.300 win mag or 6.5PRC

[25 Sharps]

Out of curiosity, is mail order ammunition purchase permitted in the UK? If not then that definitely makes local availability much more important.

No, although you can get it delivered from another dealer to your local dealer or ask them to order it in for you.

Personally I find reloading a whole lot easier but some contracts / landowners etc. only allow factory for liability reasons, so not always an option.

 

[25 Sharps]

The OP did also say he doesn't reload so surely it has to be 300WM of the two? 7mm RM would probably also be readily available at a lot of gun shops but 6.5PRC probably wouldn't, although the OP probably knows if he can easily buy ammo for either from his local gun shop

Dauntseys have 300 & 6.5 PRC in stock, so others could get it.

 

[guns 6br]

300wm

 

[Andy Mauthe]

No, although you can get it delivered from another dealer to your local dealer or ask them to order it in for you.

Personally I find reloading a whole lot easier but some contracts / landowners etc. only allow factory for liability reasons, so not always an option.

Thanks. So getting factory ammunition not as simple as home delivery but with a little advance planning shouldn’t be a deal breaker. Interesting about landowners requiring factory ammunition. I also prefer hand loading particularly for target work, but it is nice to have factory options available without having to comb the whole planet. I guess I’m spoiled here in the States.

 

[nuge]

Thinking about adding a another calibre to FAC for Fallow and Red. I am not a reloader so would have to be factory.

300 win mag or 6.5PRC?

Pros and cons?

I had the same decision to make just before Christmas and decided to go for the 6.5 prc even though ammo is more expensive and so was the barrel, but for me its going to be mainly for deer, maybe some longer range shooting. If I do that and enjoy it, I will more than likely start reloading because ammo isn't cheap and is still hard enough to get depending on where you are located, especially compared to the 300 Win Mag.

 

[Siggy]

they are significantly different calibres in terms of recoil, so I think the decision point is do you need the extra stopping power to justify the thump of the 300 win mag. Personally, I am 10 stone soaking wet, so I know what I would go for. In terms of UK deer, I think the 6.5 PRC is more than adequate.

 

[Keith Edmunds]

Thanks for all responses so far....reading through them.

 

[finnbear270]

Some people seem to think the PRC's are hard to source on shelf ammunition, this is a fallacy ... I bought 400 rounds 6.5PRC off the shelf at MALMO years ago!
I also owned and used the Winnie, on UK deer and European Boar so not without the requisite experience, 6.5PRC all the way on the comparison here.
At 1000 yds, the formidable 140gr 6.5mm projectiles are still clipping along at 1643 fps, with a drop of 258 inches. By comparison, Hornady's 200gr ELD-X load leaves a 24 inch 300 Win Mag barrel at 2850 fps, and at 1000 yds carries 1456 fps and a drop of 299.7 inches.

 

[Kalahari]

& x 64?

David,

Sorry missed the edit window of opportunity, should read:-

7 x 64?

David.

 

[Stalker-of-the-deer]

300WM, it's a great all rounder with a variety of bullet weights and you can get ammo easily.

Just make sure it fits your properly, as a good fitting rifle negates lots of the recoil

 

[Jagged77]

Absolutely no experience with the 6.5PRC but do have a couple of .260’s to compare against my .300WM. Very different beasts! The .300WM is in another league in terms of power (and recoil) but also versatility. I’ve traditionally used 200 grain plus with the .300 and shot extended distance. I’m now playing with 150 monolithics for Roe. I get that reloading for it opens up the full spectrum of possibilities but I’m sure there are lots of different factory offerings out there to choose from. Love the .300WM, has stood the test of time and extremely capable.

 

[hendrix's rifle]

6.5prc. Will poleaxe any living critter in the UK, low recoil and better sight picture after the shot, allowing for more accurate shooting and spotting impacts. Plenty of energy to go 1k+. I know not a direct comparison but I prefer my PRC to my 7 rem mag. Easier to shoot and again, I can spot my own impacts easily

 

[25 Sharps]

Some people seem to think the PRC's are hard to source on shelf ammunition, this is a fallacy ... I bought 400 rounds 6.5PRC off the shelf at MALMO years ago!
I also owned and used the Winnie, on UK deer and European Boar so not without the requisite experience, 6.5PRC all the way on the comparison here.
At 1000 yds, the formidable 140gr 6.5mm projectiles are still clipping along at 1643 fps, with a drop of 258 inches. By comparison, Hornady's 200gr ELD-X load leaves a 24 inch 300 Win Mag barrel at 2850 fps, and at 1000 yds carries 1456 fps and a drop of 299.7 inches.

225 gr 300 PRC load is doing 1780 at 1000, best of both worlds….

 

[Twodogs]

There’s no such thing as too dead…….

We are staring a ban on lead in the face, people are stepping up cartridge sizes to sling copper fast enough for reliable expansion and the only way to to maintain bullet weight is to step up a cartridge or 2.

But do you need to maintain bullet weight?

In a 308w a 165gr copper bullet may have performance issues after 250 meter, in a 300wm maybee 400 m.

My .308 quite happily throws copper as speeds enough to allow effective usage out to normal stalking ranges. Does anyone actually make .30 cal copper that heavy? It would be a lengthy old bullet indeed.

 

[Dave_45]

I have a 300 wm and an old money 6.5 prc that being the 6.5 284 .

I love my 284 , however it’s not even close to the win mag.

If you don’t reload though , ammo is very spendy , for both the 6.5 prc and the 300wm.

 

[tackb]

by all means get a big calibre rifle , but you do not need it for uk deer

i have flattened big old norfolk red dollops at over 400m with my 6.5 creedmoor (insert any decent midrange cartridge) wouldn't have been any deader if i'd used my 300 remington ultra mag

 

[Andy Mauthe]

by all means get a big calibre rifle , but you do not need it for uk deer

i have flattened big old norfolk red dollops at over 400m with my 6.5 creedmoor (insert any decent midrange cartridge) wouldn't have been any deader if i'd used my 300 remington ultra mag

Well put! If budget was unlimited and there were no regulatory hurdles, I would say get them all! But there’s trade offs in every decision. I’d love a 300PRC here in the USA to try my hand at long range shooting at targets and big game out west. But I certainly don’t need one for my white tail hunting in the woods of Pennsylvania. But no one is trying to discourage the OP from scratching his itch. He just needs to be prepared for bigger recoil and ammunition costs that come with a caliber like that or the 300 Win Mag. There’s something to be said about being able to see your bullet trace and impact on target. I never had that until I got my first 6.5 CM. It’s a game changer.

 

[KimE]

But do you need to maintain bullet weight?



My .308 quite happily throws copper as speeds enough to allow effective usage out to normal stalking ranges. Does anyone actually make .30 cal copper that heavy? It would be a lengthy old bullet indeed.

Barnes tsx are up to 200gr, CopperBear makes a 184 gr bullet who works in 308w, Nosler and Lapua has 180gr bullets Lehigh Defense has 175gr.

 

[Twodogs]

Barnes tsx are up to 200gr, CopperBear makes a 184 gr bullet who works in 308w, Nosler and Lapua has 180gr bullets Lehigh Defense has 175gr.

much heavier than most commonly used lead, (were talking.308, right) there must be some rational but I don’t understand it.
I use a piddly 126.5 grain copper, never failed me yet, all species except sika.
They must be very long bullets, do they stabilise in the normal 1:11-1:10 twist?

 

[Mungo]

There’s nothing in the UK that you can’t kill extremely dead with a 6.5PRC.