Barnes VOR-TX 6.5 PRC 130gr TSX BT – Rugged Elk Load

Description

The Barnes VOR-TX 6.5 PRC 130gr TSX BT is the standard line copper load for the magnum Creedmoor. It leaves the muzzle at roughly 3010 fps carrying about 2615 ft-lbs of energy. Unlike the Long Range loading in the same cartridge, this one uses the plain Triple Shock X rather than the tipped LRX, which makes it the more conventional hunting choice at ordinary distances. Each box holds 20 rounds.

• Barnes VOR-TX 6.5 PRC 130gr TSX BT Overview
• 130 Grain TSX Boat Tail Performance
• Why Hunters Choose 6.5 PRC Elk Ammo
• Specifications
• Range Notes For This All Copper Hunting Bullet

Barnes VOR-TX 6.5 PRC 130gr TSX BT Overview

The projectile is machined from a solid copper billet with a deep hollow nose and no polymer tip. There is no lead core to shed and no jacket to separate, so the bullet opens into four sharp petals at roughly double the original diameter and then keeps driving.

Weight retention runs close to 100 percent. On a 6.5 bullet that already has good sectional density, keeping all of it is what produces the deep straight wound channels that make this cartridge work on elk rather than just deer.

130 Grain TSX Boat Tail Performance

We stock two Barnes loads in this cartridge and the distinction is worth understanding. Both leave the muzzle at 3010 fps. This 130 grain TSX is the standard hunting bullet, slightly heavier and without a tip. The 127 grain LRX in the Long Range line has a polymer tip and a deeper cavity engineered to open at much lower impact velocity, which matters past 500 yards and not before.

Barnes machines relief grooves into the bearing surface of the projectile. Those grooves reduce bore contact, lowering pressure and cutting copper fouling in a case that runs at PRC pressures.

Why Hunters Choose 6.5 PRC Elk Ammo

The 6.5 PRC is essentially a magnum Creedmoor. It uses a beltless short magnum case with a sharp shoulder and a long throat, and it fits a short action with a magnum bolt face. For hunters who liked the Creedmoor but wanted another couple of hundred yards of useful range, it is the natural step up.

What this 6.5 PRC elk ammo delivers is the extra energy the smaller case cannot. At 2615 ft-lbs at the muzzle it carries enough to the 400 yard mark for elk, which is where the standard Creedmoor starts to run thin.

The costs are modest. Recoil is firmer than a Creedmoor though mild by magnum standards, barrel life is shorter, and factory ammunition is neither as cheap nor as widely stocked. Buy enough of one lot for practice and a season.

Specifications

Range Notes For This All Copper Hunting Bullet

Twist rate is not a concern. Every 6.5 PRC barrel runs 1 in 8, which stabilizes a 130 grain copper bullet easily.

An all copper hunting bullet prints to a different point of impact than the match ammunition many PRC owners practise with. Zero with this exact load, foul a clean barrel with a round or two first, then leave the scope alone.

Barnes does not publish a ballistic coefficient for this loading, so chronograph your rifle and build your drop chart from your own data. At 3010 fps the Barnes VOR-TX 6.5 PRC 130gr TSX has ample velocity margin for reliable expansion at any distance most hunters should be shooting.

Lead Free 6.5 PRC Ammunition Availability

Elk and mule deer hunters who want magnum reach from a short action, hunters stepping up from a Creedmoor, and anyone hunting where non toxic projectiles are required will get the most from this lead free 6.5 PRC ammunition. Full factory ballistics are published by Barnes Bullets.

Compare it with the long range Barnes VOR-TX 6.5 PRC 127gr LRX, shop more rifle ammunition, or browse the full ammunition selection at MAG5 Firearms.