Anyone using a 6.5 PRC, this seems like a great idea and sounds like it’s very accurate. Mule deer I know you like a 6.5 caliber what do you think of this one?

It should be great, but I haven't fired one yet--or even seen one fired.

I am, however, assigned to do an article on handloading the 6.5 PRC for the 2019 Hodgdon Annual Manual, and since the deadline is September will have experience pretty soon. Am getting one of my rifles rebarreled in 6.5 PRC for the project, and will have another custom rifle, and perhaps a factory rifle to try as well.

Aalf has one . . . .

Thanks John,, I posted pics of my africa trip in the image gallery,, We chatted about it when i dropped in on you and Eileen last october on a sunday morning while you guys were cutting up her elk.. By the way i really enjoyed the visit thanks for being so gracious..

If I hunted the "lower 48" I would have a 6.5 PRC and slay many beasts with it.

https://www.24hourcampfire.com/ubbthreads/ubbthreads.php/topics/12560787/6-5-prc#Post12560787

I have a long action M700 in the safe, might be a fun projecy !!

I will be test loading and shooting a Seekings Havak 6.5PRC in the next few weeks will have reports

How does the PRC vary from the 6.5 SAUM and 6.5 GAP? I can't find chamber drawings. Just looking at them the amount of rebate and rim dimensions vary.

It's the Ruger Compact Magnum case necked down.

John, I understand that the case is based on the Ruger Compact Magnum, but from a practical sense, aside from the horrific long action and dreaded belt, from a ballistic stand point does it do anything that the 264 Winchester Magnum doesn't? I'm not trying to turn this into a 6.5 Creedmoor vs 260 Rem / 6.5x55 Swede pissing match thread, just curious from a practical stand point. I do understand the Creedmoor advantages over the 260 Rem/6.5 Swede, just wondering if it applies in the magnum end of the pool?

The 6.5 PRC has a case capacity almost identical to 6.5mm cases based upon 30/06 type cases. So it's performance is lineball with the 6.5-06, 6.5-284 and the 6.5 Remington Magnum.

This puts it maybe 200fps ahead of the 260/6.5 Creed/6.5Lapua and 150 to 200fps behind the 6.5 SAUM/6.5 GAP (same thing).

It is about 300fps behind a modern handloaded 264 Win Mag, 6.5 Nosler or 6.5x68mm.

As with any comparison, the larger the case, the more it can throw heavier bullets proportionately faster than the smaller capacities.

Mule Deer,

I have been unable to find a factory rifle in 6.5 PRC. Montana Rifle Company has shipped a few blued rifles,and the Sauer 100 is supposedly available but I could not locate one anywhere.

I finally ordered one of the Montana Rifle X3 rifles. I think the Montana Rifle short action with it's 3.1 inch magazine should be a good fit. Also thinking about having a Model 70 Extreme Weather rebarreled from 300WSM to 6.5 PRC because it too has a 3.1 inch magazine.

What action did you pick to rebarrel and which factory rifle do you expect to test for your article?

Although the cartridge has been marketed well,and factory ammo is everywhere,the rifles are pretty much in the realm of unobtainium.

Using Nosler data for the 30 caliber equivalents with a 150 grain bullet they show: 30-06, 62.7 grms of water, RCM 65.00, SAUM 67.5, WSM 75.10 grns.
So the PRC is right between the standard and AI 6.5-06 in capacity. Almost identical to the 6.5 Rem. Mag. capacity. Didn't check the 6.5x65 but it should be right in the same range.

WRONG... https://press.hornady.com/assets/site/hornady/files/load-data/6.5-prc-v2.pdf
PRC 3200 with 143 26" barrel. more like 500 fps over Creed

Please explain the "I do understand the Creedmoor advantages over the 260 Rem/6.5 Swede"

We have a couple MRC’s in the shop...

ruraldoc,

I have some pressure-tested data from another source, and it doesn't show any bullet in the 140-grain range getting more than slightly under 3000 fps.

I am not expecting but HOPING to have a Sauer to use for the article before the deadline. Am having a Remington 700 action for the SAUM's rebarreled, and plan to fit a Wyatt's box to accommodate the SAAMI overall length. Also am expecting a loaner rifle from a custom firm. (Basically, I tried to make sure of having at least ONE rifle to test before the deadline. May end up with three.)

I went to your website and didn't find a 6.5 PRC MRC rifle or any other 6.5 PRC. Did I miss them?

6.5 creedmoor: 52-53 gr case capacity
6.5 SLR: 55-56 gr
6.5 PRC: 66-67 gr
6.5 SAUM: 70-71 gr

The PRC has 25% more capacity than a creedmoor, and 5-6% less than a SAUM. In quickload, holding pressure constant at 57k psi in a 26" barrel with 140 hybrids, a 6.5 SAUM (H1000) is about 30-40 fps faster than a 6.5 PRC (H1000), and the PRC is 220 fps faster than a 6.5 creedmoor (H4350).


So here's what I did to compare capacities to the best of my abilities.

I took a 6.5-284 case and a PRC case, both well formed from multiple firings. Both have almost the same neck length, within .015", so I dumped AA-2230, since it flows like water from my Sinclair measure with a 6" drop tube, going up a click at a time, until the powder reached the neck/shoulder juncture of each case, and weighed the results.

My redneck results show a 1 1/2 grain advantage to the PRC. While a minimal gain, a gain none the less.

aalf,

A more accurate way of comparing "functional" case capacity is to use water in fired brass, with the same bullet seated to standard cartridge overall length.

The 6.5 PRC has a longer OAL length than the 6.5 GAP (the most popular version of the 6.5 SAUM). The 6.5 GAP's throat is designed for a standard short-action magazine about 2.85" long, while the 6.5 PRC's OAL is about .1 inch longer. Am guessing, pending having fired brass for the 6.5 PRC, that capacity is pretty similatr between the two rounds, though the 6.5 GAP might still have a slight edge.

At any rate, there's no practical ballistic difference between the PRC and GAP. The choice would come down to factory ammo for the PRC, and functioning in a standard short magazine for the GAP. That is, IF somebody prefers the GAP version of the 6.5 SAUM.

Gofaster, what I meant by Creedmoor advantages are accurate, reasonable priced factory ammunition and a case design that allows for the most efficient seating of high ballistic coefficient bullets in a short action.

The internet guys probably hadn’t added them yet. I told them to do so, but they’ve been busy. Send me an email and we’ll get you the info you want.

[email protected]

Is the factory rifle a Sauer? That one, at that price point, has my interest a bit.

Yep, it will be a Sauer--if it shows up in time for the deadline.

My PRC is finished, and has been shipped from GA Precision....

A week from now, I'll have a couple hundred rounds through it....

Cool! What are the rifle details?

Am expecting to get the first of 2-3 test rifles within the next week or so.

Mule Deer, which Sauer? 100 XT Classic?

I asked for a 100 XT Classic if possible, but they'll send one of the other models is all that's available by September 1st.

Happy birthday Darrik!

Sweet, there is a dearth of info on the Sauer rifles.... looking forward to this article!

Nice. what model?

Well, according to Hornady the 6.5PRC is right up there with my 270 Win!!!Now I call that real advancement to equal a 80 + year old cartridge.

Glad to hear it and I hope it does!

Was kind of surprised to see quite a variety of 6.5 PRC factory ammo as well as brass at sportsman’s Warehouse but so few rifles chambered in the 6.5 PRC. I might have to give one a run when they are available. Creedmoor was blah and anemic to me, but the numbers for the 6.5 PRC peak my interest.

GAP V2 Hunter Action
#4 Bartlein@24", 1-8" 5R, threaded 5/8-24, with thread protector/muzzle brake
Manners EH-1, GAP camo
PT&G DBM
Jewell trigger

I'll probably put a Kahles K318, in Near rings on it.

Aalf do know how to put a gun together and make it shoot.

Let’s see.... the PRC has less capacity than the SAUM. The 7 SAUM has about the same capacity as a 280 Ackely. So, the PRC must have about the same capacity as a 6.5-06, which is just a little bigger than a 6.5-284.
Guys in these parts are claiming speeds of well over 2950-3000 from their PRC’s with 140’s. They tell me 3150-3200 is easy. I have suggested they are running pretty high pressures but they mumble something about short powder columns and modern powders.
I say pressure is pretty darned high.

Rick,

As I noted earlier, the practical powder room in both the PRC and 6.5 SAUM is very close to the same, partly because the PRC's overall cartridge length is longer than the most popular version of the 6.5 SAUM, the GAP. (Will know more about that shortly, when I have fired brass from both for actual comparisons.) The pressure-tested data I have from a major powder company indicates 2950-3000 with 140's is about it in a 24" barrel from the PRC, but am not surprised some people say they're getting more.

Generally "worked up" pressures are at least 70,000 PSI, and in harder brass sometimes 75,000. No pressure-tested data, however, for the .264 Winchester Magnum (which has a lot more powder capacity than either the 6.5 PRC or GAP, despite the antique belt on the .264) shows anywhere near 3200 fps in a 24-inch barrel. Around 3100 is more the norm.

it would be so cool to see Ruger make a run of American Rifles in 6.5 Rem Mag, along with Hornady making a ton of quality inexpensive brass, and several high quality factory hunting loads ($25 for 20 rounds) with uber high BC bullets... just to see if they could breathe life into the old girl. I would buy one. Hodgdon shows a load of 58 grains of H4831 getting 3155 fps with a 129 grain Hornady SP at 50,800 cup. I have always wanted a 6.5 just to run it to see if I can get that performance.

Or a 6.5 PRC

^^^^ This is kinda scary. ^^^^ If stores are stocking ammo for rifles that don't exist, we've got a pretty good recipe for failure. When the next buying period comes around, retailers simply will not re-order merchandise which doesn't sell, and this ammo cannot sell if there are no rifles to use it in.

I hope what we have here is that Hornady knows something we don't, and a few major manufacturers will be bringing out 6.5 PRC rifles shortly.

I'd love to see Winchester and Ruger both do so, and even Remington (although I would not buy a Remington). All of Winchester's WSM models would be easy to adapt, as would Remington's old SAUM models. Ruger chambers both RCM and WSM models, so easy there, too. This cartridge also seems a natural for what Browning has been doing lately with the outstanding X-Bolt series of rifles. I'd like to see this in the standard X-Bolt versions as well as what would seem perfect for the Hell's Canyon Speed and Hell's Canyon Long Range.

A lot of Creedmoor and GAP rifles for sale right now

That is pretty much lineball with my results from my 6.5-06. 3050fps was the best I managed with the 6.5-06 in a long throated Ruger No.1 and Hornady brass.

My 6.5 SAUM easily beat that by 100fps with a slightly longer barrel (25.3inches) and out to the 65k PSI level of that brass I would expect 3200 but a short barrel life.

As indicated in my previous post, when loaded to magazine length in a short Rem700 action the SAUM is 100 to 150fps faster. My 6.5 SAUM with neck turned Norma brass takes 72gn of water on the dot, with a 130gn Berger VLD seated to 2.825in overall length I have 65gn of water remaining. By contrast a 6.5 Rem mag starts with 68gn and ends up with 59gn after same bullet being seated to the same OAL. I would expect similar results from the PRC.

Perhaps I'm just an old fussy-butt, but it occurs to me that leaning on the PRC to turn it into a .264 Win Mag is defeating its purpose and getting farther away from the virtues that make the mild .26s so attractive in the first place: good barrel life and good performance with modest recoil. The PRC as designed is an incremental step towards a bit more power and flatter trajectory than the others without getting into the stuff that made the .264 less than a hit over time. Looks promising.

The boys wanting to soup it up could just skip ahead to a .26 Nosler or 6.5-.300 Wby, but maybe that won't gratify the oulaw mentality.

I finally got too curious, and decided to measure the water capacity of the 6.5 GAP and 6.5 PRC with a 140-grain Berger VLD seated to standard overall length. I used Hornady brass for both, and it turned out the GAP held around 62 grains of water, the PRC 57 grains. Since any gain (or loss) in potential velocity is approximately 1/4 the difference in powder room, when loaded to the same pressure in the same barrel length, this means the PRC will get around 2% less velocity, about 65 fps with loads in the 3000-fps range.

For comparison I also checked the capacity on a 6.5-06 case (Remington brass), which turned out to be half a grain less than the 6.5 GAP.

Even a hardcore hairsplitter would have trouble finding much to rant about there. Looks like another case where one would match their choice to the action or boltface on hand or the production rifle they like.

Meanwhile in Blue Ridge country, the Grendel still looks like a good choice for what I do, oddly enough in the only blue and walnut " deer rifle" I have, unless you count my 10 pound .243, which most days I don't!

People’s Republic Of China

Some fine stuff comes out of the PRC; the gal who brought me coffee in bed this morning for example!

So the GAP does more in a 2.8" short action than the PRC can do in a long action? I still cannot figure out the "why" of a PRC.

Possibly that Hornady already makes .300 RCM brass. Also Not Invented Here syndrome.

Not playing in this pen, but I'd be inclined to go with what Hornady is pushing since they seem to support their stuff well.

Did she get it there fast without a lot of recoil? Was it hot, but not excessive throat eroding hot—flat, but won’t burn your barrel?

I like a little recoil from a woman. Discretion prevents me from discussing my barrel here.

LOL. Yea, probably belongs in the pistol forum.

snubby?

Works for me every time.

Asian gals are easier to impress than some others too, thankfully.

Maybe they're just more polite.

There’s an old Polish proverb, “The bigger the farmer the bigger the potato.” This proverb has no correlate in Ireland.

Could be, but I'm willing to be fooled.