6.5mm Craze? 264WM vs 6.5 SAUM vs 6.5 PRC?

[J.J. Weiland]

George designed the 6.5GAP4S because Hornady wasn't ready to put out the 6.5 PRC. Hornady went ahead with the PRC when they were ready, that was their choice. George didn't put out the PRC and didn't pull the rug out from us who own the 4S. He does build excellent rifles chambered in 6.5 PRC though...

I agree 100%. If a person can still buy all components to reload the saum how the he'll did George Gardner sell anybody out? George needs to make a living like everybody else except maybe the whiner equalizer.

 

[Majestic 6.5]

And those who don't load their own can't find ammo.
Then there is the clicking problem dies or in some cases the chamber.
I bought a PRC in a Wea. Vanguard. I am underwhelmed so far.
But I haven't tried many loads yet. It doesn't like the 147 ELDM much, I bought some ELDX's and 139 Scenar, we shall see!

I've been looking at the Lapua Scenar in 144gr. It's the same length as the nosler partition 140 but with a BC of .636 which I believe should stabilize in the 1:9 twist. Please let me know what load development you've come up with? I have a Mauser action BSA Majestic chambered in .264WM with a 22" Sporter barrel. Super light weight but perfect fit and form for my short stature.

 

[strikeforce32]

Stumbling around into all these old threads I decided a why not thread is in order. Lets compare the three Cartridges. Specify Necked down 7mm Rem Mag Brass for the .264 against the PRC and SAUM of the same Caliber. Who's got the skinny? ( I don't have any PRC or SAUM Brass anyway )

I personally like the 6.5 WBY RPM… not a fan of the belted magnums, better performance than the PRC and more affordable (maybe?) than the SAUM.

 

[Kimber7man]

I've been looking at the Lapua Scenar in 144gr. It's the same length as the nosler partition 140 but with a BC of .636 which I believe should stabilize in the 1:9 twist. Please let me know what load development you've come up with? I have a Mauser action BSA Majestic chambered in .264WM with a 22" Sporter barrel. Super light weight but perfect fit and form for my short stature.

Do you mean a Berger hybrid 144 grain?

 

[Majestic 6.5]

Do you mean a Berger hybrid 144 grain?

Lapua Scenar 144gr

 

[J.J. Weiland]

Ive

I've been running a 6.5 saum for awhile and am very impressed with it.
I looked into the prc but it offers nothing over a 6.5x284 at 68 grains case capacity, and the saum outruns it by nearly 100 fps.
The only thing I don't like is trimming Brass! These short high performance 6.5s with 30 degree shoulders need trimmed every 3 firings.
I would go with a 6.5 Sherman max for the case growth fix alone, I believe ADG formed brass is available now

I've had the saum for about 7 years now and was always able to find norma 300 or 7mm brass to neck down without too much problem. Now that ADG makes brass I like the saum even better. I bought 300 pieces of brass but am still not finished up the norma brass. It is my fav gun I've ever owned. I shot some steel a couple of days ago at 760 yds off a cheap tripod without a problem. This was a 10" plate. That's pretty decent shooting for a old man. I shoot sitting sitting on the ground against a tree the way I would if hunting. This rifle really puts a grin on my face eventime I pick it up.

 

[nksmfamjp]

Sorry, didn't read it all.

This is simple. These are all great rounds at about the same performance level. Consider these as top factors in choosing….
1) best quality brass availability
2) head height or freebore
3) availability of factory ammo that performs in your rifle.
4) availability in factory rifles

6.5 PRC really separates itself looking at those 4.

Normally we rate cartridges on short action capability, velocity, match to common powders & bullets, etc. these are all pretty close, but a deeper look separates the PRC.

 

[7.62 Gunner]

Ive

I've had the saum for about 7 years now and was always able to find norma 300 or 7mm brass to neck down without too much problem. Now that ADG makes brass I like the saum even better. I bought 300 pieces of brass but am still not finished up the norma brass. It is my fav gun I've ever owned. I shot some steel a couple of days ago at 760 yds off a cheap tripod without a problem. This was a 10" plate. That's pretty decent shooting for a old man. I shoot sitting sitting on the ground against a tree the way I would if hunting. This rifle really puts a grin on my face eventime I pick it up.

That's awesome
Man I'm jealous of you hog hunters still out there having fun mid winter.
Funny I'm just about done cycling through my Norma 7 saum brass myself, and about to dive into the ADG 6.5 saum stash.
I'll be going back to the 147 eldms so I'm looking forward to some load development.
I'm running a 16" barrel with a 9" can, it's a great setup for mixed timber stalking on out to 600 yards.

 

[Jim’s Hunt]

Why no mention of the 6.5-300 wsm? Is it because it's not a production round?

 

[J.J. Weiland]

That's awesome
Man I'm jealous of you hog hunters still out there having fun mid winter.
Funny I'm just about done cycling through my Norma 7 saum brass myself, and about to dive into the ADG 6.5 saum stash.
I'll be going back to the 147 eldms so I'm looking forward to some load development.
I'm running a 16" barrel with a 9" can, it's a great setup for mixed timber stalking on out to 600 yards.

 

[Rockbottom]

.264 WInchester Magnum, pre-'64 Winchester Westerner, Winchester brass, spherical powder only, H450, H570, H870, 780 Supreme, 26" stainless steel barrel. 1000+ rounds fired since 1963. I lost count after the first box of 1000 CCI Magnum primers ran out. I quickly learned to use Nosler partition bullets because '60's Speer and Sierra bullets all performed like current varmint bullets. My Hodgdon reloading manual had prices for their powder on the last page. H570 & H870 were $20.95 for 20lb kegs. That's been gone more than a while.
Never needed anything else for hunting in the south half of Texas.

 

[J.J. Weiland]

Even better, I hunt hogs year around here in Louisiana. When it's dry they gather around the creeks that have water year around. This really congregates them in much smaller areas. Mostly just locate corn piles close to water and put out motion sensing light. I have killed them as far as 285yds at night under the light. My lit cross hairs do help a lot. Black cross hairs on a black hog at night @ distance is more than my eyes can pickup. I also use cell cameras to send me pics to minimize being there. Loads of fun and better than watching crapp tv. Here is a pic from last summer.

 

[Ronald W Schaefer]

I have several 6.5 rifles, but my favorite is the 6.5 PRC. I bought one kind of on a whim since I already have a few .264s, it was just a gorgeous rifle so...I bought it...as one does. This off the shelf rifle is a Browning X-Bolt White Gold Medallion in Blond Maple and octagonal stainless barrel. I mounted a Leo VH6HD 3-18X50 on it and bought six different brands of factory ammo to do some pre-load work up testing...because I was lazy and wanted to pare down bullet selection. I zeroed the rifle in 4 shots at 100 yds and then shot a five-shot group using the Hornady Precision ammo with 143 gr ELD-X bullet. That first group with factory ammo, off the shelf rifle and brand-new barrel was a .7-inch group. I went out that afternoon to help with deer culling on my son's big ranch and just for grins I took that rifle. One of the buck's ID'd for cull harvest stepped out, 120 yds--about a five-year old 8 pt with a wide rack but short, skinny tines showed up. I put the crosshairs on and the tenth round out of that rifle sent that guy down like struck with Thor's hammer. I swear that guy was stone dead on the ground before the noise of the shot dissipated. So, all this factory ammo advertises ~2950 with a 140+- gr bullet of ~.625 G1 BC and the "Choice Custom" Ammo out of Montana advertised 3003 with the 156 gr Berger bullet--we'll see. I still need to do a proper barrel break-in and test all that various factory ammo across the chrony and 10 different bullets I've gathered up with a couple of good slow to medium-slow powders. With a 1/7 twist I figure I have a lot of options. So, what I like about the 6.5 PCR is high velocity with heavy for caliber bullets, low muzzle blast, low recoil, short action cartridge in a lightweight rifle. Also, it performs well in a shorter barrel due to powder burn characteristics of the powder it likes in a squatty, fat cartridge. So... I'm a fan.

 

[264WM]

My Remington 721 in 264WM with a Shilen 30" stainless steel heavy varmint barrel with 1 in 8 twist and 6 grove does all I need from a 6.5. 85grhp at 3830fps and a Woodleigh 160gr PPSN at 3267fps is everything from ground hogs to moose.