What's your go to hunting load (Pet Load) for your 6.5 PRC?

[Heavy Barrel]

Back in late March I got myself a Tikka T3x Lite chambered in 6.5 PRC and picked up some 140gr Norma Whitetail to sight-in with. After getting the Leupold VX-5HD 4-20x52 mounted on it I went to the range. While the grouping was within satisfactory for hunting, eight shots withing a 1.25" area, I was less than impressed with the velocity. The box speed for this ammo shows just under 2900fps though with a Garmin Xero C1 the velocities were averaging mid to upper 2500fps.

While I'm sure I can get better velocities with handloads, I'm wondering what is your go to hunting load in 6.5 PRC?

 

[IdahoCTD]

I shoot 147 ELD-M's for everything up to elk. I like 54.7grs of R-26 in virgin Peterson brass or 54.3 in once fired with a CCI 250 primer. Magnum primers gave lower SD/ES. I have also used 55.5grs of N565. It has a bit lower SD/ES but it not quite as accurate in my gun. The R-26 load shoots in the .2-.3" range.

 

[Heavy Barrel]

I shoot 147 ELD-M's for everything up to elk. I like 54.7grs of R-26 in virgin Peterson brass or 54.3 in once fired with a CCI 250 primer. Magnum primers gave lower SD/ES. I have also used 55.5grs of N565. It has a bit lower SD/ES but it not quite as accurate in my gun. The R-26 load shoots in the .2-.3" range.

I've been patiently watching and waiting for a couple pounds of RL26 to become available though I'm starting to wonder if my odds of successfully baptizing a feral cat are higher.

A couple of sources suggest VV N565 as a substitute for RL26, was able to find a couple pounds locally though my range time got cut in half by Mother Nature. Got halfway through and it decided to cut loose and pour, couldn't see my targets down range if I tried.

Case	Bullet	Bullet WT	Primer	Powder	ChargeWT	COL	Min	Max	Avg	Spread	Std Dev
Lapua	Nosler BT	140​	Fed 210M	N565	55​	2.955​	2706.4​	2709.7​	2708.2​	3.3​	1.4​
Lapua	Nosler BT	140​	Fed 210M	N565	55.5​	2.955​	2730​	2760.7​	2743.4​	30.7​	13​
Lapua	Nosler BT	140​	Fed 210M	N565	56​	2.955​	2789.1​	2802.5​	2796.7​	13.4​	5​
Lapua	Nosler BT	140​	Fed 210M	N565	56.5​	2.955​	2797.7​	2822.8​	2809.4​	25.1​	9​
Lapua	Nosler BT	140​	Fed 210M	N565	57​	2.955​	2803.2​	2849.2​	2821.2​	46​	19.1​
Lapua	Nosler BT	140​	Fed 210M	N565	57.5​	2.955​	2840​	2868.5​	2852.3​	28.5​	10.7​
Lapua	Nosler BT	140​	Fed 210M	N565	58​	2.955​
Lapua	Nosler BT	140​	Fed 210M	N565	58.5​	2.955​
Lapua	Nosler BT	140​	Fed 210M	N565	59​	2.955​
Lapua	Nosler BT	140​	Fed 210M	N565	59.5​	2.955​

 

[longrangehunter]

If you’re not dead set waiting for RL-26….. I just use whatever works at putting the bullet to the best possible POA, and run with it vs hoping it might pan out!?!

After all, it might have lots of velocity, but not so much in the accuracy department.

I’d rather hunt with a load that is consistent even if it’s slow. Dope is dope, dial or hold and if the load is stupid accurate it won’t matter as long as it’s properly placed and the bullet is up to the job. And why I prefer Partition bullets up close or further away then I should be shooting, or a BT, AB. If it’ll stack’um, it’ll put meat on the ground and in the freezer.

It’s like this setup, 25x7 PRC using the same bullet, Berger 133 EH, VV N160 vs 560. 2950 vs 3150…… Yes it’s flatter, plus more energy, but at the expense of recoil and barrel life if that matters to you? For me the cost of a carbon barrel plus load development of another load is getting expensive. So it’s just not worth it to me to shoot something under 600 yards away…, but that’s just a hermits opinion that shoots every other day of the week for something to do.

 

[TEXASforLIFE]

Lapua 144 loc-base fmjbt's with n560 or ppu 139 fmj-bt's with same powder. Keep in mind I don't hunt game that requires a tag only varmints.

 

[SJB358]

I’ve used Magnum, 26 and H1000 with the 129 ABLR and 139 Scenar in my PRC. I like 26, but there are so many great powders in and around it I’d never blink if I didn’t have any.

 

[Blkram]

I like to try various factory ammunition in new, or new-to-me, rifles to determine what bullets and/or weights they will show a preference for. Once I have done this, I buy 5 boxes of that ammo so I will always have a preferred ammo on hand, should I run out of handloads that I have worked up for the rifle handy, and can quickly make a range trip to re-zero the scope for that ammo and go hunting.

I have tried several loads in my 6.5 PRC, and the one showing the best performance so far has been the Nosler 142 gr LRAB ammo. It is producing 2921 fps, and 3 shot groups of 0.480" at 100 yards from its 24" Wilson 1:8 carbon fibre barrel. At this time, this will be my hunting load.
I will have to acquire some of these bullets to see if I can top that performance with a handload, although that may be tough to beat! Powders to try include VihtaVouri N-560, 565, and 570, Re-26, Magnum, and MagPro.

I did try several other factory loads as well, that produced the following results:

• Barnes 127 gr LRX: 2964 fps and 1.510"
• Hornady 130 gr CX: 3110 fps and 2.02"
• Federal 130 gr Terminal Ascent: 3026 fps and 1.048"
• Nosler 140 gr Ballistic Tip: 2829 fps and 0.919"
• Nosler 140 gr AccuBond: 2744 fps and 0.632"
• Federal 140 gr Fusion: 2834 fps and 0.537"
• Sako 140 gr GameChanger: 2776 fps and 0.762"
• Norma 140 gr Whitetail: 2743 fps and 0.866"
• Hornady 143 gr ELD-X: 2837 fps and 0.762"

So my rifle is showing a preference for 140-143 gr bullets for accuracy over a velocity range of 2743-2921 fps. I can add the 130 gr TA in their too, as it is right at MOA for accuracy.
I too, found that many factory loads were slower than spec'd by the manufacturer...by up to 170 fps.
I am happy that the LRAB ammo is a little faster than factory spec!