Barnes VOR-TX 6.5 Grendel 115gr TTSX BT – Powerful AR Deer Load

Description

The Barnes VOR-TX 6.5 Grendel 115gr TTSX BT turns an AR-15 into a genuine deer rifle. It leaves the muzzle at roughly 2590 fps carrying about 1713 ft-lbs of energy, behind a 0.387 ballistic coefficient. The Grendel was designed to get a real hunting bullet out of the AR-15 magazine well, and an all copper projectile is what finishes the job. Each box holds 20 rounds.

• Barnes VOR-TX 6.5 Grendel 115gr TTSX BT Overview
• 115 Grain TTSX Boat Tail Performance
• Why Hunters Choose 6.5 Grendel Hunting Ammo
• Specifications
• Range Notes For This Polymer Tipped Copper Bullet

Barnes VOR-TX 6.5 Grendel 115gr TTSX BT Overview

One naming note. Barnes lists this projectile as a TAC-TX on its own website while most retailers and the box itself use TTSX. It is the same tipped all copper bullet either way, so do not let the two labels confuse a search.

The projectile is machined from a solid copper billet with a polymer tip over a hollow nose. There is no lead core to shed and no jacket to separate, so the bullet opens into four sharp petals at roughly double the original diameter and keeps driving, with weight retention close to 100 percent.

115 Grain TTSX Boat Tail Performance

At 115 grains this is heavy for the case, and that is what the Grendel was built around. The 0.387 ballistic coefficient is respectable for a cartridge running at this modest velocity, and it is considerably better than anything the 5.56 offers from the same rifle.

Barnes machines relief grooves into the bearing surface of the projectile. The grooves reduce bore contact, lowering pressure and cutting copper fouling, which matters in a small case pushing a long bullet.

Why Hunters Choose 6.5 Grendel Hunting Ammo

The 6.5 Grendel does something the 5.56 cannot: it puts a heavy, high ballistic coefficient 6.5 bullet through an AR-15 magazine well. Energy at 300 yards is roughly double what a 5.56 manages, and the trajectory is considerably flatter than a 300 Blackout.

What this 6.5 Grendel hunting ammo adds is a bullet worth the case. Much of what is loaded in Grendel is either surplus grade or match ammunition, and neither behaves predictably on a deer. A monolithic copper bullet at 2590 fps expands reliably and holds together.

One practical point. Unlike the 300 Blackout, the Grendel needs a dedicated bolt and dedicated magazines as well as a barrel, so the conversion costs more than a simple barrel swap. Recoil remains very mild.

Specifications

Range Notes For This Polymer Tipped Copper Bullet

Function test a full magazine before the season. The Grendel uses its own bolt and magazines, and mixing Grendel magazines with 5.56 magazines in a range bag is the most common source of feeding trouble people blame on ammunition.

A polymer tipped copper bullet prints to a different point of impact than the practice ammunition you probably zero with. Sight in with this exact load, foul a clean barrel with a round or two first, then leave the optic alone.

At 2590 fps the Barnes VOR-TX 6.5 Grendel 115gr TTSX stays above reliable expansion speed to roughly 350 yards from a 20 inch barrel, and less from a 16 inch one. Chronograph a short barrel before stretching out.

Lead Free AR-15 Deer Ammunition Availability

Deer and hog hunters running an AR-15, hunters who want more reach than a 5.56 from the same rifle, and anyone hunting where non toxic projectiles are required will get the most from this lead free AR-15 deer ammunition. Full factory ballistics are published by Barnes Bullets.

Compare it with our Barnes VOR-TX 300 BLK 110gr TAC-TX, shop more rifle ammunition, or browse the full ammunition selection at MAG5 Firearms.