l told my pap and mam I was going to be a mountain man; acted like they was gut-shot. Make your life go here. Here's where the peoples is. Mother Gue, I says, the Rocky Mountains is the marrow of the world, and by God, I was right. - Del Gue
In my 6.5 PRC I use 127 Barnes LRX. Shoots great in my rifle. I've loaded other bullets for this rifle, the Barnes check off most of the boxes for me when I use it.
A 6.5 PRC probably wouldn’t be my choice for elk on the thick timber where I want them down now but on more open terrain I have no qualms using my 6.5 saum and a quality 135-156 bullet on elk. Same for the 6:5 prc
I guess I think about it like this, if I’d use a 270 with the same weight bullet I’d use about anything 264 at the same or more speed. The 270 hasn’t let me down and I can’t imagine the 264 or PRC would either.
I killed 2 bull elk in 2019 with a 6.5 GAP 4S shooting 156 Berger's at 2850 fps, it knocked the stuffing out of them! Distances wasn't far (250 and 150 yards). I'd have no issues shooting to 500 yards with this rifle.
4 cow elk now with the 143 ELD-X. Turned to them when Partitions and AccuBonds became unobtainium.
3 using the CM, 1 using a PRC. All elk were 400lb and up. Real easy to work up an accurate load, or hell, just use the Precision Hunter factory ammo.
I just placed them tight in the leg crease. Regrettably, I've yet to get a recovered bullet - all exits - farthest shot was 467 yards lazed using the PRC.
It's you and the bullet, and all the rest is secondary.
Dec 2021 I shot a cow late season with the PRC using the 143X. Just under 300 yards. I would of used a mono if I could of found one. But it is an accurate bullet in my Cooper.