6.5 PRC appropriate action length

F

Firefowl

Private
Minuteman
Jan 15, 2023
6
4
Washington state
#1
So I’m finding out the hard way that 6.5prc needs to be in something longer than a short action to load the heavier bullets at the length they need.
I’m hesitant to go to long action for fear of feeding problems. What do you all think about the Tikka action, being somewhere between LA and SA. Does it have enough space after changing the bolt stop, bolt face, and screwing on a prefit?
Thanks for the help all.
 
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#4
I would say medium action would be ideal if you planned to run short action only and load long or wish to have a slightly ligher, more compact gun. However, I did it off a long action and it runs sweet. Watch this...it may change your mind.

 
#6
b6graham said:
tikka is more than long enough

how much length do you need? zermatt and hawkins combo can get to 2.980"
Click to expand...
I don’t know yet. Loaded the 156 Bergers as long as I could in the short action and got pressure about halfway through ladder testing (starting from the bottom load in the manual). Couldn’t get beyond 2700fpc without pressure signs.
I think the short action for shorter 140g bullets is fine. That’s what 6.5PRC was originally intended for. I don’t think the longer 153g & 156g bullets can be seated where they need to be in a short action.
 
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#7
Short action and 156s at 2.970 COAL works really well and no real need for a XM with the 6.5 PRC and Sammi spec chamber. All The factory loadings in 6.5prc work in SAs without issue.

2700 is really slow. I get well over that with a very very mild load in an 18 inch barrel with RL26 and the 156s. In my 22" I'm in the mid 2900s and over 3k if I want in the 24" guns.
 
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#9
In a saami 65prc chamber, 156 Berger touch lands approb 3.065 coal in my rifles. I run 225k freebore and it's closer to 3.1" at touch using Tikka actions. I just built a 65saum with 225k freebore for 156s on a zermatt medium with hawkins hunter mags. I also have a 65 Saum on a short action using a wyatts cfe5 box that holds 2.995 internal, no issues loading 140 Bergers around 2.97 in that, freebore is only around 0.110 in that chamber tho. Factory 65prc ammo is around 2.95 coal. The prc freebore is designed for short action, using eld bullets. They have a short nose long bearing, so coal isn't that long touching. Bergers.......different story.
 
#11
I'm running the same thing. I'd like to build a rifle in 6.5 PRC, but knowing what chassis will fit is a challenge. Some rifle manufactures state that they use a "long action" in the 6.5 chamberings, while others say they use a "short action". And others don't say at all. Knowing if a particular action will work with a particular chassis when you're going with 6.5 PRC seems like something of a crap shoot. The confusion and lack of documentation is frustrating. I'm pretty sure the same thing will be true with 6.8 Western and .300 WSM although the rifle options go way down with those.
 
#12
I have a model 7 in 300 saum that I would like to turn into a 6.5 PRC, but the Sammi print looks like it is to long. I know big green loaded the 300WSM in the m7 action. I have heard that I could possibly notch the feed ramp but not how that would effect reliability of loading or what other cans of worms that would open. I do not reload otherwise I would would go for the 6.5 saum.

Wanting to continue the discussion, not trying to hijack the thread.
 
#13
I believe Hornady 65prc ammo is around 2.950. Talk to your gunsmith and see if he can modify bolt stop, area in front of trigger and feed ramp to get more internal length to function through the action. Back in the day wyatts used to advertise some their mag boxes as model 7 compatible.
 
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#16
HerCoStarNTheBeaverPictur said:
I built mine on a bat bumblebee with the unknown munitions bottom metal. Short action but can load out to 3.15”. It’s been great for me running the 156gr bergers.
Click to expand...
This is the ideal setup. I have a 25prc on bumblebee, and 6prc on a Vesper using the unknown dbm and XL mag. The only downfall of the bumblebee is the flat bottom funky inlet. I am swapping my McMillan Game scout lr out to a Mtn tracker lr. I also have a vampire with a 24" 7lrm barrel, bat's are sure sweet actions!
 
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#17
FunkyRelic said:
I'm running the same thing. I'd like to build a rifle in 6.5 PRC, but knowing what chassis will fit is a challenge. Some rifle manufactures state that they use a "long action" in the 6.5 chamberings, while others say they use a "short action". And others don't say at all. Knowing if a particular action will work with a particular chassis when you're going with 6.5 PRC seems like something of a crap shoot. The confusion and lack of documentation is frustrating. I'm pretty sure the same thing will be true with 6.8 Western and .300 WSM although the rifle options go way down with those.
Click to expand...
I've decided to solve the problem another way. I'm just going with 7mm PRC. There are not quite as many rifles chambered in it as the 6.5 PRC and it definitely has more recoil, but...
 
#18
I have my 6.5PRC in a LP Razor long action. Before deciding to swap back to a chassis I used the Hawkins bottom metal and 300WM mags and it ran fine.

My thought was if I ever wanted to step up to 7PRC for a hunting rig I already had the action capability to do so.
 
#19
FunkyRelic said:
I've decided to solve the problem another way. I'm just going with 7mm PRC. There are not quite as many rifles chambered in it as the 6.5 PRC and it definitely has more recoil, but...
Click to expand...
Okay. Gotta back it up. When it came right down to pulling the trigger (;)) on a new rifle, I did end up going with a CVA Cascade Long Range Hunter (LRH) in 6.5mm PRC. I'll be picking it up today. I also picked up an Athlon Argos BTR Gen2 6-24x50 for the optic. I hope to get this put together and ready for the range this weekend.
 
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