7mm Rem Mag vs 6.5 Prc

[hthunter]

I went through the same decision between the two and chose the PRC. I'll be mostly hunting deer and elk every couple years as I build points. I've shot both calibers braked and not braked. I will say I really enjoyed the PRC at the range more and shot it better at distance. PRC braked or suppressed is very comfortable and I'm able to follow through better and see impacts.

 

[Ingwe]

I agree, but sometimes in the heat of the moment on the mountain staring down a 6x6 elk it is easy to forget to throw plugs in.

true, but either way your ears are getting blown out no?

 

[Huntnpack]

I went through the same decision between the two and chose the PRC. I'll be mostly hunting deer and elk every couple years as I build points. I've shot both calibers braked and not braked. I will say I really enjoyed the PRC at the range more and shot it better at distance. PRC braked or suppressed is very comfortable and I'm able to follow through better and see impacts.

^^This^^. 6.5 PRC. Especially if your planning on buying a off the shelf rifle

In regard to on game bullet performance
Both your choices have good options.
Know your bullet operating design characteristics & specs. & run em accordingly (ie: shot placement, & min/max velocities)
Chances are your only going to be shooting 1 or 2 types of ammo.

The 156 has a high sectional density.
use the right bullet and stick it IN the vitals.

For Deer/Elk at your 500yd. Distance
& even further. 600-800
The PRC is more than capable, & I feel
For me gives up nothing to the 7mag.

So to answer your question is the extra
Recoil of the 7RM worth it ..... Nope !!

Might consider a short barreled suppressed 6.5 PRC,

I find the PRC to be pleasant to shoot.
I can & do shoot mine more often than
My previous larger 284 & 30 caliber rifles.
And more accurately.
I prefer something I will shoot a lot,
Get proficient with, & gain confidence in.

mine runs 156 Berger's as well as factory
Ammo.

If you decide on the PRC, & want to run the 156, Look for something that has the action/mag length to accommodate.

In a 7mm I'd probably go with a SAUM.
ADG makes brass for both.

 

[Tex_Hunter]

+1!

I can never understand the "They are louder" concept.

Braked or not, rifles are LOUD and you need ear protection either way

Louder is the wrong way of putting things.... it doesnt make the gun louder, but a brake directs more of the blast/concussion back towards the shooter increase the perceived loudness to the shooter or those around them. For most people the physical recoil is only part of the reason why they may flinch or express discomfort from shooting.

I was shooting with a coworker this weekend who was running an APA Little B****** on his rifle and the concussion was moving empty ammo boxes and my rangefinder soft case several inches with each shot on my bench 5 ft away from him.

To this day I still get a little bit of a flinch if I am at an indoor range with someone shooting something like a 16" 308 AR with a brake, thats with plugs and earmuffs, its a physical response to the concussion, not necessarily the volume of the sound itself.

 

[Ingwe]

Louder is the wrong way of putting things.... it doesnt make the gun louder, but a brake directs more of the blast/concussion back towards the shooter increase the perceived loudness to the shooter or those around them. For most people the physical recoil is only part of the reason why they may flinch or express discomfort from shooting.

I was shooting with a coworker this weekend who was running an APA Little B****** on his rifle and the concussion was moving empty ammo boxes and my rangefinder soft case several inches with each shot on my bench 5 ft away from him.

To this day I still get a little bit of a flinch if I am at an indoor range with someone shooting something like a 16" 308 AR with a brake, thats with plugs and earmuffs, its a physical response to the concussion, not necessarily the volume of the sound itself.

I hear you my friend (no pun intended) but my point is that either way you need ear pro

To me, the benefits far outweigh the cons

 

[FEENIX]

Louder is the wrong way of putting things.... it doesnt make the gun louder, but a brake directs more of the blast/concussion back towards the shooter increase the perceived loudness to the shooter or those around them. For most people the physical recoil is only part of the reason why they may flinch or express discomfort from shooting.

I was shooting with a coworker this weekend who was running an APA Little B****** on his rifle and the concussion was moving empty ammo boxes and my rangefinder soft case several inches with each shot on my bench 5 ft away from him.

To this day I still get a little bit of a flinch if I am at an indoor range with someone shooting something like a 16" 308 AR with a brake, thats with plugs and earmuffs, its a physical response to the concussion, not necessarily the volume of the sound itself.

Not all muzzle brakes have ports angled/directed toward the shooter. With a 16" barrel, you will definitely feel the concussion more compared to MB with 90 degree ports or linear compensator like the Kaw Valley.

 

[Tex_Hunter]

I hear you my friend (no pun intended) but my point is that either way you need ear pro

To me, the benefits far outweigh the cons

Yep, I now run 100% suppressed on all my rifles but I still wear hearing pro. I was brought up hunting with no ear-pro because "you wont notice the shot when the time comes" until sometime in my 20's I noticed my ears would ring for longer and longer periods after taking a shot in the field... I started wearing hearing pro but still developed full blown tinitis, its a truly miserable thing.

 

[Tiny Tim]

Louder is the wrong way of putting things.... it doesnt make the gun louder, but a brake directs more of the blast/concussion back towards the shooter increase the perceived loudness to the shooter or those around them. For most people the physical recoil is only part of the reason why they may flinch or express discomfort from shooting.

I was shooting with a coworker this weekend who was running an APA Little B****** on his rifle and the concussion was moving empty ammo boxes and my rangefinder soft case several inches with each shot on my bench 5 ft away from him.

To this day I still get a little bit of a flinch if I am at an indoor range with someone shooting something like a 16" 308 AR with a brake, thats with plugs and earmuffs, its a physical response to the concussion, not necessarily the volume of the sound itself.

Used to experience similar when shooting IHMSA. Shooting side by side with people shooting large bore revolvers and 10-16 inch 7/08 and 30-30. Even lying on your back, the concussion would rock you sideways a bit. Even with plugs and muffs under a covered concrete platform would cause headaches especially at state matches where each category was 80 rounds.

 

[Buddro]

Without considering actions I would suggest you go 7 or .280. You can always set them up to shoot heavies and dial them back until you want a little extra oomph.

However you should probably consider how you want this rifle set up and choose the cartridge to fit the gun not the other way around. If you are gunna go with a long action and a heavier gun go with a 7 or .280, They will inherently feed better likely fit more cartridges in the mag and can always be dialed down for 80% of your hunting and run hotter when you want a little more for that elk. For that matter if you are gunna run long action dig up a long narrow 6.5 cartridge that matches the prc ballistically and have the extra weight in the action to mitigate recoil while keeping the feeding and magazine benefits of the long narrow cartridge

On the other hand if you want to use a short action run the prc. Gain the extra stiffness in the action, a good gunsmith may have to work a little harder but will still make it feed well. You can run a little longer barrel with out extending the overall length of the gun, or keep it a short and light.

 

[speedengineer]

When I purchased rifle recently I too was trying to decided between 7mm rem mag and 6.5 PRC. I ended up going with the 6.5 PRC.

You mentioned the ability of the 7mm to shoot heavier bullets. This is true, but only kind of. Most of the 7mm factory rifles don't come with enough twist rate to stabilize the really heavy long-for-caliber bullets. Most of the 6.5 PRC factory offerings have 8 twist, or even 7 twist as my Browning does.

Just picking Berger for example, 8 twist 6.5 PRC can shoot 156gn EOL. But a 9.5 twist 7mm can't shoot the 195 EOL per per Berger's twist recommendation. It can shoot their 175gn though. The 156 has a slightly higher BC, and the 6.5 PRC will shoot it slightly faster velocity than the 7mm will shoot the 175 (I think, just based on looking up load data online, 2800fps vs 2750fps).

The 6.5 with 156 Berger will actually have every so slightly better ballistic performance than 7mm RM with the 175gn.
Kinetic energy at 500 yards and 10k feet elevation would be 1920 ft-lbf for the PRC, and 1969 ft-lbf for the 7mm.

*edited, reduced 6.5 PRC muzzle velocity with the 156 to 2800fps

 

[MontanaOutdoorsman406]

When I purchased rifle recently I too was trying to decided between 7mm rem mag and 6.5 PRC. I ended up going with the 6.5 PRC.

You mentioned the ability of the 7mm to shoot heavier bullets. This is true, but only kind of. Most of the 7mm factory rifles don't come with enough twist rate to stabilize the really heavy long-for-caliber bullets. Most of the 6.5 PRC factory offerings have 8 twist, or even 7 twist as my Browning does.

Just picking Berger for example, 8 twist 6.5 PRC can shoot 156gn EOL. But a 9.5 twist 7mm can't shoot the 195 EOL per per Berger's twist recommendation. It can shoot their 175gn though. The 156 has a slightly higher BC, and the 6.5 PRC will shoot it faster slightly faster velocity than the 7mm will shoot the 175 (I think, just based on looking up load data online, 2890fps vs 2750fps).

The 6.5 with 156 Berger will actually have every so slightly better ballistic performance than 7mm RM with the 175gn.
Kinetic energy at 500 yards and 10k feet elevation would be 2052 ft-lbf for the PRC, and 1969 ft-lbf for the 7mm.

View attachment 203713

Thank you for all the data this is why I was wondering if the 7 mag is worth the extra action length weight and recoil because they seem fairly close at the end of the day and I doubt the animal will tell the difference with good shot placement

 

[sixfivefanboy]

true, but either way your ears are getting blown out no?

Its funny - I have found that there is no way I will pull the trigger without ear protection with a brake. No brake, sometimes I will forget to put my hearing protection in.

 

[FEENIX]

This is why "I" never ask what rifle to build or buy.

 

[Hand Skills]

I'm thinking about purchasing one of these calibers for deer/elk at a max of about 500 yards and wanted to know what people thought about the merits of each caliber and obviously 7mm has alot more factory options and can load a heavier bullet but is the extra recoil worth it at the end of the day when it comes to performance on game and before peoe say anything about a 300 i have had one and cant shoot one as consistently as I'd like do to recoil.

If your main concern is performance on game, I don't believe there is enough of a difference between the two to warrant the 7mm.

If you are keeping it inside 500yd, the 6.5 PRC isn't going to do anything a .280AI cant, and that's the way I lean. I adopted the 280 Rem as a deer rifle a couple of years ago, and am very happy with it. Pleasant to shoot, quiet (seriously), and effective.

I can't explain it, but it is the quietest centerfire I own. I'm not alone in this observation either...

On the topic of muzzle brakes, it depends on the brake, but from the shooters perspective, some increase the sound energy of the report by 10x. Yes 150dB is going to so some damage, but 160dB is going to do a LOT more.

Or to put it another way, from the ear's perspective, 1 report of a braked rifle is like hearing 10 reports from the same rifle without a brake... Food for thought