6.5 Grendel 123 gr loads AR Comp

I assume a 24” barrel. If you QL it or GRT it how much pressure do they predict?


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As a side note I did get the Sharps extreme performance bolt and ran it in my rifle. I was not happy. I was running ladders for velocity only for my 100gr ELD M’s and some 107 Smk’s. On the lowest start load the first couple of rounds stove piped. I went to single feed them. Alternatively the rifle would go from not ejecting from the gun well, to just barely flopping out, to 2:00 o’clock ejection pattern to not even ejecting the round with it still being squarely in the bolt. I was single feeding do the bcc was held by the bolt catch.

I pulled that bolt and put back the previous Odin works bolt. The following day this is when I did some other bullet straight ladder test for velocity and pressure signs. That bolt functioned flawlessly.

I contacted Sharps and told customer service of my problem and suggested that I return the bolt and some accompanying brass so they could figure out what was going on and correct them. Their response was looking at pick I sent you were running rounds well over pressure which caused the brass flecks on the case head and ultimately functional failure of the bolt after 30 rounds.

So I decided I would pull the bolt apart. The extractor and ejector pin and figure out the problem. Here is a quick summary of my findings.

The extractor had a fairly large o-ring on it which made any movement of the extractor when the round was going into battery offer a tremendous amount of resistance. Examining my brass from that firing cycle the faces of the case head were pretty stable very little if any case swiping but the rims of the case heads had small cuts in the from the claw of the extractor.

I measured all my spent cases for evidence of drastic over pressuring of the loads. All measurements, neck, base, case web, were within .001 tolerances. While primers ( cci 450’s) were a little flattened but still with round edges, there was no cratering of the primers. So this was not causational to bolt function.

So my take is that the extractor exhibited so much resistance to opening during the final rotational movement into battery that the sharp edge of the extractor was cutting the edges of the case rim as it pushed by. So I will either find a slightly smaller o-ring or shave of a little of the existing to lessen the resistance of the extractor as the case goes into battery.

As far as the ejection pin. I soaked the pin head area with WD40 and then successfully pushed down on the ejector until it loosened enough and finally extended all the way. There actually were a few brass shards that had made their way down in between the pin and the wall of the hole which ultimately locked it in a flush condition.

I cleaned out the hole with a small rat tail file very lightly moving it back and forth. Again I picked up a very small shard of brass. really small pieces, barely visible to my eye but pick up in light. I then wiped down the pin inspected it and placed it in the hole. It was still binding up. So I broke out my Dremel and put a polishing wheel on it. Put some Flick on it it and went about polishing the pin.

I then placed the pin in the hole to check for clearance and function. Absolutely no snagging, it ran up and down with little or no resistance. I reassembled the bolt and I will see what I have or I can find to replace the , what I believe is over sized o-ring. If I can’t find one I will shave some the existing o-ring off, and then I will put it back in.

I still think the Sharps extreme bolt is a good deal and I suspect going forward it will function flawlessly. But when you pay $131 for a bolt you expect it to function 100% out of the box.

I did write a review to the customer service rep of my findings in a little more lengthy report, hoping they will apply it to their QC and production operations. I did let them know that I was not happy with their dismissal of me as a customer. Assuming I was just some buffoon.


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DavidA said:

As a side note I did get the Sharps extreme performance bolt and ran it in my rifle. I was not happy. I was running ladders for velocity only for my 100gr ELD M’s and some 107 Smk’s. On the lowest start load the first couple of rounds stove piped. I went to single feed them. Alternatively the rifle would go from not ejecting from the gun well, to just barely flopping out, to 2:00 o’clock ejection pattern to not even ejecting the round with it still being squarely in the bolt. I was single feeding do the bcc was held by the bolt catch.

I pulled that bolt and put back the previous Odin works bolt. The following day this is when I did some other bullet straight ladder test for velocity and pressure signs. That bolt functioned flawlessly.

I contacted Sharps and told customer service of my problem and suggested that I return the bolt and some accompanying brass so they could figure out what was going on and correct them. Their response was looking at pick I sent you were running rounds well over pressure which caused the brass flecks on the case head and ultimately functional failure of the bolt after 30 rounds.

So I decided I would pull the bolt apart. The extractor and ejector pin and figure out the problem. Here is a quick summary of my findings.

The extractor had a fairly large o-ring on it which made any movement of the extractor when the round was going into battery offer a tremendous amount of resistance. Examining my brass from that firing cycle the faces of the case head were pretty stable very little if any case swiping but the rims of the case heads had small cuts in the from the claw of the extractor.

I measured all my spent cases for evidence of drastic over pressuring of the loads. All measurements, neck, base, case web, were within .001 tolerances. While primers ( cci 450’s) were a little flattened but still with round edges, there was no cratering of the primers. So this was not causational to bolt function.

So my take is that the extractor exhibited so much resistance to opening during the final rotational movement into battery that the sharp edge of the extractor was cutting the edges of the case rim as it pushed by. So I will either find a slightly smaller o-ring or shave of a little of the existing to lessen the resistance of the extractor as the case goes into battery.

As far as the ejection pin. I soaked the pin head area with WD40 and then successfully pushed down on the ejector until it loosened enough and finally extended all the way. There actually were a few brass shards that had made their way down in between the pin and the wall of the hole which ultimately locked it in a flush condition.

I cleaned out the hole with a small rat tail file very lightly moving it back and forth. Again I picked up a very small shard of brass. really small pieces, barely visible to my eye but pick up in light. I then wiped down the pin inspected it and placed it in the hole. It was still binding up. So I broke out my Dremel and put a polishing wheel on it. Put some Flick on it it and went about polishing the pin.

I then placed the pin in the hole to check for clearance and function. Absolutely no snagging, it ran up and down with little or no resistance. I reassembled the bolt and I will see what I have or I can find to replace the , what I believe is over sized o-ring. If I can’t find one I will shave some the existing o-ring off, and then I will put it back in.

I still think the Sharps extreme bolt is a good deal and I suspect going forward it will function flawlessly. But when you pay $131 for a bolt you expect it to function 100% out of the box.

I did write a review to the customer service rep of my findings in a little more lengthy report, hoping they will apply it to their QC and production operations. I did let them know that I was not happy with their dismissal of me as a customer. Assuming I was just some buffoon.


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Click to expand...

Don't waste your time. Anytime I run into a "tech" rep who knows less than I do or spouts ********, I write the company off to scrap. Too many great outfits to put up with that garbage. That's bad tolerance issues and or bad parts selection.

DavidA said:

I assume a 24” barrel. If you QL it or GRT it how much pressure do they predict?


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Click to expand...

Yes, 24" 1:9 twist barrel, Hornady brass, Fed 205 primers, 123 gr Sierra HPBT.

I don't currently run GRT or QL. Instead I stick to published loads from a bullet or powder company and work up. I recommend never using max loads from random strangers on the internet. For 6.5G, when I "work up" I'm looking at velocities not exceeding what was achieved with the published max load, not just pressure signs on the brass (which are usually an indication of fairly significant overpressure for 6.5G.)

But, for 6.5G, these tools are both supposed to be fairly accurate, e.g. within a couple thousand PSI. Not sure if they have Leverevoltion in their databases yet.