Short Action King: 6.5 PRC for Open Country Hunting

Open country hunting presents challenges of range, wind, and lack of concealment. A short-action rifle can help reduce the weight of the hunting rifle, making your trek easier. However, some short action cartridges fall short, so to speak, on effectiveness at greater ranges. Can the 6.5 PRC provide a significant advantage? Let’s compare it with a couple of popular short-action hunting cartridges!

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Origins of the 6.5 PRC

George Gardner conceived of the 6.5 PRC for PRS competition, keeping the velocity of a 140 to 150 grain bullet just under 3,000 fps as required by PRS to avoid undue damage to steel targets. It was released in 2018, in collaboration with Hornady. It has done well in competition, though it produces more recoil than other cartridges, making it more difficult for a shooter to spot his own shots.

Producing roughly 250 fps higher muzzle velocity, it’s often seen as the big brother to the 6.5 Creedmoor. That is a significant advantage, but how is it for hunting?

About the 6.5 PRC

At 2.955” overall length, the 6.5 PRC may be too long for some short actions. It’s got a short-fat body, requiring a magnum sized .532” bolt face, and has sharp shoulders as well as room for a long, high BC bullet.

This cartridge responds well to handloading with slow-burning powders such as Retumbo, StaBALL HD, US 869, and the new Ramshot Grand. Any of those should produce 2900+ fps with a 143 grain bullet and a 24” barrel. 6.5 PRC requires a standard large rifle primer, and quality cartridge cases are available from several manufacturers.

From Hodgdon’s Reloading Data Center:

6.5 PRC Factory Hunting Ammunition

Several major manufacturers have picked up the 6.5 PRC and offer a variety of ammunition for it. Copper or copper alloy bullets range from 120 to 130 grains and most lead core bullets top out at around 140 grains. Interestingly, Berger offers their much heavier 156 grain Elite Hunter.

Copper bullets are intended both for areas where they are required, and also for the hunter who emphasizes the importance of deep penetration.

Lead core bullets tend to be high BC designs which maximize the longer range performance of the 6.5 PRC.

Short Action Comparisons

I chose two popular short action cartridges with which to compare the 6.5 PRC: the 6.5 Creedmoor and the .308 Winchester.

L to R: 6.5 Creedmoor, 6.5 PRC, .308 Winchester

All three have a history in competitive shooting and are accurate! I selected the Hornady ELD-X, a hunting bullet designed to perform well at both close and longer ranges, as the bullet for the comparison.

Velocity

Both the 6.5 Creedmoor and 6.5 PRC shared the sleek 143 grain Hornady ELD-X, which boasts an excellent G1 BC of .625 and a G7 BC of .315. Those high figures allow the bullet to retain velocity exceptionally well at longer ranges. The 143 grain ELD-X bullet has also proved itself effective in both the Clear Ballistics Gel blocks and on game.

Hornady 143 Gr. ELD-X penetrated 24.5 inches. Retained Mass: 104.24 Grains.

Since we can’t go around shooting deer, bear and elk out of season, we use Clear Ballistics Gel to test the penetration and expansion of hunting bullets. While synthetic ballistics gelatin will not 100% reflect what a bullet will do to a human or animal, it provides us with valuable data and allows us to compare the performance of different bullets and different loads.

American-made Clear Ballistics Gel is reusable. It can be melted down and utilized again for even more tests. Consult ClearBallistics.com to view all of their offerings! We saw great penetration and expansion in the gel blocks. Gavin also used the same bullet to take a black bear.

I selected the 178 grain ELD-X bullet for the .308 Winchester. It doesn’t match either the high BC or the muzzle velocity of the other two cartridges, but it does have an advantage of heavier bullet weight. We have also fired this bullet into Clear Ballistics Gel blocks where it performed admirably, and I used it to take an elk at 405 yards with my .30-06.

Comparing velocities, there’s no surprise that the 6.5 PRC outpaced the smaller 6.5 Creedmoor by 260 fps and the .308 Winchester by 360 fps. That’s a substantial advantage at the muzzle that persists out to 600 yards.

It’s interesting to note that Hornady recommends a minimum impact velocity of 1,600 fps for proper expansion of the ELD-X on game.

All three cartridges exceed that all the way out to 600 yards!

Energy

Although perhaps not directly applicable to the game-taking ability of a cartridge, I find that the energy produced by a cartridge is a handy way to compare the relative power of each.

It’s interesting to note that although the .308 Winchester has a velocity 100 fps behind the 6.5 Creedmoor at the muzzle, the .308 produces considerably more energy at the muzzle due to the heavier bullet. The 6.5 PRC produces the most muzzle energy.

Those rankings still hold at 300 yards: 6.5 PRC on top, .308 second, and 6.5 Creedmoor third, but closing in. At 600 yards, the 6.5 Creedmoor has nearly caught up to the .308 Winchester. The 6.5 PRC is still producing the most energy.

Trajectory

A hunter should know the trajectory of his/her chosen cartridge. This helps make downrange hits more certain. A flatter trajectory assists with making hits farther downrange. When I’m hunting fairly open country, I often sight-in my rifle at 200 yards. With a high-velocity rifle, I may opt for a 300-yard sight-in. For the sake of comparison, I arbitrarily chose 200 yards for all three of these short action cartridges.

Looking at the figures, there’s almost no difference between the trajectories at 100 yards. Only 2.4” separates the flattest-shooting cartridge from the cartridge with the most bullet drop at 300 yards, not enough to make a difference on making hits on game at this distance. As the range increases, this spread increases tremendously.

It’s important to know how to dial elevation to make hits and/or how to use the scope reticle to compensate for bullet drop at longer ranges. The 6.5 PRC wins this comparison with the least amount of bullet drop.

Wind Drift

Shooters and hunters experienced with long-range shooting know that figuring the windage is more difficult than adjusting for elevation. Elevation is simple math. If the range is known, it’s easy to dial the scope or use the reticle to compensate for longer ranges.

Windage requires accurately determining both the speed and direction of the wind. This example is simple— a mere 10 mph wind at an exact 90 degree angle. Wind speed at the shooter’s location can be determined with a wind meter. Wind speed downrange can only be estimated, and perhaps poorly.

The BC and velocity of the bullet determine how much the bullet is affected by the wind. The higher the BC and the higher the velocity, the less wind drift. This chart shows that the bullet is affected more and more as the range increases.

At 300 yards, less than two inches separate the least from the most affected. This difference grows to nearly 8” at 600 yards. That’s enough to move a bullet from the kill zone into the abdomen of the game animal, resulting in a “gut shot.” This is not an immediately lethal hit. Many gut-shot animals escape to die later, never found by the hunter.

Here again the 6.5 PRC shines. The combination of a high ballistic coefficient and a high velocity help it slip through the wind better than both other cartridges.

Open Country Hunting

I dearly love open country hunting! The challenge of finding game, then figuring out how to close the distance for a shot is something I truly enjoy. Open country hunting could be across a wheat field, out in the Great Plains, a desert situation, across canyons, or up in the mountains. Mostly it means that there isn’t much in the way of trees or brush to obscure hunter or prey.

This lack of cover forces us to be prepared for longer range shots, from 200 yards to however far the shooter is truly confident of making a good hit. We’re not shooting steel for points here, we’re after a live animal. It’s extremely important to place that shot well.

The wind is a significant factor in open country hunting. I’ve hunted Wyoming several times, and it is well-known for having tremendous wind. Last year I shot an elk in a stiff crosswind at 405 yards with my .30-06 and the 178 grain ELD-X bullet, hunting very open country in central Oregon. Using a mere 6x Leupold scope, I was sure of my elevation. My guide, Zach Bruce of AOA Outfitters, measured the wind speed at about 15 mph. We conferred briefly and I held into the wind. The bullet shattered the fore-leg and penetrated the heart!

Oregon elk taken at 405 yards with the .30-06 and 178 grain Hornady ELD-X. Photo by Zach Bruce.

Many different species of game may be hunted in open country. Typically, pronghorn antelope, mule deer, elk, and caribou come to mind though bear and whitetail can be found in open country, as well as a plethora of African plains game species.

Conclusion

The 6.5 PRC emerged as the clear favorite in this comparison with two other fine cartridges. It had the highest velocity at the muzzle, all the way out to 600 yards and the highest energy figures at both muzzle and 600 yards. The 6.5 PRC also had the flattest trajectory and was affected the least by wind.

This cartridge has gained a strong acceptance and is widely available in many different rifles and the ammunition and components are produced by many different manufacturers. There is nothing special about handloading the 6.5 PRC — it’s a well-designed, high-performance rifle cartridge that requires no special considerations. I like this simplicity.

The other cartridges are not moot, however. The 6.5 Creedmoor produces considerably less recoil, making it easier for a shooter to spot hits and to shoot well. It is one of the more pleasant hunting cartridges I’ve used. The .308 Winchester offers incredible barrel life. I found that my match barrels didn’t start losing their best accuracy until around 6,000 rounds or so. That’s a lot of shooting for one barrel. I’d expect half that for the 6.5 Creedmoor, and I’m not yet sure what to expect for the 6.5 PRC, perhaps 2,000 rounds of accurate barrel life? Whatever the case, it’s unlikely most hunters will ever shoot that many rounds through their open country hunting rifle.