6.5mm prc - barrel length / twist / results ?

[riflemonkey]

I am building a 6.5mm prc rifle. I am curious to find what barrel length and twist people have on their 6.5 prc rifles and how well they perform. I am not sure what barrel length to set...

I will shoot 140, 147, and heavier grain bullets with a 7.5:1 twist. I am leaning toward a 24" or 26" barrel...

What is your 6.5 prc rifle barrel length, twist, and how does it shoot ? (for example muzzle velocity or bullet stability, etc)

Thanks,
Riflemonkey

 

[wboggs]

I am building a 6.5mm prc rifle. I am curious to find what barrel length and twist people have on their 6.5 prc rifles and how well they perform. I am not sure what barrel length to set...

I will shoot 140, 147, and heavier grain bullets with a 7.5:1 twist. I am leaning toward a 24" or 26" barrel...

What is your 6.5 prc rifle barrel length, twist, and how does it shoot ? (for example muzzle velocity or bullet stability, etc)

Thanks,
Riflemonkey

I have a 30" Bartlein 7.5 tw 5R. It stabilizes up to the 156 Berger. I have found that the factory velocities are about what is quoted for 24-26 " barrels. You can use a slower powder and exceed them by 75-100 fps with the same case head expansion.
If you are building a hunting rifle I would go 24-26. For steel and targets would go 28-30.
I have a 0.25 moa load with berger 144s and h1000 at 3070. The berger 156s also shoot less tha 0.5 moa but I have not been able to obtain enough to really fine tune them. Factory berger loads shoot about 0.5moa at 2968fps. Velocities can be run up about 75fps using RL26 but it doesn't seem to be available. Use standard 210m primers. The 215s give another 25fps but sd really increases and accuracy goes down.
I have been able to develop a 0.5 or less moa load with SMK 107s and RL 17 at 3300 so the 1-7.5 will shoot lighter bullets just find. This is a low recoil load that conserves had to get components. Hope this info helps you get started. PM me if you have more detailed questions.
Bill

 

[Idaho-Lefty]

My grandsons, New Savage Ultra lite, PROOF Barrel, in 6.5 PRC is, a 24 incher, 1-8 Twist and,.. "Bugholes" 143 ELDX's

 

[wboggs]

My grandsons, New Savage Ultra lite, PROOF Barrel, in 6.5 PRC is, a 24 incher, 1-8 Twist and,.. "Bugholes" 143 ELDX's

Interesting that my most accurate "bughole" is the Berger 144 at 2970 fps which is very close to your factory load. The 143 eldx factory load in my long 1-7.5 is 2982. It looks to me like Hornady is using a load tuned to a 24" 1-8. I would have to use a slower powder to take advantage of my longer barrel if I wanted more velocity. My rifle is too heavy and not used for hunting.

 

[JB10]

I have a 24 inch 1:8 twist. Shooting 156 bergers at 2,916fps. Just under .5 at 100 yards. I have only shot it out to 500 yards and it did well. Was preparing for deer but never got to take a shot at one.

 

[B23]

My 6.5 PRC is just a garden variety CA Ridgeline with their 24in 8tw barrel and it shoots the factory 147 ELD-M's at just a tad over 3000fps and will generally put three in to the .3's. It shoots the 143 ELD-X ammo just a tiny bit slower, right at 3000fps, and it shoots that stuff not quite as well but will do .5's with it.

 

[alf]

24" Bartlein 2b with 140 VLD's at 3100 even.....

 

[jja600]

If you are building one then I would do 1:7.5 for the 156gr bullets.

I have a CA Ridgeline 1:8 and reload the 147 ELDM. Only have about 100 rounds through it but it shoots good (under 1 MOA for 10 shots). I still need to further develop the load.

 

[Idaho-Lefty]

For my Grandsons 6.5 PRC, we ( My son, 22 y/o grandson and, I ) have decided that, the Berger 140 H-VLD's or, 140 gr. Elite Hunters, driven at around 3,100 in his extremly accurate, 24 inch, 1-8 twist, Savage Ultra Lite, would be BEST after watching, the 140 gr. Classic Hunters from, my .270 WSM @ 3,185 FPS, blow clear thru,. an Elk at, 115 yds.
Those 140 gr. Berger's are extremely accurate and ARE, way TOUGHER than, I ever thought !
We're gonna PASS, on the 156's, as we think the 140's at, the "good" SPEED of, 3,100 FPS, will produce,..
a "Scrambled", Boiler Room and, DRT kills, like my 140 gr. Cl Hunt, Berger's,.. DID.
My grandson, has Shot 3 Deer and all but One, was a Pass thru ( at 468 Yds ) with, 143 gr. ELD-X's, another Fine Bullet Choice for, 6.5's,.. IMO

 

[mauser284]

I am shooting 1 rifle and building another that have Brux 1:9 barrels. I have not pushed the limits to see what it will stabilize. So far so good. I purchased these barrels 10 years ago for 260 Remington builds so I was not going to toss them in the trash just because they are bit slow.

So far this is what I can tell you. A lot of people have been fine up to 143gr with 1:9 but not everyone has been fine. It is seriously a matter of "your mileage may vary". I am always the guy telling people to future proof and go faster than you need in twist so that you can shoot the latest and greatest. This is especially true on a hunting rifle that might live a longer life than you!

The one caveat is that you do not always need to shoot the heaviest, longest most extreme ELD/VLD bullet to be competitive. When group size matters out past 500/600 yards dispersion matters and the faster you spin the bullet the greater the dispersion.Even at shorter ranges you see a lot of slow twist and lighter than ideal bullets with spitzer flat base bullets in BR because great BC means nothing if you increase dispersion by excessive twist. Look at the 30BR or the slow twists in you see in most 6mm cartridges used in BR compared to what you would see in PRS, Hunting, F-Class etc....You are always walking the line between how much you gain from extra BC versus how much more dispersion you will induce.

In some instances it is counter intuitive to think that going faster, heavier and longer is not always the best thing to do!

So again if I could do it again I would not have gotten 1:9 twist I likewise have no plans to shot a 150gr.++ ELD/VLD bullet from my 6.5CM. The type of ogive matters a lot when looking at twist. Just make sure you understand exactly what you want to do and what is most important.

P.S. Do not let the barrel maker talk you out of what ever twist you want. When I got those Brux Barrels the owner talked me out of ordering 1:7.5 twist barrels and talked me into 1:9. I will never do that again.

 

[Kracken McGraw]

For my Grandsons 6.5 PRC, we ( My son, 22 y/o grandson and, I ) have decided that, the Berger 140 H-VLD's or, 140 gr. Elite Hunters, driven at around 3,100 in his extremly accurate, 24 inch, 1-8 twist, Savage Ultra Lite, would be BEST after watching, the 140 gr. Classic Hunters from, my .270 WSM @ 3,185 FPS, blow clear thru,. an Elk at, 115 yds.
Those 140 gr. Berger's are extremely accurate and ARE, way TOUGHER than, I ever thought !
We're gonna PASS, on the 156's, as we think the 140's at, the "good" SPEED of, 3,100 FPS, will produce,..
a "Scrambled", Boiler Room and, DRT kills, like my 140 gr. Cl Hunt, Berger's,.. DID.
My grandson, has Shot 3 Deer and all but One, was a Pass thru ( at 468 Yds ) with, 143 gr. ELD-X's, another Fine Bullet Choice for, 6.5's,.. IMO

Is the recoil on your grandson’s rifle comparable to a .308 in the same configuration?

 

[nakneker]

I’ve been playing with a Tikka 6.5 PRC, 24”, 1-8 twist. I just sold a heavy barrel and still have the sporter barrel, I’m shooting at a sedate 2880 with retumbo, accuracy has been impressive and I’ve taken it out to 1500 yards. I’m shooting 140 ELDXs and 140 Berger VLD hunters. I have quite a bit experience with the Bergers in 6.5x47 and 6.5 Creed and trust the bullet. When shooting the 6.5 PRC it’s obvious it’s hitting harder than either one of those. I could push it to the next node but it’s shooting really good and I’m satisfied. I think you’ll enjoy the cartridge, imo it’s really what the creedmoor should have been.

 

[Idaho-Lefty]

Is the recoil on your grandson’s rifle comparable to a .308 in the same configuration?

We don't have a .308 Win in the Family to compare it to, but it has, slightly more Recoil than, a regular .270 Win

 

[hafeezsfer]

I have a 30" Bartlein 7.5 tw 5R. It stabilizes up to the 156 Berger. I have found that the factory velocities are about what is quoted for 24-26 " barrels. You can use a slower powder and exceed them by 75-100 fps with the same case head expansion.
If you are building a hunting rifle I would go 24-26. For steel and targets would go 28-30.
I have a 0.25 moa load with berger 144s and h1000 at 3070. The berger 156s also shoot less tha 0.5 moa but I have not been able to obtain enough to really fine tune them. Factory berger loads shoot about 0.5moa at 2968fps. Velocities can be run up about 75fps using RL26 but it doesn't seem to be available. Use standard 210m primers. The 215s give another 25fps but sd really increases and accuracy goes down.
I have been able to develop a 0.5 or less moa load with SMK 107s and RL 17 at 3300 so the 1-7.5 will shoot lighter bullets just find. This is a low recoil load that conserves had to get components. Hope this info helps you get started. PM me if you have more detailed questions.
Bill

thanks for the some number to put in perspective. I am looking to build a hunting rifle and this is good info.
I have been looking at a CZ 600 6.5prc with 1:7. Looking to get some input if 1:7 will be too much spin for a 147 or even a 156. I ran some numbers in berger stability calculator for 156 and it is coming out to be 2.3. is this is over stabilized, or what number should I looking for?

 

[Rodney]

My 6.5 PRC has a 7 twist barrel. No issues with 147 ELD-M’s. Using H1000 and velocity is 3035. Seems to be a node in that velocity range. 26” shillen barrel from Northland Shooter Supply. Wouldn’t change a thing.

 

[Lance21]

I'm running a 26 inch 7.5 twist Proof carbon fiber. 135 berger classic hunters @ 3066. H4831sc. Easily under .5 moa, closer to .4

 

[alf]

My 6.5 PRC Thread

So last fall I got the itch to try the new Hornady 6.5 PRC cartridge. I already had the platform, so I really only needed a reamer and a barrel. After quite a bit of research, I gathered up some details: 6.5 creedmoor: 52-53 gr case capacity 6.5 SLR: 55-56 gr 6.5 PRC: 66-67 gr 6.5 SAUM: 70-71...

forum.accurateshooter.com

 

[JB10]

I had a friend that built a 28 in one for long range bench shooting. After burning the barrel out fast he rebarrled it to a different cartridge. He is a hot rodder and know he was pushing it as fast as he could. He was doing good even at 1 mile with it.

 

[riflemonkey]

My 6.5 PRC has a 7 twist barrel. No issues with 147 ELD-M’s. Using H1000 and velocity is 3035. Seems to be a node in that velocity range. 26” shillen barrel from Northland Shooter Supply. Wouldn’t change a thing.

Just curious, what was your powder charge and seating depth?

 

[Rodney]

Just curious, what was your powder charge and seating depth?

OAL 2.975 58.3 g H1000