7 PRC & Ramshot Magnum

[C S Fever]

Give VV N565 a try in lieu of RL 26. I've been looking for RL 26 for almost 3 years and there is none to be found. I heard from a pretty good source that Hornady bought (and has 1st dibs) up all the RL 26. I've gotten great results with VV N565 in 6.5 PRC and I believe it to be the closest thing out there to RL 26, and it's great powder and Midway has it right now as do a couple of other suppliers.

It was quite good along with H1000 the SD was a little higher than 560. The pressure sign was minimal with 565 as well it's my second choice. RL 26 I found very inconsistent in the SD's but got great Velocity out of it!

 

[Dean2]

So I must be missing something. 7PRC, hard to find brass, picky to load for in many cases, doesn't hit the advertised velocity. Good old 7 Rem Mag, easy to find brass, not picky to load for, will easily hit 2900 FPS with 175 grain bullets, out of a 24" barrel. 7 STW with push it to 3100 with a 26" barrel and not a lot more powder than the PRC. Heck, even a 280 AI will push it at 2850 out of 24" barrel. I think I will stick to my 7 Rem Mag. You guys may want to give it or the STW some thought too.

 

[Varmint Hunter]

So I must be missing something. 7PRC, hard to find brass, picky to load for in many cases, doesn't hit the advertised velocity. Good old 7 Rem Mag, easy to find brass, not picky to load for, will easily hit 2900 FPS with 175 grain bullets, out of a 24" barrel. 7 STW with push it to 3100 with a 26" barrel and not a lot more powder than the PRC. Heck, even a 280 AI will push it at 2850 out of 24" barrel. I think I will stick to my 7 Rem Mag. You guys may want to give it or the STW some thought too.

My experience has been a bit different.

1. I had an order for Peterson 7PRC brass delivered before my rifle was completed
2. I had no problem finding good loads for 3 out of the 4 bullets I tested
3. I'm at over 3,000fps in a 26" bbl with a load just under Bergers max (I haven't tested higher and probably won't)

I've owned a 7mm Rem Mag and a 7STW, both great cartridges. I don't think my new 7PRC is an earth-shaking improvement but it certainly holds its own.

 

[C S Fever]

So I must be missing something. 7PRC, hard to find brass, picky to load for in many cases, doesn't hit the advertised velocity. Good old 7 Rem Mag, easy to find brass, not picky to load for, will easily hit 2900 FPS with 175 grain bullets, out of a 24" barrel. 7 STW with push it to 3100 with a 26" barrel and not a lot more powder than the PRC. Heck, even a 280 AI will push it at 2850 out of 24" barrel. I think I will stick to my 7 Rem Mag. You guys may want to give it or the STW some thought too.

Have a 28 Nosler that's my Hot Rod and 280 AI which is my other workhorse. I really enjoy the 7's all great shooters. My wife liked the 280 AI so much she claimed it as her own! My daughter got my 7-08 and that is a great cartridge as well. Can't go wrong with any 7!

 

[Elkbuster]

I have found the Hornady ammo ran about 100 fps slower than the box listed for both the 175gn and the 180's.
22" Proof CF 1-8
Berger VLD Hunter 180gn
71.5 Retumbo
CCI 250 Magnum
ADG Brass
Here are my handloads shot today -

 

[C S Fever]

I have found the Hornady ammo ran about 100 fps slower than the box listed for both the 175gn and the 180's.
22" Proof CF 1-8
Berger VLD Hunter 180gn
71.5 Retumbo
CCI 250 Magnum
ADG Brass
Here are my handloads shot today -
View attachment 576175

Nice SD on that will have to try it

 

[hawlejr]

If you hold barrel length and pressure levels equal for the 7mm Rem Mag and the 7 PRC you will get near identical results. Not surprising since the case volumes are virtually identical (7 mm Mag is actually slightly more voluminous). The main performance difference is that the PRC specifies a faster twist and therefore will stabilize longer projectiles. This doesn't come into play with many 175 gr lead core bullets. Hodgdon lists 2879 fps for a 175 gr Nos Part bullet @ 60500psi and 70.4 grs of RS Magnum for the 7mm Rem Mag. For the 7 PRC, they list 2942 for a Nos 175 ABLR bullet using 70.4 grs of RS Magnum ...so it's a tiny bit faster, but the pressure is up almost 2000 psi to 62,400.....so really very very close to identical once you adjust barrel length and pressure levels.

 

[Monteria]

Continued load development from this morning. This is all from an 18" bbl.

I sure wish LRT would be more consistent. I just can't get it to calm down and hold steady.

RL26 is what I'm trying to best. That's actually a pretty poor group from this rifle.

StaballHD looks like it could work, if it had any velocity. I won't pursue it any farther.

I'm looking for Grand to try next.

 

[Countrykang8]

I have been looking for RL26 for over a year now, nothing available here in Canada. Same with N560 or 570.

With H4831SC (or Staball HD) I get pressure signs well below the the max load. Can't get 175gr. ELD-X over 2875fps with a 22" barrel. Very frustrating.

Speed is the only downfall of H4831SC, but it's an amazing accurate and extremely temp stable. I'm having a similar issue with Ramshot Magnum. It gives me great accuracy, but the speeds are 120-170 fps slower than published velocities. H1000, N565, and Retumbo have been amazing in terms of speed within my 6.5 PRC, 7 PRC, and 300 PRC.

 

[Countrykang8]

Continued load development from this morning. This is all from an 18" bbl.

I sure wish LRT would be more consistent. I just can't get it to calm down and hold steady.

RL26 is what I'm trying to best. That's actually a pretty poor group from this rifle.

StaballHD looks like it could work, if it had any velocity. I won't pursue it any farther.

I'm looking for Grand to try next.

For LRT, try to play with different primers. I found success with the CCI 34 and BR2. My SDs have been in the single digits. They may work for your load development.

 

[Monteria]

For LRT, try to play with different primers. I found success with the CCI 34 and BR2. My SDs have been in the single digits. They may work for your load development.

The only reason I tried it again today was that I got my hands on some Fed215s. I've tried it with WLRM CCI250 and now Fed215s. I thought I had a great load at 75.5gr, but it wasn't stable either. One day was bugholes and really low ES. The next was terrible ES, and the day after that would be great ES but groups went all over the place. Seriously the most perplexing powder I have ever worked with.

 

[southpa]

So I must be missing something. 7PRC, hard to find brass, picky to load for in many cases, doesn't hit the advertised velocity. Good old 7 Rem Mag, easy to find brass, not picky to load for, will easily hit 2900 FPS with 175 grain bullets, out of a 24" barrel. 7 STW with push it to 3100 with a 26" barrel and not a lot more powder than the PRC. Heck, even a 280 AI will push it at 2850 out of 24" barrel. I think I will stick to my 7 Rem Mag. You guys may want to give it or the STW some thought too.

I don't think you're missing anything. All of my 7RMs do better than the numbers I'm seeing with the 7prc. Even at a low charge of 68.5 with H1k it's got the PRC licked. Nothing to see here IMO. Anybody try retumbo in the 7prc?

 

[Countrykang8]

The only reason I tried it again today was that I got my hands on some Fed215s. I've tried it with WLRM CCI250 and now Fed215s. I thought I had a great load at 75.5gr, but it wasn't stable either. One day was bugholes and really low ES. The next was terrible ES, and the day after that would be great ES but groups went all over the place. Seriously the most perplexing powder I have ever worked with.

That's odd. I try to stay away from true magnum primers because I have experienced pressure and temperature spikes during the hot Texas days. I make most of my loads with BR2, CCI 34, and 210M. However, reloading can be frustrating like predicting the weather. It isn't a perfect science. I hope you find something that works. N565, N570, H1000, Grand, or Retumbo may address your needs. And at least they are all in stock.

 

[Monteria]

That's odd. I try to stay away from true magnum primers because I have experienced pressure and temperature spikes during the hot Texas days. I make most of my loads with BR2, CCI 34, and 210M. However, reloading can be frustrating like predicting the weather. It isn't a perfect science. I hope you find something that works. N565, N570, H1000, Grand, or Retumbo may address your needs. And at least they are all in stock.

Texas temps are the reason I'm looking for a RL26 replacement.

Maybe I'll try LRT with some standard primers. Being a ball powder, I hadn't bothered. It couldn't hurt to try though. Actually, that one RL26 group today was a standard primer test. Interrestingly, velocity went up a touch and ES went down from the mag primers.

I'm avoiding the N5xxs, just for barrel preservation, but they will be my last ditch effort.

H1000 I got no velocity.
Retumbo I ran out of capacity and it was dirty which I don't like with the short barrel and suppressor.

I'm looking for Grand locally.

I've also tried 4831SC, MagPro, 7828SSC. They also just didn't have it all.

If I can get LRT settled down, or I find Grand locally and it works well, I'll be done. Otherwise I'll move on to the vhitavori powders.