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6.5 PRC vs .280AI

maconbacon

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Hello all, hoping to get some advice from all you experts on gun/cartridge choices

I’m short, I am somewhat new to rifle hunting. I have toted a 308 win the past few years and took a bull elk with it last year. It is a good gun but I am ready to step up and get something a little more advanced I guess I would say.
I am looking for a caliber suited for long range hunting (not competition, my max distance in the future would probably be 500 yards but I’m not currently comfortable at that range and keeping to 300 for now) in the mountains. So, I’m looking for something that is flat shooting, affected by cross wind minimally, and comes in a light setup since 99% of the time it’ll be dead weight on the pack. It should be able to handle up to medium to large size game (up to bull elk). I’d prefer something with low recoil so I’d like to avoid magnum loads.
Through my research, I’ve come across two calibers that intrigue me: the 6.5 PRC and 280AI. From what I can tell they are fairly similar ballistically. My main hang up on the PRC is bullet mass. Since I shoot lead free, the idea of using a 120 gr bullet on elk seems light to me. Could be totally off base, but that just seems light. I’ve found some lead free factory offerings at 140 gr for the AI which seems more comfortable to me. The downside with 280AI is there aren’t many factory rifles chambered in this that I’ve found. Same boat with the PRC, but it seems to be rising in popularity and only a few years old while the 280AI has been around a long time and may take awhile to grow if it does at all.
Anyways, what does the sage HT hive suggest? Or am I splitting hairs / analysis by paralysis? Thanks in advance
 
You can use the .308 for what you just described. mtmuley
Yep, I could. But two guns are better than one!
I like my 308 but I’m not in love with it. Ballistically, the bullet has a lot of drop at range and doesn’t take wind as well as others.
But yes, this is mostly a case of want, not need.
 
I’m not a long range shooter, but I can tell you for sure that it is harder to shoot a lighter rifle accurately than a heavier one, not to mention the recoil. My point is, don’t go too light.

As far as which cartridge to choose, I’d go with the 280AI only because of the ability to shoot heavier bullets and having a slightly larger frontal diameter. The 280AI closely replicates 7MM Mag velocities/ballistics, and it is a known commodity on elk.

Factory ammo availability will likely be an issue for either of these rounds, and at the end of the day this would push me to get a 270 Win which will be VERY similar to either of the other cartridges in the real world.

There’s never really a bad reason to buy a new rifle, but the 308 Win will do what you need it to do for the ranges that you list. If you want a new rifle but don’t handload and are concerned about ammo availability, then get a 270 Win over one of the boutique cartridges. Practice is far more important than BC, and ammo is more available and affordable for the 270
 
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Personally, I’d rather shoot an elk with a 280ai with a 160 gr bullet.

My 280ai Kimber Montana kicks. However, all my kids, and a friend or two of theirs, pick the rifle when it’s time to kill. It’s accurate and deadly. Our longest elk kills are 500 and 600. 500 was a follow up shot on a dying bull. I dialed for my son and he punched the lungs. I shot at 600 because everything was perfect, shot wise, and a further stalk would be extremely difficult. I had shot rocks at 600.
 
A .308 will do just fine. Going to 280AI won't make much of a practical difference on elevation since a decent rangefinder and turret scope solve that for you. The .280AI will shoot a sleeker bullet faster so it will give you some relief on windage (which is harder to judge and adjust for) but out to 500y not worth the cost of a new rifle for this reason only.

However, new rifles are FUN, and new cartridges are FUN, and the 280AI is FUN, so if you are doing it for FUN, go for it. Just don't feel like you are doing it because you have to - as out to 500y it's just not that compelling an improvement in outcomes if setup and shot right. (disclaimer, my most recent purchase was a 280AI and it will likely take hunting opportunities away from my .308 and 7mm08, but not because they were insufficient, but because - FUN)
 
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i did the 6.5prc in the ruger american for the heck of it, factory ammo and rifle is solid .75 moa out to 500yds , have shot 8 boxes thru it the last month, and im a die hard 7mag guy with 175 berger elite hunters at 3030fps,,,


but for a 500.00 rifle and 250.00 scope. ,no turret to twist, clay pigeons at 500 yds pretty easy,,,
did the 280 ai numerous times over the years, rather have 7 mag then 280ai though,,,, but thats why we have many choices
 
Really don't know if it's better, and have never owned one, but can tell you for a fact that a cartridge developed by a man named Parker Otto Ackley has to be cooler than the other side of the pillow.

...and all 6.5's are made for baristas. Fact.
 
If .308 isn’t cool enough anymore. I would send it out to a gunsmith and turn it in to a 300 Sherman Short. Way cheaper than buying a new gun.
 
The other nice thing about the 280AI, is if you can't find AI ammo for it, you can shoot the standard 280 Rem ammo.

Won't be quite as fast, the POI will change (especially at distance 300 yards +) so you need to keep that in mind. But will still be as accurate as the rifle & you are.

If you get into reloading 7mm bullets range from 100gr varmint through 197gr match.

Out to 500 yards though, i'd take a serious hard look at the standard 280 Rem, and the 7mm-08.
The 7mm-08 will have the benifit of higher BC than 308, and has more velocity/energy at 500 yards.
Plus almost every manufacturer makes it in at least one model, some numerous.
 
Admittedly I bristle every time "long range hunting" comes up, but I need to let that go. Anyway, I'd probably go with the .280 AI. I tend to like a little more bullet if elk are the intended game.

So I'll say this mostly because you said in the first post that you're somewhat new to rifle hunting - whatever you go with, seriously put in some realistic practice if you intend to try and shoot an elk at 500yds. Shoot prone, kneeling, off your hunting pack, in various light conditions and temperature. Various distances too, farther than what you think you'll want to shoot.
 
Admittedly I bristle every time "long range hunting" comes up, but I need to let that go. Anyway, I'd probably go with the .280 AI. I tend to like a little more bullet if elk are the intended game.

So I'll say this mostly because you said in the first post that you're somewhat new to rifle hunting - whatever you go with, seriously put in some realistic practice if you intend to try and shoot an elk at 500yds. Shoot prone, kneeling, off your hunting pack, in various light conditions and temperature. Various distances too, farther than what you think you'll want to shoot.
Absolutely! Comfortable at 500 is the goal, certainly not there yet. In CO recently I would’ve limited myself to 300 had the opportunity presented itself.

thanks for the responses all! Keep em coming
 
Either will do exactly what you want. Flip a coin.
As far as mono bullets, they are all I shoot anymore. A little less bullet weight and higher velocity is the key. You have to set aside the old bullet weight ideas of the past. The 127LRX from a PRC will do very will on an elk, so would a 139LRX from a 280ai.
 

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