New Hornady 6.5 PRC

[Okie264WM]

First one on the list at Ammo Seek.

https://vizardsgunsandammo.com/winc...4-win-magnum-power-point-140-gr-20box-10case/

3030 is about as close as you can get to what you asked for.

https://ammoseek.com/ammo/264-winchester-magnum/Winchester

Already have a 264 WM. Hence my user name. Ammo selection, price and quality stinks and is pretty much mail only. Would also like to have a SA non belted cartridge for the day when I find time to reload. One other plus on the PRC is that figures are for a 24" bbl while most numbers for 264 WM are for a 26" bbl. between shorter action and bbl should have a shorter more wieldly Rifle.

 

[Predator 22]

Years ago I was looking at 6.5 caliber bullets and curious as to why it hadn't been turned into a good long range cartridge. At the time there was the 6.5 sweed and the 264 win mag. One was too slow the other was a barrel burner. Sense then there has been a lot of various cartridges. Now I'm hoping they get one decided on and stop.

Why would you want them to stop coming out with new cartridges? Some of the designs they are coming up with have great improvements over cartridges of the past, especially a few of the Wildcats. Rich Sherman and Swamplord have both created some awesome
rounds with real improvements in performance and design.

 

[WildRose]

Already have a 264 WM. Hence my user name. Ammo selection, price and quality stinks and is pretty much mail only. Would also like to have a SA non belted cartridge for the day when I find time to reload. One other plus on the PRC is that figures are for a 24" bbl while most numbers for 264 WM are for a 26" bbl. between shorter action and bbl should have a shorter more wieldly Rifle.

Well that's not the criteria you laid out to which I answered. As the link I provided shows however there's no shortage of available factory ammo.

The 6.5x.284 also gets you very close to 3000FPS for which there's also an excellent availability of factory ammo as well.

As for ease of wielding, you won't notice any difference in 2.25" more or less less barrel barrel length or six ounces difference in weight and you will appreciate the velocity of the longer barrel and accuracy gain comparing otherwise equal barrels.

If you want the best accuracy and performance you're going to have to start reloading no matter what you settle on as a caliber.

 

[jonthomps]

Everything I've read about the 6.5 Sherman Short Mag has been positive. Guys are really happy with the round. I have a 6.5 GAP 4S and love the round. I shoot 140 hybrids at 3120fps from a 26" Bartlien. So for me the 6.5 PRC is an answer for a question that no one asked.

 

[Okie264WM]

Well that's not the criteria you laid out to which I answered. As the link I provided shows however there's no shortage of available factory ammo.

The 6.5x.284 also gets you very close to 3000FPS for which there's also an excellent availability of factory ammo as well.

As for ease of wielding, you won't notice any difference in 2.25" more or less less barrel barrel length or six ounces difference in weight and you will appreciate the velocity of the longer barrel and accuracy gain comparing otherwise equal barrels.

If you want the best accuracy and performance you're going to have to start reloading no matter what you settle on as a caliber.

The qualifier was "in readily available factory ammo". Also went on to say that the PRC was basically a SA version of the 264WM. I like the 264 WM but the ammo makers seem to have written it off for dead. What I have seen is a lot of ammo that is not loaded to the potential of the cartridge. For instance, Nosler won't make ammo with their high BC LR 130 gr bullet because they are pushing their 26 and don't care about the 264. It seems like all options are either weak or don't use the modern bullets or both. There are so many advancements in technology but nobody has put it all together for the 264 WM and I am doubtful they ever will. As for wieldly, I have both a 260 with a 24" bbl and a 264 WM with a 26" bbl and I find the 260 much handier to maneuver. I think the PRC would combine the positives of both of those guns and being able to find ammo at a local store would be an added benefit when I get a spare minute to do some shooting. Is the new cartridge perfectly optimized? Probably not but I think it's better than anything else out there for my needs.

 

[WildRose]

The qualifier was "in readily available factory ammo". Also went on to say that the PRC was basically a SA version of the 264WM. I like the 264 WM but the ammo makers seem to have written it off for dead. What I have seen is a lot of ammo that is not loaded to the potential of the cartridge. For instance, Nosler won't make ammo with their high BC LR 130 gr bullet because they are pushing their 26 and don't care about the 264. It seems like all options are either weak or don't use the modern bullets or both. There are so many advancements in technology but nobody has put it all together for the 264 WM and I am doubtful they ever will. As for wieldly, I have both a 260 with a 24" bbl and a 264 WM with a 26" bbl and I find the 260 much handier to maneuver. I think the PRC would combine the positives of both of those guns and being able to find ammo at a local store would be an added benefit when I get a spare minute to do some shooting. Is the new cartridge perfectly optimized? Probably not but I think it's better than anything else out there for my needs.

Well if that's the way you've decided to go I'm certainly not going to try and talk you out of it.

I have no problem finding .264wm ammo though and I use the same source I provided for you. I've also noticed that nearly every mom and pop gun shop or feed store that carries ammo usually has at least a couple of boxes on the shelf.

For myself, even though I reload I won't take off on a long trip for a hunt with anything I don't think I'll be able to find a ready supply for just in case somewhere in transit I get separated from it.

I've seen too many of my own customers that shot high end customs in wildcats or hard to find factory rounds really torn up when they lost/got separated from or had a problem with the ammo they brought along.

When I go to Africa I will always carry at least one .300wm along with me for that very reason because even there there's no trouble finding some.

 

[Okie264WM]

I think the 264 WM is enjoying a bit of a renaissance and I have seen ammo a few places but it is always the low BC Rem stuff which kind of defeats the purpose of shooting the 264 IMO. Why not just get a 270 then. That's what frustrates me about the 264. The potential is their if someone would do something with it. Maybe partly the area we are in too. A lot of people here have never even heard of a 264 WM.

 

[Buttermilk]

Seems to me the 6.5 PRC would be a good fit in my next XP-100 build.

 

[WildRose]

I think the 264 WM is enjoying a bit of a renaissance and I have seen ammo a few places but it is always the low BC Rem stuff which kind of defeats the purpose of shooting the 264 IMO. Why not just get a 270 then. That's what frustrates me about the 264. The potential is their if someone would do something with it. Maybe partly the area we are in too. A lot of people here have never even heard of a 264 WM.

Strange. I'm not that far from you and even our 3 local mom and pop shops that also sell ammo carry it.

 

[257Tony]

The main reason the 264 wm won't ever see any renewed interest from factory ammo makers is the standard 9" barrel twist that the vast majority of them have. Ammo makers don't want to deal with poor accuracy from guys trying to stabilize a long vld type bullets at low elevation with too little barrel twist.

264 for long range is a handloaders cartridge now, and a dang good one at that!

 

[Rich Coyle]

tag

 

[Okie264WM]

The main reason the 264 wm won't ever see any renewed interest from factory ammo makers is the standard 9" barrel twist that the vast majority of them have. Ammo makers don't want to deal with poor accuracy from guys trying to stabilize a long vld type bullets at low elevation with too little barrel twist.

264 for long range is a handloaders cartridge now, and a dang good one at that!

Agree on the twist to some extent with 140 gr but 130's should stabilize with 1:9 and there are several very high BC 130 bullets on the market but no mfg will put them in the 264. Only conclusion I can come to is that they just don't care to improve. I had a guy load some of the Berger hybrids and the Nosler LR Accubonds with the Enduron 7977 for me and they were nice. Ran about 3150. I would settle for 130 gr rounds like that but nobody will even do that. Would be nice to be able to pick some rounds like that up in a local store if the PRC takes off.

 

[Okie264WM]

Agree on the twist to some extent with 140 gr but 130's should stabilize with 1:9 and there are several very high BC 130 bullets on the market but no mfg will put them in the 264. Only conclusion I can come to is that they just don't care to improve. I had a guy load some of the Berger hybrids and the Nosler LR Accubonds with the Enduron 7977 for me and they were nice. Ran about 3150. I would settle for 130 gr rounds like that but nobody will even do that. Would be nice to be able to pick some rounds like that up in a local store if the PRC takes off.

Got a box of 6.5 PRC 143 gr hunters in today. Stuck calipers on them and they are 295 +/- a few 10 thousandths. Took a pic between a 260 130 gr ABM and Rem 140 gr for comparison. Probably going with medium length action since we are building it anyway.

 

[Deleted member 46119]

I have no doubts the basic concept is sound. I hope it is successful. Sort of...

Hornady has a close relationship to Ruger. That makes it very easy to understand the necking down of a 300 Ruger Compact Magnum to 6.5.

There is of course more to the "why".

Only GA Precision, Gunwerks, Horizon Firearms, PROOF Research, Stuteville Precision and Seekins Precision are chambering rifles. Per news announcements.
There was an existing design. The 6.5-WSM
Hornady makes xxx-WSM as well as xxx-RCM.

There are shooters who dislike rebated rims. I have never had a problems with them. Anyone who shoots belted magnums is actually dealing with a rebated rim.

Is this a case of "controlling" or charging the large corporations a royalty?

Is Winchester still trying to get "royalties" for the WSM?