300 PRC vs 6.5 PRC

[tnak445]

Hi everyone,
New to the forum and have done some searching with not a ton of luck. I have read up on some reviews but none were quite comparing these two calibers that I’m torn between.
I have been tossing around the idea of picking up a CA ridgeline in one of those two calibers. I’ve always been sold on the idea of a heavier bullet but I know that’s been changing.
I live in WA state and mostly archery or muzzleloader hunt for deer and elk, but may be headed out to Wyoming this year for mule deer. At home the rifle will be used for mostly bear, which is why I lean towards the 300 PRC. And yes I hand load so factory ammo availability is no concern to me.
I apologize if this has been covered, but I’m looking for some personal experiences with the two.
Thank you in advance.

 

[bluetick78]

I have a CA Mesa in 6.5 PRC. Very accurate, pretty mild to shoot with the brake, easy to handload for, and kills quickly. I have no experience with 300 PRC, but I would expect performance similar to a 300 Win mag.

 

[Varminterror]

The choice used to be 7rem mag vs. 300win mag. The same paradigm still applies - they ARE different and one is smaller and less powerful than the other, BUT both are more than sufficient for 90% of the same tasks.

The gap between 300PRC and 6.5 PRC is bigger than that between 7RM and 300WM, so there may be some argument that there are more tasks for which the 6.5prc is too light but a 300 sufficient, but it’s really still almost a horse apiece on the business end.

But... the gap on the reloader’s side is larger too. It costs more to feed a 300 than a 6.5, so if a guy doesn’t do the ~15% tasks which separate the two, then there’s no reason to spend more, carry more weight, be limited to fewer mag options, etc. For hunting elk/bear/deer/moose/truly large NA game out to 600, I’d get the PRC. For anything farther, then I’d strongly consider the 300. I bought a 6.5 PRC and am rebuilding a 300wm into a 300PRC. One is a light hunting rifle. The other, not so light, but meant for reaching way out there.

 

[AZ_Hunter_2000]

If the bulk of the target species is smaller than elk, then go with the 6.5 PRC. If the bulk of the target species is elk or larger, then go with the 300 PRC.

Commercial ELD-X @ 900 yards
6.5 PRC: 1835 fps,1069 ft-lbs, and 177.74" of drop without adjusting for environmentals.
300 PRC: 1818 fps, 1556 ft-lbs, and 186.82" of drop without adjusting for environmentals.
28 Nosler: 2012 fps, 1456 fp-lbs, and 150.64" of drop without adjusting for environmentals. (included for comparison)

For the PRCs, pretty much the primary difference is energy which some folks feel is a useful metric while others says it is worthless.

I just finished having a 6.5 PRC set up. The requirements were for the setup to be capable of killing a partially obstructed Coues whitetail at 1000 yards and to be able to kill a bull elk at 700 yards. When it is all said and done, my 6.5 PRC setup far exceeded my expectations both for velocity as well as accuracy. Without adjusting for environmentals, it hits 1808 fps @ 1100 yards and is accurate enough to hit a Coues' vital at the same distance. While the setup is capable of this, I have some work to do.

 

[Norm555]

I wonder if Hornady is going to develop a 7 PRC to round things out with their PRC line.

 

[GoDawgsGo]

I have been shooting a ton of 6.5 prc here lately and I'm completely sold on that caliber. I really like the speeds you can get with the 6.5 prc. if i was only hunting elk and deer i would definitely choice it.

However I personally would want a larger bullet for bear even though i know the 6.5 prc can do the job.

 

[Varminterror]

I wonder if Hornady is going to develop a 7 PRC to round things out with their PRC line.

Doesn’t appear so. The 6.5 and 300 don’t share the same case anyway, and Ruger has largely ignored the 7mm’s in their previous line-up because the market shows 2 trends: 1) the industry is saturated with too many 7mm’s already for anything to be competitive, and 2) the limited ballistic understanding and bullet technology which made 7mm’s popular in the past had been superseded even upon release of the RCM’s almost 15 years ago.