Ammo is on the way. I’m curious what it will do in my 20” Proof.
6.5 PRC
- Thread starter Deadshot260
- Start date
Ammo is on the way. I’m curious what it will do in my 20” Proof.
Thank you! I’m excited to get some rounds through it. My fingers are crossed for the draw. I hope to be chasing elk with this thing.
Very curious to see what velocities you achieve with factory ammo. What chamber or freebies did you decide to use? Or what’s the jump for factory 143/147 ammo
I haven’t even looked at the reamer print from JGS yet. My interest is in the 143 Precision Hunter line. I’ll check it out when I bust out of the day job.
I have a 20” Proof coming, and have considered doing a PRC or SAUM instead of a creed. That said TBAC lists 20” as the min length for their 7 Ultra for 6.5 SAUM due to pressure. Is there any concern about this? 20” is the recommended minimum and I am assuming they have done a cycle fatigue analysis at this pressure, but I’m wondering is it nothing to worry about, or is my suppressor going to get beat up over time? The other question is 20” giving up too much velocity for 60 gr of powder vs going Creed.
A little freebore boost never hurt anything..
I favor shorter barrels and suppressors as a general rule, especially since my state allows hunting with one. My 6.5 CM is 18” and pushing 140’s at 2,700 fps. My goal for the 6.5 SAUM was 3k fps with a 140 and 21” barrel. The SAUM ended up managing 3,052 fps with suppressor. I hope the PRC can flirt with 3k handloading (with suppressor) and have my fingers crossed the Precision Hunter ammo with 143 ELD-X will flirt with 2,900 fps.
Hornady Match 147 great eld
Best 5 shoot group at 300 yard for the first trip out
This is totally apples and oranges - I'm just tossing it out as an FYI. Guns and Ammo occasionally puts out a Sniper issue. Yesterday I picked up the new one, in part because the cover listed a 6.5PRC article. Tom Beckstrand had Mile High build a custom 6.5 PRC with a gain twist barrel, Bighorn action and an AI chassis. It shot well with factory ammo, a best of .35 MOA if I recall correctly. What surprised me is that factory Hornady match ammo was ~3000 fps as I was expecting a bit more. I have not really read the article closely yet, so I don't know if the barrel is fully broken in yet.
Happen know what length barrel that is, because the factory 147 Match is tested to 2910 average from 24” barrel from Hornady. That seems pretty good for factory velocity.
Factory velocity was a little slow for my 28 1-7 twist but that was expected. Accuracy was .818 for 5 shots w factory 147 at 300 yards.. Im going to try that same load at 1K this weekend hopefully before i start loading as a baseline.
The last trip at 300 yards. The barrel has settled in .3 mills from 100 yard zero
All anyone should shoot is off a bipod and prone. I laugh at guys using sleds or heavy machine rests. IDK about you but in the field i have never ran into a bench w a sled on it lol.
I didn't measure the drop but it was about .75 mil for drop. This was a quick trip just to sight it in. we had heavy rain and thunder storms rolling in.
Tried factory 147 ammo at a mile yesterday. Load showed promise w consistent hits in the dirt but ran out of adjustment on my scope and couldn't get it on target due to wet ground conditions and fog. That was my first attempt at 1 mile which by the way is no joke. lol
Have any factory rifles chambered in 6.5 PRC been announced or released or is custom the only option currently available?
My barrel now has 120 rounds and has sped up w factory 147. Fresh barrel velocity averaged 2890 and tonight averaged 2990 20 degrees cooler temps. All velocity measured from a Magnetospeed V-3 in my Bartlein 1-7.
I started loading the 147 ELD-m best load was the hottest so far. Average velocity was 3060.. I will have no problem seeing 3100 plus as long as the accuracy stays. First attempt w the 150 Sierra wasn't good at all but it was only one charge weight.
Bumped up the load this morning and retested the top 3 handloads at 300. 147 Eld-m w new Hornady brass. First 3 inside half inch at 300 4-5 opened up. My med Palma heats up fast w the RL-26
Bartlein 28 inch Marksman contour 1-7 twist JGS reamer .188 freebore. All handholds running at 2.950 from Alpha and Accurate mags.
According to guys on FB who have tested the 150 Sierra in the .188 FB recommend loading them at 3.08-3.15 either single feeding or a long action build. Im sticking w the 147 ELD for now, the 150 Sierra was more for me playing at 1 mile so if i single feed them its no problem.
Did you see my post about my barrel speeding up to 2990 average after 100 rounds w factory ammo. Every barrel is different. Put some rounds down range and chronograph w the loads you plan on using. I think i can get 3150 w 147 eld and RL-26.
There was a guy in the FB group who also got 147's up to that velocity with RL-23 in the FB group. It was a compressed load that required a drop tube as I recall.
I haven't done much load development, but RL-26 has worked pretty well for me at 54.5 gr. I am at 2900 fps with that in a 24" barrel and sub 8 sd with my Harvester and it is sub 4sd with a brake. It does heat up my ~#4 contour very fast and will make it too hot to touch after 8-10 rounds in 2 minutes.
I will say, I think it does get pretty fast when it is hot as I have heard others mention here before. I shot a match that was easily over 80 degrees, maybe close to 90 that day. I missed everything high on the second half of the day after it really got to cooking. I cant say how much faster my loads were but I started noticing ejector swipes on those rounds. I took about 3 tenths of all my drops. I thought it was barrel speed up between rounds 99-197 but that was not the case as the left over ammo from the match chronoed the same on a different, cooler day. I have not had barrel speed up in the 207 rounds I have put down my 24" Havak thus far.
I haven't done much load development, but RL-26 has worked pretty well for me at 54.5 gr. I am at 2900 fps with that in a 24" barrel and sub 8 sd with my Harvester and it is sub 4sd with a brake. It does heat up my ~#4 contour very fast and will make it too hot to touch after 8-10 rounds in 2 minutes.
I will say, I think it does get pretty fast when it is hot as I have heard others mention here before. I shot a match that was easily over 80 degrees, maybe close to 90 that day. I missed everything high on the second half of the day after it really got to cooking. I cant say how much faster my loads were but I started noticing ejector swipes on those rounds. I took about 3 tenths of all my drops. I thought it was barrel speed up between rounds 99-197 but that was not the case as the left over ammo from the match chronoed the same on a different, cooler day. I have not had barrel speed up in the 207 rounds I have put down my 24" Havak thus far.
I hit 3110 average this morning w 147 no pressure signs and plenty of room in the case for another .5 grain w room to spare.
Side note Betram brass is releasing 6.5 PRC brass I'm trying to get some for testing the 150 Sierra..
Hey guys want to get a 6.5 prc done. 22” CF proof barrel will be shooting cutting edge bullets 130 or 140 gr. The 140’s are really long so single feed only.
Was wondering what freebore you guys might suggest going with? No interest in shooting the 150’s or anything. Thanks
Was wondering what freebore you guys might suggest going with? No interest in shooting the 150’s or anything. Thanks
The standard size should be fine ( IDK what it is) with the 130's. I'm trying them in my SAUM since they shot like dog shit in my creedmoor. With my .081" freebore they're somewhere around 2.710" COAL .020" off the lands.
Yea I’ve heard mixed reports on them, but not a lot of lead free options for us here in CA for hunting.
