Ruger Precision Rifle 6.5 PRC Review: Precision Magnum Value

What’s up channel fans and family, and welcome to Slav Guns. In the last video in this precision rifle series we talked about the 6.5 PRC cartridge — where it came from and whether it’s right for you. One comment said the whole thing was ridiculous because nobody shoots that round. Ridiculous is right: it’s ridiculous how good 6.5 PRC is, especially in a rifle like this — the Ruger Precision Rifle in 6.5 PRC.

Disclosure: The firearm was provided by Ruger for testing and evaluation. Ruger did not see the video prior to publication.

Why 6.5 PRC on an RPR

It’s only been a couple of years since Hornady made 6.5 PRC a SAAMI-spec cartridge, and only more recently that mainstream makers started pushing it to the general public. More builders — hunters and precision shooters — are treating it like a 6.5 Creedmoor Magnum. You still may not see many at Northeast ranges, but I think that changes as more people find the round.

Ruger chambers three guns in 6.5 PRC; this RPR is one of the first mainstream offerings in the cartridge. Model featured: 18042.

Not actually a chassis gun

If you’ve looked at precision rifles you know the RPR as one of the best values in long-range — often discussed around that ~$1,200 street marker historically — and as one of the most accurate out-of-the-box rifles around. Even so, in the precision world it’s still an entry-level gun: going from sub-MOA to sub-half or quarter-MOA costs a lot of money.

The Ruger Precision Rifle looks like a chassis gun but isn’t one. The stock is built around the barreled action so recoil has a straight path from barrel into the receiver and into the buttstock. Traditional rifles and chassis guns typically bolt the barreled action down with just two screws. That inline layout gives more accuracy potential — same story as on the RPR in 300 PRC.

Barrel, brake and rail

Up front: a 26″ cold hammer-forged barrel. Ruger doesn’t guarantee accuracy, but their barrels are well known to shoot sub-MOA out of the box. It uses 5R rifling — fewer sharp angles, so less bullet deformation — and is threaded 5/8×24 so you can run a suppressor or muzzle device of your choice. The factory hybrid muzzle brake does a terrific job.

Over the barrel is a 15″ anodized aluminum handguard with M-LOK on all four sides for bipods, lights, and whatever else you want. The optic in this video is the Sightmark Latitude 8-32×60 F-Class; between the 20 MOA base and a Leupold Mark 5HD we were easily able to shoot past 1,400 yards.

Action, bolt and trigger

Receiver and one-piece bolt are hardened 4140 chromoly steel to help keep distortions down. The bolt is a three-lug design with a 70-degree throw, nitride finished for corrosion resistance, with an oversized knob you can swap if you want — third-party support on these guns is huge. There’s a disassembly tool stored in the bolt so you always have it.

The mag-well area of the lower is 7075-T6 anodized aluminum with an extended magazine release that gave me no issues. AR-15 DNA shows up again: ambidextrous safety, replaceable AR-style pistol grip (many precision shooters swap to a more upright grip), and the Marksman Adjustable trigger from 2.25 up to 5 pounds with the wrench stored in the bolt. It’s a bladed trigger — more drop-safe, and I find it encourages a straight-back pull.

Stock, mags and weight

The folding stock rides on an AR-style buffer tube, so you can mount an AR-15 stock of your choice. Press the side button to fold; make sure it locks fully when you open it or it can fold on you under load. Comb height and length of pull are adjustable, and there’s a rail under the stock for a rear rest. Empty weight is about 11 pounds. You get two magazines listed for eight rounds; I was typically able to load about ten.

First impressions and the range

At the Ruger media event I shot the Hawkeye Long Range Target and this RPR back-to-back over three days. Back then I preferred the Hawkeye’s non-bladed trigger just because it matched the rest of my rifles — not weight or break quality. Today I prefer the bladed trigger on the RPR; that first-stage blade reminds me to focus on the press. Mine came set around 2½ pounds with a very clean break.

Recoil from a large magnum cartridge is easy on the shoulder here — a big part of that is the muzzle brake. Fit and finish are what you’d expect at this price from Ruger: production-line parts assembled for accuracy, not a custom-shop buttery action. That’s intentional. My only real nit is the stock adjustments feeling a tad clunky versus something like the Thompson/Center LRR knobs; the good news is the AR buffer tube means you can upgrade (I’d look at a Magpul PRS if the budget allows). If you’re the only shooter and lock LOP and comb once, it’s mostly set-and-forget.

Accuracy day: Hornady Match 6.5 PRC, 147 grain ELD. After a fouling shot, factory ammo through a factory RPR put rounds essentially in the same hole — one five-shot group that looked insane on paper, then more groups that stayed excellent whenever I didn’t pull high myself. The rifle speaks for itself.

Bottom line

I’m excited about 6.5 PRC, and even more excited about how it runs in a Ruger Precision Rifle. If you want a gunsmith like GA Precision to build something tighter, go for it — but on cost, accuracy, and features it’s very hard to beat this RPR for a 6.5 PRC gun (or most other calibers).

For hunters: taking this thing afield is a bit like taking a side-by-side utility vehicle off-roading. Look at the Ruger Hawkeye Long Range Hunter (lighter, traditional stock, a few hundred less) or the Hawkeye Long Range Target that blends target features with the Hawkeye platform — the exact rifle I shot at FTW Ranch in the next video of the series.

If you want an accurate rifle for local matches without costing more than a mortgage payment, you’d be hard-pressed to go wrong with the Ruger Precision Rifle in 6.5 PRC.

Related: Ruger Precision Rifle 300 PRC · Hawkeye LRT 6.5 PRC · Hornady’s 6.5 PRC intro · Sightmark Latitude F-Class.

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Keep squatting.

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6.5 PRC RPR or Hawkeye LRT for your next precision magnum? Let me know.

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