What if the 6.5 PRC had preceded the 6.5 Creedmoor?

[Bigeclipse]

Different tools for different jobs. I have 1/4", 3/8", and 1/2" drive ratchet in my toolbox even though I can get fair amount of overlap in the sized of sockets I can get for each of them.

The 6.5 Creedmoor was originally designed to be a PRS/Practical/Tactical style match cartridge with an optimized case design that addressed some of the inefficiencies in the design of the 260 Remington; namely a shorter body with less taper, steeper shoulder, longer neck all in an effort to make a very effective flat shooting low recoil cartridge that could seat long/heavy for caliber high BC 6.5mm bullets in a magazine fed short action. Along the way, people found out that coincidentally all of these features also made it an outstanding hunting round for medium sized game at intermediate ranges.

The 6.5 PRC is a different animal entirely. It shares some of the same characteristics of its little brother, but I would argue its primary role is to serve as a intermediate to long range hunting round. Case size and resulting mag capacity as well as additional recoil and decreased barrel life effectively rule it out for PRS/Practical style match shooting. Those competitions are dominated by the small 6 and 6.5mm rounds (all 308 win case derivatives).

With that in mind, I doubt the timing of the two introductions makes either one of them obsolete, or will drive any mass switchover to from one to the other. As others have noted, the advantages of factory support from Hornady and the aggressive marketing and support gives them all the staying power they need.

For me? I hunt (sometimes at ranges that would be considered "long range") and I shoot PRS matches pretty regularly, so I own a 6.5 Creedmoor that is geared towards match shooting. I also handload and with 143gr ELD-X my current setup carries >1000 ft lbs of energy out past 800yds even assuming very low density altitude, so yes, I may get a PRC at some point, but it would be a very hunting biased setup.

The 6.5prc was designed for prs matches. This is what Hornady even stated and why it keeps its factory velocity below 3200

 

[gbett308]

Funny you should mention 7mm-08, that is one of the softer-kicking cartridges I pondered before I settled on the Creedmoor. I know a lot of folks like it for that reason. I knew a couple of guys at our deer camp that hunted with the .257 Roberts and so I considered it too. The 7-08 can shoot heavier bullets, the .257 Roberts, lighter bullets than the 6.5, but the Creedmoor seemed to have advantages over both of them. And just the wide variety of new ammo available for the Creedmoor made the decision easy. And I'm very happy with it so far.
If I hunted in a place where longer shots were the norm, I might feel differently and might even buy a true long-range rifle. But for now I don't have that opportunity unless I take a trip out West. So for my present situation I'm practicing out to 400 yards and I'm confident at that range. Will try to go farther soon with my present rifles.

The 7mm-08 is my go to whitetail rifle, Rem 700 cdl-sf, handles well, lightweight (<7 lbs out of box) and shoots straight. I chose the caliber for two reasons: 1. 308 was not offered in that model and 2. desired to have 1000 lbs of energy furthest down range for use as a backup elk rifle.

 

[Jon Bischof]

The 7mm-08 is my go to whitetail rifle, Rem 700 cdl-sf, handles well, lightweight (<7 lbs out of box) and shoots straight. I chose the caliber for two reasons: 1. 308 was not offered in that model and 2. desired to have 1000 lbs of energy furthest down range for use as a backup elk rifle.

And I bet it is fun to shoot.

 

[Danehunter]

Several contributors here have mentioned the big difference between the 6.5 CM and 6.5 PRC and that's the point I made in my 1st post. For deer at less than 400 yards the 6.5 CM is good. Beyond that, not so much.

I've owned a .300 Win mag Browning A-Bolt and felt it was "too much gun" for most of my Nevada hunting so I sold it after getting a 6.5 CM Ruger American Predator then a 6.5 CM Browning X-Bolt Pro.

Then realizing the 6.5 was great for ringing steel at 600 yards but not good for ethically taking mule deer at that range I sold both and got the X-Bolt Pro in 6.5 PRC. Now I have an all-around western rifle for anything but grizzly. And a few custom and semi-custom rifle makers have agreed on that point as well.

So yes, there are other good cartridges out there that are very similar to the 6.5 PRC such as the nearly identical 6.5/284 but few were as purposely designed as the 6.5 PRC to handle longer, heavier bullets. Others in this energy range have shorter necks that mean seating long bullets back into the case and likely creating powder compression.

Eric B.

 

[375 JDJ]

I was thinking about the choices of calibers and what caused me enough excitement to desire purchasing a new rifle in a particular caliber. Then, I got to thinking about what would have happened if I had waited for a couple of years to see what new improvements would have presented themselves.
What brought my attention to this is the 6.5 caliber. The 6.5 Creedmoor became the best kid on the block in the world of rifles. Superbly accurate, low recoil and a long range shooting dream. Millions have been purchased. But it was fairly slow and was not really a long range hunting round. So, in need of speed and longer range kill shots the 6.5 PRC. evolved. But, what if the 6.5 PRC would have come first? Would the Creedmoor have ever made it? If given the choice between the two, would anyone buy it over the PRC? The 6.5x.284 was performing ballisticly equal but, because it was a wildcat in name it didn't catch on like the 6.5 PRC. Yet, all of the new bullet designs are really a wildcat made by reforming a larger caliber case for the most part.
Now, the 6.5 PRC and it's brother, the 300 PRC are becoming the most desirable calibers being purchased.
So, what do you think? If the 6.5 PRC had come first would the 6.5 Creedmoor have made it?

Don't think it would have been there

 

[Danehunter]

Len Backus,
WHAT?? I get a "Rule #1 Violation" for writing the word "ethically" in my post??
That's "unethical"!

I think your bad word algorithm needs fixing.

 

[Gone Ballistic]

6.5 PRC and 300 PRC the most desired purchases? When either one of them come even close to the sales of the number of 30-30s , 270, or 30-06, then they will have earned that. The PRCs will he knocked off in 5 years. Whatever replaces them will be replaced 5 years after that. That's the world we live in.

The thought containment in my article is not comparing what is or was the caliber that has been purchased the most since it's inception. It is solely related to what is the newest calibers that are currently top selling today. Because the 30-06 was used by the military extensively in three wars, spanning around a 40 year period, it brought thousands of surplus rifles into American's hands. To make a comparison of what caliber has been purchased the most is utter nonsense in relation to my articles question.

 

[Sako284]

The thought containment in my article is not comparing what is or was the caliber that has been purchased the most since it's inception. It is solely related to what is the newest calibers that are currently top selling today. Because the 30-06 was used by the military extensively in three wars, spanning around a 40 year period, it brought thousands of surplus rifles into American's hands. To make a comparison of what caliber has been purchased the most is utter nonsense in relation to my articles question.

Oh boy looks like I trigged a 6.5 fan boy. Don't say it's the most desired caliber if you want to speak about how it sells?Haha. I'd give you 5:1 odds walk into any gun store and they sell more 270s and 243s then 6.5 PRC or CM. You made a false claim. The utter nonsense was stating what caliber is the most desired. As if there ever will be one.

The 6.5 CM is an excellent target round. It would have thrived even if it came after the PRC. The PRC is nothing more than a SAAMI wildcat 6.5x284. I was burned 6.5x284 barrels in the early 2000s. There's no magic in the PRC or the CM. Just excellent marketing.

 

[Jon Bischof]

I beg to differ Libtard, the magic of the Creedmoor is in the way the whole package combines to be conducive to good shooting. Lighter recoil, a wide array of bullets to match to your barrel's harmonics and if your Creedmoor has the right twist to handle them, the heavier 147 and 156 bullets mean "Mo Magic". It is also in sort of a magic place in the spectrum of North American game animals. It is not too small for elk or black bear and it is not too big for deer and smaller critters. I would grant you that it would not be my choice for grizzly or polar bear. But it has just about everything else in North America covered...except tree squirrels and I already have the perfect rifle for that

 

[Cesky fousek]

I was thinking about the choices of calibers and what caused me enough excitement to desire purchasing a new rifle in a particular caliber. Then, I got to thinking about what would have happened if I had waited for a couple of years to see what new improvements would have presented themselves.
What brought my attention to this is the 6.5 caliber. The 6.5 Creedmoor became the best kid on the block in the world of rifles. Superbly accurate, low recoil and a long range shooting dream. Millions have been purchased. But it was fairly slow and was not really a long range hunting round. So, in need of speed and longer range kill shots the 6.5 PRC. evolved. But, what if the 6.5 PRC would have come first? Would the Creedmoor have ever made it? If given the choice between the two, would anyone buy it over the PRC? The 6.5x.284 was performing ballisticly equal but, because it was a wildcat in name it didn't catch on like the 6.5 PRC. Yet, all of the new bullet designs are really a wildcat made by reforming a larger caliber case for the most part.
Now, the 6.5 PRC and it's brother, the 300 PRC are becoming the most desirable calibers being purchased.
So, what do you think? If the 6.5 PRC had come first would the 6.5 Creedmoor have made it?

Actually the Prc was designed way before creedmor but Hornady didn't want to make it

 

[375 JDJ]

Actually the Prc was designed way before creedmor but Hornady didn't want to make it

I think if the PRC came first their wouldn't have been a creedmore or grendel