Cartridge help with my available parts...

[Dirt_Nap]

I got all the parts available for my long range/prs build. Here's the list
Defiance Deviant Tactical SA
Manners PRS1 w/ Chassis
Bartlein 6.5mm Heavy Palma 1:8
TT Diamond
Nightforce ATACR

So I'm new to long range but I'm all-in on learning. I'm getting a lot of advice to go with the 6.5cm. Not that I think it's a bad choice, but I guess I want something different than the popular route! I'm not eliminating the creedmoor but looking at options. I was thinking about the 6.5x47. I'll be strictly reloading. Any thoughts or suggestions would be appreciated. Thx

 

[codyadams]

A standard .260 is a great option if you don't want to be on the creedmoor bandwagon, fantastic brass availability with Peterson SRP brass, I use it in a .260 AI and can't seem to kill it.

A 6.5 SLR wouldn't be a bad option, you would likely want to use .243 brass to prevent a donut but I believe peterson also makes .243 SRP brass that would work. You just run it through the 6.5 SLR die and your ready to go, no fireforming I believe. It essentially lengthens the neck of the standard .260 instead of lengthening the body like an AI version does, and gives it a nice 30° shoulder vs. the original 20° or the AI version of 40°, so it should maintain good smooth feeding for PRS, but also reduce the amount of trimming you do on your brass. The extended neck will also allow for the 140 grain bullets to be seated proper in the neck and still be around 2.950" OAL so as to fit in an ARC AICS magazine (internal length of 2.970" or so) which is also good for PRS, and the biggest gripe with the standard .260 rem. Performance seems to be around 2850-2900 fps in a 24"+ barrel with the 140's, that is with H4350. Run Reloader 26 and you should be able to bump that up some. Not my pic BTW.

Nothing wrong with the 6.5x47 either though, 140's around 2700-2750 and usually stupid easy to tune and get very consistent results, though a 6.5 SLR would be a little more "out of the norm" than both the 6.5x47 or the creedmoor.

 

[nvschütze]

You've chosen both a great action and a great scope. Your next mission is to choose a great gunsmith. That's where the rubber meets the road. I had one whom I believed to be a great gunsmith build my 300WSM. In seven years, I never got much better than half-minute out of that rifle. Had another gunsmith who went to Trinidad for three years rebuild the rifle in my own mildcat design. It's now a sub-quarter gun. You can have the very best components but if Larry, Moe and Curly put it together... you can figger it out, yourself.

 

[jjmp]

Winner winner Chicken dinner see post above !!!

 

[zr600]

I would talk to some of the competitors doing the same comps as you, and ask them how much brass they loose while
shooting competition. That could be an easier way to pick a cartridge too.

 

[J E Custom]

I don't think there are any bad 6.5 choices , and the 260 AI would be a good way to go. It can achieve velocities that much larger cartridges can In a short action, can fire factory 260 ammo or be loaded up after fire forming to average velocities of 3000+ ft.sec with 140 grain bullets.
for longer shots.

Velocity is not as important, unless you intend to hunt/shoot past 7 or 800 yards, but the AI gives you both performance and case life. Lapua makes great brass for it also. 7/08 and 308 brass can also be used in a pinch if other cartridge brass becomes hard to find.

There is also plenty of different dies for it.

Just another choice.

J E CUSTOM

 

[Canhunter35]

Personally for a prs rig, I'd want available brass like the 6.5cm or 6.5x47 or 260
The 6.5x47 is a good option, but it'll likely be just as popular as a Creedmoor if ur wanting something different.
A 260ai has the most velocity punch.
I really don't think you can go wrong with any of them, but practice and matches can take quite a bit of brass, so it's something to keep in mind.

 

[LongBomber]

Both the cm and 260 have good brass available so no advantage there, the 260ai gains 100ish fps over a cm. For a prs gun I would prob go plain cm. For more long range plinking I would go 260ai.

 

[sable tireur]

For those who wish to get caught up with the current selection of cartridges for PRS, here is the information:

Here is the longer, more detailed list:

https://precisionrifleblog.com/2018/12/14/rifle-caliber/

The above is a compilation from the entire year 2018 so we'll have to wait until late this year for the 2019 update. But don't expect it to change that much this time.

The 6.5s which were so popular in the beginning of PRS, have slowly faded, being replaced by the smaller, faster 6mm cartridges. Note the rapid ascent of the 6mm Dasher. You might find a couple of novice shooters working with what they have like the 260 but as you can see it isn't on the list anymore.

Enjoy the process!

 

[David Lindler]

I got all the parts available for my long range/prs build. Here's the list
Defiance Deviant Tactical SA
Manners PRS1 w/ Chassis
Bartlein 6.5mm Heavy Palma 1:8
TT Diamond
Nightforce ATACR

So I'm new to long range but I'm all-in on learning. I'm getting a lot of advice to go with the 6.5cm. Not that I think it's a bad choice, but I guess I want something different than the popular route! I'm not eliminating the creedmoor but looking at options. I was thinking about the 6.5x47. I'll be strictly reloading. Any thoughts or suggestions would be appreciated. Thx

Quality components. You will love the ACTACR scope. Rock solid and clear. Bulit like a tank. Have one on my 338 Lapua.

 

[338 dude]

Quality components. You will love the ACTACR scope. Rock solid and clear. Bulit like a tank. Have one on my 338 Lapua.

Me too

 

[SealT5]

Regardless of what you pick I can advise two things. Pick a smith well known for building your type of rifle and pick a cartridge then stick with it. Don't flip flop around chasing the latest and greatest.

I recommend Beanland Custom Rifles and 6.5x47L.

Remember, it's not the arrow. It's the Indian.

Joe

 

[BEEMAN]

I went with the 6.5x47 a few years ago and it has become one of my favourites. I recommend giving Travis at RBros a call. He has a lot of experience with the 6.5x47, and has a great reamer. Mine shoots the 130 Berger hunting at 2950 fps out of a 26" Broughton. Have only shot the load RBros developed. There's no way I could improve a load over the one he gave me. Plus he communicated with me throughout the build. Also had it finished two months ahead of schedule!

 

[nvschütze]

Also had it finished two months ahead of schedule!

God must have had His hands guiding the hands of your gunsmith. I was under the impression that the longer a gunsmith took to finish a rifle, the more he could charge you. My first build took eleven months. The rebuild of that rifle into a second caliber took something like ten days. If my gunsmith of that time was still with us, I'd happily give you his name and contact information. Unfortunately, he died of the flu in November 2013 at fifty-three years of age. He studied for three years at Trinidad, was an exceptionally talented gunsmith and a very nice man. He left a wife and two pre-teen daughters. Life is so unfair on so many occasions...