The fashionable big-game hunter is a bit totally different than the big-game hunters who shared the sector along with your father and grandfather. Hunters have at all times wished to increase their vary, however trendy big-game hunters are taking lengthy vary to the acute. Cartridges created on this new century are the easiest way to get a bullet out past 500 yards with sufficient velocity for bullet upset, and with sufficient vitality to penetrate deep sufficient to anchor animals. Two of the very best are two of the PRC cartridges from Hornady. Function constructed to launch bullets with high-ballistic coefficients, the 6.5 and 7mm PRC are a few the hottest-selling rifle cartridges of the brand new millennium. Right here’s how they stack up, face to face.
6.5 PRC vs 7mm PRC: Desk of Contents
The 6.5 PRC
The 7mm PRC
6.5 PRC vs 7mm PRC: Velocity Comparability
6.5 PRC vs 7mm PRC: Vitality Comparability
6.5 PRC vs 7mm PRC: Trajectory Comparability
6.5 PRC vs 7mm PRC: Recoil Comparability
6.5 PRC vs 7mm PRC: Ammo/Rifle Availability
Which Cartridge is Finest?
The 6.5 PRC
Previous timers will keep in mind the 264 Winchester Magnum and the splash it made within the early 60s. Early ads for it proclaimed, “It makes a helluva noise and packs a helluva wallop,” and it did. The western prairies haven’t been the identical since; the 264 was Creedmoor-cool lengthy earlier than the Creedmoor. With its potential to push a 140-grain bullet to round 3,000 fps, it was a flat-shooting large recreation slayer. In the end, the 264 misplaced out to Remington’s seven magnum just a few years later, as a result of the 7mm Remington Magnum might shoot heavier bullets even sooner.
The 6.5 PRC was launched in 2018 and primarily duplicates the efficiency of Winchester’s authentic racehorse, however with its sooner rifling twist fee of 1-in-8, it may possibly shoot even flatter. Its guardian case is the Ruger 300 Compact Magnum, however with an general size of two.995 inches, it is not going to slot in a short-action rifle with {a magazine} field size of two.8 inches. You can name the 6.5 PRC the 6.5 Creedmoor Magnum. Or, since some prefer to name the 6.5 Creedmoor the “manbun” cartridge, you may additionally name the 6.5 PRC the “Manbun Magnum.” Both manner, it’s a wonderful, low-recoiling, long-range looking cartridge.
The 7mm PRC
4 years after the introduction of the 6.5 PRC, Hornady gave us the 7mm PRC. The 7mm PRC makes use of the identical diameter cartridge case because the 6.5 PRC, nevertheless it’s stretched out a bit longer to carry extra gunpowder. The guardian cartridge case for the 7mm PRC is the 375 Ruger. Hornady simply shortened the case and necked it down to just accept 0.284-caliber bullets. With an general size of three.34 inches, the 7mm PRC wants a protracted motion similar to the 7mm Remington Magnum. However the PRC doesn’t have a belt at its base, and its rim—similar to its case—is identical diameter because the 6.5 PRC.
The 7mm PRC grew to become an prompt sensation as a result of, just like the 6.5 PRC, it makes use of a quick 1-in-8 rifling twist fee. This enables the 7mm PRC to outperform most different 7mm magnum rifle cartridges at excessive distance. One other benefit the 7mm PRC has over the 6.5 PRC is that it may possibly deal with a lot heavier bullets. It’s form of like historical past is repeating itself; very similar to the 7mm Remington Magnum grew to become extra fashionable than the 264 Winchester Magnum, the 7mm PRC is starting to lure hunters away from the 6.5 PRC. Possibly Hornady had that play all alongside, as a result of they knew that few would purchase a 6.5 PRC in the event that they launched the 7mm PRC first. Regardless, we now have each, and whereas each cartridges have the identical title and are nice for big-game looking, they’re fairly totally different.
6.5 PRC vs 7mm PRC: Velocity Comparability
In case you evaluate 6.5 and 7mm PRC hundreds within the Hornady Precision Hunter line of ammo, you’ll discover that the 6.5 PRC will push a 147-grain ELD-X bullet to about 2960 fps. The 7mm PRC Hornady Precision Hunter load makes use of a 175-grain bullet and has a muzzle velocity of 3000 fps. These marketed velocities are very related and can most probably be even nearer out of precise rifles, however velocity alone doesn’t provide the full story. In the case of hitting at distance, trajectory and wind drift matter, and that is the place the ballistic coefficient (BC) of the bullet comes into play.
Velocity Benefit: Tie
6.5 PRC vs 7mm PRC: Trajectory Comparability
The BC of the 175-grain ELD-X bullet fired by the 7mm PRC is 0.689, and the 147-grain ELD-X bullet fired by the 6.5 PRC has a BC of 0.625. Because of this with related velocities, the heavier-and-higher BC bullet from the 7mm PRC will drop much less and drift much less within the wind than the lighter bullet of the 6.5 PRC. The chart beneath particulars the distinction, and as you may see, out to 300 yards the efficiency of each cartridges is comparable. Nevertheless, at 500 yards the 7mm PRC is starting to go away the 6.5 PRC behind and, as the space will increase past 500 yards, so too will the 7mm PRC’s slight benefit.
Trajectory Benefit: 7mm PRC
6.5 PRC vs 7mm PRC: Vitality Comparability
However even out to 500 yards, the variations within the drop and wind drift between these two cartridges usually are not excessive. In case you’re able to making hit with a 7mm PRC, it is best to have the ability to do the identical with a 6.5 PRC. The true distinction in these two cartridges is in kinetic vitality. At 300 yards, the 6.5 PRC can have about 2,000 foot-pounds of kinetic vitality and the 7mm PRC can have about 2,600. That’s a 30 % benefit. Although the bigger and heavier bullet of the 7mm PRC will use extra of its vitality to completely upset, you may count on it to penetrate a bit deeper and harm extra tissue. Is that this vitality benefit sufficient to matter? Probably, relying in your shot placement you may want extra energy when the bullet arrives on the goal.
Vitality Benefit: 7mm PRC
6.5 PRC vs 7mm PRC: Recoil Comparability
In fact, cartridges that push bullets to hit targets tougher additionally generate extra recoil, and extra recoil makes rifles tougher to shoot. Out of an eight-pound rifle, the 7mm PRC, with its 175-grain bullet, will recoil about 43 % tougher than the 6.5 PRC with its 147-grain bullet. The 6.5 PRC will recoil with about 23 foot-pounds of drive and really feel similar to the recoil of the 30-06. The 7mm PRC, however, will recoil with round 33 foot-pounds of drive. So, you pay for slight benefit in drop and drift and the 30 % improve in kinetic vitality with a considerable improve in recoil. In case your flinch from that anticipated wallop causes your bullet to strike a pair inches off mark, all of the ballistic benefits of the 7mm PRC won’t be of any profit in any respect.
Recoil Benefit: 6.5 PRC
6.5 PRC vs 7mm PRC: Ammo/Rifle Availability
In line with a serious on-line retailer, there are about 45 manufacturing unit hundreds for the 6.5 PRC and about 30 for the 7mm PRC. You’ll have just a few extra choices with the 6.5 PRC, with bullets ranging in weight from 100-to 156-grains. With the 7mm PRC, the bullet-weight vary runs from 150-to 195-grains. This makes the 6.5 PRC a bit higher suited to predators like coyotes and smaller large recreation like deer, however with bullet it’ll certainly do the work on elk and African plains recreation as properly. Although there’s actually no such factor as additional or too lifeless, the 7mm PRC with its lightest-weight bullets appears a bit a lot for coyote. However these lighter-bullet hundreds ought to present distinctive service on deer-sized recreation, and with the heavier bullet, the 7mm PRC is appropriate for any non-dangerous recreation wherever on this planet.
Benefit: Tie
Which PRC Cartridge is the Finest?
I’ve finished little bit of looking with each cartridges in Africa, and inside 300 yards I couldn’t inform any distinction of their terminal efficiency on recreation as small as jackals and as massive as kudu. What I can let you know with out hesitation is that the 6.5 PRC is a way more enjoyable cartridge to shoot, both from the bench or within the subject. Solely from a ballistics standpoint, there’s no query the 7mm PRC is the better-performing rifle cartridge—it’ll shoot flatter and hit tougher at any distance. However from a sensible standpoint, the 6.5 PRC—similar to Winchester’s previous 264—will do what most any hunter wants finished, and 6.5 PRC ammo prices about 5 % much less.
I’d not be shocked if historical past repeats itself and the 7mm PRC steals quite a lot of thunder from the 6.5 PRC, similar to the 7mm Remington Magnum did to the 264 Winchester Magnum a few half-century in the past. Regardless that the 6.5 Creedmoor has been unimaginably profitable, magnum-class cartridges that shoot 6.5mm bullets, just like the 264 Winchester Magnum, the 6.5-300 Weatherby Magnum, and the 6.5 Weatherby RPM, have but to set the world on fireplace. It looks as if most hunters who need magnum efficiency for giant recreation additionally desire bullets which might be bigger in diameter than 6.5 millimeters. If the 6.5 PRC in the end has the identical destiny as Winchester’s 264, that may be unhappy as a result of the 6.5 PRC is a really succesful big-game cartridge.
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