6.5 PRC group size

[ronsatspokane]

Did you try any other bullets? I have a 6.5x55 Ackley for Open I just put my second barrel on. The case capacity is pretty close to the PRC but I'm down in a 2890 node with 156's. Haven't had any issues with accuracy problems. I was thinking about a PRC barrel to not have to do any fire forming on one of my other actions.

This was the second time I've chambered up a 6.5 PRC for competition. The first time I used 156 EOL's with H1000. Saw the same thing where the groups would open up after about 10+ rounds. Did not fully understand what was going on and I abandoned the caliber. I decided to try a different powder and bullet when the 153.5's came out. Same results regardless of the powder and having used the 156 EOL's in the past, I knew what the results would be. This time I dug further and found root cause. Too much heat going into the barrel and heating up the jackets to the point of softening them and causing increasing inconsistency and eventually jacket stripping. I still have a 6,5 PRC for hunting.

I think it is an excellent caliber for a lot of applications. High volume shooting does not appear to be one of them. However, could be barrel twist. I was running a 7.5 32 inch in the last gun and an 8 twist 30 in the previous. Perhaps an 8.5 might still stabilize and not push as much heat in. I'm not going to do it again though.

As far as accuracy, it was a hammer for the first 10 rounds. 1/4 MOA or less. It is only as you pass 12+ that the groups started opening up. And when I say open up, we are talking about a little over 1 MOA by the 22nd round (2 sighters and 20 shots for record). It would still be considered a good shooter by the vast majority of folks but in the crowd I shoot in if you drop 1 point you are way out of contention.