300 wsm or 6.5 prc

[baskhunter]

Apples vs Oranges I know, not very similar cartridges but hear me out.

I want to build a decent all around rifle(mostly mule deer and elk every other year) for backpacking and am wanting to keep the weight around 9ish pounds. To me that is a decent weight for shoot-ability and pack-ability.

I have a trued up Remington 700 short action with a magnum bolt face. I picked up a fluted Bartlein #3 chambered in 308 win(only 200 rounds through it) awhile back from a close friend for dirt cheap(shot fine but he decided to go a different caliber).

I was thinking about just having the 308 barrel punched out to 300wsm gunsmith said it should be pretty easy to do but the 6.5 prc has caught my attention as of late.

So what do you guys think I should do, go with the wsm or buy a new barrel and go prc??

I posted this on Rokslide as well but was curious to see what you all had to say.

 

[Mountain Sloth]

300 WSM since elk are on the menu and you already have a barrel. The PRC will get it done with ease but since you have a barrel already..

 

[tmmcampbell]

6.5 prc will kill anything on the planet. However, with elk on the menu I would prefer the 300. I have both. They are both great rounds. The 300 kicks quite a bit more. If I was to take one after elk I would take the 300. If I only had a 6.5 I would hunt with it but still prefer the 300 for large game.

 

[North Idaho Hunter]

I have both calibers mentioned. Personally I hate recoil - i shoot a lot. I quickly found that my 8 lb. wsm isn't that pleasant after 10 rounds!

If you plan to shoot a lot go PRC. If not, stay with WSM.

I haven't found the 300 to kill any better then the 6.5 in normal hunting ranges.

Elk included.

 

[Deleted member 103481]

Depends on what you're needs are for factory support. PRC is hard to come by at times if you want factory ammo... you also need to pay attention to freebore and coal for your setup if you want to load to the lands with Berger's.

I like the 6.5 prc, but if I was building a rifle with elk in mind quite often, I would lean to the 30 cal.

 

[WahooYahoo]

I like the PRC a lot. But no new components required for the WSM. I'd do the WSM or Sherman Short

 

[Another Casual]

I like my 8 pound w. scope PRC alot, but if you already have a barrel for the 300, I'd go with that. When I had run the numbers I compared energy at 600 yards vs recoil and found that for the specific bullets i was interested in and an 8 pound rifle for each the down range energy around 600 yards was slightly better on the 300 but at the cost of much higher recoil. At a 9 pound rifle with scope I think the recoil would be more manageable. Only other thought to consider would be if the barrel you have would finish at a reasonable length. Anything under 20 inches wouldnt be worth it for me in a WSM. I went 26 on my PRC and I'm glad I did.

 

[Hespco]

Many years ago when I was younger. I did all my elk hunting with a 338 mag. as I had been told by others that was the way to go. It absolutely worked & I took a fair amount of elk with it . Then I started reading about other cartridges & up came the various 6.5's & the game they had taken around the world. Read where they have taken just about every size game there is & with mild recoil. Back before Rem brought out the 260 I built a 6.5x308 wildcat ( aka 260 Rem ). Still have it & several other 6.5's. Have taken numerous elk with them all with no problem. Tough deep penetrating bullets properly placed work every time.. My favorite elk bullet is the copper mono. Never have lost an elk to one. Most all bullets exit even on actuate angled shots from the front or rear. Mild recoil, flat trajectory. For what it's worth....

 

[CUTTER1]

Taken well over 100 elk in 50 years and with everything from 243win (@8yo) to 470 NitroExpress and proper bullets and perfect range and exact bullet placement any will do it but given elk don't always allow that I'll always prefer a 30 or 338! I love the 6.5PRC so IMHO you need both a 6.5PRC and a big 30 with a break, use the action for the PRC!

Remember "Man who dies with most toys wins"

 

[L.Sherm]

If it were me and are recoil shy put a brake on it. Next I would install a wyatts 3" box and go 300 WSM. The 300 wsm has alot more options for factory stuff if your not a reloader and it sure doesnt hurt to have the little extra for elk.

 

[NDF]

WSM would be my choice, for everything mentioned above concerning large game and you can always load it down to reduce the spank felt on your end if you want to shoot it a lot to practice, bullet choices is hard to beat though in the 30 cal all the way up to the big bears with the heavy premiums IMO, shoot out that 30 cal bbl and with the $$ you save put it towards good glass, either way it's a good problem to have!

 

[Rick Richard]

I just went from 6.5 SAUM to 300 WSM because I like the ability to sling heavier bullets.

 

[rgvt4]

300WSM for me as well. Also there is more factory ammo out there with the 300

 

[FEENIX]

300 WSM since elk are on the menu and you already have a barrel. The PRC will get it done with ease but since you have a barrel already..

^^^This!^^^

My .300 WSM is loaded with 215 Berger.