I need some help on swapping a 6.5 CM to 6.5 PRC

[25WSM]

Brent have you personally tried rl26 in a 6.5creed?
Shep

 

[BrentM]

Well for one he's not using a restricted action. On the Tikka with a long box you can put the bullets as far as he wants to. In fact the Hornady factory loads in 6.5 Creed will fit in the regular med box. But they come with a med plus box which is around .200 longer inside. Just about 3 inches long on the inside. And as far as the Creed not even being close. I think any cartridge that get within 100fps of another is very close. And pressure signs are pressure signs. The Creed goes over 2900 with 140 class bullets with no excess pressure. Round primer edges, no ejector marks and no heavy lift on the bolt. Get over it. The Creed does it in every rifle I've built and the tons more on this site. There is even a long thread on here about it. There are quite a few cartridges out there that gain 200fps with rl26.
Shep

I can easily get 3100 with 140's in a 6.5-284, so yeah, get over it. I run 147's at 3000 without issue and can push them hard to 3050. My 22" PRC runs a 143 at 3040 without issue, again, get over it. One of my creeds is a PRS match rifle and runs 140's at 2800. All of these are using RL26. I can run the creed a little harder but its hella accurate at 2800 and works just fine for banging steel. If anyone needs to get over it, its you pal. The creed is great on its own but it is not within 100 fps period if you want to get into pushing the max nodes. I am a big fan of the creed and own 2 and built 2 for my brother but if you are chasing nothing but speed, there are better options. PRC, 284, SAUM, 260AI, SWEDE, SHERMAN.

 

[Joefrazell]

You won't be able to match the 6.5x284 but you can get close. 48gr of rl26 with a 140 will net you around 2900fps. Mine goes 2900 with 147eldms in my Tikka. 200 fps jump is a bunch by any standard. I'm far from the only person seeing these speeds.
Shep

Getting ready to do this in two creeds. Have a few lbs of rl26 and a few hundred 147 eldm's. Load development coming soon. One on Tikka ctr and one on a christensen mesa that I just got for my wife. 2850 sounds really nice.

 

[25WSM]

You shoot 147s at 3000 and my Creed with the factory 24 in barrel shoots them 2900. My match rifle shoots them 2975. So yes they are close. I stated in post 8 that the Creed won't match the x284 but it does come close. I have a 6.5saum and it will run 3150 with the 147s with rl 26 it won't even do 3100 with any other powder. I've built 6.5x257 wbys and they do just over 3200fps with the 147s. I personally don't think the 1 to 300fps is worth it. It extends your range minimally.
Shep

 

[25WSM]

Joe start at 46 grains and work up. 48 grains in a lapua case is right there and if your doing Hornady brass it will take a little more. Best accuracy has been with CCI 450 primers. I use Fed primers in everything except my creeds and a 6bra. I would bet you see 2900 before your done. There is a big node at just over 2900. I round numbers off on here but I run mine at 2915 in my Tikka and it really is 2975 in my 29 in barrel 1k rifle. Have fun with it. Let us know how it does.
Shep

 

[25WSM]

Remember if your barrels are new with less than 100 rounds on them they will speed up anywhere from 50 to 100fps. You will have to change your load as this happens to keep in tune.
Shep

 

[jpndave]

There is some truth in the fact that the RL26 magic can work in other cartridges. So the ~200fps the CM gains can also apply at least in part to the PRC, etc. The problem with some of those cases is that they start to push up to RL33/VV570 magic land. If you are looking for a lightweight hunting rifle that performs and don't need to chase that extra speed then the CM is great. If I was building a one rifle setup, the action allowed it and didn't have a heavier (bigger cartridge) rifle I would probably go to the PRC. It is going to kick a little more, the Kimber 84m I have would become a 8400 or another action and it would get bigger/heavier, needs a mid-length action to get all she's got and I lose 1 round in the mag if I optimize everything. So for the lightweight practical medium cartridge mountain rifle, a 6.5 CM is just about perfect IMO.

I'm also building a 300 PRC. The 6.5 CM is not the magic many say but it does work extremely well for that application.

 

[BrentM]

Brent have you personally tried rl26 in a 6.5creed?
Shep

Yep, that's about all I run in my creed, 6.5-284's, and PRC. It works very well. I have run staball, 4350, rl16, 4831, and rl26. My 20" hunter runs a 140 at 2800 but I am stomping on the gas hard with that. In my 22" PRC RL26 and N560 seem close. The 6.5-284 RL26 and retumbo seemed to be the best. Didn't try n565 or 560. I've run RL26 for 5 years now and still haven't found a powder that give more bang for the buck but it is sensitive over 85F. I have to be careful in hot temps and max loads.

 

[25WSM]

I ran the numbers on the 147eldm at 2900 it has 1200 ft pounds to 800 yards. At 3100 it has 1200 pounds at 950. At 3200 it carries 1200 past 1000. Another way to look at it is at 3200 fps at 800 yards it has 1520 ft pounds. So the 300fps extra give you 300 more ft pounds at 800 yards. I ran these numbers with a .690 bc because that what I see from them out to 1060 yards at out range.
Shep

 

[Shooter71]

If people are doing this on a Tikka, the M+mags won't reliably feed 6.5 PRC. As the bullet ramps up the feed ramp the case pivots on the front of the lips and the head will dive under the bolt. The long mags and bolt stop work well.

 

[25WSM]

The long mags feed just about everything with a standard or mag case. I built my shop on doing remington 700s but to be honest I think the Tikka is better.
Shep

 

[25WSM]

Shooter71 have you tried moving the feed lips back a little on the m+ mag. That will most likely fix the pivoting problem.
Shep

 

[jpndave]

The long mags feed just about everything with a standard or mag case. I built my shop on doing remington 700s but to be honest I think the Tikka is better.
Shep

Isn't that considered blaspheme by some? LOL, I honestly am not a huge fan of either one. I prefer CRF and mechanical eject. But, I want a TriggerTech and most stuff is catered to the R700 platform. My chassis is a Bergara Premium 6CM but only because I couldn't pass up the deal. I paid less for the new barreled action than just the barrel would have cost and less than action alone. I was planning on a Bighorn or Lone Peak (because they are right here and great guys) and the Terminus looks promising too.

I have a couple of hunting buddies that LOVE their Tikkas in 6.5 CM. I have shot them and for a production gun they are nice. I think their attention to detail/quality control is better than the Remingtons. One of them has a Christenstensen that is nice too. I have a Kimber 84M in the CM and the 300 PRC is being built on a Montana Rifle Co action.

 

[highdrum]

Shaen @ Shaen Rifleworks will take your Tikka 6.5cm, or 260 and open your bolt face up to magnum dimensions, and ream the factory chamber out to 6.5 prc for a pretty reasonable fee. I have had creeds over 3k fps with 140s and RL26. X284 case will go over 3100. The prc having the Magnum case head(hides more pressure)gives it another 30-50fps over the x284. Saum will run another 50-60 over the prc.