The Amazing 30 Major — 6.5 Grendel Necked Up to .30 Caliber
Sometimes everything comes together — a great barrel, the right load, good bullets, and, of course, a gifted trigger-puller. Check out this target from Forum member Mike Ezell. That’s five (5) shots at 100 yards from Mike’s 30 Major benchrest rifle. When this group was shot a while back, Mike reported: “I fired a few groups in the great weather. No surprises — it did VERY well! My little wildcat, the 30 Major, has always been a shooter. That target was not a fluke — I shot a few groups today and Agg’d a high One.” Mike is a Kentucky gunsmith who builds his own rifles.
30 Major is Based on 6.5 Grendel
What’s a “30 Major” you ask? This is Mike’s own wildcat, a 6.5 Grendel necked up to .30 caliber. Mike writes: “The 30 Major is essentially a .070″-long 30 PPC. With the great 6.5 Grendel brass available from Lapua, all you need to do is neck-up and turn the necks to prep the brass.” Mike says it is very much like a 30 BR, but you just start with 6.5 Grendel brass instead of 6mmBR brass.
The cartridge has one major benefit — it utilizes a PPC-diameter bolt face. That makes it easy to convert your group-shooting 6 PPC to shoot score with .30-cal bullets. Mike explains: “If you have a PPC, to shoot score, all you have to do is chamber up a [.30 caliber] barrel and screw it on your PPC.”
| From 7.62×39 Russian to 30 Major — Full Circle
Arms expert Neil Gibson has an interesting perspective on the lineage of the 30 Major. He reminds us that this wildcat has returned to its roots: “Start off with the 7.62×39 Russian [cartridge]. The Russians then modify it, necking it down to .223 for deer hunting. The U.S. benchrest guys then modify that, necking it up to 6mm and blowing the case out making the 6mm PPC. Someone takes that case, necks it out to 6.5 mm, making the 6.5 PPC. Alexander Arms takes that and makes the 6.5 Grendel. Then finally Mike Ezell takes the Grendel and necks it up to 30 caliber, making the 30 Major. From 30 caliber, back to 30 caliber. OK, the original uses .31 caliber bullets, but the bore is still .300. Talk about almost coming round full circle!” |
7.62×39 Russian v .220 Russian v 6mm PPC v 6.5 PPC v 6.5 Grendel v 30 Major |
Great Accuracy Restored after Solving Mystery Problem
To get his 30 Major rig shooting this well, Mike had to solve a mysterious problem that cropped up last year. Mike explains: “Two years running, I have finished in the top 15 in IBS points shooting [the 30 Major], but last year’s benchrest season was tough.” Mike was having some accuracy issues that defied explanation. But he figured it out: “The front action screw was bottoming out against the barrel extension – just barely. A simple fix brought the gun back to life. It’s a Stiller Viper Drop Port. The action is screwed and glued into the stock, so I was a bit surprised … especially after having checked for [that issue] while looking for the problem. I’m just glad to have found the trouble so I can begin to re-instill some confidence in the gun and myself, after last year.”
Similar Posts:
- Tack-Drivin’ Wildcat — 6.5 Grendel Necked UP to .30 Caliber
- Now That’s Accuracy — Mike Ezell’s Tack-Driving 30 Major
- Inside Look at World Record .0077″ Group — The Gun and Ammo
- 30 BR Brass by Parosky — Expanded and Neck-Turned
- 30 BR Brass Perfected by Parosky — Expanded and Neck-Turned
Share the post "The Amazing 30 Major — 6.5 Grendel Necked Up to .30 Caliber"
Tags: 220 Russian, 30 Major, 6.5 Grendel, 6mm PPC, 7.62x39, Mike Ezell
Perhaps the rifle and the build steps, along with load development could be featured in an upcoming “Gun of the Week” feature.
It would beneficial to have a cartridge illustration as well.
Thank you.
Gerald
The 6.5 Grendel is a 7.62×39 necked down to .264 and the “30 Major” is a 6.5 necked up to 30 caliber… Did I miss something? Why not neck up a decent piece of 7.62×39 brass to true 30-caliber dimensions instead?
Nice shooting. I shot a group like that once with 6BR on a Savage action with Criterion barrel. Feels good. Wish I could keep doing it.
http://img110.xooimage.com/files/1/7/d/30maj-51e3fed.png
[URL=http://img110.xooimage.com/views/1/7/d/30maj-51e3fed.png/][IMG]http://img110.xooimage.com/files/1/7/d/30maj-51e3fed.png[/IMG][/URL]
How does this differ from the 30 ARX?
http://bulletin.accurateshooter.com/2013/12/new-30-arx-6-5-grendel-necked-to-30-caliber-beats-300-blk/
Grendel is not 7.62×39 necked down to .264
Grendel is a distant relative, and closer related to the PPCs. The big difference between a 22/6/6.5 PPC/Grendel/ARX/Major and an x39 is the case body taper.
The PPCs and Grendel, etc taper ~10-thou between the base and shoulder, while the x39s taper ~50-thou
That’s a big difference for magazine and platform compatibility with the AR-15.
6mmAR.com has made a 30 ARX what are the cartridge differences?
Can tis be formed from 7.62×39 brass?
if not, why not?
OKAY, IT IS 3 YEARS LATER AND I HAVE BUILT A 7.62X39 UPPER FOR MY AR 15. NOW I WOULD LIKE TO RELOAD IT TO TRUE .308 AND HIGHER PRESSURE THAT THE AR 15 PLATFORM IS CAPABLE OF. IS ANYONE DOING IT? WOULD LIKE TO BE ABLE TO SHOOT 150 GRAIN BULLETS AT AROUND 2500FPS. THE 308 WAS NECKED UP TO MAKE 338 FEDERAL WITH HEAVIER BULLETS AT HIGHER SPEEDS. WHY NOT THIS? MY BUILD USES 6.5 GRENDEL MAGS WITH NO RELIABILITY PROBLEMS AT ALL.
Actually, I make my Grendel brass from Win 7.62×39 brass, single pass, fire form, trim. I use 120 SMKs But the 308×39 is the Ruger Mini 30, all of the original guns, all had .308 barrels. So if you have an accurate gun, sub .5″ groups with H-322 is possible with 150s at 2,500 fps. Then if you blow the case body out with a sharp shoulder you get the Grendel case capacity, makes it even easier to achieve velocity.
Richard Mertz of MOA was doing this in the MOA guns during the 90s, for silhouette shooting, called the cartridge the 30 American.
Similar to a 308 VS a 30-06 just a miniature semi rimmed 308. Makes a handy light weight AR-15 with a .308 barrel.