6.5 PRC testing, Norma 143 Bondstrike

[Driftertank]

Took the wife's new rifle to the range Tuesday to do initial workups on what I hope to load for hunting, thought I would share my initial results into the hive mind in case anyone can use any of my data to help their own shopping/reloading goals.

Rifle: CVA Cascade, 24" 1:8 6.5 PRC
Brass: Norma, once fired
Powder: H1000
Primer: CCI BR2
Bullet: Norma Bondstrike 143gr bonded tipped BT, .020" off lands

Charge weights were 56-58.7gr in .3gr increments. Rounds were fired round-robin 1 at a time, with time for barrel cooling between shots, though fairly high ambient temps may have skewed results near the end of my testing, when my measured barrel exterior temp would remain above 105° at all times (ambient air temp started at 78°, peaked around 102°).



Attached are my velocity notes. Disregard the scribbles in the bottom right; I sent a few proven rounds from my Creedmoor to check velocities and some from my Mosin M44 for S&G.


With this load combo, 58.1 seems like it's sitting in a pretty happy node, little variation up or down velocity-wise, though the groups at 58.4-.7 are a little disappointing, I sort of want to blame the heat...I started around 0730hr, and by 1030hr the temps were getting up to the upper 90's and the barrel was very reluctant to cool.

I suspect I'm to blame for the flyer at 57.8

I've loaded some more rounds at .015" and .025" off the lands at 58.1gr to see if the ES and SD sweet spot stays put, and if tweaking seating depth will help the horizontal at all.

All told, if the load pans out, it won't have to be sub-half-MOA for me to be content. Consistently under 1MOA with small velocity variations around 3k fps will be more than adequate for it's intended use...namely Mulies and the occasional Elk inside 500yd. It's a relatively thin-barreled hunting rifle, after all, and I don't drill flash holes or turn necks.

This may be unnecessary info-dump, but my searching turned up very little on loading the round, so if I'm treading (relatively) new ground, maybe my data can help someone later.

 

[Howa 9700]

From what little I have learned about load development, if that flyer at 57.8 was on you, then that is the center of your node.

Have been looking at the various 6.5 options, and the PRC seems to be in the spotlight lately. It does get the job done......but at a cost. That burns a lot of powder compared to the others.

 

[Driftertank]

From what little I have learned about load development, if that flyer at 57.8 was on you, then that is the center of your node.

Have been looking at the various 6.5 options, and the PRC seems to be in the spotlight lately. It does get the job done......but at a cost. That burns a lot of powder compared to the others.

Yeah. I'm erring a little to the hot side of where I think the node is because of the high ambients right now...come hunting season, I don't want to fall out the bottom of the node when temps are potentially between 20-40°...H1000 is pretty stable, but not completely temp inert.

Also, while the group size is noticeably larger, notice the velocities at 58.4 are essentially identical to 58.1...that suggests the heart of the node is right about there, to me at least. The group size? Maybe heat, maybe neck tension, maybe the increasing mirage as the day went on...

My wife had a 7mm RM Browning for the last 20 years for a hunting rifle. It was a gorgeous gun, but she hated shooting it because of the recoil. On the other hand, she really enjoys shooting my 6.5CM...but when we started talking about doing some hunting again, she said she wants to be able to go after elk. The Creed may be capable as an elk round, but I feel it's a little anemic in the event of less-than perfect shot opportunities. The PRC is about the lightest-recoiling round that makes enough energy that I feel like it would still do the trick at reasonable ranges...or at least, due to it's popularity, the lightest round that has reasonably priced rifles commonly available.

The CVA was on sale for $550 when we picked it up; it has a 5/8-24 threaded, free-floated Bergara barrel and a crisp remington-style trigger. With a brake on the end, it recoils almost the same as my 2.5lb heavier Creedmoor. She really likes the rifle and enjoys shooting it (which is important if she wants to confident in taking the shot when it counts), but she's been bugging me to work up some ammo for her since she got it.