Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Rifles 6.5 PRC - your thoughts?

My thoughts are - I want one.

The 6.5 Creedmoor is a nice cartridge, but so are most 6.5 cartridges. One reason I don't have a Creedmoor is the other rifles I have - a .243 Win, .257 Roberts and 6.5-06AI. The 6.5-06AI was purpose built to be a long range (1200 yard) rifle and has a fluted, heavy contour barrel. Ever since getting it I've wanted a 6.5 that provided about the same ballistics but in a sporter-weight rifle. A custom 6.5-06 (not AI, and probably a used Savage I could rebarrel) was a leading contender. Actually bought a .243 Win Savage with the intent to rebarrel to a Creedmoor, but shot the donor. (Oops.)

To me, the 6.5 PRC looks like an even better option. Get another used short-action Savage for $300, change the bolt head for $19 and get a barrel. Cheap.

I agree that a hot 6.5 that fits (-ish) in a short action will be an interesting critter. Practically I don't think it will kill anything deer sized deader than the Creedmoor, and the Creedmoor already has sufficient power with those sleek 6.5 bullets to take deer at ranges way beyond the skill level of most hunters. I think for game larger than deer, most folks would prefer a larger bullet (a 7mm PRC might be pretty neat). If you want it and are rebarreling a Savage yourself, it's not like you'll have to put much skin in the game to try it out. I wouldn't count on there being brass options other than Hornady, at least for a while, but if you're ok with that, I say go for it and post up what you find.

I first started with the 6.5s in 19(mumble) when I shot my first deer with a 6.5X55 in a Swedish Mauser, and that led me years later to build a hunting rifle in 6.5-'06 (before the rise of the short/wide or even the short cartridges). I got some Hornady 6.5 PRC factory ammo from Midway Arms recently, and looking at those cartridges fired me up to buy or build a rifle. Just now I am waiting for hunting season to get over at the end of November and the new product announcements likely in conjunction with SHOT '18. I expect Ruger will have something given the parentage of the PRC in the Ruger cartridge family. I already bought into the .375 Ruger and the .300 RCM, so the skids are greased as it were.

On the shooting side I used to shoot in across the course competition and 1,000 yard bullseye matches, plus a couple of Gunsite rifle courses so I know what I can do against paper and fixed distances. Hunting antelope in the long distances and in the winds of Wyoming gave me an appreciation of time of flight and wind drift and how far is too far on animals for me. I would like to have at least 22" of barrel length and 8" (or 200 mm) of twist, or else just build the rifle. My current barrel favorite is Lothar-Walther.

jim

I am definitely interested in the 6.5 PRC, as I have some history with the similar 6.5x284, and I dearly love that round. If the PRC is able to achieve even 50% of the market saturation of the Creedmoor, it would be far more successful and widely available than the eventual Norma offering ever will attain.

I am already on record as saying I believe a 7mm PRC might be in our future. I think Hornady and Ruger wanted to get the jump on any potential 6.5mm SAUM factory offering in order to quash any competition. But there is genuine opportunity in this segment (Short Mag) at 7mm as the SAUM and WSM have never really taken off (read: expensive ammo). A 7 PRC with good, inexpensive factory ammo offerings like the Creedmoor has would virtually destroy the SAUM and WSM, and would even pull from the .284 Win, 7mm-08, .280 Rem and 7mm Rem Mag markets. The keys are inexpensive, high-quality factory ammo and less recoil than the other “magnums” out there.

I’d be on a 7 PRC launching modern 160s at .280AI speeds from a short action in a heartbeat. Great elk medicine.

I hear quite a few fellow PRS shooters talking about setting up rifles for the 6.5 PRC for next season. It is supposed to have very good barrel life (2000+), but that almost seems too good to be true. If it proves true, I'd be very interested in a 6mm version if I could get half that life with a 115.

meeting with builder Tuesday to possibly build one. I'm impressed with the round

again Hornady is taking over the industry

I couldn't get comfy with the creedmoor...

It was ballisticallly inferior to my 264 win mag, but If I could get a lightweight package tahts close to the 264. Twisted right, maybe a 22" tube and a McMillian stock/ build on a Montana. It could be an awesome package!

I'll have one as soon as my reamer gets here.......