. All of this is now a moot !oint=Aornady s!onsored the cartrid e1s submission to 0AA6# early last year, and now the Grendel is a cartrid e available to the masses, sort of. +,e have certainly seen our share of boom and bust, but 5uite a few rifle and ammo com!anies are startin to reali>e the Grendel1s !otential,. Ale&ander said. Other Intermediate Cartridges ,hat ma$es the 6." Grendel better for eneral military o!erations than all the other intermediate A2 cartrid es- Nothin can match the Grendel1s ran e. <artrid es such as the 6.Cmm 0;< and .900 %lac$out are 900' or (00'yard cartrid es at best. )he Grendel is a "00'!lus'yard cartrid e. %ullets are the $ey. +,hen 2emin ton introduced the 6.C 0;< at 0A*) the same year as the Grendel, we thou ht we were oin to et e&terminated,. Ale&ander said. +%ut they couldn1t have handed it to us on a !late any better. ,e really only started showin u! in ma a>ines and such when writers com!ared us to the 0;<. )he results really s!o$e for themselves. *therwise no one would have ever heard of us..

)he 6."mm hits a ballistic sweet s!ot for o!timal bullet fli ht, much more so than the s5uat, fat bullets used by other cartrid es. 6ost 6."mm bullets hi her than 100 rains start with ballistic coefficients of more than .(00, somethin a 110' rain 6.Cmm bullet D.960 %<E or 12"' rain .900 %lac$out bullet D.1"9 %<E could never ho!e to match. )o its credit, the .900 %lac$out is much easier to su!!ress with 200' rain and u! bullets, and it wor$s well in ;4,'len th u!!ers. 6ost im!ortantly, the %lac$out uses "."6mm ma a>ines. )he 6.Cmm 0;< has a little more case ta!er and is theoretically more reliable, but from an e&ternal ballistics stand!oint, the Grendel is far su!erior to both.

)he 6."mm Grendel DcenterE could conceivably re!lace both the "."6 Dri htE and F.62 DleftE in their current battlefield roles and would reatly sim!lify the rifle selection currently in use.

)he Grendel Dsecond from ri htE is the most versatile of the intermediate cartrid es, si nificantly out!erformin the 6.Cmm 0;< DleftE and the .900 %lac$out Dsecond from leftE, not to mention the "."6mm Dri htE.

%ecause of its case desi n and available match !ro8ectiles, the Grendel has tremendous accuracy !otential. )hese rou!s were fired from a ?es %aer rifle at 100 yards and "00 yards.

)he Grendel cartrid e would enable the military to re!lace myriad !latforms with 8ust twoG a 1(."'inch' barreled carbine and a 20'inch 4esi nated 6ar$sman 2ifle.

)he lar er case head of the 6." Grendel

The Grendel in Uniform Ale&ander had some very sim!le answers when # as$ed him what the Grendel would loo$ li$e in uniform. )he entire suite of carbines, standard service rifles, and desi nated mar$smen rifles=and that adds u! to do>ens of models in two calibers, "."6H(" and F.62H"1 NA)*=could be re!laced by 8ust two rifles and two bullet wei hts. 4es!ite what1s been said on the #nternet, the 6( is one of the most !o!ular infantry arms in /.0. military history, ettin !retty favorable mar$s from combatants. 0o why would you want to re!lace it*ne of the few com!laints has been battlefield lethality, and most of those !roblems can be attributed to ammunition. )he 6C"" ;enetrator, or reen ti! round, was desi ned to defeat body armor at e&tended ran es. A better ammo o!tion for now e&ists in the 62' rain 0*0) round amon others, but bi er is usually better, es!ecially if it fits in the same com!act and reliable rifle. 0oldiers are havin trouble dominatin the battlefield !ast 900 or (00 yards. Ale&ander theori>ed the !erfect re!lacement would be an 6( chambered in 6." Grendel with the same, handy 1(."'inch barrel and 10F' to 110' rain @6J !ro8ectiles constructed alon the lines of the old 0oviet FN6 or FN10 !enetrator round. Accordin to Ale&ander1s data, the 10F' rain 0ierra 6atchIin and 10C' rain ?a!ua 0cenar cruise alon at 2,"00 to 2,"20 f!s out of 6('len th barrels and have much im!roved %<s and mass over any "."6mm round. )estin showed Grendel bullets shed an avera e of 6 f!s !er inch when dro!!in from 2C inches down to 20 inches and 29 f!s !er inch when dro!!in from 20 to 1(." inches. ,hile "."6mm bullets are 8ust that much more ineffective out of shorter barrels, the Grendel1s efficiency and increased mass ma$e it a more efficient $iller. %ecause of its len th and rear wei htin , the theoretical 6." Grendel eneral service round would yaw and cause si nificant woundin at e&tended ran es or u! close. ,ith a %< well above .(00=the 10C' rain 0cenar has a %< of .(6"=it would crush the "."6 and e&tend the avera e infantryman1s effective ran e beyond "00 yards. 0eein the tar et well enou h to hit it becomes the issue, not terminal !erformance. )he s5uad desi nated mar$sman is a 0oviet conce!t, borrowed by the /.0. military in #ra5 and Af hanistan. #nte ratin a soldier or marine with e&tra trainin and an accuri>ed, sco!ed rifle into infantry s5uads has !aid bi dividends. )he mar$smen hel! direct fires, identify threats, and en a e tar ets well beyond the effective ran e of infantrymen e5ui!!ed with standard rifles. )he services have used both hi hly modified 616s and !ulled the 61( out of retirement to meet the challen e. 616 rifles enerally were e5ui!!ed with heavy, 1GC'twist match barrels around 20 inches in len th and, when !ossible, !aired with e&cellent 6$ 262 6od 1 ammo. )he FF' rain %)A; has the most strin ent accuracy standard of any small arms ammunition in the /.0. military and delivers e&ce!tional battlefield !erformance. )he bullet usually yaws after im!act and fra ments, causin debilitatin wounds. 6$ 262 is lac$in in the barrier !enetration de!artment, construction and mass bein the limitin factors. +Amon st all the scufflin and shoutin , the "."6 is a very ood and effective caliber,. Ale&ander said. +Aow many .90Cs win at <am! ;erry now- )he "."6 with a correctly constructed bullet is a very useful round, but the 6."1s bi advanta e is deliverin twice the material and ener y to the tar et and reatly limitin wind drift..

6ost 61( rifles, coated in <osmoline and stored away in the 1:60s, had their wood stoc$s re!laced with modular chassises that more readily acce!ted o!tics and other aimin , infrared illumination devices, etc. Accuracy twea$s and o!tics with a 10J to! end were added before shi!!in overseas. ,hen !aired with 1F"' rain 611C?2 ammo, infantrymen armed with the 69: Knhanced 6ar$sman 2ifle D/06<E, 6I1( DN0,E, or Knhanced %attle 2ifle DArmyE were ood out to 1,000 yards de!endin on conditions. )he F.62mm round was, and is, obviously more lethal and !enetrated barriers better than the "."6. )he bi disadvanta es to the 69:7K%2 are its s!ecial ammo Dor at least ammo not common to the avera e riflemanE, ma a>ines, and wei ht. 2etrofittin rifles is e&!ensive and time consumin , and findin s!are !arts for a rifle that has not been in re ular service for "0 years was a challen e at times. )he 6110 0A00 has been very well received by troo!s, mostly because of its semiautomatic ca!ability. )he fact that it runs almost e&actly li$e its 616 little brother certainly doesn1t hurt. %ut it is heavy, heavier than the 616 at least, and still has the same oddball ma a>ine and ammo re5uirements li$e the 69:7K%2. A 462 rifle in 6." Grendel with the ri ht bullet solves most of these !roblems without ivin u! much in terms of downran e !erformance Dsee the accom!anyin chartsE. Ale&ander su ested an off'shelf solution in the form of ?a!ua1s 129' rain 0cenar A;%). *ut of a 20'inch barrel the bullet would be !ushin 2,600 f!s with a ."2F %<=the 611C?21s 1F"' rain 6I has a %< of ."0"=so it doesn1t have to start out very fast to be effective downran e. 6ar$smen also ain five rounds, u! to 2" from 20, by oin Grendel instead of F.62. +0ince most 462 rifles are e5ui!!ed with 20'inch barrels, it ma$es sense to $ee! that len th,. Ale&ander said. +)hat barrel len th enerates enou h velocity to stay su!ersonic out to 1,200 yards with the 0cenar.. ?i$e the 616'based 462 rifles, both the Grendel infantry carbine and 462 would use the same ma a>ines, same !arts, and in a !inch the same ammo. )he bi advanta e is F.62'li$e lethality in a li htwei ht rifle. Grendel carbines and 462 rifles actually wei h a few ounces less than "."6mm uns because the bore is bi er and there is less barrel steel to tote u! the hill. ?o istics uys and armorers would !robably wee! with 8oy to see the everythin 'is'different K%2s bo&ed u! and salted away. #nfantrymen would a!!reciate a rifle that is a cou!le of !ounds li hter than the 6110. Ale&ander !ointed out a misconce!tion about the Grendel. 0ome thin$ the short case1s minimal ta!er ma$es it difficult to feed. #n reality the case has ade5uate ta!er and feeds e&ce!tionally well=even with the reen lac5uer coatin that sto!s the "."6. #t !rovides very reliable select fire ability. )he ma a>ine is still a wea$ !oint for heavy military use, but im!rovements are bein made. +;robably the bi est !enalty would be the e&tra wei ht it would ta$e to match a "."6mm round count,. Ale&ander said. +0ince the Grendel runs at low !ressures D6A; is "0,000 !siE, steel cases are an o!tion, and that would hel! ne ate some of the wei ht ain.. Refit ,hat would it ta$e to convert millions and millions of 6( and 616 rifles to 6." Grendel- #n theory, 8ust

a barrel, a bolt, and a ma a>ine. )he cartrid e !roduces more recoil than the "."6, but not so much more that it re5uires a new buffer or sco!e7accessory mounts. +;robably the easiest and least e&!ensive route would be to buy new u!!ers,. Ale&ander said. +0ure, you could swa! barrels and bolts, but by the time you !aid an armorer to do the wor$, the u!!er is !robably the best route.. )he 1(."'inch u!!er runs L6"0 without rail, and the 462 u!!er runs LC20, retail. #f the /.0. military too$ the !lun e and switched, these !rices would obviously come way down. DA brand'new 6( runs 8ust over LF00.E %ut there is more to it than swa!!in rifles. All the su!!ortin industries, namely ammunition manufacturers, would have to s!in u! !roduction lines. And there is the issue of all that "."6 and F.62 ammo and the accom!anyin ma a>ines sittin in stora e de!ots around the world. A wholesale swa! to 6." Grendel would cost billions of dollars. History Re eating Itself )he %ritish Army1s ?and ;attern 6us$et, or %rown %ess, debuted in 1F22 and was the infantry1s !rimary rifle for more than 100 years. )here were do>ens, if not hundreds, of incremental chan es to im!rove its !erformance. %ut for the most !art, its flintloc$ i nition and caliber remained unchan ed. *rdnance officers felt that a new system that only mar inally increased the mus$et1s battlefield !erformance sim!ly was not worth the cost. As it stands, the 61676( in "."6&("mm is a ood system that has been reatly im!roved over its "0' year service life. 0i hts, ammo, ma a>ines=everythin has been u! raded, and the rifle is accurate and reliable. Kven thou h the 6." Grendel cartrid e is far more lethal and has the !otential to com!letely re!lace two different calibers and a do>en firearm systems, it still would offer an incremental increase in !erformance and therefore will !robably never be issued to soldiers and marines headed into combat. )he same could have been said about the 616, too, ri ht u! until the moment a <olt salesman !ut one in the hands of General <urtis ?emay. Ale&ander would neither confirm nor deny that rifles chambered in 6." Grendel had been re5uested or tested by the /.0. military. And since Ale&ander is bein so ti ht li!!ed, only time will tell if the Grendel will ever become the ne&t /.0. military service round.

)he 6." Grendel DcenterE has a five'round ma a>ine ca!acity advanta e over the .90C7F.62 Dri htE, but ives u! five rounds to the .2297"."6 DleftE. htt!G77www.shootin times.com7201271171676'"mm' rendel'the'round'the'military'ou ht'to'have7