Why no new love for the 6.5 PRC

[4IDARCHER]

With the new releases and trade show unveilings mostly over I still haven't seen any love for the regular production rifles offered in this caliber. On Hornady's website it listed Savage arms as chambering for the cartridge but I can't find one rifle on their website chambered in this caliber. With the 6.5 still being all things rifle (not my opinion but it sure seems that way) I am curious as to why Ruger, Remington, Savage, Winchester, Bergara, Tikka and others haven't started rolling out rifles yet. I guess we will have to see later in the year but I would of thought that the SHOT show or Sheep Show would of been the place to do it at. Any opinions as to why the cool off for this cartridge?

 

[hodgeman]

Right now the 6.5 market has too many cartridges to absorb and I think a lot of manufacturers are waiting for stuff to settle out before they introduce any new chambering. 6.5PRC is keeping some of the custom precision guys plenty busy.

2017 wasn't a very good year in the gun business either...so I'm pretty sure R&D dollars are at a premium as well.

 

[PathFinder]

It has no practical ballistic advantage over the Creedmoor. No doubt, it is faster. But it comes at the cost of a magnum bolt face (harder to find mags) and barely, barely fits in a short action. If someone wants a step up in performance over a 6.5 Creedmoor sized cartridge, this cartridge doesn't offer much in terms of effective range. It makes much more sense to jump to a 7mm or 30 magnum. I think manufacturers and consumers both are having a hard time seeing the mild bump in performance as being worthwhile when the Creedmoor is so available.

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[choovhntr]

It has no practical ballistic advantage over the Creedmoor. No doubt, it is faster. But it comes at the cost of a magnum bolt face (harder to find mags) and barely, barely fits in a short action. If someone wants a step up in performance over a 6.5 Creedmoor sized cartridge, this cartridge doesn't offer much in terms of effective range. It makes much more sense to jump to a 7mm or 30 magnum. I think manufacturers and consumers both are having a hard time seeing the mild bump in performance as being worthwhile when the Creedmoor is so available.

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The bump to me seems substantial enough. I was wondering the same facts as you and putting numbers into ballistic charts shows around a 150-200 yd max usable range with the Prc. Pushes the 1200 ft lb of energy of the creedmore from 6-700ish to 700-800 +. That’s a huge advantage to the long range hunter crowd in my opinion. Yeah a magnum bolt face and long action hinder the weight factor but guys who want to shoot far usually are concerned with the1/2 lb savings. In fact they want the weight. I think this cartridge will be the 6.5-284 or 6.5 SAUM answer for the non reloaders. Time will tell I guess. Meanwhile I’m gonna try to build one

 

[NevadaZielmeister]

It has no practical ballistic advantage over the Creedmoor. No doubt, it is faster. But it comes at the cost of a magnum bolt face (harder to find mags) and barely, barely fits in a short action. If someone wants a step up in performance over a 6.5 Creedmoor sized cartridge, this cartridge doesn't offer much in terms of effective range. It makes much more sense to jump to a 7mm or 30 magnum. I think manufacturers and consumers both are having a hard time seeing the mild bump in performance as being worthwhile when the Creedmoor is so available.

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While I usually get a lot of misinformation on this site regarding rifle ballistics, this post is right on. The increase in FPS is minimal, maybe 100-200. And then yes, you would have to change the bolt face. The COAL at 2.995 inches is BARELY able to fit into a short action.

And yes, if you want ultimate BC, then get a 7mm. But then I see most shooters/hunters not using that bullet effectively enough to utilize the advantages of such a long range bullet. Thus, shooters best to stick with ammunition that is readily available and Hornady has put a lot into the 6.5 Creedmoor.

By the way, I was getting 2960 FPS from my 6.5 Creedmoor but realized that I was also getting significant throat erosion. But man, thus bullets were humming along in a very good node. If I want to change barrels every 1000 rounds, that load would have been acceptable.

 

[danmayland]

Two words “Hornady brass” oh and refer to post #3.

Failed attempt to jump on the popularity of the Creedmoor


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[unclericco]

I just wanted to share my experience so far with the PRC. I'm building one off a Tikka and the factory ammo does not fit in the short action magazine. I'll be building it off a long action instead. My friends think I'm dumb for going ahead with the build. I'll report back if it sucks lol.

Also, I'll be reloading for it but regardless the short mags are too short

 

[wind gypsy]

I think it will catch on and grow but might never get too far. I would not consider an additional 260 fps over a creedmoor negligible.

Not many short actions accommodate the COAL required. That and single source brass from hornady are the downsides. At least with the SAUM you can use Norma, Rem, and soon alpha brass to form cases.

 

[RedSnake]

I think it will catch on and grow but might never get too far. I would not consider an additional 260 fps over a creedmoor negligible.

Not many short actions accommodate the COAL required. That and single source brass from hornady are the downsides. At least with the SAUM you can use Norma, Rem, and soon alpha brass to form cases.

We are coming out with a new DBM with M5 footprint that will help overcome the COAL issues.

 

[WYO 307]

I just wanted to share my experience so far with the PRC. I'm building one off a Tikka and the factory ammo does not fit in the short action magazine. I'll be building it off a long action instead. My friends think I'm dumb for going ahead with the build. I'll report back if it sucks lol.

Also, I'll be reloading for it but regardless the short mags are too short

Did you complete your build?

 

[Desert Dan]

I see this is an older post but I was recently in the market for a deer rifle and settled on the 6.5 PRC, although I admit I had an extra year of information to become available I was able to use when making my decision.

There are pros and cons with every choice of caliber, from .243 up to 338 and everything in between but the PRC fit what I was looking for very well. By now there are some very good articles out there from some very reputable magazines that helped shed some light on where the PRC fits in within the 6.5 realm and I think the best one summed it up like this: if you already have a Creedmoor (or any other option) you probably won't have much use for the PRC. They're just too similar. (If I remember I'll edit this and post the links.) But if you're looking to break in to that range it's not a bad option at all. I can tell you for me I liked that the PRC maintains more energy (1300 ft lbs and some change vs 1600 plus for the PRC 143 ELD X) and a flatter trajectory out to 500 yards than the Creedmoor. I also liked that the factory PRC load outperforms the comparable factory Norma round (140 gr Nosler if I remember correctly) not to mention it also costs $20-$30 less per box of 20 since currently I don't reload. It is short action so my rifle is a pound lighter than a 7mm rem mag or 300 win mag version. On top of that the PRC has very reasonable recoil and is really fun to shoot. Put all this together and it was a good fit for me and I bought it.
The drawbacks? Ammo is tough to find right now. I called Hornady last week and the very nice lady told me they're running more right now but still may be a few months until it's on the shelf. Similar to ammo, only Hornady is producing brass so until the other guys get in the game I'm limited to that should I start reloading. There's no guarantee the cartridge will catch on so I could be left with a rifle that fires a round that has gone extinct. Oh and of course some people on the internet don't like it and apparently I'm supposed to care.
So that's what I can share for now. Ultimately you know the drill - do some research and shoot whatever you want to shoot and enjoy it just like everyone else does. Just last weekend I was at the range and struck up a conversation with the guy at the bench to my right. He was breaking in his Creedmoor and asked about my rifle. When the guy on my left overhead me say I had a PRC he said his was a Norma he was hand loading and testing out different loads for. Amazingly we didn't feel obligated to talk down each other's choice of rifle and instead had a nice conversation about how much we enjoy shooting and deer hunting. Crazy right?

 

[cjl2010]

ADG, Bertram, and gunwerks are producing brass as well.

 

[unclericco]

Did you complete your build?

Yes I did and I posted a picture on a different thread. I love the rifle and found a load with Berger 140’s at 3190 FPS. I put a Leupold 3-18x50 VX-6 on it. Gonna take it on its first hunt this fall for deer in Utah

 

[WYO 307]

Yes I did and I posted a picture on a different thread. I love the rifle and found a load with Berger 140’s at 3190 FPS. I put a Leupold 3-18x50 VX-6 on it. Gonna take it on its first hunt this fall for deer in Utah

That is great. What stock did you use? What is your coal?

 

[Bugetr]

Believe Desert Dan has some really solid points. If you already have a 6.5Creed, may not be much advantage to you unless you are hunting at longer ranges. With the OAL from factory Hornady ammo at 2.955...the 6.5PRC fits handily into a short action and keeps your rifle weight down when you're packing. Most custom actions will accommodate the OAL and Accurate Mags can be had for $50-$60 that fit AICS bottom metal without issues. I've built a couple PRC's for customers now and they are all very pleased with the cartridge. Accuracy is improved a bit at distance with the decreased wind deflection vs. 6.5Creed as well, albeit not a lot, but every bit counts when you're trying to ethically harvest an animal at extended ranges.

If you already own a 6.5Creed, may not be worth the investment for a PRC. But if you've been hunting with a 30-06 or 300 WM (not a thing wrong with a 30-06 or 300WM, I've used both) and you want to change to a lighter, highly accurate, lower recoil and effective round with factory ammo that you could use for 90% of your hunting tags, a custom 6.5 PRC may be a good fit.

Or, if you're like me and just like to have an array of different calibers...it's a fun round.

 

[unclericco]

That is great. What stock did you use? What is your coal?

I put a McMillan Game Hunter stock on it. I also went with a 26” Proof CF barrel with a custom titanium brake