Hey all,
First time poster. I'm hoping to get some outside thoughts.
I have a Remington 700 chambered in .308 winchester with a 1:12 twist. This rifle is a shooter with Hornady Amax 165 or BTHP 168. Holes touching at 100 yards. When California moved to 100% Lead Free for all hunting I tried out about 8 different loads from 150gr (lowest I could find) to 168gr. I tried Winchester, Hornady, Barnes, Buffalo Bore, etc. The best grouping I could achieve with the copper was about 1.5-2". I believe this was directly correlated to the slow twist rate of the barrel and the longer coper bullet. Needless to say, it has shaken my shooting confidence and I do not feel comfortable hunting the current setup as long as Lead-free is required.
I love the .308 round from both a practical and nostalgic viewpoint. My hunting ranges are typically 200-400 yards but also like to do some target shooting in the sub 1000 yard range. I primarily hunt pigs but getting into Mule Deer hopefully soon.
I have been doing a lot of research and I also am impressed with the 6.5 PRC but not sure there's enough of a practical difference for me to purchase a new rifle outright. I'm not totally convinced there's a downside to the 6.5 PRC within 400 yards based on bullet weight alone and the longer range stability looks promising. I am not really concerned with barrel life. I'm also not totally convinced I need the better ballistics of the 6.5 PRC based on my use case.
These are the options I am considering:
Option 1
Rebarrel with .308 Hart Barrel - Light Varmint Contour with 1:10 twist)
Debating between 18" and 20" still
Straight Flutes
Cerakote Action and Barrel
Treaded with a VG6 Gamma
Drop it into a KRG Bravo Chassis
Total in, I'll be around $2,000ish (effectively the same as options 2 or 3)
Pros: Check's all the boxes I'm looking to check
Cons: 11 MONTH wait time for Hart Re-barreling, still have 1 rifle
Option 2
Seekins Precision just released the details on Havak PH3 which has a 20" barrel on short actions and it ticks all the boxes.
Purchase Havak PH3 in .308 with 20" barrel and supplement with 6.5 PRC bolt face and barrel later using it as a switch barrel rifle. I'm not sure the 1:11.25 twist will be great for copper though. Sell my current .308 or re-barrel it in another caliber later.
Pros: Ticks all the boxes and possibly recoup some money from the sale of my current Remington 700. Really like the action and look of the PH3. Stock fits me really well.
Cons: Hassle of selling my current .308. Not sure if I want to go the barrel swapping route. Nostalgia makes me want to keep my first bolt action.
Concern: Only a 1:11.25 twist. Not sure how this will work with Copper.
Option 3
Purchase Havak PH3 in 6.5 PRC and re-barrel my existing .308 later.
Pros: I would have 2 rifles. 2 calibers.
Cons: Would not be able to hunt with the .308 until/if I re-barrel later.
Concern: If I go this route, would I be better off going long action 7 PRC instead of having a .308 and 6.5 PRC both?
What would you guys do? What am I not considering?
First time poster. I'm hoping to get some outside thoughts.
I have a Remington 700 chambered in .308 winchester with a 1:12 twist. This rifle is a shooter with Hornady Amax 165 or BTHP 168. Holes touching at 100 yards. When California moved to 100% Lead Free for all hunting I tried out about 8 different loads from 150gr (lowest I could find) to 168gr. I tried Winchester, Hornady, Barnes, Buffalo Bore, etc. The best grouping I could achieve with the copper was about 1.5-2". I believe this was directly correlated to the slow twist rate of the barrel and the longer coper bullet. Needless to say, it has shaken my shooting confidence and I do not feel comfortable hunting the current setup as long as Lead-free is required.
I love the .308 round from both a practical and nostalgic viewpoint. My hunting ranges are typically 200-400 yards but also like to do some target shooting in the sub 1000 yard range. I primarily hunt pigs but getting into Mule Deer hopefully soon.
I have been doing a lot of research and I also am impressed with the 6.5 PRC but not sure there's enough of a practical difference for me to purchase a new rifle outright. I'm not totally convinced there's a downside to the 6.5 PRC within 400 yards based on bullet weight alone and the longer range stability looks promising. I am not really concerned with barrel life. I'm also not totally convinced I need the better ballistics of the 6.5 PRC based on my use case.
These are the options I am considering:
Option 1
Rebarrel with .308 Hart Barrel - Light Varmint Contour with 1:10 twist)
Debating between 18" and 20" still
Straight Flutes
Cerakote Action and Barrel
Treaded with a VG6 Gamma
Drop it into a KRG Bravo Chassis
Total in, I'll be around $2,000ish (effectively the same as options 2 or 3)
Pros: Check's all the boxes I'm looking to check
Cons: 11 MONTH wait time for Hart Re-barreling, still have 1 rifle
Option 2
Seekins Precision just released the details on Havak PH3 which has a 20" barrel on short actions and it ticks all the boxes.
Purchase Havak PH3 in .308 with 20" barrel and supplement with 6.5 PRC bolt face and barrel later using it as a switch barrel rifle. I'm not sure the 1:11.25 twist will be great for copper though. Sell my current .308 or re-barrel it in another caliber later.
Pros: Ticks all the boxes and possibly recoup some money from the sale of my current Remington 700. Really like the action and look of the PH3. Stock fits me really well.
Cons: Hassle of selling my current .308. Not sure if I want to go the barrel swapping route. Nostalgia makes me want to keep my first bolt action.
Concern: Only a 1:11.25 twist. Not sure how this will work with Copper.
Option 3
Purchase Havak PH3 in 6.5 PRC and re-barrel my existing .308 later.
Pros: I would have 2 rifles. 2 calibers.
Cons: Would not be able to hunt with the .308 until/if I re-barrel later.
Concern: If I go this route, would I be better off going long action 7 PRC instead of having a .308 and 6.5 PRC both?
What would you guys do? What am I not considering?
