6.5 PRC has been gathering a large following since it was released by Hornady in 2017. Designed by George Gardner of GA Precision, this caliber fits into short action receivers and utilizes a magnum bolt face. Generally giving shooters a 150-200 FPS velocity bump over the 6.5 creedmoor, depending on the load.
This is making 6.5 PRC very popular in the precision/long range hunting world. Heavy 6.5 cal bullets are aerodynamic, have excellent sectional density, and coming out of a non-belted magnum case at around 3,000 fps packs a punch on even elk sized game. This is making it appealing for folks that want to take game without the punch of heavy recoiling magnums.
Factory Ammo and Rifle Overview
One of the benefits of the 6.5 PRC is Hornady offers match and hunting ammo in the caliber. These include a Hornady Match 147 ELD-M and a Precision Hunter 143 ELD-X line. Word is other ammo companies are coming out with additional offerings as well, maybe as soon as early 2020. Because of this, many factory rifle options are now available due to the rising interest in the caliber.
One of these factory rifles is the Seekins Havak PH1 (and the PH2 that just replaced it) which comes with a threaded 24 inch, 1:8 twist Rock Creek barrel on a Havak action, all bedded in a carbon fiber/composite stock. The rifle comes with a well thought out carbon fiber magazine that allows hand loaders to seat bullets past short action mag lengths. It’s a heck of a combination that gives less recoil compared to 30-06, 300 WIN Mag and 7 REM Mag. This also happens to be the rifle being used for this test.
Why Reload?
Since 6.5 PRC currently comes in two flavors of factory ammo, why reload? In the case for this particular rifle and application, it was to gain more velocity. Initial testing netted an average velocity of 2845 fps with the 147 ELD-M Match factory ammo. This is certainly enough energy to take the game we normally hunt in Colorado such as mule deer and pronghorn, but we wanted a little more punch for elk hunting.
However, every rifle is different. Every lot of factory ammo can also be different. Our aim here is to get a bit more velocity and consistency via hand loading. The main purpose of the Havak PH1 is hunting, and to achieve my goals I wanted to get a 143 ELD-X to around 3000 FPS for maximum energy on game. We are using the 143 ELD-X under advisement from Josh Cluff at HS-Precision, who is an expert hunter and is well versed on bullet choices for taking big game animals. We would also be using Hornady brass, once fired from factory ammo.
Where to Start
Hodgdon Reloading and Hornady both have loading data on the 6.5 PRC, each provides information that is a tad different though. There’s also not a ton of information online from actual hand loaders. It’s always a mixed bag trusting other’s loads, but if you can take information from a source like Hodgdon and combine it with what other trusted hand loaders are doing you can get an idea of where to start.
After talking with some 6.5 and 7 SAUM shooters and reading over loading manuals I decided to try four powders IMR 8133, IMR 7977, H1000 and Reloder 26. I would do a 10 shot Scott Satterlee load development test to see if I was achieving the velocity I needed, and then move forward with one or two that looked promising.
A few notes: RL26 is harder to find than hen’s teeth at the time of writing this. My hope at the start was to not use RL26 due to its availability. I wanted to use something I could find in a local store and purchase. H1000 seems to be close behind on the hard to find scale, but I had a ¼ pound of each in the cabinet, so I figured I’d at least see what they had to offer. However, I started with the very easy to find IMR 8133.
Part two of this article is now available here with VV N565, Retumbo, H4831SC & Reloder 23 - Read Here
IMR 8133
8133 is a relatively new powder from IMR that is in the same burn rate category as Rutumbo. It is part of their Enduron line, which boasts good temperature stability and reduced copper fouling. Since I was also planning on trying some Barnes 127 LRX hunting bullets, this seemed like a nice option as the solid copper Barnes have excelled for me in taking game.
IMR 8133 gives excellent case fill for the PRC case. I started at 57 grains and the case was surprisingly full already. Once I got to the Hodgdon max load of 61 grains, it was very compressed and someone wanting to go farther would need a drop tube to pack more in.
Sadly the IMR 8133 did not push the 143 ELD-X with much gusto. Likely the powder’s burn rate is a tad slow for the PRC, and we had a good amount of unburnt powder/flash coming out of the Thunder Beast Ultra 7. However, I feel like in a larger magnum this would be excellent powder.
Below is the velocity data for each charge, there’s likely an accuracy node at 59.5 grns to 60 grns and 2850 fps with this powder. That lines up right with factory offerings, which shot great out of the Havak but are on the slow side. (Note: All charges were weighed on an A&D FX120i lab grade scale and double verified with a RCBS beam scale. Velocity read from a MagnetoSpeed V3)
IMR 8133:
57 grns – 2708 fps
57.5 grns – 2717 fps
58 grns – 2753 fps
58.5 grns – 2779 fps
59 grns – 2812 fps
59.5 grns – 2860 fps
60 grns – 2858 fps
60.5 grns – 2892 fps
61 grns – 2918 fps (very slight ejector mark, no heavy bolt lift)
Surprisingly we didn’t find much pressure at the top of the load data, but I also didn’t want to use a drop tube to pack more in. IMR 8133 just wasn’t going to work. Unfortunately it looked like it was time to try other powders. Might as well go RL26, as everyone I’ve talked to had good things to say about it in a PRC or SAUM.
Reloder 26 – Is it the Best?
Reloder 26 has a lot of fans for one reason, velocity. Most shooters I know using this powder report they are getting more speed from their loads with less powder. Alliant calls it EL technology, and I definitely saw increased and good velocity with RL26. However, I saw something else. Pressure.
Pressure signs started pretty early with RL26. I started at 54 grains and went to 57.5. At 55.5 there was heavy bolt lift and a slight ejector mark. Going up to 57.5 was .5 grains too high for this rifle as the bolt was very hard to open and there was a nice ejector mark too.
Results are below. A lot of short mag shooters I know have had luck with RL26, and is likely great for many people reading this. On paper the RL26 did show some great accuracy, but I did not want to be skirting the edge of pressure with my load. Add in the lack of availability and it was time to move on.
RL26:
54 grns – 2860 fps
54.5 grns – chronograph error/AKA user error
55 grns – 2913 fps
55.5 grns – 2956 fps (slight ejector mark)
56 grns – 2988 fps (heavy bolt lift, ejector mark
56.5 grns – 3000 fps (heavy bolt lift, ejector mark)
57 grns – 3036 fps (heavy bolt lift, ejector mark
57.5 grns – 3063 (really heavy bolt lift, ejector mark – not safe in this rifle)
Hodgdon H1000
Seems like most folks using H1000 had good luck with it in a PRC or SAUM. It has decent case fill and my hope was with a faster burn rate from IMR8133/Retumbo, it would be perfect. Good news was the velocity numbers were good and pressure stayed low. I never encountered heavy bolt lift or flattened primers, though the final case did show an ejector mark. Here’s the numbers:
Hodgdon H1000:
54.5 grns – 2799 fps
55 grns – 2835 fps
55.5 grns – 2846 fps
56 grns – 2866 fps
56.5 grns – 2889 fps
57 grns – 2922 fps
57.5 grns – 2929 fps
58 grns – 2949 fps
58.5 grns – 2978 fps
59 grns – 3026 fps (ejector mark)
One interesting thing to note is the large velocity jump from 58.5 to 59 grns. The average velocity jump was about 20 fps per .5 increase with H1000, but a 48 fps jump is large. Only more loading will show if I made a reloading error. I was getting extra neck tension with some of the cases (something I only noticed with more loadings) and my belief now is that’s what caused the velocity anomaly. Either way, the data was looking good.
The next powder I was going to try is in the same burn rate, with almost the exact same load data from Hodgdon, so it would give me double data points as well. That power is IMR 7977.
IMR 7977
7977 is another newer powder from IMR in the Enduron line. It boasts the same temperature stability and reduced copper fouling as the IMR 8133, but with a faster burn rate. It’s basically the same burn rate as H1000 and the results were almost identical to H1000 because of it. Here’s the numbers:
IMR 7977:
54.5 grns – 2772 fps
55 grns – 2757 fps
55.5 grns – 2801 fps
56 grns – 2823 fps
56.5 grns – 2878 fps
57 grns – Chronograph/User Error
57.5 grns – 2933 fps
58 grns – 2947 fps
58.5 grns – 2984 fps
59 grns – 3013 fps (ejector mark)
It seems like the 7977 is a tad slower than the H1000 until you reached 90% or more case fill. Then it was right in line with H1000 speeds. After shooting the IMR 8133 and the RE26, I’m sold this is the right burn rate for the 6.5 PRC, and it was time to choose which power. Since I had ¼ pound of H1000 and a full container of IMR7977, it won by default. Accuracy was good, and it seems to be easy to grab locally.
Accuracy/Velocity Testing IMR7977
With the 10 round shot tests done, I moved onto my normal optimum charge weight method of load development. Given the barrels lighter contour, I stuck with three rounds loaded from 57.5 to 58.6 grains of IMR7977. On the low end 57.5 was giving me an average speed of 2937 fps but an SD of 22.9 due to one round being 2911 fps ( likely neck tension), and the other two were 2948 and 2953 fps respectively. On the top end 58.6 gave me 3011 fps average, but was showing signs of pressure and heavy bolt lift. Even at 58.3 I had slight pressure.
Where I was finding success was around 57.7-58 grns, giving about 2950-2960 fps. So I loaded up five rounds each from 57.7 to 58.3 to confirm and 57.7 showed 2961 fps with a SD of 10. Somewhere in here I passed the 150 round mark on the barrel, and after cleaning it and re-fouling the bore, we jumped up in speed. 58.3 was now showing 3019 fps average and giving me slightly hard bolt lift. Seems like 57.7 is the place to be for this rifle. Shooting the 143 ELD-X at 2,960 fps was giving just over ½” groups at 100 yards.
One item that was interesting to me, after averaging all the hand loads I’d see on forums and Facebook groups, 58 grains of H1000 at about 3020 fps seemed to be the average load most people used. Since the burn rate of H1000 is the same as IMR7977, it seems I’m seeing what everyone else is but with slightly slower velocity.
From there I tested the load at the max distance I was willing to take my elk at, which is 600 yards. With the 143s at 2960 fps, 600 yards gives the Colorado minimum suggested elk hunting impact energy of 1,500 lbs. Hanging an 8 inch plate at 547 yards the Havak never missed using the Applied Ballistics/Bryan Litz custom curve on the Kestrel 5700 Elite. All set.
Rocky Mountain Ranches Pronghorn Hunt
The first of two hunts with this load for 2019 was conducted on one Rocky Mountain Ranches excellent properties North of Craig, Colorado. For this hunt we were going after a Pronghorn buck. While it wouldn’t exactly tell us if PRC packs enough punch for Elk, it would certainly give us the chance to see if the load was accurate enough to do the trick on speed goats at distance.
The PRC did not disappoint. With a nice buck at 550 yards the 143 ELD-X did quick work dropping the pronghorn where it stood. The expanding ELD bullet left a tennis ball sized hole in the back shoulder and completely shredded both lungs. Very good start to the season and the 6.5mm diameter bullet was showing why it shines in hunting situations.
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Ranching for Wildlife Cow Elk Hunt
The next hunt was conducted on a Ranching for Wildlife Property, made available by the Colorado Parks and Wildlife RFW program for Colorado resident hunters. We were fortunate to have a good deal of snow come in on the second day of our hunt that pushed the elk out of the dark timber and into the fields. The 6.5 PRC made quick work on a cow elk at 180 yards going through and through and dropping her after a few steps.
I have to admit, having come from 7 Remington Magnum with 160+ grain bullets, I was slightly worried about the 6.5 diameter bullet working this well. You often hear folks say the Swedes have been shooting moose with 6.5s for forever, and elk was no problem for the PRC. Simply put, I will be using this load without worry on all game from here on out. The ELD-X is a very good bullet and does all it advertises.
Concluding Thoughts
Over the course of my load work up, 6.5 PRC has shown to be inherently accurate and easy to shoot. The factory ammo has been very good, shooting excellent out of every rifle I’ve shot it in. However, I do believe if you want to reliably achieve the 3,000 fps threshold you will need to reload. Personally I’ve seen some huge swings in reported 6.5 PRC hand load velocities, but in general you’ll see around 2950-3050 fps with 140 class bullets from the cartridge without hot rodding it.
As with everything reloading, your experience may vary. Either way you slice it, hand loads or factory ammo, the 6.5 PRC is an excellent caliber for hunting. We will continue to update articles on the website as we test more bullets and powders for this and other rifles in Rocky Mountain Ranch’s arsenal.
Nick Depperschmidt is the marketing director for Hawkins Precision, a precision rifle components manufacturer in Colorado Springs, Co. www.HawkinsPrecision.com He is an avid hunter and competitor in PRS and NRL style matches. If you’d like to reach out, email Nick at nick@hawkinsprecision.com
