I haven’t been shooting or hunting or reloading since 2017 due to very serious illness. I’m back now to mostly fill health and am going deer hunting in Alabama in a few days. I thought the 6.5 PRC was the greatest cartridge since sliced bread. No ammo, no dies on the market.
Not a single up to date thread on the campfire. What happened, it die or something newer and better?

Prior to the usual panic buying, dies, brass, and loaded ammo were readily available around my part of Montana. My inner rifle nut thinks it’s a great cartridge, but my practical Norwegian DNA let my rifle nut know that as a hunting cartridge it’s really nothing more than gussied up 270.

Ps, glad you’re on the mend!

Pretty much came to the same conclusion. And the lack of ammo, brass, and dies pretty much sealed the deal (though it's not alone in this regard).

Glad to hear you are getting better. I piddled with the 6.5 PRC a little bit. Came to the same conclusion that the other posters here mentioned. More or less, it equals a short action 270 WCF. (Which is no hare-lipped place to be, as far as performance in the game fields is concerned.)

I just looked and found some dies right away. The limited availability of loaded ammo and reloading components isn't unique to the PRC. Glad you are back to feeling well. Good luck on your hunt.

Ed,

Glad you are mo' bettah now! Since I passed 75 about the same tie that the 6.5 PRC hit the market I have some real sympathy for you!

Seriously I ordered 100 rounds of factory ammo on the 6.5 PRC announcement, and it was slow going after that. I followed Mule Deer's article in the Hodgdon Reloading '19 Annual Manual and bought a Rem M700 short action on the Campfire, and acquired Redding dies. Meanwhile factory rifles emerged and I pounced on a Mauser M18 rifle in 6.5 PRC for less than it was going to cost me to rebarrel my M700.

Meanwhile also on the way to the PRC I encountered the 6.5 Creedmoor, and its now tremendous market penetration, so took a detour in that direction for a bit. (I shot my first deer with a 6.5X55 so I was already bent in that direction.) Plus in about 1980 I built a 6.5-'06 on a Remington action and did a bunch of loading and shooting with that rifle -- which is a ballistic twin to the 6.5 PRC.

I was planning a hunt in '20 for a Montana deer, but I did not draw the license I needed. Also the various government reactions to the pandemic kind of finished off my other hunt backups, so it is off to 2021.

All this ramble if to supply the foreword to my opinion that the PRC is alive and well out there; however, a lot of forces have intervened to scramble the gun, ammo and reloading markets and otherwise hide what is going on with the PRC. Hence your not finding PRC signs here.

I am looking to apply in January for a Wyoming cow elk license for a '21 hunt with the PRC, and I will be buying a California license in '21 for a blacktail deer hunt with the Creedmoor.

And I forgot to add if you are on Facebook there is an active 6.5 PRC page there...

jim

Hey Bro not sure where you live but Scott's outdoors in Jay Florida is very stocked in every thing 6.5 PRC, give them a buzz ask for Scott or Dave and they will hook you up - personally I only hunt with the 280 Ackley but they are pretty well stocked on all 6.5 PRC, anything 7mm, .308 cal etc...

They have some sweet rifles also from all of the makers in 6.5 PRC it's a very good bean field round - well almost as good as the 280 Ackley..

Most have been shot over cotton ; peanuts are gone - now they are trying to get fat for the rut- you hunting the Black belt area? Last week of December they start Dancing , running the week after..

So happy to hear ya getting the camo on again bro, enjoy the sound of the woods waking up - best of luck...

Big Daddy