How long until the 6.5 PRC takes off ?

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The question is what the application is. There's no need for more case for <1000y distances (the 1000y BR records are all 6mmBR improved variants so even .308 case is unneeded). There's no clear market for > 1000y due to lack of range availability.

I think it would be a useful hunter (basically a superior .264WM) but I have yet to see it chambered in a rifle I'd want to hunt.
 
Seems like Savage and Mossberg has a few rifles chambered for the 6.5 PRC ..

My neighbor has a Shelby Mustang and Dodge Ram diesel dually ... and drives 15 minutes to work through town .. maximum speed limit 40 MPH ..
Nothing to pull or haul with the truck ...

As long as they make bigger & faster , Americans will buy ..
BTW I have a 98 Honda and a 2004 Ranger
So some Americans will buy ..
 
It's not exactly a big and fast play though - all the other 6.5mm (ultra)magnums are bigger and faster.
 
It's not exactly a big and fast play though - all the other 6.5mm (ultra)magnums are bigger and faster.

But they burn barrels...
( according to whatI have read)
I have zero experience with 6.5 cartridges
Sans my Swedes I have owned in the past
 
They all burn barrels. A 26 Nosler burns them a little faster, but even a 6.5CM isn't exactly easy on barrels.
 
I should have said not as fast as other fast .26 bores
You are right
 
Notice the single stack magazine from the link.

Hornady6.5PRC2.jpg

These straight tapered rounds don't feed worth a hoot, straight alignment with the chamber is critical, and, as it turns out for the 450 Bushmaster, if there are more than five rounds in the magazine the rounds will jumble and jam. Maybe that is why I am not seeing a ten round 6.5 PRC magazine in the picture.

Times have changed from the era in shooting competition when magazine feed was important. When I shot NRA Across the Course, you had two stages of rapid fire, with a reload. If you gun jammed your score suffered. The shooting game has gone to prone, single shot only, and no one feeds from the magazine anymore. Nor do some shooters want an ejector, they stick their finger in the loading port and remove the fired cartridge with their finger.

As I understand, Smallbore prone went single shot because competitors were upset when the guys who had five round (or more) magazines went full auto before the wind changed! A procedure of taking sighters until shots stayed in the X ring and the wind seemed stable, and then inserting a ten round magazine twice and and getting all shots off as fast as possible, would seem to be a match winning practice. In fact, I have noticed some unhappiness in the F class world, on electronic targets, where shooters blaze off their 20 rounds for record in under two minutes. Getting those rounds downrange before the wind changes is very important.
 
The 6.5 CM will wear out a barrel about twice as fast as 308. Saying it isn't a barrel burner is relative. The round is based on the 300 WSM and it has gained a moderate amount of support. I don't expect the 6.5 PRC to die, but don't expect it to ever be any more popular than its parent case. The 6.5 CM's performance level is well beyond most shooters. There just aren't many people who can make use of another 200 fps.

Don't get me wrong, I think it is a very well thought out round with potential and I hope its successful. But most shooters are no longer chasing speed like they used to. But shooters are a fickle bunch. Trends change and sometimes good cartridges are ahead of their time.
 
had one on a Mauser 18, 4 rounds in the mag and zero feed issues.
Liked the gun, wasn't thrilled with the PRC. It takes a full length action, and dosent offer any difference in performance from my 6.5-284, .280ai, or 7mag.

Now that's not to say it's performance is bad, just that IVE got that niche covered pretty well.
In my rifle I was also way over book to get to the same velocity, and pressure didn't show till a ways after that. I'm not sure if it was just my gun or what.
 
I built a Kimber 8400 in 6.5 PRC with various barrel lengths. I tried factory Hornady 143gr and 147gr ammunition along with a fair amount of load development. I couldn't get excited about it after months of mediocre performance. I think the barrel geometry is quite important with that cartridge and the WSM barrel profile just doesn't seem to work well. Proof likes the performance of the 6.5 PRC cartridge in their Sendero profile so maybe a stiff barrel is the trick.
 
I built a Kimber 8400 in 6.5 PRC with various barrel lengths. I tried factory Hornady 143gr and 147gr ammunition along with a fair amount of load development. I couldn't get excited about it after months of mediocre performance. I think the barrel geometry is quite important with that cartridge and the WSM barrel profile just doesn't seem to work well. Proof likes the performance of the 6.5 PRC cartridge in their Sendero profile so maybe a stiff barrel is the trick.

I’ve read others say that it can be finicky but take my comment with a grain of salt as I have no direct experience
 
The round is based on the 300 WSM

The 6.5 PRC is parented by the 300 Ruger Compact Magnum, grandparented by the 375 Ruger Magnum.

From where I sit, George had the rug pulled out from under him. The 6.5 Creedmoor was awesome at the time for it’s purpose, but it fell short below the 3200 fps speed limit of the game. So George pushed the case capacity to get the slick 6.5 bullets up to 3100ish, and the PRC made it. Unfortunately, target flashers made it to market a lot faster than a new cartridge, so the game changed directions - instead of pushing farther with heavier and faster bullets, we dropped to little 6mm’s pushing the speed limit with ~25% less bullet weight and about half to 2/3rds of the powder.

Personally, I see the 6.5 PRC as the modern age 7RM. Any purpose I would have recommended the 7RM to accomplish in the past, I’d now recommend the 6.5 PRC. Unfortunately, that particular niche is really only “hunting,” and as we know, “hunting” is a dying tradition.
 
6.5 PRC is a 6.5 Remington Magnum without the belt;
It needs a medium action or Long (Remington) action to run with the bullets not shoved too far into the case;
Precision Rifle matches shooters are mainly using 6mm Creedmoor (other 6 mm/.243's) and smaller 6.5's like the Creedmoor (6.5x47 etc) they do not need or want magnum recoil;
6.5 PRC like the .264 Winchester Magnum is an excellent longer range deer, bear, antelope rifle, like the dozens of excellent cartridges that already exist. It will not throw the lead available from any of the .270 Magnums, 7mm Magnums, or .300 Magnums for bigger animals like Elk, Moose, Brown bears etc.

Hornady has an excellent Marketing Department

Good Luck

Jerry
 
6.5 PRC will handily outperform any factory .270 (magnum or not) for elk. There is no equivalent of the 160gr .264 Weldcore protected point in .277, at least not one that will stabilize in a 1:10".
 
Too bad it's neutered to function in a 1:10". The weight retention is worse than the Weldcore, the bc is worse and the velocity will be worse. It's like the 6.5 load only, well, worse :D
 
I acquired 5 boxes of Hornady 6.5 PRC ammo, 140 ELD-X. I've had a posting for about a year on the bulletin board of a 1200+ member sportsmans club to sell them for $80. Not 1 call.
 
Too bad it's neutered to function in a 1:10". The weight retention is worse than the Weldcore, the bc is worse and the velocity will be worse. It's like the 6.5 load only, well, worse :D

17 reviews on Midwayusa, all 5 star. Can't be too bad.
 
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