Thread: 6.5 PRC - What's everyone doing reloading wise?

Hey Guys,

Soon to be new to the 6.5 PRC family, just waiting for Auckland Level 4 to cease so I can go and pick up my rifle!
Went with a Browning X-Bolt Hells Canyon Long Range because I wanted a rifle with a stupid long name (not really why I wanted it, but it is a stupid long name)

I know my first limitation is going to be mag length, as this X-Bolt is a Short Action (Browning made some modifications to the Mag so that these rounds would fit.
However, it does have 1-7 Twist 26" Barrel, any benefit ? No idea!

I used my smarts and went on a component buying rampage, knowing that stuff is scarce and the last thing I wanted was a rifle I couldn't use.
I have for starters secured myself:
1x Box of Nosler 140gr Ballistic Tip Ammo - Idea being to start barrel break in, zero and confirm that the rifle is working out of the box. Should in theory be able to confirm sub-moa before moving to reloads.
200x Hornady 143gr ELD-X
50x Virgin Hornady Brass
20x Once Fire Hornady Brass
100x Federal GM210M Primers - Need to find more! Or maybe I just switch to standard 210's.
1kg ADI AR2217

What are others using reload wise ?
Anyone else using this combination of components ?
What results has everyone been getting ?

Im in the same boat as you, got a new rifle sitting there but cant reload anything yet as die sets dont come with shell holders these days. Got 140 sierras and 143eldx to start with. Want some 147eldm and 156 bergers when they exist again.

Im running 153atip and rl26 from a 7 twist proof and 129interlock at minimum charge 2209 for my son to shoot.

With your fast twist I would be looking to run the 153 horny or 156 bergers or 150grMK

Edit.
Tho to get the best from them you may have to single feed depending on your throat and mag length.

It’s getting to be a busy boat! I pick up mine when we’re allowed to leave auckland to move to Blenheim, Covid has put a spanner in the works.
Currently loaded
Norma brass
Fed 210
Hornady eldm 147
Vv N565
Rifle is seekins havak bravo.
Assuming it will print well when I finally get to put it all together.


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I have one. Not a lot of experience though. Had it for 6 months.
With your longer barrel 2217 should be fine. Mine is 20" so needed a few more herbs and get my best velocity/accuracy combo from N565 and R26. I have 1.5 pots of N565 left and then its done. It seems to be best.

From my 20" barrel I got 2850fps with 2217 - so you should get an easy 3K.I get close to 2.9k with N565 and R26.

124 grn hammers are at 3K with N565 and very accurate.

Every powder and projectile I have tried has been great for accuracy (rifle Mauser M18) So far I have only tried 140 AMax, 140 Berger, 140 Gold Dot and 124 Hammers. The Amax kill kill best - that tells me the ELDM will be good. I 'havent shot anything with the hammers

The internet babble says that you don't need magnum primers. I just use ordinary Federal LR - but will try magnum to see what difference it makes to SD and velocity.

All my projectiles have been 20thou off the lands.

Originally Posted by Tahr

I have one. Not a lot of experience though. Had it for 6 months.
With your longer barrel 2217 should be fine. Mine is 20" so needed a few more herbs and get my best velocity/accuracy combo from N565 and R26. I have 1.5 pots of N565 left and then its done. It seems to be best.

From my 20" barrel I got 2850fps with 2217 - so you should get an easy 3K.I get close to 2.9k with N565 and R26.

124 grn hammers are at 3K with N565 and very accurate.

Every powder and projectile I have tried has been great for accuracy (rifle Mauser M18) So far I have only tried 140 AMax, 140 Berger, 140 Gold Dot and 124 Hammers. The Amax kill kill best - that tells me the ELDM will be good. I 'havent shot anything with the hammers

The internet babble says that you don't need magnum primers. I just use ordinary Federal LR - but will try magnum to see what difference it makes to SD and velocity.

All my projectiles have been 20thou off the lands.

Nice. I've been toying with the idea of a shorter barreled PRC, basic idea to get the same performance of a 24" Creedmoor from and 18-20" barrel. Biggest turn off is the total lack of components.

That's a very fast twist

I've been shooting a tikka 18" 6.5 PRC for the last 18months.

I've been using 143gr ELD-X over 56.6grs of RL26 - pushing at 2870-2900fps depending on ambient temp. Averaging 1/2 MOA over many shooting sessions up to 700m.
50 thou jump and 120thou jump worked the best in my seating depth test.

You can see my seating tests in this thread- 143eldx on 1st page and 123gr sst on 2nd page.
https://www.nzhuntingandshooting.co....95/#post976066

hi kiwi Adam. just wondering how you got on with the reloading... I'm new to the 6.5prc reloading. building up some brass with H Precision Hunter and norma bondstrike factory loads. I've got a box of eldx 143 projectiles and some ads 2225 powder (similar to retumbo and rl25 in terms of reloading)... aiming to get some ammo that's capable of 500-600meter tahr or red deer kills on the tops... will the 143gr eldx suffice? I've had a bit of a mixed bagged using the eldm's with the grendel (deflections within range) so I have to admit I'm not so excited about using match ammo (but might be the lighter weight 123gr).... my rifle is the Savage Ultralite 110 6.5prc with 24" barrel... I'll see how the H Precision Hunter ammo works on some game in the field...

@micknz dont mix your brass when it comes time to reloading id choose norma if you have enough but hornady seems to go well in 6.5prc . The 143 eldx will do what your after . 2225 is the same as retumbo and rl25 has a similar burn rate . Eldm are brilliant in some offerings and maybe not so good in others I use both 162 and 180 7mm to great effect

Originally Posted by micknz

hi kiwi Adam. just wondering how you got on with the reloading... I'm new to the 6.5prc reloading. building up some brass with H Precision Hunter and norma bondstrike factory loads. I've got a box of eldx 143 projectiles and some ads 2225 powder (similar to retumbo and rl25 in terms of reloading)... aiming to get some ammo that's capable of 500-600meter tahr or red deer kills on the tops... will the 143gr eldx suffice? I've had a bit of a mixed bagged using the eldm's with the grendel (deflections within range) so I have to admit I'm not so excited about using match ammo (but might be the lighter weight 123gr).... my rifle is the Savage Ultralite 110 6.5prc with 24" barrel... I'll see how the H Precision Hunter ammo works on some game in the field...

Hi @micknz,
Your factory ammo is capable of 5-600m kills.
The most important thing you actually need to do is shoot your setup at those ranges to make sure it is shooting "on the money" and gain experience shooting in the wind.

The 6.5 147gr ELD-M projectiles are awesome for longer range shots as they aren't too hard to expand at lower velocities. Don't get hung up on the 'Match' label. I don't recommend them in the bush as they can disintegrate when deflected/hitting light brush. I especially had an issue with the 123gr SST in my 6.5PRC causing chaos on a sika stag one morning when the 123gr barely made it under the skin after hitting some scrub. I know dual load Bonded bullets for the bush and 147gr ELDM in the open.

143ELD-X are great bullets. I've had no problems from 10m to 500m in my PRC with them on animals.
You wont get enough ar2225 into the 6.5prc case with the 143gr pills. You'd be better off with AR2217, RL26 or Superformance.

BTW Retumbo is ADI AR2225. Made by ADI in Aus and relabeled in the USA by Hodgdon.