6.5 PRC.....what are your thoughts?

[badguybuster]

I have become enamored with 6.5 PRC recently. All my long range shooting has been done with 308 Win until I shot my neighbors 6.5 PRC....my goodness!!! It was so much easier making hits at 700-1000 yards. The difference in adjustments was shocking to me. So, for any of you fellas who have experience with it...what are your thoughts?

[markm]

Do you load your own ammo or shoot Factory?

[badguybuster]

I reload for all my bolt guns

[Pappabear]

Then you may as well get the hotter PRC, but if you shoot factory, well your fcked if that is the case. Good thing you load. I dont know how much better barrel life is with 6.5CM but I rarely give that a thought. We burn em hot.

PB

[mildot]

I'm building a 6.5 PRC, not cheap on ammo, however I'm reloading as well. I hunt on the prairies and the 300WM is our go to. I feel the 6.5 PRC fills that "niche" in the 800-1000yds range. Great performance and the bullet is like a mini missile. According to Hornady it was completely computer engineered along with the 300PRC?

[JiminAZ]

6.5-284 is a ballistic twin to the 6.5 PRC. I have both. Really the 6.5 PRC does nothing new compared to the 6.5-284. But the Hornady guys did a good job of marketing it and will make it mainstream, unlike the 6.5-284.

There's a reason all the long range guys migrated to 6.5's or now even 6mm cartridges from the 308. You experienced it.

My push to a hotter 6.5 was driven by my desire for a deer rifle that had enough velocity/energy left past 500 yards (compared to the 6.5CM I was shooting).

Hot 6.5's are a lot of fun to shoot AND there are a bunch of really great bullet designs available.

Downside: ammo and component availability. 6.5 PRC brass from ADG and Lapua are unobtanium. 6.5-284 brass is much easier. Berger bullets (130/140 VLD and 156 EOL) are becoming more available. The preferred powders, H1000 and RL26 are also pretty much unobtanium.

If you think you will run the heavy bullets (156 gr), get a faster twist barrel like 7.5. An 8 twist will be marginal at best. Long barrels for the heavies are something to consider too as it is the combination of velocity and twist that give you sufficient rpm to stabilize. Go to the Berger site and run the stability calculator.

Take a look at longrangehunting.com and longrangeonly.com and snipershide.com to gain more intel.

Just took delivery of an Alamo Precision Rifles 6.5 PRC with a 20" barrel for suppressed use. It isn't shaken out yet but I'm quite certain it'll be a winner.

[markm]

The preferred powders, H1000 and RL26 are also pretty much unobtanium.

Brunos had a bunch of H1000 in their last shipment. 3 or 4 guys I know got some. I think were getting closer to availability.

It's funny how Pappabear used to just scoop up dusty 8 pounders of H1000 when he was traveling for work. Now it's a hot commodity.

[Todd.K]

Freedom isn’t free. Err, I meant velocity isn’t free.

To be fair I expect that number is more from the hyper competitive. They toss a barrel at the first sign of accuracy slipping. Depending on your shooting needs/style you may get a good bit more useful life.

If you shoot a lot it makes sense to pay upfront for a switch barrel type setup and not pay more than the barrel cost for each replacement.

[Pappabear]

Freedom isn’t free. Err, I meant velocity isn’t free.

To be fair I expect that number is more from the hyper competitive. They toss a barrel at the first sign of accuracy slipping. Depending on your shooting needs/style you may get a good bit more useful life.

If you shoot a lot it makes sense to pay upfront for a switch barrel type setup and not pay more than the barrel cost for each replacement.

This is very true, these guys toss a barrel when they lose .25 MAO. As long as my barrels shoot MAO, they stay in the stable.

PB

[Bellycrawl]

I hope you can buy components. I have a friend who is getting into the 6.5 world, and he is going PRC over the CM. He is having trouble with locating brass. I chose the CM because I found a load of Lapua brass...expensive but I could find it. Every now and then, I encounter people who leave CM brass on the range after shooting. I often wonder where all that brass goes and if someone could make a deal with their local range to go through their collected brass.

On a different note I was at the range the other day, and a guy was shooting a 300 PRC. He just left his brass on the range after shooting as he was packing up. I asked him if he was going to pick up his brass, and he said, "Nah...you can have it." It's like a $1.50 per piece. If I can figure out when he is at the range or make a deal with the range master, in about 10 trips I might be justified to get into the 300 PRC.