6.5 PRC and 280ai

[MuleyFever]

Thoughts on these 2 as a hunting rifle for deer and elk out to 6-800yds?

 

[TomAZ]

Either one should be good. I’d give the nod to the 280 ai.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[CApighunter]

I had a 280AI built in November, love it. The fast 6.5s don’t interest me much.

 

[marshland_max]

Yeah as a 7mm guy myself, I'm going with the 280ai as well.

Sent from my Pixel 2 using Tapatalk

 

[elkguide]

Both are great cartridges and I wouldn't hesitate to use either on deer. My next rifle build will be a 6.5 PRC.

In my opinion and from my experience, when I head out for elk, I'm carrying a .30 caliber rifle.

 

[jspickar]

I have a 280ai and shoot a 160 accubond at 2920fps. It drops below 1500 ft-lbs at 500 yards which is the minimum recommended energy for shooting elk sized animals. But i also take into account the vegetation I hunt in. I hunt steep ground with a lot of timber and brush. Trying to find an elk that has been hit hard , but runs 200 yards down hill can take hours without snow.I watched a friend shoot a bull twice at 150 yards with a 6.5 Creedmoor and 130 sirocco's. The bull ran 200 yards and died. Not a big deal in eastern Montana as we watched him fall. Neither bullet exited and neither hit heavy bone.- I think a larger cartridge would provide more room for error. Also if you want to shoot elk at ranges over 500 yards I'd look at the 300 rum.

Sent from my SM-G900V using Tapatalk

 

[JWP58]

I'm very curious to see if any of the major companies are going to start chambering the prc. 9nly thing I can find that's reasonable is the sauer 100.

 

[huntsman22]

Ruger has their heavyweight, and more to come....

 

[16Bore]

Pick a good bullet and shoot often.....

 

[eLightfoot]

For me Id pick the PRC. Im running a 6.5saum and like it a lot

 

[Newtosavage]

I have a 280ai and shoot a 160 accubond at 2920fps. It drops below 1500 ft-lbs at 500 yards which is the minimum recommended energy for shooting elk sized animals. But i also take into account the vegetation I hunt in. I hunt steep ground with a lot of timber and brush. Trying to find an elk that has been hit hard , but runs 200 yards down hill can take hours without snow.I watched a friend shoot a bull twice at 150 yards with a 6.5 Creedmoor and 130 sirocco's. The bull ran 200 yards and died. Not a big deal in eastern Montana as we watched him fall. Neither bullet exited and neither hit heavy bone.- I think a larger cartridge would provide more room for error. Also if you want to shoot elk at ranges over 500 yards I'd look at the 300 rum.

Sent from my SM-G900V using Tapatalk

I had to double check those ballistics. I was surprised the 160 accubond dropped below 1500 ft. lbs. past 500 yards when started at 2920.

I'm shooting 162 ELD-X out of my 7mm-08 at 2650 and could run them at 2700 if I wanted. Those are only 100 ft. lbs. behind the .280 AI/Accubond combo at 500 yards, with probably 2/3 the recoil. Really makes me appreciate the high BC of those ELD-X's.

I'm a big 7mm fan. I think it's the best diameter bullet for 90% of what we do as hunters.

 

[DangerRanger]

280ai if you want to shoot elk @800 IMO (from someone who has a PRC).... or 7 mag

if its mostly deer and the occasional elk PRC should work well though

 

[oregonhuntr]

For me Id pick the PRC. Im running a 6.5saum and like it a lot

Does the 6.5 saum have a bit larger case capacity over the PRC? I am wanting the build a 6.5 of some kind.

 

[Jardo]

280 AI for mature elk is my minimum. Killed a lot of spikes with 270 win but all shots were within 200 Yards.

I’m gonna probably get flamed for saying this but I think that if you are going out to 800 yds, stick with 280 or even better, a 300 mag of whatever flavor you favor. I think the 6.5s are better left for deer size game at distance. I’ve seen videos of people killing em at long range with 6.5x284 but it’s still not my first choice for a mature bull.

Took this N.M. bull this year at 580 yards with my 280ai with 160 gr accubonds right at 3000 FPS. It took 2 bullets before falling over.

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

 

[roadrunner]

I wouldn't hesitate shooting a bull like that at 580 yds with a .270, provided the correct bullet and load were being used...

I agree, though, there are a lot of guys out there who drink the Koolaid and have no understanding of ballistics and what it means.

 

[huntsman22]

What is the correct bullet and load for 580 yard shots from a 270?

 

[16Bore]

140 Accubond at 3,000 fps

 

[roadrunner]

Or a 150 gr AB LR with a muzzy vel of 2,850 fps.

 

[eLightfoot]

Does the 6.5 saum have a bit larger case capacity over the PRC? I am wanting the build a 6.5 of some kind.

yes it does pack a few extra grains, the difference is probably negligible though unless you are trying to squeeze out as much velocity as you can.

 

[DangerRanger]

If you want to build the baddest on a short action the sherman shortmag is probably your answer, on a LA you can go nosler or weatherby. If you want a short mag that isnt a wildcat prc is a great choice and its right on the heels of the gap4s.