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30 NOSLER OR 300 PRC

I don't understand why everyone seems to think the Nosler is such a good design and that it will win out over time? The spec is for a OAL of 3.4". Nosler pounded the nail in their own coffin as soon as they decided to do that. No other companies will produce factory ammo for it, ever. And if the big companies can't make loaded ammo for it why would they make the components? It will always remain a boutique cardrigde relegated to the world of handloaders.

Time will tell, but if the military is picking up the PRC I would think that other companies will start producing loaded ammo. If multiple companies are producing loaded ammo, the components will follow.

Hornady showed us the roadmap to mainstream adoption with the Creedmoor, Nosler hamstringed their rounds out of the gate. My money would be on Hornady.


100% I have been saying this since the introduction. The Nosler line is great for reloading because we can do what we want with the chamber and the 28and 30 factory throats are ok for short bearing surface Bergers but start to intrude into case capacity with longer bearing surface bullets like the eld line. I believe this will be the reasons the PRC wins if it does win. I like the Nosler case better but the overall idea of the PRC better.
 
I am not sure we need to keep talking about it but it is completely relevant as far as I am concerned. Brass is always a consideration when I decide on a new build. I have been happy with Nosler brass in the 30. The bullets dictate what velocity they want to run at and be accurate in each rifle. In the 30, I have found this to be around 3040. At that speed I am finding the brass last reasonably well. I see people running the 6.5x284 hot and getting very few reloads on the brass but Lapua never gets a bad rap for that. If you spend enough time you can sift through those who are pushing some kind of agenda and those just stating facts. I am confident the 30 Nosler vs PRC debate will continue far past the death of the first one. The truth is you can find pluses and minuses for both. We won't really have an idea about the PRC in PRC form for at least six months, probably more like a year depending on how many share info on forums.
I completely agree with the year or so before we can have a good handle on what it will be like to go down the road of the 300 prc. How many times has a new catridge came out that was all the rage, new & improved and better than whatever it replaced. Sometimes it was years later until I stopped drinking the koolaid myself. But then again some of those cartridges panned out. I think the prc has great potential. Time will tell. Hornady is definitely one of the best in the marketing arena. They have brought some great things to the table. I never figured out what the 300 rcm was about but I'm sure there's some one out there loving it and shooting tight groups with it. Anyway, I appreciate all the info you guys have put out here and respect that others have shown for differing opinions.
 
You guys don't forget that we are all in this together, shooters, hunters & manufacturers. A house divided won't stand. I want to be able to hunt for a long time and I want my son, nephew & all the other kids I know who hunt to be able to have the right to hunt freely with out heavy restrictions.
 
Explain adg to me. Obviously you can buy what you want but Nosler brass is just as consistent but last longer in the Win Mag. Yes I've tested. It also didn't last longer than other brass in the Creedmoor. Have you tested in other cartridges? Really interested in your reasoning.

Yes I have tested it in 30/28. Nosler that I have along with 338 edge. I also have some of there new 7 saum brass I am waiting to give a run. I made the 30/28 Nosler brass and ran it up to same speeds as my 28 Nosler brass and the primers were tighter, no ejector marks. The 338 edge brass is very good. Alex Wheeeler builds all my rifles and I convinced him to give It a try in the 338 edge. He ran a 250 Berger up to 3100 with H1000 and didn't even hit pressure. This was obviously way over pressure. The 338 edge brass weighed out the same as Lapua did. I have heard that there 300
Win mag had looser primers than some. Reason is that ADG sells a ton of brass OEM to other companies. They ran a SAAMI nominal primer pockets. If they were to tight Commerical reloading equipment wouldn't work. They explained to me that after first firing pockets open up a little then stay there. Some feel that if they aren't snug as virgin they are toast. I did not experience this with 338 edge brass.
 
maybe I am missing what you are saying but I am saying internal volume was very different from case to case. As most know with Lapua, Nosler, Norma weight sorting is not needed so those have historically been my go to choices.
We were on different pages. If you want the best possible accuracy you should weight sort no matter what the brand.

Yes, heavier brass will have smaller internal volume over lighter brass typically.
 
I don't understand why everyone seems to think the Nosler is such a good design and that it will win out over time? The spec is for a OAL of 3.4". Nosler pounded the nail in their own coffin as soon as they decided to do that. No other companies will produce factory ammo for it, ever. And if the big companies can't make loaded ammo for it why would they make the components? It will always remain a boutique cardrigde relegated to the world of handloaders.

Time will tell, but if the military is picking up the PRC I would think that other companies will start producing loaded ammo. If multiple companies are producing loaded ammo, the components will follow.

Hornady showed us the roadmap to mainstream adoption with the Creedmoor, Nosler hamstringed their rounds out of the gate. My money would be on Hornady.
If it gets popular enough other companies will make ammo for it, it's just the nature of the market. Whatever they can sell in volume they will produce and boutique manufacturers will produce "semi custom" ammo in any caliber they can sell in volume as well.
 
If ADG or peterson makes brass for the prc it would be a no brainer for me. The cartridge is in the sweet spot for what I want from a 30. It is throated correctly and twisted to get the most out of it. It's longevity is far more certain than the others from a marketing aspect similar to the creedmoor. Both have non proprietary names. This is why the 6.5prc is not called the 6.5ruger compact. They were smart enough to learn from the ruger compact magnum debacle.
Just look at Remington's custom shop loading the prc. I see this as a signal that the 300win mag might be on the outs with dod. The MK248 mod 0 really doesn't have alot to offer and the MK248 mod 1 isn't safe in certain situations.
There was a time Hornady made excellent match brass. They have acquired the 556 brass contract and now this prc contract. If you look at Federal military brass and FGMM brass it is not the same. Hard to say if the metallurgy is different as well but I know my M118lr brass sorts out very well. The fgmm sorts with higher discrepancies. If you anneal and remove the all the tar residue you can get some excellent results. I run Lapua in 308 also. I cannot better the m118lr in my gun.
 
I am a huge fan of innovation and new applications having wildcatted a few of my own and shot many of the current "new offerings" including 6.5 CM 6 years ago, 30 Nosler in 2015, 6.5 GAP 3 years ago, 7mm-300 Norma improved last year, and 300 Norma in testing for the military in 2015. The 300 PRC is a good caliber and if someone was building their very first 30 caliber rifle, it would be a great caliber to start with.

Would I recommend the 300 PRC over the 30 Nosler, no. I see no ballistic advantage, which is what we want when building a fast and powerful 30.
Load data as stated by Hornady for 300 PRC with 212 ELDX = BC .673 with 2860 fps
Load data as stated by Nosler for 30 N with the 210 ABLR = BC .661 with 2937 fps

Ok, so before you tell me we arent comparing exact loads and we can all get handloads to act differently, I am with you. The is the purpose of my comparison is to support the reason we build new calibers within the same class, ballistic advantage, which at most ranges, there is non. In fact for a hunting rifle, I will always choose more speed if all other parameters are similar.

Hornady NEEDED a new 30 caliber to compete. They are also vying for a SOCOM contract to replace the 300 Win Mag so being able to retrofit current platforms to a new barrel and cartridge would make that easier and most cost efficient.

So, if you have endless $ and want to build another cool 30, I say HELL YEAH to the 300 PRC. If you only have enough $ to build one 30 caliber rifle, there would be very little ballistic advantage for building a new caliber versus an "older one," if you can call a 4 yr old caliber old. I would go with the one that has the best components and fits your needs. For me its a 30N.
 
I don't understand why everyone seems to think the Nosler is such a good design and that it will win out over time? The spec is for a OAL of 3.4". Nosler pounded the nail in their own coffin as soon as they decided to do that. No other companies will produce factory ammo for it, ever. And if the big companies can't make loaded ammo for it why would they make the components? It will always remain a boutique cardrigde relegated to the world of handloaders.

Time will tell, but if the military is picking up the PRC I would think that other companies will start producing loaded ammo. If multiple companies are producing loaded ammo, the components will follow.

Hornady showed us the roadmap to mainstream adoption with the Creedmoor, Nosler hamstringed their rounds out of the gate. My money would be on Hornady.

The 30 Nosler is a good design when you consider the design goal Nosler had...a more efficient 300 RUM.

It does make a guy scratch his head on why some companies don't offer loaded ammunition for all cases. Hornady does offer 28 nosler ammo but it doesnt seem they offer 26 or 30.
Sometimes, and hornady does this too, companies produce calibers that they and only they will produce ammunition for. It part of the business model e.g. Weatherby. That can help quality control in some cases.

There are really only 2 major companies that push the envelope anymore, Hornady and Nosler; (I don't include Weatherby due to their low market share) and as long as they do, the loaded ammunition will be widely available.

While we are talking about it. If a hunter was NEVER going to handload and was looking for a 30 caliber, the 300 WM and 300 RUM would be the way to go anyway.
 
I will not make a statement of fact about comparison on performance but the case capacity between a 300 Norma(not improved) and the 300 prc is a whopping 4-5 grains of H20. The difference between the 30 Nosler and the 300 Norma is a whopping 3-4. In order to use that It will have to be capable of pushing the desired bullet to the next accuracy node. In the two 30 Noslers I have had the node for a 215 is 3030-3050 in a 26" I would suspect the next node is 3150-3200. I seriously doubt the 3 grain of H20 is going to get it there but I could be wrong. I am also going to guess the 300 PRC will reach the 3030-3050 node with a little less powder but again I could be wrong. In either case I really do not want to mess with a lupua bolt head. I have not found the end life of a 30 Nosler brass at 6 firings. The only 300wm factory ammo I would personally hunt with is the Berger(abm) 215 stuff. The 210 30 Nosler has not shot well in either of my barrels. The 180s shoot but I don't shoot 30s to shoot 180s. We will see how the prc does.

I just had a Rem 721 built in 30 Nosler using Brozovich's reamer set up for 215's and running a 27" Broughton 5c #5 barrel. I have 200 rounds through it now. I can tell you that in mine, it will not run those speeds with H1000. I'm running 2895 fps at 79.3 grains of H at .3-.4 moa.

It's probably just the soft Nosler brass, but even at this charge it is showing some ejector swipe and at 80 grains there's a nice click at the top of the bolt lift. Primers do come out nice and square. Pockets are staying tight after 4-5 firings. I could probably get 3k with RL26, RL33 or the unobtainable N570 but I'm looking for long throat life outta this one and those powders just burn too hot.
 
That seems really low for a 30 Nosler and 215s. I had a 30/28 Nosler which is about 4 grains more case capacity. I ran 3100 with H1000 and have heard of many running the 3050 node with no problems. RL 26 also got me to 3100 with about 4-5 reloads on brass.
 
I just had a Rem 721 built in 30 Nosler using Brozovich's reamer set up for 215's and running a 27" Broughton 5c #5 barrel. I have 200 rounds through it now. I can tell you that in mine, it will not run those speeds with H1000. I'm running 2895 fps at 79.3 grains of H at .3-.4 moa.

It's probably just the soft Nosler brass, but even at this charge it is showing some ejector swipe and at 80 grains there's a nice click at the top of the bolt lift. Primers do come out nice and square. Pockets are staying tight after 4-5 firings. I could probably get 3k with RL26, RL33 or the unobtainable N570 but I'm looking for long throat life outta this one and those powders just burn too hot.
That is low, everyone I've set up I run H1000 with 215's and the upper node for the brass is 3120 fps then back it of in the 3050 for the lower. 25-26 inch barrels.

STOKED for adg brass though!!
 

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