One Rifle To Dial in Hunting / Scope Work Advice - 6.5 CM/PRC vs 7 PRC

[FreedomCrawler]

Just moved back to the panhandle area and as I am away from the wife and kid for about a year I figure this is the perfect opportunity to learn how to shoot better. Primary goal being that when we leave Hawaii and get back to the mountains I can not only be a more dialed in hunter but also try and do some PRS. Really learn how to use my scope and make calls so that when I see a mule deer/elk at a specific distance I know exactly how I need to make adjustments for the shot.

Prior to us moving to Hawaii I had picked up a Remington 700P in .308 with threaded 20” barrel. As I was bringing my M1A as well I wanted to keep a single caliber that I knew I could easily find.

Now that I'm back here I'm highly considering selling it and moving to a more versatile caliber that I can use at the range and stretch out a bit more while also learning on.

I originally wanted a 300PRC but despite the little voice telling me to go big or go home I know its overkill for what I want to accomplish. Plus fighting the recoil and cost of ammo to try and dial in technique would just be an added disadvantage.

I'm a big fan of 6.5 creedmoor but I don't feel as comfortable as some with using it on Elk. Great practice round though and I know it could stretch a bit easier than the .308 in a 20” barrel.

6.5 PRC does a bit better however I'm thinking the 7 PRC is perfect for what I want to accomplish.

Since I'm limited on space and knowing I'll have to ship whatever I get back to Hawaii I'd like to stick with one caliber for now. Gives me the best chance to focus on one rifle and caliber to learn on and I can bring ammo back with me as needed when I leave.

The 7 will stretch at the range, work well in the mountains and won't hit as hard as the 300PRC on my shoulder.

Am I off track with my thinking? I most likely won't be in the mountains hunting until after we leave Hawaii but that doesn't mean it won't happen. No, I wouldn't use 7 PRC for PRS.

Range here is 100 to 1k for reference.

My thought was train on what you plan to hunt with and if you're going to just have one for now, get the 7, learn on it and get a 6.5 CM or PRC later.

Opinions welcome.

 

[Supersubes]

I think you're doing it backwards, if I understand your timeline anyway. You have the 308, if its a decent rifle and has a repeatable scope. Look no further. If it needs a better scope for long range, re-scope it. Makes no sense to buy a new rifle in a magnum cartridge to learn on. If you must buy a new gun, the 6.5 cm is a great start.

Every time elk gets included in the needs, my very next question is when’s the hunt? If it isn't booked, about to be booked, or you're not holding a tag, proceed like it isn't happening. My two cents anyway.

 

[FreedomCrawler]

I think you're doing it backwards, if I understand your timeline anyway. You have the 308, if its a decent rifle and has a repeatable scope. Look no further. If it needs a better scope for long range, re-scope it. Makes no sense to buy a new rifle in a magnum cartridge to learn on. If you must buy a new gun, the 6.5 cm is a great start.

Every time elk gets included in the needs, my very next question is when’s the hunt? If it isn't booked, about to be booked, or you're not holding a tag, proceed like it isn't happening. My two cents anyway.

I generally put in for an elk tag every year just in case. I kept my residency in Colorado so that I can still get preference points and put in for it. Obviously to late for this year unless I found myself there and grabbed an over the counter but that's extremely unlikely. So realistically I won't make another trip to CO to hunt until next Fall.

Agreed that the 6.5 CM is a great place to start however that goes back to not wanting to have to get another rifle next year with a bit more punch.

I'm tracking with you on using the .308 for now. It's a solid platform as its the Police version. While heavier it is more dialed in than the some of the other models out the gate and it's pre-before they started falling too far off the radar.

I guess I was mainly a bit more curious with the limitations the caliber would give me going from 600+ when I got to that point with the 20” barrel. I'm at a good point where I can swap it out for something "better" as I haven't picked up any ammo since moving back to the mainland and wanted to run through my options.

 

[FreedomCrawler]

Any other input would be appreciated.

I’m also partial to Bergara but have seen that once you climb closer to $2k you may as well build a custom. Thoughts on this as I was either thinking of going with another b14 hmr wilderness or moving up to the LRP. Which is closer to $2k

 

[Supersubes]

The 6.5 PRC is a fair but smaller in capacity than the 7 PRC. Nice split between the 6.5 creed and the 7 PRC.

 

[Skeptic1]

You can fly with your rifle checked as luggage from the "panhandle" without issue.

 

[tacoman69]

6.5 cm. The increase in recoil isn't worth the increase in fps with th prc. you will spot shots better, shoot better with less recoil and be much quicker with follow up shots. 140 or 147 eldm or 143 eldx are perfectly adequate for elk.

 

[260shooter]

Wear out the barrel on the 308 (if you can) and perfect your wind calls. When you get back conus (if it were me) pick up a 7 PRC (my preference would be a Seekins Havak PH2). Good factory ammo with a good bullet. Hunting weight rifle, install a APA Lil Bastard brake. Break in barrel while gaining experience with the cartridge. Apply for animals on your list.

 

[4O6shootist]

A 65, 7, and 300 prc will push heavy for cal bullets at the same velocity window in all 3 bore diameters, that was the point. Elk aren't bullet proof, 1000s die every year from an arrow. Use a good expanding bullet in the vitals or a heavy constructed bullet to break down the front shoulders. 308 is just fine, as is the creed. My household has 6 elk tags this year and I'm killing my share of the with a 6mm. Put a bullet where it's supposed to go, and it'll do it's job.

 

[Long Range 338]

Keep the 308 and spend some time behind the rifle becoming a better shooter…. Your skills will always be the limiting factor and will transfer from gun to gun. You’re not going to get quality training/practice behind a magnum rifle.

 

[themightytimmah]

The big guns tend to “shoot through the wind”. I’d pick up a 7 PRC, and do 95% of your practice on the 308 at the ranges you intend to hunt at.

That 7 won’t let you down on an actual animal, and it will feel like a cheat code at 600 yards after shooting 308.

 

[david walter]

Plenty of hunters in WA slaying elk with 6.5 Creedmoor. And 308s.

As other have said, you’re already there. Buy or build more ammo and practice.

 

[moosemeat]

Agree with everyone else. Keep the 308. Shoot it. It's not limited to 600. You can take the 20" with 175 smk to 1000.
Use the 308 for elk. A 168 tsx will put em down.
But a 6.5 creed for the play gun. If you really want to do PRS it's gonna end up 20+# and in a chassis. Hell, get a Aero Solus and play with that for a bit.

 

[noremorse92]

I'll come at this differently. Your goal is to become a better shot at distance. Your use cases are different in practice but the same in theory. You want to hit a target at likely unknown distances reliably and competently with your rifle.

A good shooter isn't a good shooter because he has the best rifle
Or the best scope
Or the best cartridge
Or because he shoots the most modern and highest BC bullets...

A good shooter is a good shooter because they send a ton of lead downrange, regularly, for many years, in all conditions, from a variety of positions, locations and ranges. All with a goal in mind and a strong non emotional analysis of the results from the day to help progress towards that goal.

So with that in mind

What cartridge choice will allow you to do the above?

 

[FreedomCrawler]

Thank you all for the replies. I ended up selling the .308 and am still trying to dial in which caliber to buy. Being a Bergara fan they are still pretty limited on offerings for the 7PRC but have an array of 6.5 PRC's. I think this is shifting me towards just snagging a solid 6.5 PRC configuration. I'm a bit of ways off from being able to hunt elk right now but can easily be at the range practicing and hunting deer. So I think the 6.5prc may be the way to go for now. Since I'm starting from scratch again it's easy enough to snag over the CM. Would be good for trigger time and could potentially hunt everything I need for now.

Unless anyone can input a good argument otherwise on getting a 7PRC I think I'm going to head that route.

 

[XTREM HTR16]

Load it up with Hornady 147 match ammo and have a blast. That bullet will kill stuff too….

 

[redneckbmxer24]

Thank you all for the replies. I ended up selling the .308 and am still trying to dial in which caliber to buy. Being a Bergara fan they are still pretty limited on offerings for the 7PRC but have an array of 6.5 PRC's. I think this is shifting me towards just snagging a solid 6.5 PRC configuration. I'm a bit of ways off from being able to hunt elk right now but can easily be at the range practicing and hunting deer. So I think the 6.5prc may be the way to go for now. Since I'm starting from scratch again it's easy enough to snag over the CM. Would be good for trigger time and could potentially hunt everything I need for now.

Unless anyone can input a good argument otherwise on getting a 7PRC I think I'm going to head that route.

You got some great advice and clearly ignored it. The right move was keeping your 308 and shooting it. It will work just fine for LR shooting as well as hunting.

But since you ignored the good advice you got, go buy whatever magnum rifle you think you need that you won’t shoot and get proficient with because the ammo costs too much and recoils more.

 

[UpSideDown]

I have both 6.5 creedmoor and 7PRC. I learned on the 6.5 and got the 7prc for elk hunting. We get long range shots here because of the canyons we have to hunt in.

At this point I’m about to sell the 7PRC. I’ve taken my 20” barreled Tikka 6.5cm to 1,500yds. I love shooting it, ammo is not cheap but not outlandish. 147 ELD-M’s are outstandingly accurate and emphatic killers on game.

The 7PRC, until data is out, I’m guessing has an 800 round barrel life. 6.5PRC has even less. The recoil on the 7 isn’t unmanageable with a suppressor and a hood recoil pad but it is a magnum and not what I would recommend learning on.

At this point I intend to just run two 6.5cm rifles, or at least switch barrels, between a light 16” and a midweight 24” (long range hunting and target shooting). The numbers on the 147ELDM work for enough to handle any shot I would take, which is about 800 yards.

I would stop thinking about the 7prc for now since you need a primary practice gun. Get a 6.5 creedmoor. I like tikkas because they’re drop safe and they shoot. Bergaras are cool too.

 

[Landon4]

I have a 6.5 prc setup for hunting on an impact action with a 22” proof carbon barrel in a manners lrh, it shoots amazing and it’s pretty lightweight as I intended it to be but it does have a decent amount of recoil and is not something I would choose to shoot for extended range trips. The cost of factory ammo is not really cheap as your going to be around $50 or more per box, I much prefer to shoot my 6gt or 22 creedmoor mainly for the comfort of my shoulder, not saying the prc is real crazy but definitely noticeable.

 

[Tx_Aggie]

Since you’ve sold the 308 I’ll offer another option.

Build a rifle around a Zermatt Origin action, in a 6.5 Creedmoor.

If you go with a KRG Bravo, Proof steel prefit, and mid-range trigger (like a TT Special) you should be able to stay around $2k. An X-ray or Magpul Pro-700 Lite chassis would add another $100 or so to the budget.

You can shoot the gun as a 6.5 Creedmoor this year and if you still really want a 6.5 PRC (or 7 SAUM) for hunting, all you’ll need is a barrel, bolt head from Zermatt, and a PRC sized magazine. You could even treat yourself to a carbon barrel for hunting and have the best of both worlds - midweight 6.5 Creed for the range & light-ish short mag for the mountains.

 

[FreedomCrawler]

You got some great advice and clearly ignored it. The right move was keeping your 308 and shooting it. It will work just fine for LR shooting as well as hunting.

But since you ignored the good advice you got, go buy whatever magnum rifle you think you need that you won’t shoot and get proficient with because the ammo costs too much and recoils more.

I was already in the process of selling the .308, I have an M1A already and wanted to get something with a longer barrel and with a higher BC. I agree, it was good advice but I was ready to try something new and went with it.

 

[FreedomCrawler]

Thank you all for the solid advice. I scored a good deal on a Bergara Ridgeback in 6.5 PRC and think it will be perfect for what I want to do.

I pretty much averaged out all the advice I was given and think the 6.5 PRC was the solid choice for everything I wanted and with available ammo options. So thank you all for reaching out, it helped.