RPR Caliber Choice?! Opinions?

TLSpeed

TLSpeed

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Hi folks. I am eagerly waiting for my very own Ruger Precision Rifle, but I really need to settle on the caliber! I would LOVE to have one chambered in the popular 6.5 Creedmoor, but the problem is I don't reload (yet).

Reloading is something I am fully planning on getting into, but who knows when, and at this point I do not reload at all. I am wondering how much trouble I will have finding factory 6.5 loads often and how much more I will pay for them? Nice part about .308 is the availability of surplus ammunition. I realize it as not as accurate, but I have shot hundreds of surplus rounds when I am just looking to "plink" inside of 200yds. Once I am started reloading will it be harder to learn on the creedmoor than something a little more "standard" like the .308? What are the opinions of the people here that know more than me? Jump for a 6.5 or stick with the tried and tested .308???
 
In my experience you will get tired of surplus real quick once you've shot a few tight groupings with match or reloaded ammo. I have M80 sitting around, it never goes in my bolt gun.

Lots of guys rebarrel from .308 to a 6.5 caliber.......but not from 6.5 to .308

My opinion, just get the 6.5 and reload.
 
J996 said:
In my experience you will get tired of surplus real quick once you've shot a few tight groupings with match or reloaded ammo. I have M80 sitting around, it never goes in my bolt gun.

Lots of guys rebarrel from .308 to a 6.5 caliber.......but not from 6.5 to .308

My opinion, just get the 6.5 and reload.
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This!
 
Start reloading and get a 243.

I dont see the point of shooting surplus ammo in a precision rifle. Even at 200 yards. Shoot good quality ammo at small targets.
 
Both Cabelas and Wholesale Sports in Edmonton always have 6.5 CM ammo everytime I go look around there. It's not hard for me to find, and I don't even have a 6.5 CM.
 
Tikka223 said:
Just curious, why the .243 over the 6.5?
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A 243 with a 105gr Berger hybrid has great ballistics and less recoil then a 6.5CM.

With 243 you get Lapua brass over Hornady for the CM.

The nice thing about the RPR is going to be prefit barrels and the ability to swap bbl's at home. So barrel changes will be cheap.
 
huge .243 fan myself
105 hybrid on lapua brass with a 22 inch barrel at 3155 average FPS just spells fun all day. And you right...barrels are easily changed when they go bad so burn em up and have fun
Less recoil then the 140 gr in the 6.5 for sure. The hornady brass for the 6.5 Creedmoor is junk but the Winchester match brass seems to be good though. Anything that goes Bang is fun so its a win with what ever you go with dude
 
Really appreciate the info guys, I had put some thought into the .243 as well but I think I am still leaning towards the 6.5 The downside is the 6.5's are on a major backorder, both the .243 and .308 are much more available. Either way I think I may just wait it out for the 6.5
 
Hey TLSpeed,

The best caliber choice is based on what you want to accomplish with the rifle. In terms of ballistic performance, the 6.5CM will perform better at longer range beyond 1000 yards (that is the caliber that Ruger's CEO hit 1600 yards with). The .308 and .243 are both great calibers inside of 800 yards and can be accurate to 1000 if you develop a good load for them. If you're shooting off the shelf ammo, .308 is much more readily available and less expensive. In the .243, Ruger gave it a tighter twist rate of 7.7, which means that heavier grain bullets will be the most ideal to shoot out of it for longer range shots, which would be something to consider if you reload. The 6.5mm bullets seem to be the perfect medium for long range shooting, as the bullets are heavy enough to not be as affected by wind, but still light enough that they will not drop as fast. If you reload, there is a large array of components available, due to the popularity of the bullet. I hope this helps in your decision on what caliber would be best for you. If you would like to chat more on the subject with me or one of my team members, please feel free to call us at 1-877-547-6873.

Best regards,
Anthony Haines
Online Sales Specialist
 
Tikka223 said:
I was wondering about that with the .243
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Barrels are like car tires that, when they are worn out you just replace them as a cost of your passion and the kind of shooting you like to do.
In fact most reliably accurate barrels are not that pricey when one considers all the other costs related to the shooting sports.
If you have a concern with this, just consider how great it might be to own one rifle for which you can buy any number of really great barrels
that can be switched in less than 5 minutes...like the Accuracy International and a few others I like. In fact if a person has a really accurate
Savage rifle, you can buy drop in barrels, a barrel vice, a special wrench and go logo gauges and change barrels yourself as needed in little time.
So, if you have an AI rifle and are tired of the 6.5 just switch the barrel to .338 Lapua and go shoot really long range all you want.
 
Really appreciate the info everyone, I think I will likely go with the 6.5 due to the versatility. Ive went out and had a look and factory loads are definitely somewhat available around $2.00/shot which is right comparable to .308 in match. Another big consideration is the "theoretical" longer range and once I get myself set for hand loading it wont matter much either way. Aside from .308 definitely being more plentiful, I think I'd like to give another route a try!
 
6 xc with a 115 dtac has less wind drift then the 6.5x47 at 1200 yards.
If you ever want a switch barrel for the ruger let us know and we can do one for ya dude then you can try a few
 
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