kilotanker22
New member
So I finally got my dies for the 6.5 PRC rifle I recently purchased. The rifle is a Savage Model 110 High Country. Overall I am really liking this rifle. I do like the fact that I can fit longer rounds in the mag. Max mag length is 2.995" So these rounds were loaded to 2.985" to ensure they will feed properly. Luckily This leaves me only about .025" from the lands so I have plenty of room to play with seating depth.
Cases are Hornady, Fired formed and partially resized. Resized just enough to set the shoulder back .002". Resized in this fashion my case capacity is 64.5 grains of water with a 140 grain ELD-M bullet seated to the COAL that I am using.
I began Using Hornady data since I have the same cases and same bullets already on hand. I use a CCI 200 primer instead of the Federal 210. I have met Hornady's max load yet, but I am not showing any obvious signs of pressure. Primers are still round, no cratering, no ejector marks or swipes and no hard bolt lift or extraction.
I made it all the way up to 57 grains of Reloder 26 today. The velocity numbers were pretty good for a 24 inch tube IMO. Group size was excellent. Minus 1 shot That I believe to be a fluke. Velocity is as follows.
24" barrel
57 grains of Reloder 26, Hornady case, CCI 200 and 140 ELD-M bullet.
Average: 3029 fps
ES: 19
SD: 8
Group size was less than .3" for the first 4 rounds and the fifth round impacted 1" low. I would have shot another, but they were my last 5 rounds. I think that I may have accidentally mixed in one of my lower charges. Can 120 fps drop in velocity account for an inch of additional bullet drop at 100 yards? Either way I will test this again.
Brass looks great. No obvious signs of being over pressure. I think that I will load more of these at 57 grains and then move up incrementally until I see some pressure signs then back off and see what yields the best velocity spread and group size.
The load density is not as high as I would like to see. With 57 grains of Reloder 26 I have plenty of more capacity for powder. I would like to get this closer to 100% load density. By my estimation I think I am around 88%. I would like to be closer to 95% load density. I have every intention of seeing how hard I can push this before I see obvious signs of pressure. To hit 93% load density in this case where my bullets are seated I would need 60 grains of Reloder 26. I don't think that I will be able to get that far. I am already spitting that bullet out at 3029 fps. I would like to see 3150, but we'll see where that goes.
Have any of you worked with this cartridge, bullet weight and powder selection? What were your velocity and accuracy results?
Cases are Hornady, Fired formed and partially resized. Resized just enough to set the shoulder back .002". Resized in this fashion my case capacity is 64.5 grains of water with a 140 grain ELD-M bullet seated to the COAL that I am using.
I began Using Hornady data since I have the same cases and same bullets already on hand. I use a CCI 200 primer instead of the Federal 210. I have met Hornady's max load yet, but I am not showing any obvious signs of pressure. Primers are still round, no cratering, no ejector marks or swipes and no hard bolt lift or extraction.
I made it all the way up to 57 grains of Reloder 26 today. The velocity numbers were pretty good for a 24 inch tube IMO. Group size was excellent. Minus 1 shot That I believe to be a fluke. Velocity is as follows.
24" barrel
57 grains of Reloder 26, Hornady case, CCI 200 and 140 ELD-M bullet.
Average: 3029 fps
ES: 19
SD: 8
Group size was less than .3" for the first 4 rounds and the fifth round impacted 1" low. I would have shot another, but they were my last 5 rounds. I think that I may have accidentally mixed in one of my lower charges. Can 120 fps drop in velocity account for an inch of additional bullet drop at 100 yards? Either way I will test this again.
Brass looks great. No obvious signs of being over pressure. I think that I will load more of these at 57 grains and then move up incrementally until I see some pressure signs then back off and see what yields the best velocity spread and group size.
The load density is not as high as I would like to see. With 57 grains of Reloder 26 I have plenty of more capacity for powder. I would like to get this closer to 100% load density. By my estimation I think I am around 88%. I would like to be closer to 95% load density. I have every intention of seeing how hard I can push this before I see obvious signs of pressure. To hit 93% load density in this case where my bullets are seated I would need 60 grains of Reloder 26. I don't think that I will be able to get that far. I am already spitting that bullet out at 3029 fps. I would like to see 3150, but we'll see where that goes.
Have any of you worked with this cartridge, bullet weight and powder selection? What were your velocity and accuracy results?
