Lowest recoil viable PRS caliber

[Slowbalt]

Looking to get a rifle for low level PRS work (local matches, nothing too serious), and my main concern is the lowest possible recoil. Currently looking at 6ARC, any other worthy contenders? Thanks!

I do reload.
Absolute maximum expected range is 8-900ish.

 

[DownhillFromHere]

Lowest possible recoil = .223. I often shoot mine to 1000 with 75-grain bullets. Biggest issue, aside from obvious wind sensitivity, is relative difficulty spotting hits (and splash) at extended ranges in challenging visibilty.

I haven't competed with my .223... I used 6.5CM for that until this year, when I went to 6BR with 105-108gr bullets. Less issue spotting distant hits/splash but it's still not a 6.5CM in that regard.

 

[ChuckieP]

the last 7ish years I've been running 223. Been to plenty of prs/3gun and local club matches. I've had good success. For the 0-750 I use 77gr and 750+ I load 85.5 Berger. If 900 is the limit it's a strong contender because of cost and availability.

 

[Hecouldgoalltheway]

I've got a .224 valkarye ready to go. It's a SAC rifle, low round count, ready to go. I'd sell it for less than you could ever build one for. I've also got 900 rounds of factory gold medal match all of the same lot if you want to really hit the easy button.

 

[BoilerUP]

 

[ZY100]

22 BR….pretty close to a 6 BR dope (especially inside 800), 88 eldm (around 3000-3050) or berger 85.5. (Around 3100) in stock most times. And loves Varget…also usually available.

6 BR brass one pass in 22 BR die and good to go.

 

[Kadams1563]

I would normally say straight 6BR but with 6mm bullets being the way they are 22 BR does sound like a good idea.

I have a .223AI that I shoot to a 1000 also using 775 eld’s, 80 Berger’s, and 80 eld’s. It’s a ton of fun BUT I’d like a little more umph if I could.

22 BR, 22 BRA, 22GT.

 

[Rob01]

6 ARC will do what you want and so will the .223. You can shoot the .223 in Tac class. If just for local and you want to have fun pic a caliber that’s cheap to shoot so the .223 would be an easy button but the ARC isn’t bad either. Brass is a little harder to find though but you could buy some factory ammo and make some.

 

[Rio Precision Gunworks]

If it's just for fun, 223 is fine. 22gt and 22br are obviously a bit better.

If you're seriously competing, anything smaller than 6mm starts to get iffy from time to time seeing both impacts and misses. Not terribly often, just enough that if you want to be as competitive as possible, 6mm is that safe bet.

 

[jetjock07]

22BR running 88 ELDm’s. And from what numbers I’ve run it has slightly more energy on target than 6BR running 105 at distance.

 

[Rio Precision Gunworks]

The transfer of said energy is the more important part when it pertains to seeing things down range.

 

[CK1.0]

Before you jump on a .223, consider that most of the 77gr (or heavier) .223 bullets cost the same or more than most of the middle-of-the-road .243/6mm bullets in the 105-112gr range (like Match Burners, Hornady BTHP, etc)... so unless you're sitting on a pile of 77gr .223 bullets already or things change, the cost is basically the same.

If you're not going to specifically compete in PRS Tactical Division or something like that, you might as well go with a 6mm for the same money and get more performance (and more splash downrange). A 20+lb 6mm is pretty dang soft shooting and you'll be able to shoot longer ranges and see your splash/impacts.

 

[NiteQwill]

Keep in mind, with what everyone is saying, the heaviest bullet you can run in TAC class in 223 is 77gr. Anything heavier puts you in open. If you shoot in open, you might as well shoot 6/6.5.

 

[The4GunGuy]

Keep in mind, with what everyone is saying, the heaviest bullet you can run in TAC class in 223 is 77gr. Anything heavier puts you in open. If you shoot in open, you might as well shoot 6/6.5.

That's a great point NiteQwill. I was thinking of building a .223 for PRS but decided against it for the many reasons mentioned here. I started with a 6.5 CM which I loved, but wanted less recoil and now shoot a 6mm BRA. With a 23lb rifle, and a good muzzle brake, there is almost no recoil.

 

[Rob01]

There is nothing wrong with a .223 in Tac. Shoot some 75 elds at 2950fps or so and it’s a good combo. All up to the OP what he wants. If he’s just shooting local matches like he said and wants to have fun then the .223 will do it. No need for a serious gamer rig and caliber but in the end up to him.

 

[SporterII]

And, there’s spotting coming up again. I spent a couple years with 75 Amax at 2900. You get in tune listening for that ring. So in tune others Dont see it. Some you will have to eat. I would do it again.

 

[kthomas]

Any of the center-fire .22's posted so far will work great if the main or only goal is recoil reduction.

I think 6mm's hit the sweet spot of recoil and down range ballistics/energy for PRS. Something like a 6BR has very little recoil.

 

[Twitchy]

I present the 95g SMK. And if you want to stay in TAC, use the 75ELD.

 

[DeathBeforeDismount]

The recoil difference between something like a .223 and a 6br/dash/gt is not as much as you would think, or feel in a 20lb gun with a brake. Whenever i shoot my .223 trainer i am surprised how much recoil there is , relative to match loads. its not like shooting a rimfire, which has no actual recoil to speak of.

It all comes down to your budget, how you want to reload, how you want to hunt components, ect. There is no one solution.

If you want to maximize barrel life and minimize es/sd, I would shoot for something like a 6BRA in 28" running mild loads around 2800. Recoil will be low, you almost cant make a bad load for it, and pressure will be low enough that you should get 3-4k per barrel. modern BR mags have solved the only real downside.

 

[Superjet]

I’ve used a 223 (75 eldm), 22BR (88 eldm and 85.5), and a 6 dasher (107s) in PRS matches over the last 3 years. 223 has less recoil than the other two, but they’re all very close if you’re using a 20lb rifle.

-223 is the worst of the bunch for spotting misses/splash
-22BR and 6 dasher are about the same to my eyes in terms of spotting splash/misses
-6 dasher seems to move plates the best out of the 3 especially over 800 yards. It’s not night and day over the 22br, but it is noticeable.
-all three were very consistent for me as long as I kept using the same lot of components
-if you get hooked on PRS, you will most likely want a BR variant, it makes a lot of sense to just start there

 

[Lightning8]

1) 6 Dasher loaded to 2850ish - you can always speed it up if you want.
2) 6 BR = easy button
3) 223 with 75 ELDM lowest recoil but as stated before, hard to see hits on targets and hard to see misses to correct. Wind plays rough with 223.

 

[Oldloser]

Buy a complete new rifle from someone who has one. And then lean on them for reloading advice.

A 6 dasher is your best bet given your requirements and given the high availability of components and barrels. The only downside is getting the magazines right.

 

[themightytimmah]

You’re really pushing the ragged edge of consistency at 900yds with a 223 in any kind of wind. Even with a long barrel, 77s, good spotting glass, we had to ride up in the cart sometimes to see hits on steel clearly and misses usually disappeared.

6BR will take so much of the frustration out for a negligible recoil difference in a 20+ lb rifle (if you weight it down like the cool kids do for PRS).

 

[Shoots 700's]

How much do you expect the gun to weigh? Proper shooting techniques will allow you to spot your shots with most PRS type calibers

 

[Landon4]

I present the 95g SMK. And if you want to stay in TAC, use the 75ELD.

View attachment 8254105

Good luck finding 95gr smk’s I haven’t seen any for like 2yrs I have a decent stash for my 22 creedmoor but have since started getting some 85.5 bergers to tryout until some smk’s come around.

 

[beetroot]

You’re really pushing the ragged edge of consistency at 900yds with a 223 in any kind of wind. Even with a long barrel, 77s, good spotting glass, we had to ride up in the cart sometimes to see hits on steel clearly and misses usually disappeared.

6BR will take so much of the frustration out for a negligible recoil difference in a 20+ lb rifle (if you weight it down like the cool kids do for PRS).

I'm not sure I agree about the wind issue and 223.
With the right barrel length, chamber and powder you can damn near get a 88gr ELD-M at the same speed and a 6BR with 108 ELD-Ms which have near identical BCs (the 88gr is actually a little better).

The biggest issue with 223 by far is spotting your shots.
As you said even with excellent spotting targets barely move at distance, I've shot matches with my 223 (admittedly using terrible projectiles that were effected by the wind) and even 500m it was hard to call a hit or a miss.

Throw in poor visibility and/or a less competent spotter and you are in for a world of pain.