If you love hunting or shooting sports, you must’ve had your fair share of cartridge headaches. In this article, our experts provide the results of extensive testing of the 6.5 PRC VS 6.5 Creedmoor to help you choose the right cartridge and save you from future trouble. Hear what our team has to say:
Table of Contents
6.5 PRC & 6.5 Creedmoor differences
Best Option for All-Around Performance (6.5 PRC)
- This cartridge is excellent for long-range shootings and fits many short rifles. The velocity in the loading bullet is about 3000 FPS, and the shots’ accuracy is incredible. This is due to the higher grain capacity.
Best Barrel Life (6.5-Creedmoor)
- Creedmoor has mild recoil, which prolongs the barrel life of the cartridge. Although it’s accurate, the cartridge won’t wear out the barrel because of its smaller diameter. You can use the 6.5 Creedmoor for long periods.
main features
6.5 PRC and 6.5 Creedmoor both have exciting features. Although the 6.5 PRC has been around for quite some time, 6.5 Creedmoor has been winning shooters’ hearts worldwide since its inception. Moreover, shooters are still skeptical about the 6.5 PRC.
Don’t get it twisted, though. The 6.5 PRC, also known as 6.5 Precision Rifle Cartridge, is an upgrade of 6.5 Creedmoor, which means that it offers slightly better features than the 6.5 Creedmoor. Our experts found that this is evident in the velocity and long-range precision.
The 6.5 Creedmoor trails the 6.5 PRC by 200 – 250FPS (feet per second). Performance-wise, this cartridge is excellent, and unlike some cartridges, it shortens barrel life because of its high velocity and large diameter. It’s designed for high B.C. bullets.
The making of 6.5 PRC began in 2012 by George Gardner, who wanted a more precise cartridge for long-range hunting. After making the first successful 6.5 short magnums, he forged ahead to make the PRC, a bigger cartridge to the Creedmoor on the Ruger Compact Magnum (RCM). Keep reading to see if the 6.5 PRC vs. 6.5 Creedmoor debate is worth the hype.
Alternatively, you can also read the results of our 6.5 Creedmoor and 6.5×47 Lapua comparison.
Ballistics Comparison
6.5 PRC factory load fires a 143gr and 147gr bullet at 250 FPS faster than the 6.5 Creedmoor. The ballistics of a typical 6.5 PRC is 143gr and 147 gr bullets at 2960 FPS and 2910 FPS, respectively. Although this range is not close to what Gardner initially designed, it shows that the 6.5 PRC’s performance is exceptional and will only continue to evolve.
These loads are designed to minimize bullet drop and wind drift so that more accuracy is achieved.
Compared to 6.5 Creedmoor, 6.5 PRC has less wind drift and retains more energy. The PRC also has a flatter trajectory with about 18% less bullet drop between 500 yards to 600 yards.
6.5 Creedmoor uses 120gr, 140gr, 143gr, and 147gr bullets, unlike the 6.5 PRC that uses 143gr and 147gr. However, both use a fast rifling rate of 1.8 to stabilize the massive, high B.C. bullets.
You can also see how the 6.5 Grendel performs against 5.56 in this aspect.
Winner: 6.5 PRC
Terminal Performance
Performance-wise, the 6.5 PRC showed a slight advantage over the 6.5 Creedmoor in our tests. Over 500 yards, 6.5 PRC has less wind drift than the 6.5 Creedmoor, which is a plus if you want to achieve more accuracy. PRC also loads the same bullet faster than Creedmoor.
Winner: 6.5 PRC
Barrel Life of 6.5 PRC and 6.5 Creedmoor
Even though the two cartridges use the same diameter barrel, the 6.5 PRC will likely wear out the barrels more than the 6.5 Creedmoor because it has more capacity. The powder in the PRC will burn more, which results in shorter barrel life. How fast it will wear out depends on the quantity of ammunition used and the barrel’s quality, among others.
If you are a frequent shooter or hunter, this will be a big concern because the 6.5 PRC barrel life will certainly not last more than a few years. However, an average shooter will enjoy many years of shooting with the 6.5 PRC because the barrel life can go between 1000 – 2000 rounds, which will last for several years.
Winner: 6.5 Creedmoor
Cartridge
6.5 PRC and 6.5 Creedmoor cartridges [1] are designed for long-range shooting, and that is why they use the most massive bullets in their calibers. 6.5 PRC cartridges are suitable for PRS competitions because they can go way past 1000 yards. Their medium bore and high velocity of 3200 FPS contribute to this.
Both 6.5 PRC and 6.5 Creedmoor use a tampered case but have different rim diameters. For example, 6.5 PRC has a larger .532 rim diameter, nearly .59 larger than that of 6.5 Creedmoor. The reason for the large diameter is because of the larger grain capacity.
Accuracy of 6.5 PRC and 6.5 Creedmoor
In addition to their long-range shooting, 6.5 PRC and 6.5 Creedmoor are exceptionally accurate. However, the 6.5 PRC is slightly longer and more precise, due to the higher grain capacity. For other hunting ammo options, you can also take a look at 30-06 and 7mm.
Winner: 6.5 PRC
Recoil
The 6.5 Creedmoor has a mild recoil compared to the 6.5 PRC in the free recoil energy comparison. That’s because PRC focuses more on precision and long-range shootings.
This results in increased recoil and short barrel life. The free recoil energy generated by the 6.5 PRC and 143gr bullet at 3000 FPS is slightly higher than Creedmoor’s.
The 6.5 Creedmoor is beaten by the 224 Valkyrie in this regard, though.
The recoil impacts the accuracy of the cartridge, regardless of how well-trained you are at shooting. But if all factors are equal, you should have no problems with shooting accurately, especially with 6.5 Creedmoor that has milder recoil.
Winner: 6.5 Creedmoor
Cost of 6.5 Creedmoor and 6.5 PRC
The cost of 6.5 PRC vs. 6.5 Creedmoor depends on the bullet type and the seller. At a friendly price, you will get 20 rounds of the 140-grain bullet of 6.5 Creedmoor cartridge. On the flip side, the cost of the 6.5 PRC 147-grain bullet is a little above that of 6.5 PRC.
Winner: 6.5 Creedmoor
Velocity of 6.5 PRC and 6.5 Creedmoor
The muzzle velocity of 6.5 PRC is why many shooters and hunters would want to port from the Creedmoor to the PRC. The PRC has a 3000 FPS velocity, almost 300 FPS more than Creedmoor, which is 2700 FPS.
We also compared the velocity of the 350 Legend VS the 300 Blackout.
Winner: 6.5 PRC
6.5 PRC or 6.5 creedmoor? we like...
If you’re going to get an all-round performance from a caliber, our experts strongly recommend going for the 6.5 PRC. The 6.5 PRC is an upgrade of the 6.5 Creedmoor, and as proven through our tests, performs better than the 6.5 Creedmoor. The 6.5 PRC also has more accuracy and ballistics than the 6.5 Creedmoor.
We Recommend
6.5 PRC
- Good for long-range shooting
- Fits many short rifles
- With higher grain capacity
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