Help deciding caliber

[UndFrm]

I have been looking into getting into PRS center fire matches. From the conversation I've had with the people in the comp, 6BR was the most common recommendation for the caliber which I was pretty set on as well.
Then, I looked at the prices (and the availability) of the brass. I've been looking into these 2 factors only for a last few months so I'm unsure if it's just the current situation or has been like this for a while.
My question is, should I eat the cost of the 6BR and hopefully the costs will go down soon, or, look for another caliber that's another ideal candidate for PRS while keep the costs down? Another person recommended 6.5CM.
I do also tend to occasionally go down ranges between 1000 and 1500yd and was hoping to get a 2nd rifle for that purpose. Maybe a compromise between the 2 that can be used for both?


Thank you

 

[kindabitey]

The cost is not going to go down, that's for sure. A 6BR is going to be an easy button for load development and such.
A better question is what components are available such as powder, projectiles, etc. Any BR based cartridges would be a
safe bet for PRS type shooting.
The advantage of the 6.5 or 6 Creed is the availability of factory ammo, on the occasion you don't want to load ammo.
6BR brass is available

https://alphamunitions.com/product/6mm-br-srp-small-rifle-primer/

 

[drifter308]

You could also go with 6GT. GA Precision will be taking orders for the Pinnacle Production Rifle (PPR). I bought one last year in 6 Creed and will be getting one in 6GT. They also sell Hornady 6GT ammo if you don't want to reload. It is $2999.99, to be in production class for PRS. However I have taken my 6 Creed out to 1,500 yards with no problem. I am running my Creed hard though. 6GT was meant to do what a Dasher can, but feed from a magazine easier. I have a 6 GT already for my ATX and love the caliber. I also have 25 Creed that I am about to start messing with in my ATX. 6.5 is a good option to especially if you don't want to reload and you can get it to 1.500 yards.

 

[FuhQ]

A .25 Creed pushing Berger 133’s or 135’s would ballistically beat a 6.5 Creed with 140’s. With less recoil and more velocity.

I’m building a .25 Creed on an Aero Solus right now. Just waiting on the custom barrel from @CarbonSix to get finished up.

 

[godofthunder]

I would probably go the 6GT route if I was in your shoes. I'm building a 6 ARC because I have so much stuff for it already, but may change it to GT someday.

 

[spife7980]

Take the price of new brass and divide it by 15 and see if that’s a more acceptable cost per shot.

Cheap brass doesn’t last. When it fails it requires redoing development more often for the next batch of short lived brass. For all the and effort redoing each new short lot you get brass that’s also not as consistent.

Life’s too expensive to shoot cheap brass for a chambering you didn’t want.

 

[Taylorbok]

6 Dasher be my choice. If the price of the brass is an issue I'd look into knitting. It's one of the cheapest items when it comes to shooting.

 

[Secondistic]

I was new to LR shooting and reloading a couple years ago. Went straight 6br and never regretted it. Keep your eyes on the lookout, good brass is available from time to time. Easy to reload and work up a load as previously stated.

 

[FuhQ]

Take the price of new brass and divide it by 15 and see if that’s a more acceptable cost per shot.

Cheap brass doesn’t last. When it fails it requires redoing development more often for the next batch of short lived brass. For all the and effort redoing each new short lot you get brass that’s also not as consistent.

Life’s too expensive to shoot cheap brass for a chambering you didn’t want.

That’s why unless it’s currently a “Hornady-only” caliber (7PRC & 6 ARC for a long time), I try to only use Lapua, Alpha, or Nosler brass.

 

[Stevo86]

A .25 Creed pushing Berger 133’s or 135’s would ballistically beat a 6.5 Creed with 140’s. With less recoil and more velocity.

I’m building a .25 Creed on an Aero Solus right now. Just waiting on the custom barrel from @CarbonSix to get finished up.

This is the way

 

[Rippey715]

25 cal bullets are already getting harder to find. Especially since there are only three bullet options currently. Last year the availability of 25 cal components was one of the biggest selling points.

 

[Baron85]

I’m going to go a different direction with my suggestion. Look into a 223. If you are just starting out you will need to shoot a lot to progress and 223 has better barrel life and is cheaper. Also, 223 makes it easier to watch your impacts and misses so you can make corrections and learn.

I recommend buying an action that takes proof prefits since they are cheaper, available on the shelf usually with no wait and perform.

If your hand loading 223 is a very competent round especially for a new shooter. Not the best choice to go to a pro level match but starting out I think it’s the best choice.

How far do you shoot in your local matches? If most of the targets are under 1k I think you would be doing your self a huge favor starting with 223.

Get a bighorn origin so when you progress and can use the performance of a round like the dasher you can simply order a new bolt head and barrel and keep rocking.

 

[EotS]

Recoil aside, 6.5prc is damn near the same price as CM......

 

[Newbie2020]

I’m going to go a different direction with my suggestion. Look into a 223. If you are just starting out you will need to shoot a lot to progress and 223 has better barrel life and is cheaper. Also, 223 makes it easier to watch your impacts and misses so you can make corrections and learn.

I recommend buying an action that takes proof prefits since they are cheaper, available on the shelf usually with no wait and perform.

If your hand loading 223 is a very competent round especially for a new shooter. Not the best choice to go to a pro level match but starting out I think it’s the best choice.

How far do you shoot in your local matches? If most of the targets are under 1k I think you would be doing your self a huge favor starting with 223.

Get a bighorn origin so when you progress and can use the performance of a round like the dasher you can simply order a new bolt head and barrel and keep rocking.

I kinda like this direction. I recently had fun tinging steel out to 725 with my 223. Beyond that I couldn’t move the steel or hear the impact. With so little recoil I was able to spot all my own impacts. If you’re in obscene winds maybe not so fun. But in decent conditions out to 700 or so all day fun for peanuts in ammo cost.

 

[Baron85]

I agree on impact energy out further is much harder to see. For me it’s around the 800 yard mark that it starts to get hard. Most of the matches I shoot have hit indicators starting around this distance so it works. Below is my old 6br match load with 108 eldms and my current 223 match load with 88 eldms. Admittedly both are on the warm side and brass doesn’t last long which on the 223 it’s not a big deal since brass is so cheap. The info is 1000 yards with a 10mph 90* wind. The 223 has slightly less drop at 1k and the 6br has slightly less wind. We are taking a couple inches. For all purposes they are equal.

For the 223 to be a real option you need a long throat barrel with fast twist and you have to hand load. Factory rounds are neutered to allow them to fit in ARs.

 

[Baron85]

According to my solver my 223 has 542# energy at 1k and my 6br has 672#. Decent difference but the reality for me is most targets/points at the matches I shoot are probably under 600-700 yards and the 223 gives a noticeably benefit closer up.

I feel if your not a top 10 shooter at the local matches that the 223 won’t hold you back but will actually help you grow and move up.

 

[UndFrm]

I’m going to go a different direction with my suggestion. Look into a 223. If you are just starting out you will need to shoot a lot to progress and 223 has better barrel life and is cheaper. Also, 223 makes it easier to watch your impacts and misses so you can make corrections and learn.

I recommend buying an action that takes proof prefits since they are cheaper, available on the shelf usually with no wait and perform.

If your hand loading 223 is a very competent round especially for a new shooter. Not the best choice to go to a pro level match but starting out I think it’s the best choice.

How far do you shoot in your local matches? If most of the targets are under 1k I think you would be doing your self a huge favor starting with 223.

Get a bighorn origin so when you progress and can use the performance of a round like the dasher you can simply order a new bolt head and barrel and keep rocking.

Yes, most of not all are just under 1000yds.
Interesting the 223 recommendation here, I'll look more into that.

Thank you

 

[c1steve]

Cost of barrels will be an issue with some calibers. .223 might last 5k rounds, or more. Larger cases with 6mm or .25 bullets will have a much shorter life.

 

[codym]

It’s an interesting question. I had a 6br, great round super easy to load for. I went 6 dasher and have the same great experience with it as I did the br… biggest drawback is the bullets. I prefer the 105 hybrid and they were really really hard to come by for some time. I have a 25 creed I’m working out for NRL hunter and it’s been great, but really handicapped by bullets. Better hope it likes one of the 3 offerings. Honestly for what you’re describing I would recommend the 223AI. I shoot that more than anything else and don’t feel I give anything up under 800 yards, less powder and tons of components. I’m running varget in lapua brass with the 80.5 bergers at 3k in the full AI load and the 75 eldm’s and 8208 when fireforming. The ff load is super capable and I wouldn’t hesitate to shoot a match with it.

 

[Baron85]

One thing to consider between the 223 and 223ai is the 223ai will not qualify for tac class if you have any interest in that.

 

[codym]

One thing to consider between the 223 and 223ai is the 223ai will not qualify for tac class if you have any interest in that.

Even if you’re shooting straight 223 out of it? I’ve never shot tac before

 

[Baron85]

Hmmmm not sure about that…. I don’t shoot tac class but stuck with 223 for the possibility. Also there are a few local matches that are tac only matches, of course, I have never shot any of them.

 

[Shoots 700's]

2.2.4 No modified wildcat rounds such as the .223 Ackley Improved are permitted to shoot in the Tactical Division. Anyone discovered violating this rule will receive an automatic Match DQ.

 

[FuhQ]

It’s an interesting question. I had a 6br, great round super easy to load for. I went 6 dasher and have the same great experience with it as I did the br… biggest drawback is the bullets. I prefer the 105 hybrid and they were really really hard to come by for some time. I have a 25 creed I’m working out for NRL hunter and it’s been great, but really handicapped by bullets. Better hope it likes one of the 3 offerings. Honestly for what you’re describing I would recommend the 223AI. I shoot that more than anything else and don’t feel I give anything up under 800 yards, less powder and tons of components. I’m running varget in lapua brass with the 80.5 bergers at 3k in the full AI load and the 75 eldm’s and 8208 when fireforming. The ff load is super capable and I wouldn’t hesitate to shoot a match with it.

How are you handicapped by the .257 bullets? Use the Berger 133 Elites or 135 Hybrids... HUGE B.C. compared to others mentioned. As long as the rifle was built right, and you know how to reload quality ammo, then you should be able to get something to shoot with the right powder bullet combo and COAL.

I'm building a .25 Creed right now, too. Waiting on my barrel. Went with a 20" CarbonSix Bull profile 1:7 twist, and bought an Alpha Legacy reamer and matching Alpha .25CM brass. Should be a shooter. I'm going to run the Berger 133 Elites (I'll probably use it for hunting occasionally, so might as well just use the same bullet, right?). Already got 10 boxes on the shelf ready to go.

 

[Rio Precision Gunworks]

Fortunately is almost impossible to be “handicapped” if Berger makes a bullet for it.

I’d probably trash a barrel before I use anything other than Berger for PRS. With the exception of A-Tips.

 

[FuhQ]

Fortunately is almost impossible to be “handicapped” if Berger makes a bullet for it.

I’d probably trash a barrel before I use anything other than Berger for PRS. With the exception of A-Tips.

I've had good luck with Nosler RDF's and Custom Comps over the years. But if money was riding on it, drop the extra cash on the Bergers.

 

[Baron85]

For the purposes I see/and use the 223 cheaper is better. I ran 75 eldms and switched last year to 88 eldms to try them. Both have performed well

 

[Newbie2020]

According to my solver my 223 has 542# energy at 1k and my 6br has 672#. Decent difference but the reality for me is most targets/points at the matches I shoot are probably under 600-700 yards and the 223 gives a noticeably benefit closer up.

I feel if your not a top 10 shooter at the local matches that the 223 won’t hold you back but will actually help you grow and move up.

Dammit @Baron85 you’re gonna get us both fined by the 6 police?!?!

 

[Nik H]

I have been looking into getting into PRS center fire matches. From the conversation I've had with the people in the comp, 6BR was the most common recommendation for the caliber which I was pretty set on as well.
Then, I looked at the prices (and the availability) of the brass. I've been looking into these 2 factors only for a last few months so I'm unsure if it's just the current situation or has been like this for a while.
My question is, should I eat the cost of the 6BR and hopefully the costs will go down soon, or, look for another caliber that's another ideal candidate for PRS while keep the costs down? Another person recommended 6.5CM.
I do also tend to occasionally go down ranges between 1000 and 1500yd and was hoping to get a 2nd rifle for that purpose. Maybe a compromise between the 2 that can be used for both?


Thank you

This was a just published article. Pretty interesting if you want to see what the popularity of cartridges used by PRS competitors.

Precision Rifle Blog

 

[Baron85]

Dammit @Baron85 you’re gonna get us both fined by the 6 police?!?!

My main match rifle is still a 6 dasher. I am selling my 6br because the 223 pretty much replaced it, I will say my 223 doesn’t shoot quite as tight as my BR but components are so much cheaper.