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If it was safe/legal to mail I would help you out. It was hard to get before the shortage & I backordered from 3 places. After long waits they all came through.
That would stop my shooting till fall!I run 57.6 R26 with same bullet brass and primer. I live in Mt and what few 80 degree days we get we don't shoot
2850-2900 would be expected with the right powder. RL26 or N560 should get you there without issue. I run 2915 with RL 26 in a 22" proof and its not a hot load. I recently ran a test on 153 A Tips with the same charge I run the 156 and they are 2960. Shot that test load a couple weekends ago in 85-90F and all was good in the hood. No issues and wicked accurate.
I have 2 6.5 PRC built by GAP on XM actions. Both with Bartlein barrels. One is 26" & 1 is 24". I lose ~ 100 fps with the 24" on same load over the 26". This is in line with what the Gunwerks Longe Range Podcast were describing; up to 50 fps loss per inch in mag type rounds with slow burning powders & 25-30 fps in cartridges like 6.5 CM & .308 with med burn powders.
Haven't seen or experienced that in the prc. I'm not sure I'd categorize it as a magnum either. Same basic case capacity as a 6.5-284 and it performs similarly albeit a bit better. My 18" sure doesn't loose 200 fps in comparison as well. It's not broke in but so far it shows 100 fps difference.
Solids can't be compared. A 120 is about the same as 143 in how it acts in relation to pressure.
My day pack and gear is 40-45 lbs and I hunt steep mountain terrain 6000-10000 feet. A few inches of barrel doesn't add up to enough to be concerned with for weight. I run a carbon to help a little bit though. It's more about running a rifle with a suppressor that is 7 inches long. Add 7 to any normal length barrel and things get a bit ridiculous for handling and if I take the horses it won't fit in a scabbard. In my circle there are 5 PRC's. None of us have issues with speed. I am the only one with a 18" so I can't do a lot of comparing, the rest are all 22-24. What I see is people running too slow of powder or basing all their info off barrel that is not broke in yet. My 22" took a fair bit but once it broke in, hot loads were no longer hot, and I could run another .5 grains if I wanted to. I left it alone though. I do plan to put the 18 back on soon and finish getting that barrel tuned and broke in. My new suppressor is 6" long and with the 18 it'll be 24 vs the 29 I'm running now. Just a nicer handling rifle and with a folding stock it'll carry nicely in my pack. If you are on FB there is a PRC group with a crap ton of info and a lot of shorter barrel PRC's getting the same numbers as me (many are faster). I get up to pressure signs and back off until I can't feel or see any. I think many of those guys are ok with a little stiffness in the bolt and slight ejector marks. I see none of that in mine.
It's incredibly subjective is the problem. I run 55.5 rl26 and get 2915. Based on their info I'm 2 grains under max. Hornady published their data at 55.7 max for a 147/153 at 3050.
I'm shooting 3050-3060 with 57.0 out of a 26" Bartlein #4 8-7.5 twist throated for the 156s. I was shooting 3100+ with 57.6 this winter, but started seeing pressure as the weather warmed and backed off. Think I'll keep it low for my barrel & brass. Over 3000 with the 156 is good for me. What an awesome bullet!
As I've said before I'm truly happy for you and do not doubt you at all. For myself I have to go off of what I see with my LabRadar. When I upgraded I kept my Magneto V3 for data checking my Lab. And what I've seen from the Berger Tech gents over the phone is that their max is a real max unlike a lot of manuals that figure in a safety margin for legal purposes. Their numbers are matching what I'm seeing.
