Overall, I get what Federal is doing, but I have some reservations about being convinced that it's a sure winner that'll be around for the long haul.
Foremost would be the trend of going smaller that seems to be taking hold in shooting and hunting circles. A lot of folks realized that they don't necessarily need large bullets at "magnum" velocities to effectively kill game, even at longer ranges. Similarly, not too long ago max velocity extended MPBR, making it easier to hit accurately at longer, estimated distances. With LRF's and reliable dialing scopes, velocity doesn't count for as much. As such, it seems the new BC is maybe 10- 15 years behind the curve, which, in all honesty, and as much as I love .284's, the 7 PRC is also suffering a little from; that level of performance with bullets of that size is just more than most situations need most of the time.
There's the cost and availability factor. If there's only one source for ammo and it's pricy and it cant yet be easily reloaded, it's not going to be attractive to a lot of higher volume shooters. Likewise, if the reloading process and accessories are proprietary, I can't see a lot of hand loaders being quick to switch over to gain a bit of velocity that may or may not actually make a difference in r eal world outcomes.
And then there's the fact that many gun owners, myself included, have recently bought one or several of the PRC's, ARC's, Dashers, 6 CM's, etc., which had been the latest in cartridge design to this point. I suspect that many won't be so fast to get something that's only marginally different in performance, even if it gets to the same end point by what turns out to be a better route.
I have more concerns, but I'm out of time!
