The Perfect Predator Rig?
As most people know the coyote and pig problem within this great country has grown at an exponential rate for the last several years. These oversaturated populations wreak havoc on property, crops and livestock from coast to coast to the tune of millions of dollars every year. To control this problem hunters along with state and federal wildlife agencies have been working together to try and control the infestation as best they can. For most people, dealing with predators/varmints is just another burden required to protect their livestock and agricultural investments, and by doing so also promotes natural ecosystem balance with a healthy heard of native animals.
Land owners & managers need coyotes, bobcats, and invasive pig species numbers controlled as they are detrimental for more reasons than one has time to read. The most effective and humane method of doing this is managed hunting. These elusive and usually timid animals are not only hard to hunt, but knocking one down on the spot is difficult due to the vital zone being quite small. Another difficulty that arises in this type of hunting is the vastly different terrain and geographic area that these animals exist in. Anyone that has hunted “song dogs” or bobcats will tell you knockdown/retrieval of predators is not as easy as it looks, and in areas with thick brush it often times does not happen. Also at times sightings and shooting opportunities materialize at distances that are beyond the effective range of most popular Varmint cartridges. Sure, there are absolutely some iconic predator rounds ranging from .17 and upward but many fall short in accuracy and energy at longer ranges to make a humane kill. Recently the ammo market offers a multitude of cartridges available to lay out that predator on the spot, unfortunately most come with increased weight, size, recoil and so on…
A cartridge that has been gaining a lot of momentum in the predator hunting realm over the past couple of years is the 6.5 Grendel. The 6.5 Grendel has been slowly emerging into the scene due to its ability to sustain energy and penetration at longer distances for an intermediate sized cartridge. This gives hunters the ability to confidently take game at distances that before would only be achievable by a larger cartridge such as .243 Win, 308 Win and 270 Win. The smaller overall length of the 6.5 Grendel allows it to be chambered in the standard AR-15 rifles, which has become the rifle of choice for most modern predator hunters, instead of a heavier AR-10 rifle size as those other calibers would require.
The other huge factor that 6.5 Grendel has and possibly an even larger factor in its success than its ballistic performance and versatility, and that is ammo price and availability. 6.5 Grendel ammunition is available anywhere from a screaming fast 100gr steel case round from Wolf Ammunition that sells at less than $6/ box all the way up to energy packed 123gr Hunting match round from Hornady or Federal that still sells for less than $20/box. These options allow you to shoot as inexpensively as a 5.56 or 7.62x39 cartridge but also still have ammo that doesn’t break the bank for long range target as well as hunting.
These advantages are illustrated perfectly by the rifles and upper receiver groups recently released by BCI Defense. BCI Defense, a proven rifle company out of Bremen, IN, launched these rifles to meet demand for a rifle chambered in a cartridge that performed out to much further ranges than its already offered and popular calibers of 5.56 and 300BLK while utilizing most of the standard components of the AR-15. Despite the farther reaching caliber they keep the Pro Series Rifle in 6.5 Grendel at a very light and nimble 6.45 Lbs. If you already have an AR-15, then just an upper receiver group from BCI Defense in 6.5 Grendel can give you this capability with an easy “plug and play” option without as much investment. From coyotes to big boars and everything in between, the 6.5 Grendel Pro Series rifle from BCI Defense has already proven itself in extreme environments and field conditions and is already filling freezers and helping manage farms and ranches all over the country.
This rifle was found and available through Copper Custom Armament in Valparaiso Indiana. Thermal unit shown is a rock solid Pulsar, which has held zero and performed outstandingly making this rig possibly the ultimate day or night predator/varmint setup.
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