Opinions on the 6.5 PRC

[F. Vaccaro]

If wanted more power in the 6.5 caliber than the Creedmoor, 260, or 6.5X55, I’d jump up to the 6.5-06. Std 06 action & almost magnum performance, & light recoil.

 

[Rickmt]

I bought a 6.5 prc last year and have been having fun extending my range. I don’t really care about ammo availability in Africa because I will never take it to Africa. I prefer more oomph over there . I would perhaps take a longer shot on a deer / antelope standing still once I feel comfortable dialing rather than holding over.
I am looking for lower recoil and a more pleasant shooting gun.
I enjoy new experiences and drank the Blazer koolade , no telling what I might do next!

 

[Code4]

Yank version of the 6.5x68 Schuler, only shorter.

 

[Jeffrey]

Not really a great chambering for most African hunting, but i want a 6.5PRC in a Kimber Mountain Ascent oh so bad. Maybe with a Swaro 3.5-18X44 in Talley Aluminums…

 

[Tom Leoni]

Hmmm. For hunting, it will surely kill, but.... It was conceived as a long-range target cartridge that pushes high-BC bullets at near-extreme velocities. The thinking was "if 6.5 CM is good, 6.5 PRC is better," with "better" meaning "faster"--in this case, by about 200 fps It's not known for providing long barrel life--with some saying that 900 shots are where your accuracy starts declining.

I wouldn't be surprised if ammo manufacturers will continue riding this 6.5 craze to the next level--perhaps by ultimately necking down a 40mm Bofors shell and trimming it to fit a .308 Win size action.

Thing is, there's a "wall" beyond which rifle round velocities can't be pushed, and these new long-BC screamers are not far from it. If velocity and long distances are your cup of tea, go for it. For some reason, I've never developed an interest in velocity and long-distance hunting--perhaps it's my old age.

 

[F. Vaccaro]

Hmmm. For hunting, it will surely kill, but.... It was conceived as a long-range target cartridge that pushes high-BC bullets at near-extreme velocities. The thinking was "if 6.5 CM is good, 6.5 PRC is better," with "better" meaning "faster"--in this case, by about 200 fps It's not known for providing long barrel life--with some saying that 900 shots are where your accuracy starts declining.

I wouldn't be surprised if ammo manufacturers will continue riding this 6.5 craze to the next level--perhaps by ultimately necking down a 40mm Bofors shell and trimming it to fit a .308 Win size action.

Thing is, there's a "wall" beyond which rifle round velocities can't be pushed, and these new long-BC screamers are not far from it. If velocity and long distances are your cup of tea, go for it. For some reason, I've never developed an interest in velocity and long-distance hunting--perhaps it's my old age.

Well, Weatherby has their 6.5 in the ring now, that ought to shoot flat enough for anybody?

 

[Tanks]

Another aspect of all this, is how long will the ammo be commercially available? And where?

The .270 Win or 7 Rem Mag will be available for ever about anywhere in the world.

Look at what happened to some of the fashionable-fad-of-the-moment Winchester Short Magnums; Remington Ultra Magnum; Remington Short Action Ultra Magnum; Imperial Magnum; Lazzeroni Magnum; etc. etc.
...

During the shortages I found .300 RUM ammo just about everywhere. I actually bought some as the brass for reloading was not available.

 

[TMac]

Hey all!

I’m thinking of getting a rifle in 6.5 PRC, but know very little about the cartridge.

What has been your experience with the cartridge?
What range of game can it be used on?

Please impart your knowledge to me.

Hawk

As far as I understand it, this cartridge was designed to offer better LR performance for PRC matches, but still stay under the match velocity limit. Shorter time of flight makes wind calls slightly less critical, so scores go up, is the advantage. More recoil is the penalty vs 6.5CM. Now 6mm’s are starting to dominate. Same exterior ballistics, less recoil, so easier to shoot 20, 50, 100 or more rounds in a day or two match. Much like the Creedmore, it was not designed initially as a hunting cartridge. That is not to say either is not an excellent hunting cartridge. One can use it on anything one would use a 6.5 projectile for. Just select your bullet with the added velocity in mind. For me, unless you want to shoot game around 350-400-500, it’s only real advantage is more flash, more bang, and more recoil.

 

[One Day...]

During the shortages I found .300 RUM ammo just about everywhere. I actually bought some as the brass for reloading was not available.

This in itself tells quite a story. Could it be that the caliber fan base is so limited that it is indeed one of the few calibers that was not cleared off the shelves over the recent ammo shortage?

The other explanation, that this would be one of the calibers with the highest volume of ammo production, is quite unlikely, as I expect we shall all agree...

This being said, the .300 Remington Ultra Magnum is, to my understanding, the most popular RUM. Have you tried to find .338 Remington Ultra Magnum or .375 Remington Ultra Magnum? Actually, there are likely some available left on the shelves from the initial production runs.

All of that is sad, because the .300 RUM is a great round. I suspect the .338 and .375 RUM to be a bit much for most shooters, but these are great rounds too. It will be quite interesting to see how long factory ammo will be produced, and where outside of the US it will be stocked. This has nothing to do with the quality of the rounds, but with how many rifles are sold in the calibers...

 

[Tanks]

This in itself tells quite a story. Could it be that the caliber fan base is so limited that it is indeed one of the few calibers that was not cleared off the shelves over the recent ammo shortage?

...

This being said, the .300 Remington Ultra Magnum is, to my understanding, the most popular RUM. Have you tried to find .338 Remington Ultra Magnum or .375 Remington Ultra Magnum? Actually, there may be some available left on the shelves from the initial production runs.

All of that is sad, because the .300 RUM is a great round. I suspect the .338 and .375 RUM to be a bit much for most shooters, but these are great rounds too. It will be quite interesting to see how long factory ammo will be produced. This has nothing to do with the quality of the rounds, but with how many rifles are sold in the calibers...

Actually, all of them in addition to .300WM, .375 Ruger and .416 Remington were on the shelves of Sportsman's warehouse at St. George, UT. No .223, 6.5CM or 9mm though.

 

[One Day...]

Happy for you Tanks .

No such luck on the shelves of Sportsman's Warehouse in Flagstaff AZ last time I checked, 2 or 3 weeks ago.

I had a heck of a time getting Barnes .375 H&H 300 gr TSX over the last year and a half (although they are just starting to trickle back in the market - I just bought 10 boxes yesterday actually, on Gun Broker). Apparently everyone was looking for those.

But last time I bought .375 H&H ammo in South Africa they had plenty on the shelves ... although they had neither .375 Ruger nor .375 RUM nor .375 Wby (but at least one can fire .375 H&H in a .375 Wby chamber).

I will gladly admit that I did not check if they had .300 RUM or 6.5 PRC, but they had .300 Win Mag and even .300 Wby (I did not need any but was curious).

To each our own logic

 

[Tanks]

One good thing about sharing a caliber and doubles regulated with the same ammo with your PH is worst comes to worst one can borrow a few rounds from him.

 

[One Day...]

I am willing to bet that it will be easy with your .500 NE; a little less easy with your 9.3x74R (although your preferred PH may indeed be one of the not too numerous who owns one); yet less easy with your .300 RUM; yet a lot less easy with a 6.5 PRC; etc.

No flies on the RUM, and no goring of your ox, and if you want we can take it off the list I mentioned (maybe there are a lot more .338 RUM and .375 RUM out there than I thought), and we can chat about the SAUM calibers if you think they illustrate my point better

The concept remains the same, not every newfangled "caliber of the day" makes it to stardom, and proven calibers that provide equivalent or near equivalent performance are easier to feed with factory ammo, especially at the local African gun shop.

 

[Tanks]

SAUM and WSM were solutions to non-existing problems. One good thing about the WSMs though. @michael458 was able to use them as donor actions for his B&M cartridges.

Ammo availability in Africa has never been my concern though. It could be a concern if I were to go on a month plus hunt, then I'd bring an ammo mule with me.

 

[One Day...]

Said the guy until his ammo did not show up...

As to your ammo mule, make sure that (s)he also bring a rifle in the caliber in questions, and fills up a SAPS 520 (or local equivalent), as just tucking a few boxes of ammo in a suitcase is a sure way to initiate fascinating proceedings in Africa...

Anyway, you have a response for everything, that is great. I won't even go to what "problem" the RUM solve


Signing off

 

[Tanks]

I think RUM was the marketing answer to Weatherby in similar calibers. Ballistically they are just a tad slower than the Weatherby equivalents. I picked the .300 RUM instead of the .300 WSM because I wanted to push a 200 grain bullet over 3K fps. (Eland or plains of Tanzania where I might have to take a longer shot). I was happy that Blaser offered it for the R8 and I didn't have to build a lefty rifle (thanks for the review of the R8 by the way, it was instrumental on my choice).

I already looked into the ammo mule requirements, she'd have the rifle with her own 4457 and airline permit etc.. as well as invitation letter. So, no problem if I go that route. No one is going to come on the hunt with us to check to make sure she is the one pulling the trigger.

 

[Newboomer]

I think RUM was the marketing answer to Weatherby in similar calibers. Ballistically they are just a tad slower than the Weatherby equivalents. I picked the .300 RUM instead of the .300 WSM because I wanted to push a 200 grain bullet over 3K fps. (Eland or plains of Tanzania where I might have to take a longer shot). I was happy that Blaser offered it for the R8 and I didn't have to build a lefty rifle (thanks for the review of the R8 by the way, it was instrumental on my choice).

I already looked into the ammo mule requirements, she'd have the rifle with her own 4457 and airline permit etc.. as well as invitation letter. So, no problem if I go that route. No one is going to come on the hunt with us to check to make sure she is the one pulling the trigger.

Well, if you can't get ammo for your new whizbanger, you can always rebarrel it or rechamber to a more common caliber.

 

[Tanks]

Well, if you can't get ammo for your new whizbanger, you can always rebarrel it or rechamber to a more common caliber.

I already have 100 rounds of 200 grain Accubonds for the trip and plenty of practice ammo as well. Not to mention brass, dies, powder and bullets. Rebarreling is easy for an R8

 

[Jörg Krüger]

Great and accurate round coming from a 375 Ruger as a parent casing if I am not mistaken. I am sure that @Bob Nelson 35Whelen will call hit a "Man bun on steroids" or "Creedmore wanna be" though.

 

[Bob Nelson 35Whelen]

Great and accurate round coming from a 375 Ruger as a parent casing if I am not mistaken. I am sure that @Bob Nelson 35Whelen will call hit a "Man bun on steroids" or "Creedmore wanna be" though.

@Jörg Krüger
At least we are getting into the relms of reality with a decent case to start with, unlike the manbun