6.5 PRC to 6.5 CM

[Scottstu]

How simple is it to rechamber 6.5 PRC to 6.5 CM? Is it as simple as just changing the bolt face and barrel or is there more that goes into it.

Looking at selling my Tikka T3X Roughtech 6.5 CM with a blued action and buying a stainless Tikka T3X now that all Tikka barrels come threaded. 6.5 CM is sold out everywhere in this gun but 6.5 PRC is available.

My next rifle was going to be a 6.5 PRC anyway, but I’d really only use this if hunting and expecting to shoot past 300 yards. Would be nice to be able to rechamber to 6.5 CM for the range then back to 6.5 PRC as needed.

Thanks in advance.

 

[glock233]

You’d swap the Barrel, bolt face, bolt stop. There are guides online.

Point is, you’re probably better off selling yours and buying the 6.5 PRC.

With all that said you don’t need a PRC unless you’re planning on shooting over 700 yards. With the right ammo you 6.5 Creed is good until at least that range. Hornady grey box 143 ELDX for example. It’s good for 700-750 out of your gun.

 

[Scottstu]

You’d swap the Barrel, bolt face, bolt stop. There are guides online.

Point is, you’re probably better off selling yours and buying the 6.5 PRC.

With all that said you don’t need a PRC unless you’re planning on shooting over 700 yards. With the right ammo you 6.5 Creed is good until at least that range. Hornady grey box 143 ELDX for example. It’s good for 700-750 out of your gun.

Yeah I know my 6.5 CM is good out to that range but I want the option to go 6.5 PRC for elk. Eventually I’ll get a separate rifle in each caliber but would rather have one I could switch out right now instead of dropping a few thousand dollars on a second gun that I’m going also going to shoot 147 ELDM out of.

Can you send me a link to a guide?

 

[Frozenlead]

To Swap it to a 6.5cm you’ll need a bolt, barrel and m+ magazine.
Realistically unless you can score a crazy deal for a bolt, you’re probably better off to just look for a second donor gun. You could just put a pic rail on it and swap the barreled action into your stock of choice, slap on the scope and you’d be off to the races faster than swapping a barrel.

 

[The Guide]

Yeah I know my 6.5 CM is good out to that range but I want the option to go 6.5 PRC for elk. Eventually I’ll get a separate rifle in each caliber but would rather have one I could switch out right now instead of dropping a few thousand dollars on a second gun that I’m going also going to shoot 147 ELDM out of.

Can you send me a link to a guide?

Why do you think you need a PRC for elk if you are going to shoot the same bullet? The only thing that will change is the muzzle velocity.

Jay

 

[Chris in TN]

Why do you think you need a PRC for elk if you are going to shoot the same bullet? The only thing that will change is the muzzle velocity.

Jay

Agreed^^.

Unless you hunt in terrible weather or salty environments, I'd just shoot what you already have.

 

[Q_Sertorius]

To Swap it to a 6.5cm you’ll need a bolt, barrel and m+ magazine.
Realistically unless you can score a crazy deal for a bolt, you’re probably better off to just look for a second donor gun. You could just put a pic rail on it and swap the barreled action into your stock of choice, slap on the scope and you’d be off to the races faster than swapping a barrel.

A new Tikka from EuroOptic, or a secondhand one, will set the OP back less than the components he needs to make this switch. Far easier to swap the scope back and forth and a barreled action into and out of the preferred stock than anything else.

I’ve been swapping Tikkas in and out of a single wooden RokStok while I pile up the coins to get one for each rifle.

 

[UnckleBob]

Yeah I know my 6.5 CM is good out to that range but I want the option to go 6.5 PRC for elk. Eventually I’ll get a separate rifle in each caliber but would rather have one I could switch out right now instead of dropping a few thousand dollars on a second gun that I’m going also going to shoot 147 ELDM out of.

Can you send me a link to a guide?

I had a 6.5 PRC Roughtech and sold it even though it shot great. At the time, I had a Savage 6.5CM.

1) There was some velocity gain over the CM, but I felt it was more like a 6.5CM +p than a real upgrade.

2) It essentially shoots the exact same bullets as the 6.5 CM with little to no opportunity to shoot heavier bullets.

3) I concluded that there was unlikely to be any shot I could make with the 6.5PRC that I couldn't with the 6.5CM.

4) For some reason, Tikka decided their 6.5 PRC mags needed more capacity than their 270 WSM mags. As a result, the mag sticks out the bottom quite a bit. I found it annoying and harder to carry than guns with flush magazines. You can get around it by swapping out the bolt stop and a few other tricks.

5) The PRC bolt face limits your options if you ever want to swap barrels to something like a 7 BC.

I ultimately got a Browing X Bolt in 6.8W which was an upgrade in power vs the 6.5 CM.

Instead of buying a new rifle, why not get a second Tikka barrel in something like a fast twist 270, 280AI or 7BC for when you want to hunt Elk? They can all use your existing bolt face.

 

[glock233]

Yeah I know my 6.5 CM is good out to that range but I want the option to go 6.5 PRC for elk. Eventually I’ll get a separate rifle in each caliber but would rather have one I could switch out right now instead of dropping a few thousand dollars on a second gun that I’m going also going to shoot 147 ELDM out of.

Can you send me a link to a guide?

6.5 CM is great for Elk to the ranges discussed, with 147 ELDM. The PRC use case is if you think you’re going to shoot longer ranges. PRC just recoils harder and gives you an extra 300 yards of range.


Swapping a bolt is easy. The barrel is hard and requires tools. Here’s the barrel swap. There’s threads on it on here too. https://share.google/7lF1As9vcMyBO8grf

The problem id moving back and forth isn’t easy. You end up with parts piles when you’d been better off with 2 rifles or just picking 6.5 PRC as an all arounder.

 

[Hunterrancher15]

6.5 PRC all day over CM

 

[The Guide]

6.5 PRC all day over CM

Why? Please share some details on your reasoning.

Jay

 

[Scottstu]

Thanks for all the input. I may not have given enough detail. Wasn’t really trying to start a thread on which cartridge is better for my needs. I feel good with 6.5 CM for hunting inside 400 yards and like it for long range practice due to the lower recoil and cheaper ammo.

I prefer a 6.5 PRC for a longer shot especially on elk. I’d like to have two similar guns, one chambered in each, but by the time I set up the gun how I’d like (rifle, rails, scope, rings, bipod, suppressor ) I’m in for over $5k and would rather spend that on a hunt.

Since 6.5 PRC is available in the gun I want, I’d buy that and rechamber in 6.5 CM, leaving it like that pretty much all year. If I’m going hunting where longer shots are likely, I’d rechamber to 6.5 PRC a little while before that hunt. Probably wouldn’t be making these modifications more than once a year.

 

[Scottstu]

6.5 CM is great for Elk to the ranges discussed, with 147 ELDM. The PRC use case is if you think you’re going to shoot longer ranges. PRC just recoils harder and gives you an extra 300 yards of range.


Swapping a bolt is easy. The barrel is hard and requires tools. Here’s the barrel swap. There’s threads on it on here too. https://share.google/7lF1As9vcMyBO8grf

The problem id moving back and forth isn’t easy. You end up with parts piles when you’d been better off with 2 rifles or just picking 6.5 PRC as an all arounder.

Thank you

 

[Scottstu]

I had a 6.5 PRC Roughtech and sold it even though it shot great. At the time, I had a Savage 6.5CM.

1) There was some velocity gain over the CM, but I felt it was more like a 6.5CM +p than a real upgrade.

2) It essentially shoots the exact same bullets as the 6.5 CM with little to no opportunity to shoot heavier bullets.

3) I concluded that there was unlikely to be any shot I could make with the 6.5PRC that I couldn't with the 6.5CM.

4) For some reason, Tikka decided their 6.5 PRC mags needed more capacity than their 270 WSM mags. As a result, the mag sticks out the bottom quite a bit. I found it annoying and harder to carry than guns with flush magazines. You can get around it by swapping out the bolt stop and a few other tricks.

5) The PRC bolt face limits your options if you ever want to swap barrels to something like a 7 BC.

I ultimately got a Browing X Bolt in 6.8W which was an upgrade in power vs the 6.5 CM.

Instead of buying a new rifle, why not get a second Tikka barrel in something like a fast twist 270, 280AI or 7BC for when you want to hunt Elk? They can all use your existing bolt face.

I want to switch to a stainless action and barrel. 6.5 CM to 280 AI would only require a barrel swap?

 

[Hunterrancher15]

Why? Please share some details on your reasoning.

Jay

Both shoot great, I found my 6.5prc to shoot flatter on farther distances as well with knocking them down better at farther distances. The prc is basically the magnum version of the cm.

 

[Scottstu]

A new Tikka from EuroOptic, or a secondhand one, will set the OP back less than the components he needs to make this switch. Far easier to swap the scope back and forth and a barreled action into and out of the preferred stock than anything else.

I’ve been swapping Tikkas in and out of a single wooden RokStok while I pile up the coins to get one for each rifle.

True but I still want both to be stainless and my current isn’t stainless.

 

[waspocrew]

Personally, I wouldn’t do a switch barrel set up on a Tikka if going with cartridges that require different bolt faces. There are actions set up a little better for that (like a Zermatt).

But, if wanting to stick with Tikka, I’ll second the above recommendation to go 6.5 CM and maybe 280 AI so you don’t have to spend money on another bolt.

 

[BCsteve]

You shoot whichever cartridges makes you happy! But I'll second that the switch barrel option doesn't make sense practically and economically. For the price of a new barrel, bolt and tools you'll be spending more than a new Tikka, plus the pain in the a$$ to do the switch everytime you feel like shooting one cartridge over the other.

 

[The Guide]

Both shoot great, I found my 6.5prc to shoot flatter on farther distances as well with knocking them down better at farther distances. The prc is basically the magnum version of the cm.

The only difference when using the same bullets is that the PRC gives you an additional 200 yard to hold the same velocity as the Creedmoor. The Creedmoor already gets you to a distance further than most people should be shooting to on live game. The bullet doesn't change characteristics just because it is fired at a different muzzle velocity. You need to look at impact velocity. On my personal rifles you are able to shoot to past 700 yards with the Creedmoor and past 900 yards with the PRC. Most people have never shot that far on targets let alone live game.

Jay

 

[nm.otter]

If you occasionally need some extra velocity/range, there is another option.