16.5” 6.5 prc? build

I bought a 16" proof barreled Tuebor actioned 6.5 saum. I'm a speed kills guy so I went with 123 Scenars.…running 3060. It's handy and nasty on game. So much so I got to kill three animals with it and my buddies started fighting over it. Needless to say, I don't own it or the bullets any longer ;)

I've got some 139's and I'll likely spin up a 20" saum next.

I like short barrels, 22" is about as long as I want to hunt with. Good luck!
 
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Recon$$ said:
I think you can come up with a good combo on the 16.5. Personally I'd go 18 but thats just my opinion. Sending 156's can get off his high horse. Plenty of 16, 14, 10.5 inchers get it done....
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Almost all rifles can get it done with the proper bullet placement and it's definitely none of my concern what someone else builds. Just say you are going to sacrifice a LOT of velocity for convenience of easy handling. Don't act like there's something free in this world. You don't gain in one area without sacrificing in some other area.
when I was starting the build on my 300 WM the gunsmith asked me what length barrel I was going to use. After I told him 26" he said, " Sounds good, I'm tired of building 300 WMs with an 18" bbl burning ~ 78 grains of powder to get almost the same you can get from a .308 with an 18" bbl. Some cartridges get a more complete & efficient burn with a shorter bbl than others. The 65 PRC is not one of those cartridges.

I don't believe the #'s I hear on the internet for the velocity with 18" 65 PRC barrels. With my 65 PRCs I lose almost 50 fps per inch with Bartlein bbls. With my 65 CMs I lose 20-25 fps per inch.
 
Here is my absolute max load in my 20" 6.5SS, 156 Elite w. A very stiff charge of N565. It would print tiny little groups. But brass life was 2 firings. I backed them down to 2910, still decently warm, and brass seems to really appreciate it. My hunting load. Like Sending156s stated, there is always a compromise. Want that kind of speed in a shorty? Brass life if going to suffer greatly.

I have another "everyday" lighter load with 130 TMKs @ 3035fps to bang steel out to 1400.

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Sending156s said:
Almost all rifles can get it done with the proper bullet placement and it's definitely none of my concern what someone else builds. Just say you are going to sacrifice a LOT of velocity for convenience of easy handling. Don't act like there's something free in this world. You don't gain in one area without sacrificing in some other area.
when I was starting the build on my 300 WM the gunsmith asked me what length barrel I was going to use. After I told him 26" he said, " Sounds good, I'm tired of building 300 WMs with an 18" bbl burning ~ 78 grains of powder to get almost the same you can get from a .308 with an 18" bbl. Some cartridges get a more complete & efficient burn with a shorter bbl than others. The 65 PRC is not one of those cartridges.

I don't believe the #'s I hear on the internet for the velocity with 18" 65 PRC barrels. With my 65 PRCs I lose almost 50 fps per inch with Bartlein bbls. With my 65 CMs I lose 20-25 fps per inch.
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You make me wanna build this 16.5 6.5prc just out of spite now lol but I could post my end results good or not and you probably still wouldn't believe me (well, maybe if they're bad because you seem to be the guy that wants to always be right) . Am I going to lose velocity going shorter - obviously. Nobody including me said it'd be getting or expecting 24-26" 6.5 prc velocities. Will it out peddle my 18" 6.5cm - yeah. Is my goal to keep up with longer barrels? No. My goal is to have a lighter weight short barreled rifle that will have a can on it the whole time. An extra 12-14oz/8" can on the muzzle of a 26" barrel is not realistic for my style of hunting.
 
Obviously the OP knows he's sacrificing velocity. I go off 40-50 FPS and inch as well. My numbers come from shooting a PRC. Worst case scenario if he can't get what he wants, he drops a few grains on the projectile and still has a great deer stick that can still poke out. Doesn't have to be as dramatic as go grab a pistol.
 
simmonzz said:
You make me wanna build this 16.5 6.5prc just out of spite now lol but I could post my end results good or not and you probably still wouldn't believe me (well, maybe if they're bad because you seem to be the guy that wants to always be right) . Am I going to lose velocity going shorter - obviously. Nobody including me said it'd be getting or expecting 24-26" 6.5 prc velocities. Will it out peddle my 18" 6.5cm - yeah. Is my goal to keep up with longer barrels? No. My goal is to have a lighter weight short barreled rifle that will have a can on it the whole time. An extra 12-14oz/8" can on the muzzle of a 26" barrel is not realistic for my style of hunting.
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Good luck with your project. I hope I don't lose to much sleep worrying about your results. Have a great evening!
 
Recon$$ said:
Obviously the OP knows he's sacrificing velocity. I go off 40-50 FPS and inch as well. My numbers come from shooting a PRC. Worst case scenario if he can't get what he wants, he drops a few grains on the projectile and still has a great deer stick that can still poke out. Doesn't have to be as dramatic as go grab a pistol.
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I'm sure he'll have an awesome rifle & be very happy. Nothing dramatic about use a pistol if you really want short & handy. A friend hunts exclusively with his pistol. Limits out on nice deer every year. And I said you were right on shot placement. About anything on our continent can be killed with a 22 long rifle with proper shot placement . I should have just read & not said anything. To often I see #'s posted on the internet that doesn't appear reasonable to me or correlate to any published load data.
You have a good evening
 
simmonzz said:
I already have a long barreled 30cal and don't really have a need or want another 30cal at the moment. I have a bunch of 6.5 bullets and I like having a shorter barreled, short action as a backup/rifle for my girlfriend or whoever or if I'm just tired of carrying my 300norma I can grab that. As for choosing/thinking about doing 6.5 prc - it's just a way to up the velocity of the bullets I already shoot because although my 6.5cm isn't necessarily slow or inadequate for being an 18" I'd like to push the bullets I have faster. I'm not a prc supporter and never even shot it it just outperforms creedmoor as far as ballistics are concerned
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You'll get 300 or more fps by building a 26 Nosler
 
I didn't read all the comments so maybe it was already covered. I have several creeds from 20-26". I have 2 PRC's. 22" and 18". That 18 is now my favorite rig. Getting down to 8 lbs scoped is not that hard. I am 9.5 with a folding chassis and 7" suppressor. Being in a chassis with a metal mag etc I am a solid 1-1.5 lbs over any reasonable tradational stock. I'd do a xlr magnesium if I did it over.

As far as speed..... I love the 135A tip in my 18. It runs 2985-3000. 143 is 2925. 156 is 2800. You loose about 30fps per inch on the prc. I'd expect to be roughly 50 fps slower than my 18. I'd run rl26 or N560 likely. H1000 might work too but RL26 and 560 have proven their worth to me.
 
BrentM said:
I didn't read all the comments so maybe it was already covered. I have several creeds from 20-26". I have 2 PRC's. 22" and 18". That 18 is now my favorite rig. Getting down to 8 lbs scoped is not that hard. I am 9.5 with a folding chassis and 7" suppressor. Being in a chassis with a metal mag etc I am a solid 1-1.5 lbs over any reasonable tradational stock. I'd do a xlr magnesium if I did it over.

As far as speed..... I love the 135A tip in my 18. It runs 2985-3000. 143 is 2925. 156 is 2800. You loose about 30fps per inch on the prc. I'd expect to be roughly 50 fps slower than my 18. I'd run rl26 or N560 likely. H1000 might work too but RL26 and 560 have proven their worth to me.
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that's for the info that's definitely helpful. I'm still trying to decide on; get a new bolt for $350 and wait x weeks for it to get her from defiance or stock either the .308 bolt face and do some getting like 22 creedmoor. The only thing this rifle will take is gonna be deer size game and smaller and a heavy 224 with good velocity will be more than adequate for that
 

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