Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Rifles Which 6.5 PRC are you buying?

Well a girl can dream and save her pennies.

I just purchased one of the S20 Hunter "Display-Model/Cosmetic-Damage" rifles from Cabela's. I can't find any damage on the rifle.

A couple of years ago after getting my wires crossed, I mistakenly ordered the wrong replacement detachable mag for a sauer 100xt 7m08 and ended up with a mag for the 6.5 prc. Sauer 100s and the mauser m18 use the same mag boxes.....

Europtic offered a m18, 6.5 prc w/24" barrel for $479......

Good shooter. .......

Just curious but why the hate for CA?? Just purchased my 1st one and haven't even received it yet.

ShortMag, I hope you get a good one like the one my buddy just got. He wanted me there for the barrel break in and his rifle shoots better than any other CA I've seen. He was doing as Christensen suggested for barrel break in, shooting 2 3 shot groups, then clean and repeat etc. etc. but it was shooting 1/2" 3 shot groups for the most part. You can go back and read my other post on what I've seen in the past with Christensen rifles. I believe my buddies was the ridgeline with the carbon fiber wrapped barrel. I'm not JG, but my belief is when you are forking out the high dollars, Christensen demands, it shouldn't be hit and miss when it comes to accuracy, and I've seen some that have shot very poorly right out of the box.
Not a lot of guys want to badmouth a product because they think it makes them look like a di ck, but I will relay what I've personally seen. IF guys get offended over that chidt, they need to grow a thicker skin...

Well, I am thoroughly enjoying the Kelbly's Koda rifle in 6.5 PRC that I bought from them.

You'd be hard pressed to put together a better rifle for the money in my opinion.......



Frog----OUT!

I'm sure it's extremely nice. Wondering how much better it shoots than a Tikka though? I shoot with a lot of guys that run full on customs and I'll say my pretty much bone stock Tikka CTR shoots with the best of them. Yeah, I tinker and fine tune the bedding, but that's about it. I'm talking guys running 28"+ long heavy barrels and custom actions like Stiller, GAP, Bighorn, Defiance, and some others I can't think of right now. Most of those rifles are set up like a PRS match rifle and weigh 18+ pounds. Consistently though, the CTR holds its own and it is a pretty skinny barrel by comparison.. I think JG is wanting a good factory rifle, but I can't speak for him. Just wondering though, how much did your dollar really get you???

His dollar got him what he wanted, not what some clown thinks he should of got.

If Frogman's Kelbly is anything like the Pandas or Kodiaks I have handled, it should be light years ahead of any of Tikka. Tolerances are tight enough on the two I mentioned that replacement barrels can be chambered at the factory and shipped to you to simply screw on. Action timing and trigger handoff are smooth as silk. People tend to be dismissive of what they don't understand, especially on the internet.

Lol

I’ve shot exactly one CA. It was the carbon fiber barreled, titanium action model in 300 Win Mag. I shot 3 different Federal Premium factory loads and one of the Hornady ELDX factory loads, don’t remember which ones. A couple of the groups were 1.75” at 100 yards, the rest were 2”-3” groups. The owner said he had tried a few other factory loads in addition to those with similar results.
He contacted CA and sent it in, at their request. He has it bac after repair, but last I heard he has not shot it yet.

I tend to agree with BSA here, it is spec’d and priced as a premium rifle. Duds should be very few and far between.

One of my buddies with a real nice 7mm rem mag is having the same issues and he only shoots 3 shot groups. He's pulled most of his hair out messing with the rifle. He's even brought his fancy chrono out and getting the sd's and es down low. What really pisses him off is the rifle he "bought for his wife", a Tikka 270 winchester shoots better. Not just marginally better, but much better. I don't really like to bad mouth a product, just relaying what I've personally seen and experienced with some CA rifles. I saw the same thing with a 300wm, but that was back in 2009. I would have hoped they had gotten better since then. Enough of my rant. I am hoping JG bought Nathanials rifle and it drives tacks. They sure are pretty too. The one I had in my hands was exactly like it and I damn near bought it. It was so nice, the guy working there said he was going to buy it. The shop owner wanted to trade it for my AR10, but I figured I'd sell the Armalite at a different shop. Last offer I received was $300.00 more than I paid for it, so I may also decide I need that Tikka in 6.5 PRC... but with more money in my pocket after selling the AR10..

I went with the vanguard weatherguard. It has a nice synthetic stock and is cerakoted from the factory. Also threaded and comes with a brake that threads on. $599 is what I paid locally.

The only complaint is that it's long action but I doubt that will make any difference.

If I ever get a moment of not being sick AND it's not 98 outside I will go shoot it and show you guys the results.

I agree with you and BSA on CA supposed to be a premium rifle and should perform as such. The one I just purchased is slightly used and is a proven shooter. I only know 1 person (personally) that owns one (ridgeline) in 308 and he loves it. I have read a few negatives online about some of the CA rifles but nothing enough to make me swear them off forever. I currently own 4 Tikkas and they are all shooters. I have been waiting for a few years now for Tikka to produce the 6.5PRC in their T3X super lite but that does not seem to be happening. If they did, I would own one. Several years ago I did get a Tikka in 300wsm that didn't shoot up to what I consider Tikka's norm. Not terrible though.

I wanted something different and had been eyeing the Ridgeline rifles for a few years now and finally pulled the trigger on one. I'm anxious to see how it turns out.

I have a Ridgeline in 6.5 PRC. It shoots great!
Before I bought this rifle, I called the company talked with this gentleman who was very nice. I asked him about their QC issues. He told me to buy with confidence. If that rifle didn't shoot, I had his personal guarantee he would make it right. Thank goodness, I didn't need to call this person back.
They may have fixed their QC problem.

My rifle can put 5 rounds very tight at 100 yards. It's less than 1/2 MOA with handloads using Berger and Barnes bullets.

Take care.

I'm hoping your new ridgeline shoots like my buddies 6.5. His did very well with factory ammo during the recent break in we did with it. Good luck with it. Let us know how it works out for you, if you don't mind. Thanks

I view the 6.5 PRC as a sort of "modernized 270." I like SA cartridges, and it strikes me as a very good one. When I was contemplating a PRC my thought was to build one on a Winchester M70 or Kimber 8400 MT WSM action. But, I've lost my interest in reinventing the wheel with another cartridge so abandoned the idea. Were I a younger guy I'd think long and hard about a PRC - or, just get a 270

Happy 4th!

I've been around 7 or maybe 8 CA rifles and all were superb shooters. I'm sure there are duds, I've just not seen it.

Almost bought a lightly used one in 6.5 CM, but think I'm gonna hold out for a seekins in 6.5 prc.

Thank you MikeS, yes tolerances are very precise and the feel in the hand is amazing. I was actually looking at building a 6.5 PRC from scratch and was researching components when it was suggested that I look at the Koda rifle instead of piecing one together with a Kelbly's action. The more I read, the more I was impressed with what they offered at that price point!

I understand about inexpensive rifles that punch way above their weight....my mentor Boyd Deets, sold me my first Deer rifle many years ago in Michigan. It was a Remington 788 in .308 Win. He promised me that for an inexpensive rifle, it could shoot.....and darn well at that. He was right! Still have that rifle.

Once upon a time, the whispered words of accuracy were "Minute of Angle". If your rifle could do it, you were fortunate. I'm not saying Tikka's can't shoot, as they do. My son has one in .300 Win Mag and we found handloads for it fairly easily that are sub MOA.

However, that Kelbly's Koda rifle has started out at .5 MOA with hastily thrown together handloads, and I've not had chance to work any further with load development, but am eagerly looking forward to it when time allows. As components are scarce it can be difficult finding what you want to use....but I have a supply of 4831SC and IMR 7828 on hand along with others to get me started. I put a Nightforce NX8 atop it in 4-32 and am sure that critters will succumb to it once I've finished setting her up, and dialed everything in.

Happy Independence Day gents!


FROG------OUT!

Speaking for myself it it sounds like we are on a similar page.

Getting older, bunch of guns sitting around.

At this point the only practical $ issue is being tight.

It's gotten hard to buy guns. Everything that catches the eye gets shot
down by,
"What does it bring to the table that I don't have"

Or,

"A new round is gonna cost $200 + to load, and that's if I have powder and bullets on hand."

Lotta stuff catches the eye,
Not much rises to the level of getting the wallet out.

Unless it's a bargain. Will buy darn near anything if it's a great deal