Real world reviews for the 6.5PRC

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Hey a FNG here so forgive if this has been asked and beat to death already. I tried the search function but didn’t find much.

Anyway looking to purchase new rifle start getting into some longer distance range shots. But would also like to get something that could also be used to confidently take larger game. There are a lot of articles from vendors and companies that are really positive, and lots of varying opinions from folks who may or may not have ever shot one. I was looking for some real world reviews of the cartridge from folks who own them.

Would you buy it again?, or would your next rifle be something different?

Again thanks for the new guy question.
 
Shred the hype over .264 bore. Your limited in down range energy, mass of projectile for wounding Kanadian big game. Short range, fine, along with 30-50 other calibers. Moose, elk, bears, at 400 yards, its borderline unethical. Separate the uses, target and hunting. Use enough gun.
 
I zipped a 140gr Accubond through a moose at 275 yards and folded it on the spot. Run the numbers, at 400 yards the PRC has the same impact speed as a tradtional 6.5x55 load delivers at 150 yards. I guess the million moose killed with the Swede in europe was a fluke
 
I resisted 6.5s in all but short dabbles until 2020. Always shot .25s, 270s, or 7s and found it an awkward in between. I still prefer .257s but I’m running out of good reasons. There are some spectacular 6.5 bullets out there in general circulation, and finding I have to search much harder component wise to make my beloved .25 run with them, and push the .25 faster.

This year I’ve been at the opposite end of the 6.5 spectrum and have been load developing and toying with an accurate little 6.5 Grendel. Loving the round, my second go with it and not sure why I didn’t get hooked the first time. I’m a speed guy though in the end, which is likely why I didn’t get hooked, and could certainly see the niche of the PRC in the mountains here.

In fact without having ever owned one I’d wager it’d be in the top three mountain goat and sheep rounds on the market, all factors considered (recoil, rifle weight). Hoytcanon put his 6.5 RM to excellent work here in the 400 range, and he could attest better than any to those ballistics as it’s the twin of the RM.
 
todbartell said:
I zipped a 140gr Accubond through a moose at 275 yards and folded it on the spot. Run the numbers, at 400 yards the PRC has the same impact speed as a tradtional 6.5x55 load delivers at 150 yards. I guess the million moose killed with the Swede in europe was a fluke
Click to expand...

I'm assuming your a decent shot, as would.be Ardent and Hoyt. Most people should not be taking shots beyond 300, doing it with a borderline caliber for energy, adds up to borderline ethical.

Bell, body shot elephant with 7x57, finding them next day by vulture, at the height of the ivory trade. Will 6.5 or 7x57 take moose, sure. Should you if you have better choices, unless your a expert shot. That's between you, and your ethics.

A five minute clip keeps repeating on YouTube. Bruce Lee, fighting the scar faced O'hara in return of the dragon. Boards dont hit back......Moose dont have bullseyes, stand still, wait for you to set up your range bench.

My .264 is a 264 mag. Great Deer, Elk, short range Moose cartridge
 
todbartell said:
I zipped a 140gr Accubond through a moose at 275 yards and folded it on the spot. Run the numbers, at 400 yards the PRC has the same impact speed as a tradtional 6.5x55 load delivers at 150 yards. I guess the million moose killed with the Swede in europe was a fluke
Click to expand...

I'm assuming your a decent shot, as would.be Ardent and Hoyt. Most people should not be taking shots beyond 300, doing it with a borderline caliber for energy, adds up to borderline ethical.

Bell, body shot elephant with 7x57, finding them next day by vulture, at the height of the ivory trade. Will 6.5 or 7x57 take moose, sure. Should you if you have better choices, unless your a expert shot. That's between you, and your ethics.

A five minute clip keeps repeating on YouTube. Bruce Lee, fighting the scar faced O'hara in return of the dragon. Boards dont hit back......Moose dont have bullseyes, stand still, wait for you to set up your range bench.

My .264 is a 264 mag. Great deer, Elk, short range Moose cartridge
 
In terms of ballistics and terminal performance the 6.5PRC seems to me to be about the same as the .264 Win mag, just as the 6.5 Creedmore is about the same as the 6.5x55 or the .260 Rem.

So in terms of what these new cartridges will do on game, well we already have decades of experience with comparable older cartridges. The 6.5 PRC and the creedmore May have advantages in terms of inherent accuracy potential and powder efficiency, which are likely only noticeable at all for target shooting purposes. Perhaps the more important advances are the better bullets and powders we now have.

In short the 6.5s are good hunting cartridges, just like they’ve always been. But oddly now that they’ve finally gained the popularity that I always thought they deserved I don’t have one anymore....
 
Sounds like the 6.5 prc is a borderline unethical stunt shooter cartridge, but the 264 win mag is a elk and moose hammer. Go figure.
 
If you're just starting out the 6.5prc will suit you just fine. I'm having my 300wsm converted into one this summer. It would be (in my opinion) marginal on bigger game past 400yds, but hardly unethical within. Watch some YouTube videos of guys hunting elk with them, I've yet to see one drop on the spot. That said, if you were eventually going to have a 2nd or 3rd hunting rifle (as you of course should) then it would fit in the middle nicely. For example I have 243, 6.5prc, 9 3x62.
Be aware factory ammo is limited in selection (hornady only, non bonded bullets). Nosler, Federal and Barnes are coming out with loads this year, but I fear that the current ammo shortages south of the border may put the prc roll out on the back burner. If I were to start fresh and be a one cartridge hunter it would be the 280ai
 
nowarningshot said:
I'm assuming your a decent shot, as would.be Ardent and Hoyt. Most people should not be taking shots beyond 300, doing it with a borderline caliber for energy, adds up to borderline ethical.

Bell, body shot elephant with 7x57, finding them next day by vulture, at the height of the ivory trade. Will 6.5 or 7x57 take moose, sure. Should you if you have better choices, unless your a expert shot. That's between you, and your ethics.

A five minute clip keeps repeating on YouTube. Bruce Lee, fighting the scar faced O'hara in return of the dragon. Boards dont hit back......Moose dont have bullseyes, stand still, wait for you to set up your range bench.

My .264 is a 264 mag. Great deer, Elk, short range Moose cartridge
Click to expand...

I get where you’re coming from and totally respect the opinion, I only have a different take on what is normal hunting conditions. The average mountain goat shot is over 200, and tops out a good deal further depending on ability. It is completely normal in mountain goat hunting (and sheep) to be debating a 400 yard shot, and few who’ve been at it long haven’t harvested out there.

To be perfectly frank I’m not a long range hunter, and don’t view 400 as a particularly astounding shot, that’s still the realm of well practiced layman shooting and not at all difficult unless the wind is up. 600 and beyond is a game changer with good equipment however, I’ve never taken a shot out there that wasn’t on vermin and never will, it seems like a switch flips at 600 with standard chamberings and long range loads. A .300 Ultra or the like can push that cliff to 800 or beyond, but that’s not my bag.

A rifle and load built for and practiced to 500 is likely more ethical at 400 than my grandfather’s .30-30 at 150. I know I shoot much better 400 yard groups with my mountain rifle than I do with the handed down .30-30 at 150, and ballistically I’m still ahead at 400 too with the mountain rifle. Many here would debate the buck of a lifetime at 150 with a .30-30 and the same consideration goes into a 400 yard mountain shot. I don’t want to sound like the gear makes the hunter as that’s fully up to practice, but I have to fully admit modern equipment has been a game changer.

Most folks I take 500 yard shooting on our range at work at first are amazed we’re hitting 1.5MOA steel gongs far more often than not with light rifles. But soon we get them on them and hitting too, and the mystery goes away. Kind of a letdown as being viewed as a gifted shot is a nice feeling, but reality is much more boring; it just really isn’t that hard or marginal when you’ve practiced it. I find shooting a sub MOA / 1” group at 100 with a rifle that can do it much more daunting than putting three consecutive shots into a 2 MOA / 10” (paper plate) circle at 500 on a calm day.

Guess what I’m trying to say is I’m not at all special in that either, hitting a kill zone at 500 with a capable rifle is far easier than many other shooting feats considered rather normal, like shooting clean on the trap range, or shooting a sub-1” group at 100 on demand.
 
I have used 6.5 cartridges for most of my life, granted, the early bulk of that was with the 6.5X55 and then .264 WM. Sorry, but the Creedmoor left me significantly underwhelmed, but I gave it a fair shake in two rifles. I still have a .260 Rem and more recently a custom 6.5 Rem Mag built on a Ruger M77 MKII Stainless action. The 6.5 RM would be the closest comparison... last year I took a mountain goat at 430 yards and a large meat WT doe at 470 yards... both with the 140 Accubond. My self imposed limit is 500 yards with that rifle, not because the cartridge is not capable of more, but due to the vagaries of field conditions, quarry movement and my own frailties as a shooter... in addition my 6.5 rifles are sporting/hunting rifles and are not optimized for extreme distance. IMO, the 6.5 PRC is likely an excellent cartridge for your purposes... just practice and shoot a good bullet.
 
This might seem like an odd early request, but could I also be added to that list?

Thanks to all who provided actual feedback in owning and shooting this cartridge. (And not just their feelings on why folks should buy a different caliber). Like most of us I have a number of different rifles in different calibers. I will still likely grab my 30-06 as my go to elk rifle as it carries well and has been very effective and where I hunt all my shots have been within 300 yards. Im just looking for another rifle to get to do some longer range shooting but would like a little more umph in the event I have an opportunity to get a sheep or speedgoat draw.
Thanks for the reviews, I appreciate them.
 
The calculus is thus:

For whatever calibre one uses, the hunter must know the capability of cartridge, its ballistics, and the performance envelope of the bullet and shoot at the ranges where that the hunter is practiced and combination of bullet, performance and accuracy will ensure an ethical kill with a properly placed shot. A magnum is no excuse for a lousy shot. Whatever your calibre, placement plus knowing the performance of the bullet at those ranges is the lethal calculus.

With the right bullet, the 65prc is every bit lethal as any other for NA game maybe less griz (it wouldn't be my first choice for griz).
 
One would think for the amount of recoil, its trajectory and energy would be up near the top of the list of cartridges for hunting at longer ranges. I think it would be an excellent choice for mountain game.
 
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