7mm PRC

[DUCKMAN11]

I think I might have found the next parent case for another 25cal. Lol

 

[entoptics]

I mentioned this in the previous thread, but it's worth pointing out here again for those who are complaining about "mid length", "not short action", "not long action".

Savage and Tikka have short magazine boxes in their long actions. ~3.5" and ~3.4" respectively.

The 7mm PRC is designed to account for that "shortfall" (see what I did there ). Two of the most popular off the shelf platforms, will now have a cartridge designed to maximize the performance of long, high B.C., 0.284 bullets.

I'm not a Hornady f@nboy, but I can tell you from experience, that SAAMI throats and twist rates are not ideal for the 7mm Mag (7 PRC fixes this) and 264 Win Mag (6.5 PRC fixes this).

This cartridge (and 6.5 PRC) is not for all you folks who wail and moan about how the 7 STW, 6.5 Sherman, 7-300 PRC, long throated 264 WM and 7mm Rem Mags, etc, etc, etc. have been around forever...

It's for your cousin Bob. Who wants to buy a Tikka and some ammo from Cabelas and pretend he can shoot 500 yards at a whitetail or 1000 yards on steel at the local club.

That's a good thing. It's a good cartridge. Is it better than something us enthusiasts can have custom made? Probably not, but we are a FRACTION of the hunting public.

 

[Calamity]

Does anyone know what technical criteria are used in design of the PRC cartridges? I assume it is for combustion efficiency, i.e., pressure curve, throat temp, etc., but it would be nice to know the details. Do they use a standard powder? Bullet mass to bore ratio? As for the gripe about the belt, I would like to see a belt on the new cases. I like the idea of head-spacing at the head, rather than the sloping shoulder. The belt was one of the better ideas in cartridge design, and if it had never happened, and was introduced today, it would be considered a wondrous new design breakthrough and everyone would be after the ammo designers to put belts on their cartridges. Belt-less cartridges are so bland looking.

 

[7.62 Gunner]

I mentioned this in the previous thread, but it's worth pointing out here again for those who are complaining about "mid length", "not short action", "not long action".

Savage and Tikka have short magazine boxes in their long actions. ~3.5" and ~3.4" respectively.

The 7mm PRC is designed to account for that "shortfall" (see what I did there ). Two of the most popular off the shelf platforms, will now have a cartridge designed to maximize the performance of long, high B.C., 0.284 bullets.

I'm not a Hornady f@nboy, but I can tell you from experience, that SAAMI throats and twist rates are not ideal for the 7mm Mag (7 PRC fixes this) and 264 Win Mag (6.5 PRC fixes this).

This cartridge (and 6.5 PRC) is not for all you folks who wail and moan about how the 7 STW, 6.5 Sherman, 7-300 PRC, long throated 264 WM and 7mm Rem Mags, etc, etc, etc. have been around forever...

It's for your cousin Bob. Who wants to buy a Tikka and some ammo from Cabelas and pretend he can shoot 500 yards at a whitetail or 1000 yards on steel at the local club.

That's a good thing. It's a good cartridge. Is it better than something us enthusiasts can have custom made? Probably not, but we are a FRACTION of the hunting public.

Tikka actions are set up for 3.34" and won't be ideal with the 7 prc using 195's for sure.
The main gripe I have with all the PRCs is they're based off the 375 Ruger with a narrower case body than the .550 wsm/ultramags.
I really wish Hornady had gone with a fatter case like a lengthened out 7 wsm, and used a 35 degree shoulder.
You're right though this cartridge is super lame for those of us who handload, they shoulda named it the "7mm Uncle Darrell"

 

[2buffalo]

Just curious if all the people complaining about this new cartridge only own rifles that fire old cartridges. I would argue that not much that has come out in a long time has done something it's predecessors couldn't. It has been incremental gains and the old cartridges still kill as well as the new. The one exception recently IMO is the 277 Fury. 3000fps from a 16" barrel in a small package is a step up for people looking for that kind of velocity short barreled rifle. Will it last? The consumer and in this case the military will decide. SAAMI should definitely not be the judge and jury it should be the consumer. Companies are in buisness to make money and if it makes money good for them. If it doesn't then they can take the hit.

 

[elkaholic]

Tikka actions are set up for 3.34" and won't be ideal with the 7 prc using 195's for sure.
The main gripe I have with all the PRCs is they're based off the 375 Ruger with a narrower case body than the .550 wsm/ultramags.
I really wish Hornady had gone with a fatter case like a lengthened out 7 wsm, and used a 35 degree shoulder.
You're right though this cartridge is super lame for those of us who handload, they shoulda named it the "7mm Uncle Darrell"

You just described the Sherman MEGA except it has a 40 degree shoulder.
It was designed specifically for the top performing Mid action round.

 

[7.62 Gunner]

You just described the Sherman MEGA except it has a 40 degree shoulder.
It was designed specifically for the top performing Mid action round.

Yeah I run a 45 degree 7-300 wsm, great case to wildcat for sure.
It'd be pretty sweet though if something like the 7 blaser mag went mainstream, it sucks that lapua keeps wasting production on PRCs..

 

[quigley257]

We've now built four of the 7 PRCs in our shop. The 175 ELD-X PH load has been extremely accurate and spot on for velocity. The box states 3000 FPS and our rifles have been running 3015 average in 24" length.

 

[elkaholic]

Yeah I run a 45 degree 7-300 wsm, great case to wildcat for sure.
It'd be pretty sweet though if something like the 7 blaser mag went mainstream, it sucks that lapua keeps wasting production on PRCs..

The 7 MEGA has a .334" neck and 84 grain capacity. I run the 175 EH at an easy 3180 with great case life.
195's will reach 3100 at max but run better at 3000-3050, and you don't need a LA to do it.

 

[Justice1327]

For size comparison

 

[gregsjt]

Yeah I run a 45 degree 7-300 wsm, great case to wildcat for sure.
It'd be pretty sweet though if something like the 7 blaser mag went mainstream, it sucks that lapua keeps wasting production on PRCs..

Isn't the 7 PRC pretty close to the Blaser without the rebated rim?

 

[7.62 Gunner]

Isn't the 7 PRC pretty close to the Blaser without the rebated rim?

If it has less capacity than the 7 RM then no, both of those are 83-84 grains.
My point is that for the length of the 7 prc a fatter body would've been awesome to really give it a capacity advantage while working in a med action.
The same is true with the 300 prc, you need a magazine length of 3.7+ with 225s while my 30 nos seated correctly is 3.6", and it has a 4-5 grain capacity advantage. Longer/skinnier is retarded and it's the biggest design flaw with the PRCs

 

[DUCKMAN11]

The same is true with the 300 prc, you need a magazine length of 3.7+ with 225s while my 30 nos seated correctly is 3.6", and it has a 4-5 grain capacity advantage. Longer/skinnier is retarded and it's the biggest design flaw with the PRCs

Not trying to completely derail this thread but..... where do you think that 225gr bullet goes when it's set in a 30noz case that's 0.010" longer than a 300prc case, to a COAL that's 0.100" shorter than your hypothetical 3.7" 300prc?

Yes a 30noz has more case capacity than a 300prc. I agree with that 100%! But what are we talking about 90gr vs 96gr? So a 5% advantage goes to the 30noz? If you cram a long 225gr bullet into a 30noz case and make it either Saami COAL @ 3.340" OR a shorter COAL than a 300prc that bullet is sitting deeper in the case and eating up any meager 4-6gr case capacity advantage the 30noz had.

Load any of the same bullet in both the 30noz and 300prc to where the base of the bullet does not sit deeper than the neck shoulder junction line and the 30noz will be faster hands down. Where the Saami 300prc excels over the Saami 30noz is being able to load long high BC bullets and not eat up case capacity.

Yes you CAN long throat and Wyatt's box a 30noz to make it do more than a 300prc and that has been proven many times on the forum.... but myself and the vast majority of the shooting public CAN go buy an off the shelf rifle and load 300prc to CIP length at 3.850". The 30noz is great cartridge but hamstring'd itself out the gate by going with a 3.340" COAL. The 300prc holds long bullets better in "stock" form than the 30noz.

 

[DUCKMAN11]

The same thing could be said for the 7prc vs 7rem mag. Stuff a 180+ in a 7rem mag and load to 3.4" and you got a bullet eating up case capacity...not much but some. Throw a 197 in the same rifle and case and assuming you got enough twist then you got a bullet taking up a little more case capacity.

Efficiency is one thing and it is real. But I think the PRC's win out in "effectiveness" before efficiency should be argued. They effectively hold long high BC bullets better than the cartridge they were trying to "replace". That doesn't mean I'm going to try to convince my dad to sell his 7mag for a 7prc or that I'm going to sell off either of my 300win mags. But if I want to launch 230 Atips I'm gonna grab my 300prc.