Best cartrige for long range target and also for Elk hunting.

[Will.284]

Welcome to the forum, fantastic place here.
My advice is this, brushing aside all the hype over the PRC line, there is no REALadvantage to a 300PRC over ANY other existing round, UNLESS you want to run Hornady factory ammo. This is what this cartridge is for, selling ammo. Period.
Now, if you REALLY want to hit way out there at targets and Elk, consider the 300RUM. It is far superior to both 300WM & 300PRC, is housed in the same length action as a PRC and is just as accurate, if not better than a PRC.
Case design is a non issue with the RUM, it just works.
I own 5 300WM rifles, 1 RUM to date, it is grabbed just as often when LR shooting as the 300WM are, so you can see I like it.

Cheers.

I'm putting together a 300 rum as we speak

 

[AussieWriter]

A couple things with belted cases. They headspace on the belt vs. cartridge shoulder and the belt to case joint is a stress riser, so in general…beltless cases will last longer. I have quite a few rifles chambered in belted cartridges, but overall I think there is greater accuracy and longevity potential with a beltless case.

I have many, many 7mm and .30 cal rifles in various chamberings and I like them all. I just think you have greater margin for error if you use a .30 cal over a 7mm with elk. Heavier bullets and makes a bigger hole.

If you are concerned with case life, can you not headspace a belted case on the shoulder making said advantage moot?

I agree with larger caliber bullets, "as a theoretical advantage", but in reality, there is a point of enough and adequacy built on continued success. The advantage goes to the cartridge that is more comfortable to shoot. Proven by the relatively rapid rise if success with the 6.5 Creed. Very few cartridges don't kill as well but not all are more comfortable ti shoot.

That is the major advantage of the 7mm Remington over everything that tries to dethrone it. That, and the fact that it is more established and globallly widespread than any other offering.

No amount of marketing can counter that.

 

[Idaho Lefty]

7mm RM preferably a Tikka and with an aftermarket stock fitted.

Or, just Add, a Kydex Cheek Riser, a LimbSaver Recoil Pad and Adjust, the Trigger to 2 - 2.5 lbs and,.. Go,. Hunt / Shoot Steel, AFTER Finding, the BEST Bullet Choice for, Your Rifle ( Mine Liked 154 gr Hornadys at, close to, 3,100 FPS ).
I'd Try the 168 Berger H-VLD's for, LR Steel and,.. Elk !! ( Or, One of, the Heavier 160 gr., Plus, Sierra Game King's )
The Tikka SS, T-3 Lite, NON-Fluted barrel,. IS, the Rifle to Buy,. IMO ( Owned 3, so far and they All, "Shot",.. very Well !!!

 

[Huntslow]

7 RM or .280 AI. Either is great with the 7 RM having better ammunition availability. Most factory rifles don't have the twist for the "best" target bullets. I don't find it to be a problem as I don't expect to be a record breaker at the 1000 yard competition

 

[Clem Bronkoski]

A couple things with belted cases. They headspace on the belt vs. cartridge shoulder and the belt to case joint is a stress riser, so in general…beltless cases will last longer. I have quite a few rifles chambered in belted cartridges, but overall I think there is greater accuracy and longevity potential with a beltless case.

I have many, many 7mm and .30 cal rifles in various chamberings and I like them all. I just think you have greater margin for error if you use a .30 cal over a 7mm with elk. Heavier bullets and makes a bigger hole.

You can always neck size your belted mag cases for longer life.

 

[trout004]

My 7RM is the one rifle that I tend to grab first. It is deadly accurate, low recoil with a good brake, and pushes 175 grain Berger at about 2920 without the pressure issues.

 

[DMULE]

I new to the forum. I was wondering what you alls opinion was on what would be the best cartridge to get for 90% of the time shooting long range target and 10% of the time elk hunting. Initially I was debating on 4 options, 7 prc, 7 rem mag, 300 win mag, and 300 prc. I decided against the prc's due to short barrel life. Here lately I been pretty confident about going 300 win mag, especially with future reloading. Is there something better I'm missing or is this a solid decision.

PBlank ~
Good for you for running things by forum members. This pre season back pack Bull hunt I turned to forum member to get old man light weight elk caliber input. Since I live in Nosler land I had a lighter than normal elk rifle built to save weight. Now into my 70s and still slow backpacking went with a 27 Nosler. Knocked him down fine but nothing like the slam of a 30 cal. If I was younger and was not concerned with 11 pound rifle my 300 rum or other 300 with 200 grain bullets would be very best for me at my distance capability in my hunt area.
" Try 3o Cal you will never go back till you get old".

 

[Hikinghunter]

I often see arguments for the 300WM vs a 300PRC. It seems to me a 300WM customized to shoot heavy for caliber bullets is exactly the same as a 300prc in terms of ballistics, barrel life and everything else. Am I missing something?

I love my 280AI as well, though I probably wouldn't push it much past 500 yards for elk.

 

[HandgunHTR]

We have never had issues with 7mm RM we think the belt issues are probably user issues plus some other mythical problems added in. I went down to a 280AI for various reasons, but the belted issue certainly wasn't one of them.

I caulk up the "belt issues" to issues that came from too much sizing prior to the rise in use of headspace comparators. Before those became more in use, the most common recommendation was just to neck size. As most reloaders know, that only works for a couple of firings before the web needs to be sized, or a donut forms on the outside at the neck/shoulder junction and the brass would become hard to chamber.

Now that we have a great selection of various headspace comparators and we all know to just bump shoulders back 2-3 thousandths, the "issues" associated with belts are moot.

 

[Pro2A]

The 7 prc looks to be phenomenal on the ballistics side, but looking at 600 rd barrel life from what I been told. So yeah I'm not a fan either. The last couple weeks, the 300 prc peaked my interest again especially since most of my shooting with it will be long range target. What would the bullet drop difference be on the 300 prc vs the 300 WM at say 1000 yds.

300Win Mag is a venerable old warrior, but with1963 era BIG BUTs. But, the head dim is too short for really high BC bullets; but the belted headspacing is grenade accuracy; but the 308 bullet down a .315 SAMMI throat is bowling ball down the highway. It has and will continue to kill a **** load of game, and no one will ever question your choice of it for hunting. But, in today's cartridge technology world, it's 62 year old technology is more than a tad on the rough end.

 

[AussieWriter]

300Win Mag is a venerable old warrior, but with1963 era BIG BUTs. But, the head dim is too short for really high BC bullets; but the belted headspacing is grenade accuracy; but the 308 bullet down a .315 SAMMI throat is bowling ball down the highway. It has and will continue to kill a **** load of game, and no one will ever question your choice of it for hunting. But, in today's cartridge technology world, it's 62 year old technology is more than a tad on the rough end.

Lol.
I'm sure the various government Sniper teams will be contacting you directly for advice.......only on the internet........

 

[NotLongRange]

I actually have a soft spot for belted cases and I own a lot of them. I have reloaded for them for a few decades and yes…I use neck sizing dies as well.

I am also a mechanical engineer and deal a lot with pressure vessels and failure analysis.
Sizing the case is only one issue with the belted case. Just firing the case and having expansion fatigues the case and the highest stress concentration point is the junction between the belt and case. That isn't a mystery, it isn't folklore, but it is fact based on material science.

It isn't by random chance that belted cases most frequently fail in that area - it is expected. Of course you can manage it by limiting the reload cycles and using a neck sizer, but eventually the case will experience a failure and barring some other fault in the case, it will fail at the belt to cartridge interface.

From an engineering standpoint, barring no other factors, a belted case will fail sooner than an unbelted case; occurring where the belt joins the case. A unbelted case design simply removes a high failure area of the case…simple as that.

 

[AussieWriter]

I actually have a soft spot for belted cases and I own a lot of them. I have reloaded for them for a few decades and yes…I use neck sizing dies as well.

I am also a mechanical engineer and deal a lot with pressure vessels and failure analysis.
Sizing the case is only one issue with the belted case. Just firing the case and having expansion fatigues the case and the highest stress concentration point is the junction between the belt and case. That isn't a mystery, it isn't folklore, but it is fact based on material science.

It isn't by random chance that belted cases most frequently fail in that area - it is expected. Of course you can manage it by limiting the reload cycles and using a neck sizer, but eventually the case will experience a failure and barring some other fault in the case, it will fail at the belt to cartridge interface.

From an engineering standpoint, barring no other factors, a belted case will fail sooner than an unbelted case; occurring where the belt joins the case. A unbelted case design simply removes a high failure area of the case…simple as that.

The other thing that doesn't get scrtutinized is imperfect dies causing additional fatigue points on the case.

Some don't even reduce the neck diameter enough to hold a bullet, which can be extracted quite easily, with fingers.

 

[kgarrett]

90% range, 10% hunting. Elk every other year as you also bow hunt. Using factory ammo only as you don't reload yet.

One of the 7 PRC, 280 AI, 6.8 Western is definitely the right answer. All have pros and cons, pick your flavor. Putting up with the recoil of a 300 magnum or bigger or using a custom chamber that requires reloading to get the same results as a PRC or Western in what is primarily a range gun is the WRONG answer. Anything larger than a 6.5 PRC is reasonable for elk to 600 yds, but a dual use range and elk gun is crying out for a fast twist 7 mm.

FWIW, my elk hunting rifle is a switch barrel 6.5 PRC/300 PRC and my main LR range gun is a 6.5 CM. The 6.5 PRC and 300 PRC have surprisingly similar trajectory and wind drift….