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6.5 PRC vs 6.5-284

I think most people are missing the biggest point. Essentially there is no difference between the 6.5-284 and the 6.5 PRC except for ammunition manufacturers support. Since the majority of people on this site handload, you can choose any number of 6.5 cartridges and be totally happy. The person that doesn't handload will have a hard time finding a box of ammo for a 6.5 GAP, SAUM, 6.5-06, 6.5-284, etc. A few rifle manufacturers produce a 6.5-284 but not many. Then you are into a custom rifle that is double or triple the price. Once again, to "us" that isn't a big deal. To the general public that is a turn off. So, just like the 6.5 Creedmoor, it's all about the marketing and support. I have a 6.5-284, 6.5x47, 6.5CM and now a 6.5 PRC. All of them are a joy to shoot but in a pinch I can buy ammo off the shelf for the CM and PRC.

A good podcast comparing the 6.5 PRC to the 6.5-284.
https://www.gunwerks.com/blogs/podcast/is-the-new-6-5-prc-here-to-stay
 
I think most people are missing the biggest point. Essentially there is no difference between the 6.5-284 and the 6.5 PRC except for ammunition manufacturers support. Since the majority of people on this site handload, you can choose any number of 6.5 cartridges and be totally happy. The person that doesn't handload will have a hard time finding a box of ammo for a 6.5 GAP, SAUM, 6.5-06, 6.5-284, etc. A few rifle manufacturers produce a 6.5-284 but not many. Then you are into a custom rifle that is double or triple the price. Once again, to "us" that isn't a big deal. To the general public that is a turn off. So, just like the 6.5 Creedmoor, it's all about the marketing and support. I have a 6.5-284, 6.5x47, 6.5CM and now a 6.5 PRC. All of them are a joy to shoot but in a pinch I can buy ammo off the shelf for the CM and PRC.

A good podcast comparing the 6.5 PRC to the 6.5-284.
https://www.gunwerks.com/blogs/podcast/is-the-new-6-5-prc-here-to-stay

That's not the only benefit of 6.5 PRC. Feeding from a SA is a major step up from almost all other short magnum cartridges on the market. The 6.5 PRC feeds reliably and doesn't take endless tuning to get running out of commonly available WSM magazines plus it is actually a short action cartridge. True, Hornady is really pushing it which brings tremendous market support but the cartridge didn't start with all of the downsides that WSM and RSAUM started with. It's not ballistically better but mechanically it does stand out from the rest of the cartridges in it's class.
 
I feed them from the magazine on a 700la and they feed well. I used the la because I had one and my oal is 3.05 using 150 smks seated .015 off.
Bill
 
Marketing Hype, I've seen one Video of the Tube by Hornady. We seem to be the one's doing all the so called Marketing for Hornady with Dozens of Threads for the 6.5 PRC. I think I've convinced myself to buy one. Hornady should donate to any forum where the product is mentioned. 6.5 PRC, 6.5 PRC, 6.5 PRC.
 
It is new and different with factory rifles and loaded ammo. Many forum members are always looking for perfection and improvement. They enjoy experimentation.
 
A lot has to do with marketing... First off...a 260 Ackley will get you 2950 ish with a 140 bullet. The 6.5 PRC is shooting the same bullet at the same velocity in Hornady factory ammo. I'm guessing they are limiting the velocity to 2950 because they are keeping within a certain pressure limit. Look at the 6.5 Creedmoor. What is it really doing that a 260 Rem, 6.5x47, 6.5 slr, 260 Ackley , 6.5/250 AI, 6.5x55 (ya I get this is a Long action round essentially), and other 6.5 wildcats based off of a 47-51mm case? Marketing was phenomenal and the 6.5 CM was touted as the greatest round invented in the last century! It is a great round but if any of the other rounds mentioned were pushed hard by ammo/brass makers, top shooters, and gun writers...I'd bet they would be just as popular..Same applies to the 6mm CM... better than 6x47 Lapua or 6xc or 6 SM, 6 SLR, 6 Competition match or even 243?

A 260 ackley might get your 2950 with a 140, but it's loaded very long to do so and pushing a lot of pressure.
The PRC is actually pushing a 147 to those speeds, and the Hornady load data shows a 147 at 3050. And the PRC is doing this in a 26" tube in fairly conservative Hornady data.

A 147 at 3050 and a 140 at 2950 aren't quite the same thing.
 
I think most people are missing the biggest point. Essentially there is no difference between the 6.5-284 and the 6.5 PRC except for ammunition manufacturers support. Since the majority of people on this site handload, you can choose any number of 6.5 cartridges and be totally happy. The person that doesn't handload will have a hard time finding a box of ammo for a 6.5 GAP, SAUM, 6.5-06, 6.5-284, etc. A few rifle manufacturers produce a 6.5-284 but not many. Then you are into a custom rifle that is double or triple the price. Once again, to "us" that isn't a big deal. To the general public that is a turn off. So, just like the 6.5 Creedmoor, it's all about the marketing and support. I have a 6.5-284, 6.5x47, 6.5CM and now a 6.5 PRC. All of them are a joy to shoot but in a pinch I can buy ammo off the shelf for the CM and PRC.

A good podcast comparing the 6.5 PRC to the 6.5-284.
https://www.gunwerks.com/blogs/podcast/is-the-new-6-5-prc-here-to-stay

Hornady posted a good comment on this topic in reply to a YT video comment. Comments to the effect of (not a direct quote):

"The 6.5.x284 today has only the Norma variant standardized, at a max COL of 3.2" which requires a long action. It's not a SAAMI catridge though. If you can find 6.5x284 factory ammo, it is very expensive, has a rebated rim that's harder to manufacture and harder to make feed and function in a variety of rifles. The 6.5PRC feeds and function at a COL under 3" and costs $36-$40 for high performance factory ammo."
 
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If all that mattered was external ballistics, the 6.5 Creedmoor wouldn't exist-- we'd just load our 6.5 Swedes. Yet here is the 6.5CM increasing its market share at AmmoToGo by 13x from 2015 to 2018. And it might even be accelerating. It turns out that people like mag feeding and also working in AR platform rifles.

The reality is that it's cheaper than ever today to get a new cartridge case into production, Instead of only huge companies tooling up for their own calibers, you have smaller niche brass producers like ADG, Peterson, etc available making excellent brass at reasonable cost.

OF COURSE there are other options in a given caliber if you just want to push a bullet of a certain weight in a certain bore size at a certain speed. Have you looked at how many 6mms there are?

The 6.5 PRC doesn't have to cover new ground ballistically to succeed. All it has to do is deliver that performance in a way that adds value by other means: excellent and inexpensive factory ammo, for example. Or working in a box magazine reliably. Or in the case of the PRC, both.

If one is a 6.5CM shooter and wants to move up to PRC to gain performance for a hunting round, it's the perfect choice. It burns barrels, but for most hunting guns that's moot. A 143 ELD-x at 3150fps will rival (and even exceed) the performance of a 7 Rem Mag shooting 140s or 160s, giving more speed, better BC, or both.

The PRC will push 264 win mag speeds (or more) with less powder and in a short action while feeding from a box mag.

There's a value proposition to the 6.5 PRC
 
A 260 ackley might get your 2950 with a 140, but it's loaded very long to do so and pushing a lot of pressure.
The PRC is actually pushing a 147 to those speeds, and the Hornady load data shows a 147 at 3050. And the PRC is doing this in a 26" tube in fairly conservative Hornady data.

A 147 at 3050 and a 140 at 2950 aren't quite the same thing.

My 260 Ackley with a 30" barrel pushed 140 hybrids to 3100 without pressure signs in srp brass. I had done my standard load development, and I hadnt realized it was going that fast until I borrowed a friends chrono(wanting to find come up for distance), at which point I backed it off to the mid 2950s to get it to shoot again. I could use either h4831sc to get to the mid 2950s, or rl26 (which is what pushed to 3100 without pressure signs). I have a lot of free bore in my reamer though. I had a jug of rl23 to try, but 26 shot so well, I never got to it.
 
And you can find factory ammo that will do that?

Comparing calibers based on match suitability and arguing that it has no commercial viability just doesn't work, because we already know of calibers like .284 that were commercial failures that have endured in match shooting. It turns out factory ammo support and feed reliability don't much matter to a guy spending a lot of effort to tune his own ammo.

Meanwhile, things like local ammo availability don't matter to him-- he cares about more important things like "does Lapua make brass for it?"

I think this thread might be commingling two arguments: 6.5 PRC as a commercially viable round vs 6.5PRC as a match appropriate case. They are separate considerations. I'm sure I probably made that mistake in my own postings (by not reading the whole thread carefully).

Until and unless someone makes excellent brass for the PRC, it's not likely to make inroads into the match world. But to get excellent brass usually means you need commercial viability FIRST so that someone like Lapua can tool up and feel confident they will sell.
 
I see ruger now has a 6.5 PRC option for there ruger precision rifle. Certainly can't hurt it's popularity and maybe get ammo makers as well as brass manufacturers to make more options. Recently built a 6.5 PRC for my collection. So far good results. Peterson, if you're listening,lol.
 
A 260AI pushing bullets in the 3000fps out of a 30” yep o.k. I get it. Cut 6” off that barrel and see what velocity you get. Your going to lose a solid 100fps and maybe more.

The box 6.5PRC ammo is going upper 2900’s to flat 3000fps out of a 24” barrel.

Keep in mind there is a trade off for velocity and case capacity and that’s shorter barrel life.

Later, Frank
Bartlein Barrels
 
Hornady posted a good comment on this topic in reply to a YT video comment. Comments to the effect of (not a direct quote):

"The 6.5.x284 today has only the Norma variant standardized, at a max COL of 3.2" which requires a long action. It's not a SAAMI catridge though. If you can find 6.5x284 factory ammo, it is very expensive, has a rebated rim that's harder to manufacture and harder to make feed and function in a variety of rifles. It feeds and function at a COL under 3" and costs $36-$40 for high performance factory ammo."

Never had any issues with the rebated rim on 6.5x284's or straight 284's.
 
A 260AI pushing bullets in the 3000fps out of a 30” yep o.k. I get it. Cut 6” off that barrel and see what velocity you get. Your going to lose a solid 100fps and maybe more.

The box 6.5PRC ammo is going upper 2900’s to flat 3000fps out of a 24” barrel.

Keep in mind there is a trade off for velocity and case capacity and that’s shorter barrel life.

Later, Frank
Bartlein Barrels

I think also the ability of the 6.5PRC to run H1000 and at lower pressures for the same MV than the 260AI might even let barrel life be better than expected.
 
I’ve read, barrel life between the two are similar under comparable conditions/criteria. Some early Hornady spec sheets indicated 1200 rounds for the PRC.
 
Let's look at who is currently making 6.5 PRC rifles. This list includes Savage, Ruger, Browning, Mossberg, Christian Arms, Masterpiece Arms, Sauer, Montana Rifle, GA Precision, Axial, Fierce, Gunwerks, Hill Country, Horizon, Mauser, Patriot Valley, Proof Research, Stuteville Precision, Seekins and Bergara. The 6.5 PRC is here to stay and the large number of builders are building them for all of the reasons listed above. Now whether it becomes other than a hunting or PRC caliber is another question. I thought I had my build off a BAT action dialed for F Class. Then I went to Arizona and my load did not perform up to what it did during load development up here in snow country.
 
A 260AI pushing bullets in the 3000fps out of a 30” yep o.k. I get it. Cut 6” off that barrel and see what velocity you get. Your going to lose a solid 100fps and maybe more.

The box 6.5PRC ammo is going upper 2900’s to flat 3000fps out of a 24” barrel.

Keep in mind there is a trade off for velocity and case capacity and that’s shorter barrel life.

Later, Frank
Bartlein Barrels

I was lucky enough to find an 8lb jug of RL26, so I snatched it up. I was just kind of curious as to where the upper limit of the Creedmoor case was.

In a 28 inch barrel I have tested it up to 3020 feet per second with Berger 140s. That's in Alaska where it's 5 degrees below zero, and in Lapua Small Rifle Primer brass. No ignition problems, and the standard deviation was 9 feet per second over 3 different 10 shot sample sizes.

We also tested a 22 inch barrel with a similar load based on large rifle primers. My notes are showing 2903 feet per second for a 28 inch barrel, with the same ammo shooting at 2791 fps in a 22 inch barrel. That's 112 feet per second for 6 inches of barrel or -18 fps per inch.

If all things are more or less have a linear relationship, I would expect the 24 inch barrel on a standard cased 6.5 to be around 2900 feet per second with what looks to be my median load so far.

A 260 Remington or 260 Ackley Improved could be close enough to equal most of the 6.5 PRC factory offerings out there. Of course with the same unicorn dust, the PRC can go even faster...but then it becomes a question of utility. If factory PRC ammo could satisfy your hunting needs, then so could another 6.5 based combination. Of course you are at the mercy of finding unicorn dust to put into your case.
 

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