Thinking of going 6.5 PRC thoughts

[Creedmoor shooter]

What everyone is missing here is the availability of factory ammo. We reloaders only represent a small percentage of the shooting community. The 6.5 prc is the only hot 6.5 with both match and hunting ammo available at an affordable price. The the 6.5 saum didnt take off due to that issue as well as brass. The 264 win mag is a dying round as wonderful as it is. It was ahead of it's time and not loaded with the right ammo. As I said the in the other thread, as long as hornady keeps making quality ammo at an affordable price, it will survive as it's the only cartridge in its class with the factory ammo going for it.

As for the people who always complain about all the new rounds coming out. Who gives a crap?! For Pete's sake, if we all thought that way we'd all still be shooting 30-06!

 

[pickens72]

I couldn't agree more with the above comments of Wildrose and Iclimb. . .TO MANY manufactures coming out with "New Bad Boy" cartridges pushed by people with outstanding marketing degrees that know how to sell the world on anything!!! Yes, to many "Cartridge Hipsters" in the world these days. One cartridge that has really got my goat lately has been the hype of the 224 Valkery as a 1000 yrd. rifle cartridge. . .give me a **** break! Yes, it shoots .224 heavies, but only because the rifle barrel has the correct twist. Put a 7tw or 8tw barrel on a 22-250 and it will stomp the Valkery into the ground. The 6.5 CM is basically a Ackley Imp. 260 Rem which people have been shooting looong before the CM was even a twinkle in the eyes of DeMille and Emary. The 6.5 CM has been racking up the popularity, but it has nothing over the 6.5 Swede or the 260 Rem or AI'd versions of either one. It just has a **** good marketing representative with deep $$ pockets to push it.

I too would be leary of the 6.5 PRC, there is comparable/better cartridges out there that are proven. But if you have to have something "Custom" (and I'm very guilty of this) then I would strongly look a Rich's line of Sherman Short Mags. Now that he has the brass issue worked out I'm on the verge of either a 6.5 or 7mm SS.

I agree on the Valkyrie deal. I got a 8 twist swift i run the 90 smk at 3300. Shoots very well at 1000 yds

 

[Creedmoor shooter]

I couldn't agree more with the above comments of Wildrose and Iclimb. . .TO MANY manufactures coming out with "New Bad Boy" cartridges pushed by people with outstanding marketing degrees that know how to sell the world on anything!!! Yes, to many "Cartridge Hipsters" in the world these days. One cartridge that has really got my goat lately has been the hype of the 224 Valkery as a 1000 yrd. rifle cartridge. . .give me a **** break! Yes, it shoots .224 heavies, but only because the rifle barrel has the correct twist. Put a 7tw or 8tw barrel on a 22-250 and it will stomp the Valkery into the ground. The 6.5 CM is basically a Ackley Imp. 260 Rem which people have been shooting looong before the CM was even a twinkle in the eyes of DeMille and Emary. The 6.5 CM has been racking up the popularity, but it has nothing over the 6.5 Swede or the 260 Rem or AI'd versions of either one. It just has a **** good marketing representative with deep $$ pockets to push it.

I too would be leary of the 6.5 PRC, there is comparable/better cartridges out there that are proven. But if you have to have something "Custom" (and I'm very guilty of this) then I would strongly look a Rich's line of Sherman Short Mags. Now that he has the brass issue worked out I'm on the verge of either a 6.5 or 7mm SS.

I would agree on the 224 valkyrie. The 22-250 will stomp it. However, you cant fit a 22-250 in a AR-15, which is what that 224 valkyrie was designed for. It can shoot 1000 yards no problem. I dont own one, nor do I care to ever own one, but I see its purpose. I'm not about to let a rifle cartridge "get my goat". If that's what people want then by all means have at it.

 

[STEEL SLINGER]

As for the people who always complain about all the new rounds coming out. Who gives a crap?! For Pete's sake, if we all thought that way we'd all still be shooting 30-06!

You are so very correct in this statement. My main gripe is that these manufactures put a awful amount of hype into a cartridge that is not really producing much more performance, if any, over what we've been already shooting. And the factory ammo issue does allow non-reloaders the oppertunity to shoot the cool stuff, but don't hype or morph it into something the cartridge is not, slap a spiffy name on it and call the greatest cartridge of our time.

I agree on the Valkyrie deal. I got a 8 twist swift i run the 90 smk at 3300.

This is something I've wanted to build for a long time, but in an AI version! There is just something about long necked cartridges that I find sexy - LOL. Not to derail this post, but I would like to hear about your rifle and load. That would make for a fine culling rifle.

 

[Creedmoor shooter]

You are so very correct in this statement. My main gripe is that these manufactures put a awful amount of hype into a cartridge that is not really producing much more performance, if any, over what we've been already shooting. And the factory ammo issue does allow non-reloaders the oppertunity to shoot the cool stuff, but don't hype or morph it into something the cartridge is not, slap a spiffy name on it and call the greatest cartridge of our time.



This is something I've wanted to build for a long time, but in an AI version! There is just something about long necked cartridges that I find sexy - LOL. Not to derail this post, but I would like to hear about your rifle and load. That would make for a fine culling rifle.

My dad 22-250AI with a 95 smk. Pushed at 3200 fps. What a sweetheart to shoot!

 

[lee31]

What everyone is missing here is the availability of factory ammo. We reloaders only represent a small percentage of the shooting community. The 6.5 prc is the only hot 6.5 with both match and hunting ammo available at an affordable price. The the 6.5 saum didnt take off due to that issue as well as brass. The 264 win mag is a dying round as wonderful as it is. It was ahead of it's time and not loaded with the right ammo. As I said the in the other thread, as long as hornady keeps making quality ammo at an affordable price, it will survive as it's the only cartridge in its class with the factory ammo going for it.

As for the people who always complain about all the new rounds coming out. Who gives a crap?! For Pete's sake, if we all thought that way we'd all still be shooting 30-06!

Actually the 264 is going popularity again.

 

[Creedmoor shooter]

Actually the 264 is going popularity again.

I hope that's the case. I plan on building one after my 7mm build. Not bought into the 6.5 prc yet. The 264 with modern propellants should spank the prc

 

[Jerry M]

As stated above by Creedmore Shooter "...as long as hornady keeps making quality ammo at an affordable price..."

This is always the $64 Thousand Dollar question with a new cartridge (or old).... That is why I recommended earlier to buy enough brass to toast the barrel before you order your (insert name here) cartridge. I am sure may WSSM rifle owners had wished they did ten-twelve years ago.

Good luck

Jerry

 

[lee31]

I hope that's the case. I plan on building one after my 7mm build. Not bought into the 6.5 prc yet. The 264 with modern propellants should spank the prc

I run 140s at 3300. I dunno what more a guy could want. I have ran them up just shy of 3400 but was starting to see pressure

 

[STEEL SLINGER]

My dad 22-250AI with a 95 smk. Pushed at 3200 fps. What a sweetheart to shoot!

Long sleek bullets. . .very nice!!! Does he hunt with it or just target shoot?

 

[Creedmoor shooter]

Long sleek bullets. . .very nice!!! Does he hunt with it or just target shoot?

Not yet. We're not really sure what bullet he should use with the velocity that thing produces. We found out the 95 smk is not a good hunting bullet. He hit a milk jug full of water at 1354 yards and the bullet blew up on impact and only shrapnel made it out.

 

[yorke-1]

I don't see any reason not to build a 6.5 PRC. Everybody seems to like the 6.5xs284's ballistics, so what is there to dislike about the 6.5 PRC which essentially duplicates it? Running a 6.5x284 from a short action puts a dent in it's performance potential but that's not the case in the performance of the 6.5 PRC. Folks are worried about the availability of brass in 5 years but the PRC is based on the RCM case which is based on the 375 Ruger case. I've formed a lot of 338 and 300 RCM brass from 375 Ruger cases with no issue and I've recently formed a fair number of 6.5 PRC cases from the RCM cases. And if the 375 Ruger case magically disappears you can even form cases from the 8x68s case made by both Norma and RWS.

There's been a few folks recommending the Sherman Short line of wildcats as an alternative. That's a great option except for the concerns that go along with a single source for brass. Then look at the cost of brass and custom reloading dies. The SS cases are listed for pre-order at around $2.50 each depending on quantity and dies are $275 per set. You can get Hornady 6.5 PRC brass for around $1.00 per case (I found it for about $0.85 each) and a Hornady bushing die set for $75 (I just picked up a Hornady 6.5 PRC bushing die for $23). Add up those numbers and there's a pretty substantial cost difference between the 6.5 PRC and some of the similar "boutique" wildcats. Then comes the whole affordable factory ammo angle.

The next argument against the PRC is typically the fact that Hornady makes the brass. Despite what lots of people say, Hornady brass has been very good in my experience. I've had a 375 Ruger for the last 10 years as well as multiple 338/375 Rugers and worked with a couple of different RCMs as well. In my 375 Ruger and the 338/375 Rugers I average 8 firings per case with what I would consider full power loads. I've been using the same 100 pieces of brass for the 375 for all 925 rounds fired through that gun and the same 200 pieces of 375 Ruger brass necked down to 338 in a variety of 338/375 Rugers to account for 1900+ shots fired. The only pieces of brass which have failed prematurely were a result of more aggressive handloads. I'll add to that my experience with Hornady brass I used while working with the 270 AR wildcat (based off of a shortened 6.5 Creedmoor case) which averaged about 6 firings per case. The shorter case life on those is attributed to the more abusive nature of the AR platform.

Basically, if you like the idea of the 6.5 PRC just get one. 200 pieces of brass will last you the life of the barrel, so pick those up and be happy. A 140gr bullet at 3000 fps is a pretty good combo regardless of which case it comes out of.

 

[L.Sherm]

If the 6.5x284 and 6.5 prc are the same performance wise, I will take 6.5x284 Lapua brass any day of the week over 6.5 prc hornady brass

 

[Barrelnut]

If the 6.5x284 and 6.5 prc are the same performance wise, I will take 6.5x284 Lapua brass any day of the week over 6.5 prc hornady brass

Depends what what hardware you may have too. If I had a short action with mag bolt face and wanted a 6.5 something built off it, I'd get the 6.5 PRC for sure.