7 PRC is released. Any thoughts? especially on the action length?

It's 7 saum with a big name behind it. It's right between the 6.5prc and 300 prc in case size. If it gets some big name brass support, I'd be in for it.
 
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I hope they make look like this. 300 PRC brass with a 195gr Berger on a 7mm barrel
. I shot this rifle 3 weeks ago and its a laser beam at 800 yards
 

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I had some thoughts after posting in the other thread and now this one.

A lot of times enthusiasts (that’d be us) project our likes on the shooting populace as a whole. What does a PRC do better than a properly configured* RM/WM we ask?

Therein lies the rub.

*Most shooters want a turn key solution, or at least that ability. Most shooters are not going to have a legacy magnum properly configured and custom throated for a specific bullet to get that last % of performance. If you can buy an off the rack rifle and ammo and shoot 1/2 Moa to 1k that shit is what sells. Add top notch components for reloaders and you have something for everyone. Fucking legend.

And 180 @ 2950? Seems like they’re trying to go head to head with the 6.8 Western and I bet they come out on top. Moderate speed and pressure probably double the barrel life of the 28 Nosler and 7 RUM which is big sore spot for a lot of people, even the enthusiast. I wonder what we could do with this 7 PRC in a Lapua case and a nice charge of RL26? Probably run it fast enough to blow up an ELD.

Or to put all this in a different perspective, hardly anyone is buying a mopar and sending it to Hennessy they’re going straight for the Hellcat.
 
I think 2950 is a conservative number, and that's a good thing for them--not over promising. This has 4 gr more H2O capacity than a 7 SAUM. I had a long throat 7 SAUM at one time that would push 180 ELDM's at 3050 with R26, so I think this cartridge will sing in the right hands. I think they probably made the right decision keeping it a long action cartridge (although shortish) vs trying to collaborate with the new medium actions on the scene. More business and no constraints. 7 LRM has basically gone mainstream. Not a bad thing.

CartridgeH20 CapacityMax COALCase LengthShoulder AngleHead DiameterNeck Length
28 Nosler983.342.59350.5340.2756
300 PRC963.72.58300.5320.3076
7 LRM82?2.514300.5280.382
300 Win Mag833.342.62250.5320.2639
300 WSM772.862.1350.5350.2979
7 PRC783.342.28300.5320.2868
6.8 Western752.9552.02350.5350.2765
7 SAUM742.8252.035300.5340.3108
7mm Rem Mag823.292.5250.5320.2712
280 AI653.332.525400.4720.3455
 
I had some thoughts after posting in the other thread and now this one.

A lot of times enthusiasts (that’d be us) project our likes on the shooting populace as a whole. What does a PRC do better than a properly configured* RM/WM we ask?

Therein lies the rub.

*Most shooters want a turn key solution, or at least that ability. Most shooters are not going to have a legacy magnum properly configured and custom throated for a specific bullet to get that last % of performance. If you can buy an off the rack rifle and ammo and shoot 1/2 Moa to 1k that shit is what sells. Add top notch components for reloaders and you have something for everyone. Fucking legend.

And 180 @ 2950? Seems like they’re trying to go head to head with the 6.8 Western and I bet they come out on top. Moderate speed and pressure probably double the barrel life of the 28 Nosler and 7 RUM which is big sore spot for a lot of people, even the enthusiast. I wonder what we could do with this 7 PRC in a Lapua case and a nice charge of RL26? Probably run it fast enough to blow up an ELD.

Or to put all this in a different perspective, hardly anyone is buying a mopar and sending it to Hennessy they’re going straight for the Hellcat.
I know multiple hunters with 7RUM and doubt they will see 200 rounds through them in 10 years.
 
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7 WSM will throw a 175 at 2900 without too much effort. That’s with mag length short action.

Hilarious part- I just built one and Hornady was really my only brass option.

So I’m about to go buy a bunch of their 7 WSM brass in case they stop supporting it in favor of the new chick who looks about the same.

Maybe this is better. Who knows. Better have brass available.
 
7 WSM will throw a 175 at 2900 without too much effort. That’s with mag length short action.

Hilarious part- I just built one and Hornady was really my only brass option.

So I’m about to go buy a bunch of their 7 WSM brass in case they stop supporting it in favor of the new chick who looks about the same.

Maybe this is better. Who knows. Better have brass available.
Get 300wsm Norma brass trim if need it, fire form it and you’ll get a way superior brass quality that the shitty Hornady brass. I did that with my 7wsm
 
Basically same same as 7RM. Disappointing
I cut my 7RM down from 26" to 22.5" to have a thick enough barrel to thread for a can. Even after cutting it down to 22.5", I'm getting 2,931 FPS MV with Berger 168 VLD's in Nosler brass pushed with IMR 7977 and CCI 250's. The old 7mmRM is still a VERY valid cartridge, especially if you run a 1:8 twist. Unfortunately my barrel is an older barrel and it's 9.25" twist, but once I replace it, it will be getting a 22" 1:8" twist CF barrel for running 195's.
 
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@generalzip

Called it. Too long for SA.
That’s a real shame. Already tons of long action 7mm on the market way more popular. The 7PRC in a short action would have filled a niche really missing in my opinion. This caliber will likely not be as successful given the 28 nosler, 7 rem mag and others already out there it will have to compete with. Very very Short barrel life is in its future.
 
I can do 3K fps with 195s in my 7LRM. I back it off to ~2960fps for better accuracy, but still... 🤷‍♂️
Yes, I think the 7LRM is a better mousetrap, over bore, for sure, but not crazy like a 7-300.
Issue has always been getting brass, they have quality brass now, that is sometimes available, but at a serious premium.
If Starline would have made some, I'd be all over it.
141 buck for 100 pieces of USED brass is spendy for sure.
 
I cut my 7RM down from 26" to 22.5" to have a thick enough barrel to thread for a can. Even after cutting it down to 22.5", I'm getting 2,931 FPS MV with Berger 168 VLD's in Nosler brass pushed with IMR 7977 and CCI 250's. The old 7mmRM is still a VERY valid cartridge, especially if you run a 1:8 twist. Unfortunately my barrel is an older barrel and it's 9.25" twist, but once I replace it, it will be getting a 22" 1:8" twist CF barrel for running 195's.
Yeah. I just checked my old data cards and we were shooting 180's at 2950, or 162/168's at over 3100 fps well over a decade ago, from 26" 7RM's. In my case, in an AWM. Still works great.

I was hoping to see a new improved version of 28 Nosler that we could actually get ammo in. Not a rehashed version of 7RM or 7 WSM or SAUM.
 
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I almost asked him did that come with free stock options for the barrel manufacturer or your choice? Nothing like a 300-400 round accurate barrel life. You get just enough barrel life to develop a load, and then hunt with it and never shoot it at the range again. 😂

Being an AI version, i'm sure it's noticeably greater capacity than the standard .300 NM. Probably up around the 7mm-338 Lapua.

Case capacities of H2O...

7mm STW - 93.3
7mm-300 Wby - 99
7mm-300 Norma Mag - 104.2
7mm RUM - 108.1
7mm-338 Lapua - 116.24
 
That’s a real shame. Already tons of long action 7mm on the market way more popular. The 7PRC in a short action would have filled a niche really missing in my opinion. This caliber will likely not be as successful given the 28 nosler, 7 rem mag and others already out there it will have to compete with. Very very Short barrel life is in its future.
How is there a niche? We already have the SAUM and WSM, they don’t fit in a short action as it is and a case any smaller will not have enough velocity to excite anyone.
 
Hornady has been all about “optimizing” performance vs barrel life and really likes the numbers just under 3000 fps. The 6.5 PRC and 300 PRC were more about getting consistency than top velocity. Pushing the seating depth out to get best performance without having the bullet seated to deep - ok that didn’t work out for the 6.5 because they forced it into a short action. The 7 WSM and 7 SAUM are great performers but limited by the COAL. The 7 LRM is just fine and just needed legitimized. The 28 Nosler gives you the velocity, it was never going to be anything close to that based on Hornady’s criteria.
 
How is there a niche? We already have the SAUM and WSM, they don’t fit in a short action as it is and a case any smaller will not have enough velocity to excite anyone.

Those cases were good designs hampered by a poor execution owing to the methodology of the day. A short mag case loaded with typical for the era hunting bullets at 308 oal. No wonder they didn’t go anywhere.

I’d love to see a 7-6.5 PRC sized case loaded to 2.95 with full factory support. 162 ELD @ 2950 would be easy street.
 
Those cases were good designs hampered by a poor execution owing to the methodology of the day. A short mag case loaded with typical for the era hunting bullets at 308 oal. No wonder they didn’t go anywhere.

I’d love to see a 7-6.5 PRC sized case loaded to 2.95 with full factory support. 162 ELD @ 2950 would be easy street.
My 7WSM were loaded to 2.963 OAL on a modified AICS mag. And it was running Berger 180s 2950FPS.
 
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Let's be honest... Once these are in the wild there will be people hand loading 190's at 3100 in 26" tubes...
And I'm guessing that with the case length of the 7 PRC they have the 190 class bullets in mind for this cartridge. I'm very intrigued with what this case will do hand loaded and once top tier brass mfgs hop on board.
 
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Yeah, I think the way a lot of people here operate it doesn't really matter what companies SAAMI introduce. If you're going to modify brass, get a custom reamer, dies, etc. And only ever hand load.... The parent cartridge doesn't really matter. You're just looking for a powder volume and decent throat geometry. Maybe something to be said for brass availability if the cartridge is successful but really for a magnum like this 100-150 cases should last for a barrel.

But if you want to go to Scheels and buy a factory gun and ammo to run heavy 7s it's pretty neat.
 
I don't understand the new interest of this. If a person is interested in hand loading this, they could've built one of these for the last couple of years. Neck a PRC up, seat a bullet to length, send to Manson. I could see where a person would be excited about factory ammo. If you're into that sort of thing.
It’s bigger than a 6.5 PRC necked up....Ammo I saw was about halfway between 6.5 and 300PRC case wise.
 
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I am sure there is room for improvement. Certain long-range competitions have a disqualification if any round exceeds 3000 fps. I believe that is why Hornady targeted 2950 in their factory ammo. My smith ordered a reamer and barrel for me in late June.

I want to build an elk rifle for my son, who is a little recoil shy, so why not start out here? I love my 1990s era 300 win mag but if I was building a new rifle I would not do it again. Really short neck and designed around a 1-10" twist (which is my rifle), I can't stabilize really long bullets, limited to 180 grain sleek bullets or 200 grain FB.

I know people will argue that you can use lighter calibers but power does matter especially out west where shots are commonly 300-400 yards. Elk are just big tough animals, a 20 mph wind is a calm day and you are never shooting on flat ground. I like having a little more margin for error.
 
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