Great Grendel Hunting Bullet Choices

In this video I summarize the performance of the Nosler 125 Grain Partition bullet and the Barnes 120 Grain TTSX bullet that were used to harvest three pronghorn during the 2022 Wyoming hunting season. Both bullets penetrated the animals fully and terminated them quickly and effectively. The Partition bullet is a little more hostile and will bruise surrounding muscle more than the Barnes TTSX but will punch through pretty much whatever. Overall, I will continue to use these bullets with the 6.5 Grendel in future hunting endeavors with no reservation on using them.

[@deerhearse]

I've always had great luck with Barnes as well. Always great having the kids hunting too!

[@SnowbirdProductionsTX]

Good to hear!

[@mr.mr.3301]

I wished the federal fusion was easier to find.

[@swampbiologist]

I'm a big fan of the Partition!

[@SnowbirdProductionsTX]

I've used them with the .308 and now the Grendel. One caribou (.308), one hog (Grendel), and a pronghorn (Grendel). Not tons of test cases, but haven't been disappointed in the least. Will definitely keep it in my rotation :)

[@hectorpadilla6480]

Just stumbled across your channel and I’m glad I did. I’m in the process of converting one of my .223 to Grendel for some hog hunting here in Texas and New Mexico. My Bear Creek just arrived today. Now I just have to track down some ammo 😂. Look forward to going through your other videos and seeing the new ones.

[@SnowbirdProductionsTX]

Glad you found it. For future videos, at the moment, I will likely make one on adding an adjustable gas block and swapping out the buffer weight. I also own a BCA upper, and I shoot suppressed, and it was way too gassy. I also have some Hornady CX bullets coming in the mail and I want to compare them to the Barnes TTSXs. Heck, then I just need to piece all that together and go hog hunting again :)

[@stevenstembridge4864]

Hi sir. Excited to discover your channel today. Planning to eventually purchase and hunt with a grendel and was looking for those with some personal experience with it. Thanks for the content

[@SnowbirdProductionsTX]

Glad you were able to find the channel. I have a few other videos that talk about the Grendel as well that you can find here...kzbin.info/aero/PLaQTUMX7CYVyB2xPGNbGMvxkwoixdWqyH. I know there are tons of calibers and other platforms out there that do a fine job as well but I am really glad that I stumbled on the Grendel 3+ years ago. It has served my daughter and I very well during hunting season and will continue to do so. Feel free to drop any questions you have and I'll do my best to give you a well-rounded and informed answer.

[@stevenstembridge4864]

@@SnowbirdProductionsTX thanks! I'll be checking out the videos and I will let you know if questions come up. 6.5 Grendel just seems like such a perfect starting point for my kids to begin hunting. Also super practical for the ranges and game available to me.

[@joshuahammond2321]

I can only fine hornady sst 123 grain hope there good for whittail

[@SnowbirdProductionsTX]

I don't think you'll have problems with the 123 SST bullets. In the end is always bullet placement that's most important but I did encounter issue with higher grain polymer tips like the Nosler 100 grain ballistic tips which fragmented a lot and didn't punch the animal as much as I would have hoped and they took longer to expire.

[@trevorgale1176]

I have tried Siera Pro Hunter, they expand way too fast, I have found the 120gr Hunter BT to have full penetration, and drop them very well.

[@SnowbirdProductionsTX]

I have never tried Sierra bullets in any form or fashion so thanks for the feedback on that. We did well a couple of years ago with the Nosler 120 BTs. However, the year after that I could only find Nosler 100 BTs and they really performed sub-optimally. Don't get me wrong, the animals died but the bullet really really fragmented and didn't penetrate as well as I like. I'm sure they work just well for smaller game but won't use them again on deer-size animals.

[@samhouston5217]

NICE SHOOTIN' young lady!! Wow!. Hey what do you think if the Hornady Black ELD 123gr? I have not hunted with it yet.

[@SnowbirdProductionsTX]

It warms my soul that my daughter did so well and she still busts my chops that she holds the longest kill between the both of us. Haha! I have never hunted with the Hornady Black. They seem to shoot well but I think I would choose SSTs over those if you’re sticking with Hornady.

[@samhouston5217]

@@SnowbirdProductionsTX Roger that. Thank you.

[@LRRPFco52]

ELD-Ms will expand down to a little lower impact velocity than SSTs, which means if you're shooting 20-24" within ~100yds, they'll open up rapidly, but the core/tail still gives you good penetration. 123gr and 129gr SST have a slightly thicker jacket, with the cannelure and a locking feature around the core down in the shank, which are designed to provide controlled expansion without fragmenting. Because 6.5 Grendels have moderate muzzle velocities, you get predictable terminal performance with expansion and penetration with most cup and core hunting bullets in the 105-130gr range.

[@samhouston5217]

Interesting, To paraphrase your explanation: the ELD expand better at lower velocities, thank you I appreciate it. @@LRRPFco52

[@clintoutdoors3280]

Hey I was thinking about building my wife a 6.5 grendel but I don’t reload… I wanted a bullet that’ll give her a clean pass through everytime so looked at the tsx Bullet… any suggestions on that and barrel length?

[@SnowbirdProductionsTX]

I would recommend a 18” or greater length barrel and I also recommend it have a 1:8 twist so it handles “heavier” bullets properly. I’m very happy with my BCA 20” stainless steel barrel except that it’s a little heavy and I did finally put an adjustable gas block because it was over gassed a little (and I also shoot suppressed). I was super happy with the Barnes TTSX but I understand the TSX are very similar but doesn’t expand quite as quickly. I think regardless monolithic bullets are pretty sweet now that I’ve used them. I still am standing by my opinion that you should be slinging at least 120 grain bullets for the best effect on deer sized animals. Hopefully this all makes sense. Let me me know if you have any other questions. Would be more than happy to talk to you through other methods as well if it’s easier.

[@clintoutdoors3280]

@@SnowbirdProductionsTX ok… where else could I contact you?

[@SnowbirdProductionsTX]

@@clintoutdoors3280 Hopefully this is buried enough in a thread that not everyone notices. Here is a burner forwarding email address that will reach me. If you feel comfortable sending me an email I’ll reply back to you with my real address and then I can have a more in-depth conversation about Grendel stuff. Definitely didn’t want to post my real one as hackers would probably have a hay day. [e-mail]

[@DyrewulfNV]

For off the shelf ammo, I've been using Federal Fusion 120's - I'm set up for reloading (finally), but I don't have 6.5 Grendel dies yet, just 9mm, 45 ACP and .308

[@Chuck1284-]

@@SnowbirdProductionsTX I got ahold of the guy from Hammer Bullets (Steve) to ask about bullet weights for a Grendel specifically for coastal blacktail deer (CA). A big blacktail could go maybe 160 lbs. soaking wet. I had been using 120-123 gr lead bullets before but Steve actually recommended their 85 grain bullet, he told me the added velocity (above 2600 fps) would enhance the effectiveness of the bullet. So I bought 50 to try but have not loaded/shot any yet, just wanted to pass that along.