Thread: 6.5 PRC Load Development Begins

Originally Posted by Tahr

Mine is 20" and the best velocity Ive achieved with 140 grn and 2217 has been 2870 fps Good groups.

How much 2217 @Tahr?

I'm leaning towards 22" and unsurpressed.

Originally Posted by PerazziSC3

How much 2217 @Tahr?

I'm leaning towards 22" and unsurpressed.

Im away from home but off the top of my head I think 58 grains. I will have a look in the little black book on Tuesday.

Originally Posted by PerazziSC3

How much 2217 @Tahr?

I'm leaning towards 22" and unsurpressed.

Yes. If I did again I would go 22 inches

Originally Posted by PerazziSC3

What length barrel? I'm tossing up between 20-24" and only have 2217 to play with the 156.

24inch

Originally Posted by matto1234

I went out today and had average results, the chronograph didnt like rain. Shooting the 156berger over 60.4gr of h1000 gave 3060fps with average bolt lift, 60.6 had severe ejector marks on one case,heavy bolt lift and second case even lost its primer on ejection.

I think ill be loading up at 60.3 and playing with seating depths, should end up around 3050fps for the 156 which is plenty!

So you had slightly heavy bolt at 60.4gn and you think .1gn lighter will be a good load ?...... the fact you had severe ejector stamping, heavy bolt lift and the primer fall out at 60.6gn suggests to me you are fizzingly hot and really should be a full grain lower at least. You don't want to be right on the verge of pressure as on a hot day you could still be asking for trouble.
Possible issues include the action or bolt suffering catastrophic failure (right next to your face)
You will trash your very expensive and hard to obtain brass in very quick order either by case head seperation or by flogging out the primer pockets.
Seriously you might lose 100fps but what difference will that make ? How far out do you need to shoot this ? If 100fps is a game changer maybe you have the wrong caliber.
I used to be like this trying to squeeze every last fps out of my wsm calibers but in reality it just fucks things quicker and in some situations is down right dangerous.
That's my 2 cents, no more lectures promise no hate just genuine concern

Originally Posted by dannyb

So you had slightly heavy bolt at 60.4gn and you think .1gn lighter will be a good load ?...... the fact you had severe ejector stamping, heavy bolt lift and the primer fall out at 60.6gn suggests to me you are fizzingly hot and really should be a full grain lower at least. You don't want to be right on the verge of pressure as on a hot day you could still be asking for trouble.
Possible issues include the action or bolt suffering catastrophic failure (right next to your face)
You will trash your very expensive and hard to obtain brass in very quick order either by case head seperation or by flogging out the primer pockets.
Seriously you might lose 100fps but what difference will that make ? How far out do you need to shoot this ? If 100fps is a game changer maybe you have the wrong caliber.
I used to be like this trying to squeeze every last fps out of my wsm calibers but in reality it just fucks things quicker and in some situations is down right dangerous.
That's my 2 cents, no more lectures promise no hate just genuine concern

It had no pressure signs at all at 60.2, and even 60.4 was minor so somewhere between the two seems sensible? I want to get the most out of it without blowing my face off
Hornady brass gets ejector marks as soon as you look at it so its not the best to go by but 60.6 was definitely too hot

Originally Posted by matto1234

It had no pressure signs at all at 60.2, and even 60.4 was minor so somewhere between the two seems sensible? I want to get the most out of it without blowing my face off
Hornady brass gets ejector marks as soon as you look at it so its not the best to go by but 60.6 was definitely too hot

End of the day it's your call after all its your face next to it, but ejector stamps aside you got slightly heavy bolt at 60.4gn this suggests your already hot, to then get to the point of heavy bolt lift and primer falling out only .2gn higher suggests very very hot.
Personally I like to be a full grain below any pressure signs it gives plenty of saftey margin (hot weather, loading error etc) also if you start fiddling the seating depth and seat them deeper that too will increase pressure.
You might be fine but you also might not, the consequences of being too hot are far more serious than having a slightly slower velocity.

Originally Posted by matto1234

It had no pressure signs at all at 60.2, and even 60.4 was minor so somewhere between the two seems sensible? I want to get the most out of it without blowing my face off
Hornady brass gets ejector marks as soon as you look at it so its not the best to go by but 60.6 was definitely too hot

Agree with others, back off and look for accuracy. Don't bother chasing velocity as anything even 2700fps+ is going to kill a loooong way out there.
Assume you'll be dialling your scope anyway so trying to squeeze velocity makes no sense. Even in the wind you're pushing pressure for no tangible benefit.

Originally Posted by matto1234

It had no pressure signs at all at 60.2, and even 60.4 was minor so somewhere between the two seems sensible? I want to get the most out of it without blowing my face off
Hornady brass gets ejector marks as soon as you look at it so its not the best to go by but 60.6 was definitely too hot

What danny b said.

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Originally Posted by matto1234

I went out today and had average results, the chronograph didnt like rain. Shooting the 156berger over 60.4gr of h1000 gave 3060fps with average bolt lift, 60.6 had severe ejector marks on one case,heavy bolt lift and second case even lost its primer on ejection.

I think ill be loading up at 60.3 and playing with seating depths, should end up around 3050fps for the 156 which is plenty!

That’s way to hot mate dangerously fast for the combo my 6.5 saum did 3080fps with the 156 with rl26 and that was hot backed down to 3000 the saum has greater case capacity and rl26 is faster for less pressure I was at 62gns of rl26 . Prcs seem to run 2900 well with 22” barrels and rl26 I’d be looking for a node at 2950ish with 2217 and 24” . For example of speed and pressure it takes me 3gns less with reloader 26 for 50fps faster and no pressure than it did to get 50fps less and on right on the ruggered edge of pressure for 2217

Originally Posted by Kelton

That’s way to hot mate dangerously fast for the combo my 6.5 saum did 3080fps with the 156 with rl26 and that was hot backed down to 3000 the saum has greater case capacity and rl26 is faster for less pressure I was at 62gns of rl26 . Prcs seem to run 2900 well with 22” barrels and rl26 I’d be looking for a node at 2950ish with 2217 and 24” . For example of speed and pressure it takes me 3gns less with reloader 26 for 50fps faster and no pressure than it did to get 50fps less and on right on the ruggered edge of pressure for 2217

Thank you for coming with actual figures, I knew he was way hot just from his description but having no load data or experience with the prc, I was just going off his description of what he experienced.

Very fair point and i appreciate your input! Im new to pushing the limits for sure so ill have a break and re-evaluate it

I act on the side of caution now I was lucky to have no accidents. Theirs no requirements,formwork or education around reloading safe practices required here in NZ I don’t no if their is anywhere in the world. that’s were being on this forum is invaluable a wealth of knowledge from everybody’s personal experiences. I think back to some of the velocity’s I pushed with bullet weights I shouldn’t have in cartridges I most certainly shouldn’t have and I quiver a lot of research goes in now days

Originally Posted by Kelton

I act on the side of caution now I was lucky to have no accidents. Theirs no requirements,formwork or education around reloading safe practices required here in NZ I don’t no if their is anywhere in the world. that’s were being on this forum is invaluable a wealth of knowledge from everybody’s personal experiences. I think back to some of the velocity’s I pushed with bullet weights I shouldn’t have in cartridges I most certainly shouldn’t have and I quiver a lot of research goes in now days

Likewise very sage advice

Any progress updates ? I’m new to the 6.5prc and have also gone down the rabbit hole with reloading. Got out on Sunday to confirm trajectory and dial up is on track and really pleased so far.