6.5’s have hit the shooting and hunting world by storm since about 2010. Particularly the Creedmoor and the PRC. While other 6.5’s like the 6.5-284 Normas, 264 Winchester Mag, and 6.5 Remington Mag have been around for a long time, as far back as the mid-20th century, 6.5’s have made a resurgence in the last fifteen or so years with Creedmoors and PRCs. Creedmoors came to us around 2007 when Hornady introduced it, while PRCs became popularized about 2018 when Hornady again released the cartridge.

6.5’s today have this funny aura about them, almost a cult following, where shooters either love or hate them. Nonetheless, 6.5’s have taken the shooting world by storm and garnered much attention. For this article we want to focus on the newest 6.5 family member, the 6.5 PRC. 

The 6.5, obvious to some and not-so-obvious to others, stands for the bore diameter of the barrel, 6.5mm or .2559″. The bullet diameter is .264. PRC in the 6.5 PRC name stands for Precision Rifle Cartridge and was created by necking down the 300 Ruger Compact Magnum case. If you don’t know what necking down means, it is the process of reducing the diameter of a cartridge case at its neck. The 6.5 PRC was created to be a hard-hitting, long-range round for both hunting and competition.

The 6.5 PRC is said to have been developed by George Gardner of GA Precision. He wanted a hard-hitting long-range round for both hunters and competitive shooters, particularly folks in the Precision Rifle Series, a preeminent rifle shooting and competition organization. Gardner also wanted to run the cartridge through short-action receivers. These two parameters are why he decided on a 6.5 mm round.

In an Outdoor Life article Gardner says, “I wanted the highest BC bullet you can push at 3,200 in a short action. The 6’s can be pushed that fast, but they have lower BC’s. The 7 mils have higher BC’s but can’t be pushed at 3,200 fps in a short-action. The lack of bullet selection in the .25 and .270 ruled those out—so that’s why I settled on the 6.5.”

Technology has certainly ramped up the pace in which new rifle cartridges are coming out. With so many tools to amass information on the fine details of bullet performance as well as having the computer systems and machines to manufacture bullets with exact precision, we’ll likely continue to see shooting sports innovate and develop. It’s incredible to think how fast things have changed too. Rangefinders, chronographs, adjustable scopes, bipods, etc.. would be alien to our grand-dads and even dads in the good ole days.

In today’s fast-paced world of ultra-competitive consumerism shooting sport companies are always looking for strategies to innovate and remain relevant to the customers. Consumers are being bombarded from every direction now through traditional and modern-age media with new products. With the use of new technology and the need to innovate to be successful, new cartridges are coming at us faster than ever.

If you're old enough, you probably remember being told to find a gun to do it all, meaning something to hunt pronghorn to elk. Boy, times have changed. The one or two gun household with a trusty do-it-all 30.06 everyone had is less common than it was through the twentieth century. Shooters today are specialists instead of generalists. Shooters, including hunters, want performance matching whatever they may be doing whether it be long-range targets, elk, or deer. Matching the gun to the activity has been made possible with so many cartridges to choose from and so much information about performance through technological advances.

Some shooters undoubtedly rolled their eyes when they first heard another new 6.5 cartridge was on the market. As stated, a lot of shooters and hunters either love them to death or despise everything a 6.5 stands for. Below is a chart comparing the 6.5 PRC against other 6.5 cartridges with a .30-06 thrown in for comparison.

This chart shows the 6.5 is a sweet compromise of recoil, barrel life, and ballistic performance. These are taken as an average through a 24″ barrel. These numbers can vary slightly with different guns and loads. Hornady factory loads publish max velocities in excess of 2900 fps and hand loading can get you close to 3200 fps as previously mentioned.

Now to answer the real question of whether the 6.5 PRC is for elk hunting? One of the biggest debates over the 6.5 Creedmoor was its capability for elk. Some hunters say yes while another large contingent of hunters say very loudly, NO. The same debate spilled into the 6.5 PRC arena as soon as it came out. Is it capable for elk hunting? Although the debate exists, the part of the hunting crowd yelling no, is quieter. Here’s why.

Downrange the 6.5 PRC’s extra juice produces a flatter trajectory and higher on-target energy. From a 200-yd. zero, the PRC’s Hornady ELD-X 143-gr. drops 18.2″ at 400 yards, compared to Creedmoor's 22.4″ drop. At that range, the PRC hits with 1800 ft.-lbs. of impact energy vs. 1475 ft.-lbs. from the Creedmoor.

Interestingly, Hornady says the 6.5 PRC is “designed for use on medium-to-large game weighing up to 1,500 pounds.” One of America’s favorite gun debates is, “What to use for elk?” While the 6.5 Creedmoor is somewhat considered marginal for putting down elk, the 6.5 PRC surpasses the Creedmoor but out-punches the .270 Win and delivers TERMINAL energy in the same league as the .30-06 and 7mm Rem. Mag.

For these reasons, some elk hunters are calling it an extremely promising lightweight backcountry rifle. No matter what though, some will continue to scoff at the idea of a 6.5 round being used for elk. The question of it being capable for elk is a debate quite possibly with no right or wrong answer, the answer lies in an individual's own personal bias. We’ve used our 6.5 PRCs extensively in the field on elk, deer, bear, and antelope. It's proven time and again to be extremely accurate, lightweight, and has the killing ability we want for clean and quick harvests.

We highly suggest building your 6.5 PRC with Travis Stevens of TS Customs Rifles.

If you really want to know whether you should take A 6.5 PRC for elk hunting or not, watch below as both Aaron & Erik kill big bull elk in two different Muley Freak Featured films.

If you want the details of Aaron's 6.5 PRC build watch the video below.