The Internet is a great thing: it has revolutionized our lives and for many has become a primary source of information and perspective. There is nothing that cannot be found on the Internet these days.

That is the good news, the downside is that there is almost unlimited access. People may post whatever they want on a subject and it is left to the reader to discern truth from fiction and fact from illusion. Opinions often masquerade as facts and motives that color statements are often not easily discernible. Thus it becomes a great place for those who share a common interest to share opinions and to debate ideas and issues, but it also becomes fertile ground for those who wish to spread malicious misinformation.

Alexander Arms does not, as policy, use the internet to conduct the internal workings of its business. We are sometimes criticized for remaining silent, but that is not to say we do not listen.

There is an old adage that success has many fathers while failure remains an orphan..... So it might be said of the 6.5 Grendel®

The Grendel® is in its basis not a new idea. It stems in heritage to the PPC case which in turn is a derivative of the 220 Russian and back to the 7.62x39. The Grendel® became reality in taking the broken fragments of information generated over the years by many individuals and formulating it into a single coherent standard that the average shooter and reloader can use. It required the significant investment in time, money and engineering know how to bring together rifles, ammunition, brass, loading dies, magazines and loading information under a single safe commercial standard.

In creating the Grendel® Alexander Arms also registered the trademarks for the cartridge and weapon. It has been asked why we require a license for others to use these trademarks. In the first instance we stand as the guardians of the specifications, albeit a caretaker in the bigger picture. A customer procuring Grendel® ammunition, component or firearm is assured that the the products are of consistent design, that they will work together. That there are other components available and that AA will continue to work with others to ensure that the supply continues and that more and better options reach the individual consumer. Thus the customer ultimately wins. For comparison one only need to search for the many examples of cartridges that were popularized by being set adrift in the market. Multiple chambers and multiple designs abound. Each individual espouses the amazing benefit of his particular modification and amongst this multitude of mutations the problems rear up. In the second instance we initially bore the investment for the development and production of all of the Grendel® items. We continue to make considerable investments in the cartridge and the license acts to help offset some of these costs. Our license fees are very modest and contrary to what many may claim these add little or no financial burden to those who wish to work with the caliber.

As is often the case the success of a product brings with it imitators. The Grendel® is not the exception. There are now a number of rifles that are not Grendels® but pretend to be Grendels®, each claims compatibility with the Grendel® but then expressly denies that it is a Grendel®. Again the changes all claim to bring infinite improvements.

Under no circumstances should 6.5 Grendel® ammunition be used in any rifle not clearly marked and manufactured as a 6.5 Grendel®. Use of Grendel® ammunition in rifles represented as compatible or equivalent may create a dangerous condition resulting in damage or death. Equally 6.5 Grendel® rifles should only be used with ammunition expressly manufactured and marked as Grendel® caliber. Ammunition of questionable source or represented as compatible must not be used at any time.

Returning to the improvements the additional performance is gained at the expense of excessive pressure, and those modifications that are claimed to drop the pressure and allow these hot loads are not reflected when examined within an instrumented pressure breach. While we do not dispute that adding excessive free bore to the chamber will drop the operating pressure it will do so at the expense of accuracy and the velocity will actually drop as a result.