6.5 PRC and 22in barrel

[Mc Fraser]

Have a 22 and 18". 22 will serve you well

What bullet powder you are using? MV?

 

[Longtine88]

I have one in 22" proof. It's a GA precision rifle suppressed. I shoot 156's at 3,005' avg. RL 26 in this one. N560 works great in shorties also.

 

[BrentM]

What bullet powder you are using? MV?

I have everything from 135-156. Prefer the 135 a tip. I run them at 3100 with rl26 or 560. 143 is 3030. 155 is 2910. Gives you an idea of what other bullets will run.

 

[M71DLX]

I built 6.5 PRC last year using a 20" Proof CF barrel with 1 in 7.5 twist on a Tikka action. I did a lot of testing with different 6.5 bullets I had on hand to find max loads for each. Most of these were MAX loads in MY rifle, unless otherwise noted. FPS was an average of three shots with same load. Here are my results (your mileage may vary):do you still have the Matrix 165's for sale

Barnes LRX 127 grains:
H4831SC 56.5 gr. 3,075 fps
H1000 59.0 gr. 3,105 fps
Retumbo 62.5C gr. 3,188 fps
RL26 58.5 gr. 3,246 fps

Absolute Hammer 129 grains:
IMR 4451 58.0 gr. 3,255 fps
4831SC 59.0 gr. 3,095 - not max, but stopped testing because near case capacity and not even close to IMR 4451 velocity

Hornady ELD-X 143 grains:
RL33 63.0C gr. 2,962 fps
RL26 57.0 gr. 3,041 fps
Retumbo 60.0 gr. 3,059 fps

Matrix VLD 160 grains:
RL33 59.5 gr. 2,836 fps
Retumbo 57.0 gr. 2,890 fps
RL26 56.5 gr. 2,974 fps

 

[vancewalker007]

I have one in 22" proof. It's a GA precision rifle suppressed. I shoot 156's at 3,005' avg. RL 26 in this one. N560 works great in shorties also.

Does this rifle have a +P chamber? How tight are you on pressure? What COAL are you using the 156s at? I am considering going to a shorter barrel when my 26in wears out.

 

[Longtine88]

It's not a +P chamber. It's a proof 22" 1:8" twist by GA Precision. Reloder 26 57.2 grains. The pressure is on the higher end. My oal to o give is 2.237" which is 0.055" off the lands. Best 3 shot group is 0.269" and best 7 shot group is 0.492" suppressed.

 

[BrentM]

It's not a +P chamber. It's a proof 22" 1:8" twist by GA Precision. Reloder 26 57.2 grains. The pressure is on the higher end. My oal to o give is 2.237" which is 0.055" off the lands. Best 3 shot group is 0.269" and best 7 shot group is 0.492" suppressed.

Wow. Impressed you could get that much powder without over pressure. Nice. I run 55.5 and can go 56 but after that its iffy I get one stuck in the chamber. That's on ADG brass. Run the same in hornady.

 

[Longtine88]

I agree totally. I may re-run the ladder again on it just to see. At that load the primers are just starting to want to flatten.

 

[vancewalker007]

I agree totally. I may re-run the ladder again on it just to see. At that load the primers are just starting to want to flatten.

I would think a 22in barrel would be safe to run a 156 somewhere in the 2900s with RL26, which still provides great ballistics. Using 5800ft alt and 40 deg F still puts that 156 cruising along at +1900fps at a 1000 yards. This velocity will allow that bullet to work great even at that extreme distance. So, at regular hunting distances ie. 200-600 yards that bullet has some juice. It has been a reliable killer out of my PRC.

 

[BrentM]

I would think a 22in barrel would be safe to run a 156 somewhere in the 2900s with RL26, which still provides great ballistics. Using 5800ft alt and 40 deg F still puts that 156 cruising along at +1900fps at a 1000 yards. This velocity will allow that bullet to work great even at that extreme distance. So, at regular hunting distances ie. 200-600 yards that bullet has some juice. It has been a reliable killer out of my PRC.

My 18" works good too. It killed a bison earlier ruining 2815. Ideal speed? Meh. Runs a 135 at 3000 which so far is a hammer.