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6.5 prc ackley improved thoughts

Why is the focus on improving cases always about speed?

While the 6.5 PRC Primal is no doubt the least exciting of the improved 6.5 PRC-based cases we've done... to say it is not a good choice, leaves the door open for some very critical misunderstandings. What about precision and accuracy? Node stability? Pressure curve efficiency? Case longevity? etc etc etc?

I don't say this because we have 22, 6mm, 6.5, and 7mm improved versions of the 6.5 PRC... but because it's certainly worthwhile to some for more reasons than raw speed.

I'd argue that a 6mm dasher is quite a lot more impressive in all aspects than a straight 6BR. I'd argue that my .20-223AI's are wildly more impressive than a .223rem with equal weight bullets. A 7mm norma mag improved leaves a straight 300 norma in the dust. I could provide example after example in which a 40° shoulder variant produces considerably smaller results than its parent.

There's worlds more to this than speed. I promise you, those that have witnessed in person what the PRC Primal line of cartridges have been doing, aren't amazed by the speed so much as the impacts down range. Point in fact, the 6.5 PRC case has provided the most meaningful wildcats of any I've played with in the past decade.


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Your bring up alot of good points but not ones i am questioning at all.

that said, you bring up internal ballistic issues that for all intent and purpose, are meaningless to the AVERAGE long range hunter. Are they legit, sure, but again, its like taking a BR rifle that will shoot in the ones and then take that rifle on a 3 mile hike in the mountains, see a big trophy mule deer walking through the pines across the valley at 800 yards and flopping down to take a shot and your breathing, heart rate and shooting position will create a situation where you will never ever realize if your rifle is shooting the most perfectly tuned load possible for that rifle or a load that will consistently hold 1/2 or even 3/4 moa. again, yes we want the most accuracy possible but when dealing with hyper performance rounds, finding a good usable load quickly is far more important then finding the best possible load. I test my rifles at 800 to 1000 yards to prove they have 1/2 moa accuracy potential before they ship.

these tests are conducted with for the most part unprepped brass, loaded up to within 1 grain of what i consider top working pressures and with bullets seater 10 thou off the lands. In over 90% of my rifles shipped, these first test loads prove the rifles capable of my 1/2 moa standard and 75% of my customers never look for any different load. They just use the same load year after year.

i tell them they could very likely find an even more consistent, accurate load but this load meets my standards. Most just stick to it. The precision, consistency and accuracy are certainly there, node stability, no idea…. Pressure curve efficency….. case longevity, my recommended loads will allow a minimum of 8 firings per case and generally over 10 firings if customer wants to do a couple annealings along the way.

i have heard for over two decades how case design is so critical and how some chamberings just are not accurate. Here it all the time with the 270 win and many others. However i have built dozens of 270 win rifles over the years and not a single one had any problem easily meeting my 1/2 moa accuracy requirements and as mentioned, i test at a minimum of 800 yards. In my experience, far more critical to accuracy then case design is a properly dimensioned chamber neck and throat.

your comparison of the dasher being superior to the BR, of course it is, the shoulder location is moved dramatically forward and also shoulder angle increased and body taper decreased, of course its a better design not only for accuracy but also performance as the case is dramatically changed.

again. Of course the 20-223 AI is vastly superior to the standard 223 with equal bullet weights, the BC of the 20 cal bullets of same weight will be far superior to anything in 224 caliber, huge advantage. That said, a well built 204 ruger with properly speced chamber will do anything the 20-223 ai will do although i suspect you will not agree with that.

your comparision of the 7mm Norma AI stomping the standard 300 norma, of course it will. The norma case actually gains dramatic case capacity when improved and the sharper shoulder angle will have many advantages as well but this again is not a simple AI change, this is a major change of that case to superior BC bullets with significantly increased case capacity. This is why i used this case for my 25, 26 and 27 Stalker wildcats, amazing but not a simple AI conversion comparison either.

i can also state example after example of customers having issues with function if 40 degree shoulders which range from feeding to issues sizing brass as brass Gets older. The advantages seen with a 40 degree shoulder are often the result of the new chamber being cut to true match specs and then compared to the parent case which is often cut to saami specs…. Again if your chasing the .1"s you may have a point, if your wanting to cleanly harvest a big game animal at long range, for the most part meaningless.

the results the prc are producing are simply a function of shot placement. I have used and built the 6.5 wsm for decades and it will do anything the prc will do. Some will say its not a factory loaded option…. That is true and i do not know a single serious long range hunter that uses factory ammo, at least not for long, as such, the saami standard is meaningless. Again, you are correct, not arguing that speed is the only thing that matters, never said that, my point was that to the OP, my opinion was it was not worth the investment in time and money to do an improved PRC. Never once mentioned anything about the lack of effectiveness of either round.

I talk out of about 60% of the guys wanting one of my wildcats because they either dont have the experience to use them at the ranges they are designed for or the need for such a wildcat and more times then not build them a rifle chambered for a much smaller round and are completely happy with the results. Again, this conversation has nothing to do with velocity being the end all, its about if an i orived round is worth the effort. In some instances as you list, certainly, in others, very marginal benefits.
 
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To the OP - buy the ticket and take the ride if you want to know for sure. Worst case you're out one barrel, not a big deal at all. You'll never lose the experience gained.

This^^^ if you've never had a wildcat before. It's probably about as easy of a wildcat round as you would find and there are loads of good brass manufacturers making it (even if you have to scour the earth to find said brass). However, and I think this is what @Fiftydriver was looking to expand upon, most wildcats are answers searching for problems. If you've never been down a wildcat road before, you will likely never truly understand it until you do. But more times than not, a well cut chamber in a premium barrel by a competent smith will solve the same problem the wildcat is seeking to solve. For instance, is a well cut, properly twisted 7 RM leaving much, if anything, on the table versus a 7 PRC? The best thing that many of the new cartridges have going for them is tighter specs with ammo production than the more one size fits most approach to ammo of the past. This is resulting in more factory rounds shooting well, in my opinion.
 
Again if your chasing the .1"s you may have a point, if your wanting to cleanly harvest a big game animal at long range, for the most part meaningless.
We're going to have to disagree on this I think. Perhaps the entire topic.

I make cleaner kills, at longer ranges, when my rifle is shooting its very best. For me, that means no larger than .2's. Whether it be hunting weight, or heavy weight.

Here's a singular most recent example of what I'm talking about. The rifle in question has a very lightweight carbon fiber stock, and carbon fiber barrel.



The recent whitetail I shot with that rifle at 583yds, I estimate the bullet landed within an inch of my intended point of aim, from a tripod. The kind of confidence you have when going afield with an ultra-precise rifle, just can not be replaced.

Though I also recognize the fact that most people just don't care about that much. I never have gambled, even with all the time I was at SHOT show in vegas over the years. So I guess I'm just looking for a sure thing. I don't doubt that a 1/2 MOA rifle is capable of lots of things. It just isn't capable of what I want it to be.

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Only the OP can truly answer the "is it worth it?" question. I've learned more with the extensive and thorough responses on this thread than any I have read in a long while. Sometimes we just want something different and interesting. This is what keeps us spending the $$$ and looking for the next project. I say go for it and let us know the results.
 
Only the OP can truly answer the "is it worth it?" question. I've learned more with the extensive and thorough responses on this thread than any I have read in a long while. Sometimes we just want something different and interesting. This is what keeps us spending the $$$ and looking for the next project. I say go for it and let us know the results.
Agreed! I do not think anyone is saying to not do it. I am on my second wildcat design but I never asked anyone what chambering to build for this exact reason.
 
The best thing that many of the new cartridges have going for them is tighter specs with ammo production than the more one size fits most approach to ammo of the past.
No legacy SAAMI issues or older firearms are a big part of it for sure. Factory ammo can come built for newer bullet designs because there's no risk of it ever meeting a chamber that's too short. There's an indisputable edge offered by newer designs simply by not being hamstrung by backwards compatibility.

Bless the 300 WMs wrinkled little old heart because unless you load for it you're getting neutered performance, the max SAAMI specs just don't allow for the longer heavier 308 bullets we have now that keep the old standby in the running. Non-SAAMI 300 WM chambers will run the heavies right alongside a 300 PRC and they stack animals every year, but those guys aren't buying ammo off the shelf and putting them in a factory rifle to make the 300 WM keep up. Just looking at Hornady Precision Hunter line, they offer the 200gn in 300 WM and 212 in 300 PRC. There's an indisputable edge in longer, heavier, higher-BC bullets, and there comes a point they can't be shoehorned into the restrictions of an older design anymore. It's been a RUM problem since inception, they way bullets are stuffed down to meet the 3.600" spec instead.

For me, that means no larger than .2's.
Agreed, why accept less accuracy and precision when it's right there to be grasped? I may be a hunter, but I want to be a shooter first still.
 
We're going to have to disagree on this I think. Perhaps the entire topic.

I make cleaner kills, at longer ranges, when my rifle is shooting its very best. For me, that means no larger than .2's. Whether it be hunting weight, or heavy weight.

Here's a singular most recent example of what I'm talking about. The rifle in question has a very lightweight carbon fiber stock, and carbon fiber barrel.



The recent whitetail I shot with that rifle at 583yds, I estimate the bullet landed within an inch of my intended point of aim, from a tripod. The kind of confidence you have when going afield with an ultra-precise rifle, just can not be replaced.

Though I also recognize the fact that most people just don't care about that much. I never have gambled, even with all the time I was at SHOT show in vegas over the years. So I guess I'm just looking for a sure thing. I don't doubt that a 1/2 MOA rifle is capable of lots of things. It just isn't capable of what I want it to be.

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As do all my rifles offer that same level of confidence out to well past the 1/2 mile range with my light rifles. Any rifle that will hold 1/2 moa at long distance will offer this level of confidence as long as the shooter puts the time in to know his system, have an accurate drop chart that is proven and varified over a wide variaty of conditions. The actual chambering is important but not nearly as important as the practice time proving the rifle and setting it up correctly.

a 538 yard shot is a good shot no doubt but a rifle that holds 1/2 moa will place that first shot basically within an inch of point of aim. That is what i hold my rifles to but not at 100 yards, at 800 yards for my light rifles and 1000 minimum with my heavier Raptor rifles. That means at 1000 yards, the ability to place that first shot within 2.5" of point of aim….. not sure why your 1/2 moa is different then my 1/2 moa as far as confidence building.

then lets add on another variable, wind, wind is the killer for making shot placement at long range. If we are shooting at 800 yards and you misjudge the wind drift by 30% with your rounds and i do the same with my 7mm Allen Mag driving a 195 gr berger to 3400 fps, who has the most margin of error to make wind errors yet still land solidly on the vitals? Your PRC improved will not hold a candle to my 7mm AM in the wind, or when errors in wind speed and direction estimates are made and they happen ALL THE TIME. Even the best wind readers in the world never nail it cold. This is one of the main design goals of my wildcats, eat the wind. The best in the prc improved class will have 30% more drift then my 7mm AM at 800 to 1000 yards and only grow past that. Now i am sure you will say this is meaningless….. but we never just the wind dead on unless its absolutely calm.

always get a kick out of the guys that say there is no need for anythinf but their smaller sized rifles for long range shooting. Well, for sub 600 yard shooting i would fully agree but then that is mid range shooting if conditions are good, long range starts at 1/2 mile for me most times in good conditions. In bad conditions it can be much less but in bad conditons my 7mm AM will shine even brighter to the point i decide its not worth taking a shot.

anyway, need to get back on topic and my point to that was i believe improving a prc is not worth the effort…. Sorry to the OP for the side track. Need to be done derailing the original topic, my apologies
 
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No legacy SAAMI issues or older firearms are a big part of it for sure. Factory ammo can come built for newer bullet designs because there's no risk of it ever meeting a chamber that's too short. There's an indisputable edge offered by newer designs simply by not being hamstrung by backwards compatibility.

Bless the 300 WMs wrinkled little old heart because unless you load for it you're getting neutered performance, the max SAAMI specs just don't allow for the longer heavier 308 bullets we have now that keep the old standby in the running. Non-SAAMI 300 WM chambers will run the heavies right alongside a 300 PRC and they stack animals every year, but those guys aren't buying ammo off the shelf and putting them in a factory rifle to make the 300 WM keep up. Just looking at Hornady Precision Hunter line, they offer the 200gn in 300 WM and 212 in 300 PRC. There's an indisputable edge in longer, heavier, higher-BC bullets, and there comes a point they can't be shoehorned into the restrictions of an older design anymore. It's been a RUM problem since inception, they way bullets are stuffed down to meet the 3.600" spec instead.


Agreed, why accept less accuracy and precision when it's right there to be grasped? I may be a hunter, but I want to be a shooter first still.
Wait until the PRC rounds get popular enough that all ammo makers start making this ammo, say, remington, winchester, federal, nosler, berger. Do you honestly think then that the consisteny will be there. No, every different bullet will fit the throat different and have varying degrees of accuracy. Then when more rifle manufacturers start making these rifles, the variation issue will get even worse, if gain that level of popularity. Right now its simply lack of options that results in factory consistency, not fine tuned specs. If these rounds gain the popularity that the 300 win mag has, in 40 years it will have the exact same issues, downloaded so that its lawyer proof in any rifle that chambers it using any ammo made for it. What is happening now with the prc rounds is not groundbreaking, they are good rounds, no doubt but simply the limited number of options resulting in some degree of consistency.

that said, i have been horribly disappointed with all the hornady factory ammo and how badly it consistently misses advertised specs, often even in barrels longer then it was tested in. All factory ammo generally falls short but hornady is famous for missing their add numbers.

have guys contact me all the time asking why their rifles do not match listed specs, tell them to buy a chrono and likely take 150-200 fps off the listed add velocity and they should be pretty close……
 
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Well all these thoughts are great and I see the point to everybody's comments. There was definitely a lot of info posted today and I do appreciate it.
 
I never said it would, and I never designed it for that job.

That recent post of yours put more words in my mouth than I'm comfortable with, and I have no intention of defending against things I didn't say. So I'll say good day to you sir.

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Orkan have you got your reamer for your 6.5 prc primal? Is there any feeding issues going to a 40 degree shoulder?
 
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