Tikka 6.5 PRC & bullet selection

[BigGameJames87]

I've been using Norma's 143 gr Bondstrike for hunting in my 6.5 PRC X-Bolt and I'm very pleased with the performance. I've taken 7 deer so far and all have died quickly. There's been good expansion with an exit wound in each case. Most dropped within a few yards but one managed to make it about 20 yards into a thick tree row so the exit and resulting blood trail made it much easier to find her.

So far I have been using factory ammo but they do offer component bullets. I have some to load once my factory stash runs out.

 

[KenLee]

Tikka rifle coming tomorrow in 6.5 PRC. I have shunned the CM in the past, but the PRC has me intrigued. I reload for several calibers, and already have what I need for this project, except for powder and bullets. I have heard that the 6.5 cm sometimes passes through without enough tissue damage and exit hole to leave a good blood trail, and definitely want to avoid that scenario. I am looking at the Berger EOL 156 for an all purpose, and the 130 Accubond for hunting, probably with some H-1000. My favorite deer load is a 7-08 loaded with 139 SST’s. I seldom get an exit wound, but I never have to track a deer. I usually sacrifice a shoulder, which I can live with. It has worked for me for 20 plus years. I have ZERO experience with the 6.5 caliber, and would like to start off right.
I am open to your suggestions. I am listening.

Suggestion: stay with the 7mm-08 and 139gr sst if you have 100% confidence in dead right there.

 

[ssgjpd]

I run 140 Elite Hunters

 

[WDE]

I've been shooting the 135 gr berger hybrid hunters in my 6.5 cm the last few seasons and they kill deer very quick. Multiple DRT and the ones that have run haven't made it far. Exit wounds with good blood trails. Shoots have been anywhere from 30 to 200yds. Massive internal soft tissue damage. The EOLs should do well for you out of the PRC.

 

[WDE]

This was the latest 6.5 exit wound shooting Bergers. Dropped in his tracks.

 

[Yung6ix]

I'd give the Hornady 147gr ELD-M factory ammo a go and see how it shoots for you. Generally, that particular ammo shoots extremely well in the 6.5 PRC's.

 

[CJ_BG]

Not sure if this helps, but functionally the 6.5 prc is a modern 270 winchester. The 270 has built a darn good reputation on putting whitetails down with cheap 130gr soft points from basically every company. I would pick literally and 130+ lead core bullet. You could easily go with SSTs again too, the 140 is potent deer medicine. As others have said, the 147 eld-m is basically a higher bc version.

For what it's worth too, I shot a couple of my deer this year with 110 vmax in a 270 at 30 and 40yds. Impact velocities of almost 3300fps and penetration was not an issue, just keep that in mind if anyone tells you that those other bullets are too soft for deer.

 

[sololearn9]

Man, I love the PRC cartridges.

I have a 300 prc and want to build a 6.5....but I am super nervous it will turn into a reload only cartridge and defeat the purpose of it.

Bench

 

[Macintosh]

@sololearn9 What are you seeing that leads you to think it wont be supported in the future?

Just a quick look at the cabelas website, they offer 102 different cartridges in 678 different options. 6.5prc is tied for 13th most options in any cartridge...it's not a perfect measure but a major big box retailers # of sku's offered is a reasonable measure of relative demand, ime, as they tend to buy based on number-driven metrics across the country. It has more than double the options of your 300 PRC just for instance. Not being a high-volume shooting cartridge it means there has to be a large number of rifles out there using the cartridge, and those rifles really dont have an expiration date, ie there wont be less of them in the future. And there are PLENTY of cartridges that dont seem to be going away with fewer options offered to customers. Hornady seems to do an exceptionally good job in general of building support for their cartridges, ex the 6.5cm is among the most popular rifle cartridges in the US now, only less than 20 years after its intro. This is just one admittedly imperfect measure, but I'm curious why you think it might not be supported in the future.
This is the number of different sku's offered per cartridge on cabelas website right now both in stock and out of stock, just the top 30 or so cartridges out of the 100+ cartridges they offer.

 

[Hvfl]

I started hunting with the 6.5 PRC a few years ago. So far I’ve killed 3 deer( two whitetail and a Sitka black tail) at ranges from 40 to 185 yards. None of them went more than 20 yards and the damage to their lungs was significant. I use the Hornady Hunter Precision 143 ELD-X as I get the best groupings and I’ve found it most consistent as far as availability.

 

[nhridgway]

These conversations make me envious of the non straight walled states

 

[kkp005]

My tikka 6.5 prc shoots hand loaded Sierra 130tmk and 130tgk over n565 very good . Factory wise it shoots 140gr tipped fusions and 147gr ELDm very well… any of those would be great for a whitetail

 

[MCF]

Suggestion: stay with the 7mm-08 and 139gr sst if you have 100% confidence in dead right there.

It may work out that way, but my favorite gun has always been the next one…

 

[KenLee]

It may work out that way, but my favorite gun has always been the next one…

If you can get away with that philosophy on women, trucks and guns, you have it made!!!

 

[gaphunter]

For the 6.5 PRC, the Hornady 130 AccuBond is your best bet for hunting. It offers controlled expansion, good penetration, and will leave a solid blood trail—exactly what you’re looking for. The Berger EOL 156 is more suited for long-range precision and may not provide the desired tissue damage for hunting.



H-1000 is a solid powder choice, but for lighter bullets like the 130 AccuBond, you could also try RL26 or Retumbo for better velocity.



The 6.5 PRC will deliver more energy and flatter trajectory than your 7-08, so fine-tune your loads accordingly. Happy hunting!

 

[FLHunter87]

My Nephew and I use the 142ABLR in our 6.5 PRC. Nephew is around 2850 fps and I'm 2879 fps. Both of our guns can can stack at 200 yards. I have shot several deer and hogs. All of them dropped, except 1 deer that went maybe 30 yards. Even shot a nice 9pt at 212 yards and he dropped. We both use H1000 as well. My 8 year old niece just got a new 6.5 PRC. I believe we're going to try the 142ABLR first in hers. My brother uses the 156s, just because they are more accurate in his rifle where he can shoot 1-1.5" groups out to 500 yards with his 156s. Even the 130 AB are a solid choice. I use AB for my 6.8SPC