Is a 6.5 PRC enough? Do I need a 7mm?

[JGRaider]

That would actually be 16-1700fps for partition/accubond.

 

[nobody]

That would actually be 16-1700fps for partition/accubond.

I thought that figure was for the Accubond long Range and the standard Accubond was roughly 400 FPS different?

EDIT: Just checked the google machine, you’re right. I stand corrected!

 

[TheViking]

My 6.5 PRC shoots the new Federal Fusion Tipped 140 grainers at 3035 FPS (20 shot average) chronoed with my Garmin.

7RM's shoot 140's arond 3100-3150. Are you honestly going to think that an elk won't die with 75-100 fps less in the same bullet weight?

This conversation in lunacy.

 

[khuber84]

My 6.5 PRC shoots the new Federal Fusion Tipped 140 grainers at 3035 FPS (20 shot average) chronoed with my Garmin.

7RM's shoot 140's arond 3100-3150. Are you honestly going to think that an elk won't die with 75-100 fps less in the same bullet weight?

This conversation in lunacy.

Fudlore.........some the old logic is retarded. A 140 6.5 has way better sectional density and far superior BC than any 140 7mm. Past 300y the 65 is gonna over take it in all performance aspects. I've always felt the 7mm is a lil lost, too much of a tweener. 65s shoot much softer and have similar ballistics when comparing high bc options, and big 30 cal mags just push so much more weight down range. If 1 tool had to be chosen to hunt all N American game with, I'd probably go with a 7saum tho. It's kinda that goldilocks IF you could only have one.

 

[calico pig]

I recently shot my first Elk. The guide insisted I use a .30 cal instead of my 6.5 PRC. I obliged with my 30-06 Tikka. The big bull went 3 steps. Great day.

It started me thinking about cartridges. My 6.5 PRC is a Proof Elevation MTR 24" bbl. For me, It is the most accurate rifle I own. It loves the Berger 156 gr EOL that I purchased from Choice and achieves 3010 fps. It shoots UM loaded 147 ELD-m at 2975 fps. My Carbon Six 24" barreled 30-06 Tikka groups 165 gr Accubonds very well at 2940 fps and shoots Barnes 168 gr TTSX even faster at 3025 fps. My friend has a Tikka 24" 7mm Rem Mag that shoots factory 162 gr ELD-x at 2925 fps.

I realize I am comparing different bullets and factory ammo to semi-custom ammo but these are the cartridges I personally saw chronographed. After entering the info in a ballistics calculator, the 6.5 PRC, at 300 yards, has considerably more velocity then any of the others. It has more energy, less drop and less drift plus a higher sectional density. Because of the higher BC bullets the 6.5 PRC has an even bigger advantage at 400 and 500 yards.

Is the 6.5 PRC really the marginal cartridge for Elk simply because it is 6 gr less weight and .020 less diameter? Is the issue that most feel the 180 gr bullet in the 06 or the 7mm is a much better choice for bigger game?

The bright side of reading this for me is that your 500 dollar Tikka worked perfectly. I have piles of custom rifles too. It's funny though, my first Tikka in 30-06 shoots as good for a hunting rifle as any of them. I always tell my friends getting into hunting to grab a Tikka. Not sexy with custom paint jobs and carbon fiber, but they work. I do get it though, I prefer to take my "nicer" rifles as well. Guides see a lot of bad shots and bad ammo choices. So they figure a 30-06 is a safe bet for them not to have to guess. Those guys sometimes aren't super fancy, they just hunt and shoot stuff they can grab at Walmart. Forgot my ammo on a hunt and a guide dug a 30-06 out of his glove box that another hunter left behind. Put it in my my Tikka and limited my range to 150 and it worked

That guide used a Tikka in .243 for damn near everything. This is 10 years ago.

 

[Luked]

My brother is a bit of the same way.
I think a lot comes from the "old school" thinking
to my brother, God love the guy but he drives me nuts.
He swears by anything that is a 30 cal. Don't matter what it is.
Yet like I have told him before a 30 is just a bullet size. that bullet can be used in a lot of stuff and a lot of different cartridges. But trying to get that through his thick head is like beating your head against a wall.

But he also is in the boat that the small calibers are junk. Just like the 6s and 6.5s.
He has a 6.5 CM. Last year shot a whitetail right behind the shoulder with a 125gr bullet...not my particular bullet for a 6.5CM (Even though 2 years ago I told him to use a 143 ELDx) he got zero blood trail. but the deer was dead.
So I asked...Did the deer die? Yep. Sure did. So I guess it did the job.
But because for whatever reason there was no blood trail that 6.5 is junk.

So now he's planning to get some 143 ELD-X in precision hunters after talking to some of his "Buddies" that shoot a 6.5Cm.....Yet I have had one for a few years and shoot it often. And his buddies told him the same thing I did 2 years ago about the 143s.

Not to go on a tangent about my stubborn bull headed brother but I think a lot of the " got to have a 30 cal" is coming from old school type of guys that don't keep up with the new stuff.
We have seen here guys shoot big game with small bullets very effectively.

I say shoot what you like and what you shoot well..cant kill anything if you cant hit it.

If you want the 6.5 PRC get one. Thats the next one on my list also.

 

[ElPollo]

That would actually be 16-1700fps for partition/accubond.

I might buy those numbers for the partition, but not for the accubond. A buddy of mine uses them. They don’t open up nearly as well at low velocities as the old partition. Barnes used to say the TTSX had a minimum expansion velocity of 1600. But that meant the tip of the bullet would barely start to open. It is still an FMJ at that point. I doubt the accubond is much better at that speed.

 

[Marbles]

The 7 mag will continue to be one of the most popular western cartridges because it works reliably. Other smaller cartridges may work reliably with the correct bullet, but none of the 7 mag shooters I know have ever felt the need to dissect and photograph bullet performance to prove it works. It just works.

I almost bought into the 6.5 PRC as a replacement for my 7 mag, but with the bullets and range I like to hunt at, the PRC is very very close to the 270 - both shoot a 140 gr bullet at about the same velocity. I upgraded from the 270 back in the 1980’s because my mentor’s 7 mag spanked the 270 when shot side by side, taking animals side by side. In that respect, I don’t see the similar PRC as a bad cartridge, it’s just not a great one, like a 160gr in the 7 mag.

A lot of guys will want to say, “Yeah, but. . . ,” and try to make excuses for, or justify the 6.5 - nobody feels they have to do that with the 7 mag.

Even older than the 7 mag is the 264 win mag, and shot side by side, seeing the performance on game side by side, most guys like the extra bullet weight of the 7 mag and the 264 never gained a lot of fanfare.

7mm's are inadequate commie euro trash. Adding a belt and calling it a magnum doesn't change that. There is a reason we wone WWII, and thats .30 bore diameters.

























Troll post, sorry, not sorry.

 

[Justtinhenrie]

I shoot a 7 PRC but would feel totally confident with a 6.5 on all western hunting game that I hunt: Deer, elk, etc.

 

[ChromeHound]

If we are using the "experience is the best indicator of future performance" then we would all be shooting 30-06's forever. The US government commissioned a crazy number of studies while developing that round including shooting live animals with it to study terminal performance.
That argument ignores all kinds of new science and technological advancement in bullet technology. The reality is, bullet placement will always be the top factor in effectiveness and rounds that shoot flatter and recoil less lend themselves to better shot placement. People just need to know their limits. Just because the rifle can shoot accurately to 1000yards doesn't mean the shooter can. I can see where guides would get tired of telling clients not to shoot at animals 800 yards away with their 6.5CM. All of that being said, the 6.5 is fully capable of killing elk.

 

[LEGION]

No. The 6.5prc will kill elk ded

 

[Packmansion]

An important number often overlooked is SD. 6.5 with a 140 will have a much higher SD than a lot of 30 cal stuff. I believe the general trend for hunters will be smaller caliber, heavy for caliber bullets. The main benefit to 30 cal is just the unlimited options when it comes to bullets and ammo. The 30-06 at the local gun store has 20 different boxes of ammo while the 6.5 prc just gas the hornady precision hunter. Not that you need all that selection it just shows the absurd amount of support for 30 cal catridges. In an end of the world situation id much rather have a 30-06 lol. I go 6.5 creed over prc though, so much support for creed. No need to take shots at game past 600 yards lol. I feel like the 6.5 prc caters to people who dont like to dial. Its definitely flatter but jeez other than the 156 eol not sure what it really brings to the table other than more recoil and a longer heavier barrel that will shoot out faster. Ive honed in on 6.5 and 30 cal and 223 as my go to calibers. 7mm just does not have much support well see what 7 prc does for it but id rather go 6.5 prc over any 7mm.

 

[Pharmseller]

well, it's really simple.
girls in grade school like boys thin and lightweight
girls in high school like guys with some size and weight
girls in college like guys with some size, weight, and athletics
girls post-college like guys with size, weight, athletics and power
there you have it...like I said, simple. now can we move on from the .223 BS?

Girls like guys with money.

End of story.




P

 

[jjohnsonElknewbie]

On Saturday my daughter killed a magnum cow elk (4-500#) with one 162gr ELDX at 2525 MV out of her suppressed 18” Tikka 7-08. The cow took a couple steps downhill, staggered a couple steps uphill and fell over. Shot was 185 yards and I dialed .4 mils.

Just saying….

 

[Pharmseller]

My brother’s 6.5 PRC shoots the 156 EOL into little bitty groups at 2934 fps MV.

Doing the ballistics voodoo it’s superior to our 162 ELDX load from our 7mm Rem Mags.

That’s plenty.




P

 

[Packmansion]

My brother’s 6.5 PRC shoots the 156 EOL into little bitty groups at 2934 fps MV.

Doing the ballistics voodoo it’s superior to our 162 ELDX load from our 7mm Rem Mags.

That’s plenty.




P

I feel like this sums it up. 6.5 prc > 7rm. So no you do not need a 7mm.

 

[Pharmseller]

I feel like this sums it up. 6.5 prc > 7rm. So no you do not need a 7mm.

Lots of overlap with the Mighty -08 and the 7mm Rem Mag. I tease him that I’m not gonna load for the other two rifles for him anymore now that he has the 6.5 PRC.

But remember, firearm ownership ain’t about need.






P

 

[Packmansion]

Lots of overlap with the Mighty -08 and the 7mm Rem Mag. I tease him that I’m not gonna load for the other two rifles for him anymore now that he has the 6.5 PRC.




P

I am starting to slowly migrate towards that myself. I think im done reloading my 300 win. Just 6.5 creed and 300 wsm now. Maybe ill just sell everything a buy a 6.5 prc lol.

 

[Pharmseller]

I am starting to slowly migrate towards that myself. I think im done reloading my 300 win. Just 6.5 creed and 300 wsm now. Maybe ill just sell everything a buy a 6.5 prc lol.

Sell nothing.

 

[LONE HUNTER]

This conversation always intrigues me. Sharp sticks kill elk deader than a door nail if you punch it through the right organs. Shooting a rifle that makes you more likely to hit what you're aiming at trumps cartridge/caliber in my opinion. If you can shoot both equally well, shoot the bigger gun. But most people being honest with themselves don't shoot bigger guns better than smaller ones. So do you need a 7mm to kill elk... no. Do you WANT 7mm to kill elk.... well haha that's up to you. Your PRC will work fine if you hit em right.