6.5 PRC Hornady 147 gr. ELD Match factory powder

[Nimrodmar10]

How is your deer hunting going ?

Not bad, so far. I've let a lot of 2-4 year old bucks walk, waiting on a really good buck. The land owner wanted a "summer sausage" deer, and doesn't want me to shoot does, so I shot a pretty nice 8 point for him. I had let the buck pass several times. The buck was 300 yards broadside. I shot him behind the shoulder, trying to not mess up a lot of meat. He ran about 100 yards before he crashed. Yesterday, with 4 days left in the season, he asked me to shoot him another sausage buck, so I shot a 5 point, 1.5 year old buck, so as to not have to shoot another 3+ buck. He was at 335 yards broadside. Same bullet and shot placement with same results. He ran about 100 yards before dying.
For both deer, I was shooting the 6.5 PRC with a handload using the Berger 140 gr. VLD-H with 55.6 gr. RL-26 at 3141 fps. I'm not really impressed by the bullet performance. Even though I didn't hit any bones, I expected the deer to die a lot quicker. Both were hit through the heart-lung area. I expected more hydrostatic shock damage from the bullet. The exit wound was only about an inch in diameter, with little to no blood trail. I'm not sure the bullets expanded. So, as of this morning, I'm switching to the Hornady 147 gr. ELD-M Bullet traveling at 3032 fps. I think the ballistic tip should make the bullet open a little faster and create more damage. I'll let you know

 

[IHFarmer07]

Not bad, so far. I've let a lot of 2-4 year old bucks walk, waiting on a really good buck. The land owner wanted a "summer sausage" deer, and doesn't want me to shoot does, so I shot a pretty nice 8 point for him. I had let the buck pass several times. The buck was 300 yards broadside. I shot him behind the shoulder, trying to not mess up a lot of meat. He ran about 100 yards before he crashed. Yesterday, with 4 days left in the season, he asked me to shoot him another sausage buck, so I shot a 5 point, 1.5 year old buck, so as to not have to shoot another 3+ buck. He was at 335 yards broadside. Same bullet and shot placement with same results. He ran about 100 yards before dying.
For both deer, I was shooting the 6.5 PRC with a handload using the Berger 140 gr. VLD-H with 55.6 gr. RL-26 at 3141 fps. I'm not really impressed by the bullet performance. Even though I didn't hit any bones, I expected the deer to die a lot quicker. Both were hit through the heart-lung area. I expected more hydrostatic shock damage from the bullet. The exit wound was only about an inch in diameter, with little to no blood trail. I'm not sure the bullets expanded. So, as of this morning, I'm switching to the Hornady 147 gr. ELD-M Bullet traveling at 3032 fps. I think the ballistic tip should make the bullet open a little faster and create more damage. I'll let you know

From what I hear the eldm's are great if not better than the eldx bullets.....I was hoping to shoot a deer with the factory 147eldm's but still no chance with those.

I shot a doe with my 6.5prc at 450yrds with the factory 143eldx's in the shoulder and it came out about in the middle of the ribs. Coolest thing I've ever seen, she did a backwards flip when the bullet struck and stayed planted after that......total destruction of the FL shoulder and a dime sized exit hole in the middle of the rib cage. Thoroughly satisfied with the DRT but the bullet performance idk, still like to try a eldm to compare.

 

[6.5 prc LR.]

Since no one knew for sure what the powder was, i did a little research of my own. I pulled a bullet from a new Hornady 147 gr. ELD-M. The powder weighed exactly 59.0 grains. I first measured the length and diameter of the grains. The diameter was .042" and the length was .065". I then compared it to powders i had on hand. Reloder 25 and H1000 were definitely not a match. Next i compared it to Retumbo. The grains were exactly the same size and the colors was a very close match. It seemed to be a match.
The velocity listed on the box is 2910 fps which matches the velocity I got in my 24" barrel Savage. Hornady's reloading data which I obtained from their web sight list a velocity of 3050 fps with a load of 58.5 gr. Of Retumbo in a 26" barrel
Of course I can't be positive that the factory powder is Retumbo, but I'm definitely going to get a box of the 147 gr. ELD-Ms and try working up a load for my rifle.
Thoughts?

You might want to check your scale!!!! 59gr of retumbo is way over max pressure for that load. may be alright for 143 gri would be careful.I pulled 10 rds after reading this and came up with an average of 55.4 from a new box of match 147gr. Lot #81620 . Hornady has been known to mix
superformace with other powders to meet case capacity.
and help balance out velocity and consistent pressure.
No data will be published with blended powder and no one is talking at Hornady