Downloading 7PRC?

[FEENIX]

Muzzle brake? Suppressor?

It's always surprising how much a lighter bullet will reduce recoil. My 7saum with a 145 cutting edge is a completely different animal than it is with a 180eldm

I am unsure if the OP, @Good, has decided yet, but this would be an excellent route.

 

[Bang4theBuck]

IMO......there's not a lot of difference between 7mm PRC and 7mm SAUM. That said my kids shoot 7mm SAUM's for whitetail to Elk. My youngest is a 9 year old and his he shoots a 7mm SAUM that is braked with 175 Elites at a modest 2,890 FPS. He can ring steel with it every time at 500 yards after I give him the corrections. I'm pretty sure your 13 year old daughter could also. My son is only 65 pounds maybe and some change. The 7mm PRC will easily download to those velocities or you could just go the SAUM route. My other two have taken 4 elk with theirs out to 620 yards and closest was around 200 yards. So I have all the confidence in the world she would be good with it

Hey friends, how "downloaded" can a 7PRC be? I put my soon to be 13yo girl in for elk this year and I think the 7PRC might be a good cartridge for her to grow into (but maybe not). She has a lightweight 243Win that she shoots well, but I'm wanting something a little more elky and I don't have anything between that 243 and a sporter 30-06.

She is tall/long for her age taking after her mom (mom is 6' and I'm 5'8")- not skinny or big- average build, and athletic.

I could download the '06 but I'd like to get her something of her own that she can grow into. Is 7PRC around 8-9lbs too much gun?

Thanks for your time.

My opinion is that the answer lies in the recoil mitigation strategies. Go with the 7PRC. Then do the following:
1. Load it with a Hammer or similar 'light for cartridge bullet' example might be a 143 grain Hammer Hunter.
2. Put a quality muzzlebrake on the rifle. There are tests out there that validate actual recoil reduction for almost every brake out there.
3. Suppressor is the very best option for youngsters as it knocks down recoil and quiets the rifle.
4. Against the market trend for youth rifles, ADD weight as a last resort. If your buying a factory rifle, you can take the butt plate off and fill the stock with everything from sand to lead shot. This weight will the the recoil down a lot, amd will completely change the shootability characteristics for a youngster. If it means Dad totes the rifle for a while in the field, so be it.

 

[Louisiana Reloader]

My buddy has a 7RM. What the 7PRC wants to twin with. Terrible choice!
Don't be the guy who over guns his kid and scares them out of the field.

Another vote for the .308 or 7mm-08. Enormous data out there. Load up or down +++ you can buy commercial ammo with heavy or lighter bullets.
Next choice would be a 6.5 PRC in my mind.

Exactly. I own (2) 6.5 PRC's. One I shoot with a brake (SAKO S20 Hunter); the other I shoot with a suppressor (Benelli Lupo) and I can tell you they are very pleasant to shoot. I own (3) 25-06's (both my daughters shoot 25-06's) and the braked and suppressed 6.5 PRC's do not have anymore recoil than the 25-06's do. I would strongly consider a 6.5 PRC with 143 grain ELD-X's or 142 grain Nosler ABLR's. You can shoot factory 6.5 PRC (mild) loads or you could load up some on the hot side—your choice.

 

[GrayCreed]

The 7prc case capacity is almost identical to the 7rem mag (82 vs 85 grains of water for the rem mag) I'd look at the Lyman data for loading 7 rem mag to shoot lead bullets, that will give you a lot of powders that are safe for downloading. Also there is an older Western powders manual (they took this info out of the newer ones) that has downloaded data for the 7rem mag to match about a 7-08. These two could get you close.

 

[Boatmanxxx]

Put a good brake on it like the ti pros by srs and you won't hardly feel anything. I put one on a 7 max I had and it was like shooting a 243.

THIS IS THE KEY !, put a good 5 port brake on it, the technology on brakes today is amazing. I won't shoot a hunting style rifle with out one. Both my boys killed anything with fur on it with a 300 win mag that that Kerry O'Day built me. That little gun weighed about 6lbs, but he put one of his brakes on it and it was amazing how well it worked. Now they have tuning ports on em to adjust your recoil impulse, pretty cool.

 

[DocTorT]

For what it's worth, for any 6.5 or 7mm round you choose check out https://backfire.tv/ for a butt pad recoil reducer. $90
Got one for this years hunt and completely changed felt recoil and kept deer in the scope when every shot prior I had to come off scope, search, re-aquire target and send. Huge improvement.
They make for tikka and many other rifles.

 

[JamesWilson5]

I got my wife a 7 prc in the ruger go wild and with break on it its not bad at all as far as downloading it . It's pretty light with 175 eldx Hornady factory ammo. Hers just did break 2700 fps through chronograph. Rated at 3000 fps very light recoil. Less than the 2 06 that I have

 

[kdenn58]

7 PRC, 7SAUM, 7mm-08 all great choices. Shoot suppressed!! Mitigate recoil and noise, less flinch.

 

[prcwv]

Hey friends, how "downloaded" can a 7PRC be? I put my soon to be 13yo girl in for elk this year and I think the 7PRC might be a good cartridge for her to grow into (but maybe not). She has a lightweight 243Win that she shoots well, but I'm wanting something a little more elky and I don't have anything between that 243 and a sporter 30-06.

She is tall/long for her age taking after her mom (mom is 6' and I'm 5'8")- not skinny or big- average build, and athletic.

I could download the '06 but I'd like to get her something of her own that she can grow into. Is 7PRC around 8-9lbs too much gun?

Thanks for your time.

Hornady has data for 139s for the 7 PRC. I shoot the 139 SST out of my 7mm-08 an I love it! I'm gonna try the 162s. I'd say weight of gun will have a lot to do with it to. I shot just bare bones rifle through chrono at 6.5lbs it had more *** behind than I thought it would. That being said a suppressor calms anything down. My 300 PRC is like shooting a 243 now. An my 7mm-08 suppressed is ridiculous.

 

[richhymas]

Hey friends, how "downloaded" can a 7PRC be? I put my soon to be 13yo girl in for elk this year and I think the 7PRC might be a good cartridge for her to grow into (but maybe not). She has a lightweight 243Win that she shoots well, but I'm wanting something a little more elky and I don't have anything between that 243 and a sporter 30-06.

She is tall/long for her age taking after her mom (mom is 6' and I'm 5'8")- not skinny or big- average build, and athletic.

I could download the '06 but I'd like to get her something of her own that she can grow into. Is 7PRC around 8-9lbs too much gun?

Thanks for your time.

I agree with using a lighter projectile. Start her off with the lightest available bullet. Work your way up. Mono bullets and bullets like swift scirocco and nosler partition are all excellent choices when shooting lighter bullets at game. Also, get a good muzzle break. My 11 year old son shot a cow elk right in the heart at 200 yards with a 225 grain ELD-match out of a 300 PRC and commented that he didn't even feel the recoil all because we had an excellent muzzle break on the end of the gun.

My favorite is the ultradyne Apollo break

Ultradyne Apollo LR Compensator Muzzle Brake Timing Nut 7mm 5/8-24 SS

Enjoy. You made a good decision

 

[Stonyman88]

Hey friends, how "downloaded" can a 7PRC be? I put my soon to be 13yo girl in for elk this year and I think the 7PRC might be a good cartridge for her to grow into (but maybe not). She has a lightweight 243Win that she shoots well, but I'm wanting something a little more elky and I don't have anything between that 243 and a sporter 30-06.

She is tall/long for her age taking after her mom (mom is 6' and I'm 5'8")- not skinny or big- average build, and athletic.

I could download the '06 but I'd like to get her something of her own that she can grow into. Is 7PRC around 8-9lbs too much gun?

Thanks for your time.

From what you said about her size and age, and what your using it for, others might have another opinion, as they usually do, but 7X08 has been a great cartridge for me, knocked down every WT I've shot at, and they never go far, I shoot the 139gr Hornady SST but they also have a 150 ELD-X , that would work if your looking for a heaver bullet. These are fast and deadly, a friend has taken many elk with the 150's . The 7/08 is not bad on recoil and shoots great, mine is on a Mauser action,.33/40 bolt, I also shoot 6.5 C and 6.5 PRC and many others but the one I like for all around hunting is the 7x08

 

[Matt_C]

IMO......there's not a lot of difference between 7mm PRC and 7mm SAUM. That said my kids shoot 7mm SAUM's for whitetail to Elk. My youngest is a 9 year old and his he shoots a 7mm SAUM that is braked with 175 Elites at a modest 2,890 FPS. He can ring steel with it every time at 500 yards after I give him the corrections. I'm pretty sure your 13 year old daughter could also. My son is only 65 pounds maybe and some change. The 7mm PRC will easily download to those velocities or you could just go the SAUM route. My other two have taken 4 elk with theirs out to 620 yards and closest was around 200 yards. So I have all the confidence in the world she would be good with it.

I think the wisdom above is right on the money with some real world experience to back it up. If I could add something for thought, it would be that 7 PRC has ammo available as well as 7mm-08 (unfortunately not at walmart! but available) and manufacturer's are making brass for it if in the event you couldn't find ammo or the "makings" for reloading 7SAUM (it is out there) you could build your own with the 7PRC and it will handle the newer bullets a little better I believe. Thoughts?

 

[Don Rackley]

Go 7PRC as ammo and components are more readily available. As Longtine noted, load lighter charges from Hodgdon website (maybe around 2,800fps) and shoot a solid coper bullet. You will have a 7mm-08 in a 7PRC suit. I have watched a lot of gel block testing on YouTube and copper bullets really mushroom well and do a lot of damage.

 

[old_heli_logger]

H4895 and send it. Easy.

Great advice right here!!!

This from Hodgdon...

HODGDON® H4895® REDUCED RIFLE LOADS
For Youth Hunting, Informal Target, and Plinking
__________________________________________________________________________
Hodgdon Powder Company has found that H4895 can be loaded to reduced levels. H4895
was chosen because it is the slowest burning propellant that ignites uniformly in reduced
charges. To create reduced loads, the 60% formula is recommended.
Find the H4895 load in the Reloading Data Center for your caliber and bullet.
Take the maximum H4895 charge listed and multiply by 60% (.6). The load may be adjusted up from there to achieve the desired velocity and accuracy.
This works only where H4895 is listed. DO NOT use in a cartridge where H4895 is not shown.
Example: 30-06 cartridge with 125 gr. Sierra SP bullet. Max load shown in the Reloading
Data Center with H4895 is 53.7 grains. 53.7 X .6 = 32.2 grains. The shooter begins
with this load, and may work up from there to obtain the desired velocity and
accuracy for his reduced load.
Call Hodgdon Powder Company if additional information is needed, 913-362-9455