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7 PRC Build

For a few months now, I’ve been gathering parts and pieces to build a 7 PRC. Well, it’s finally done, and according to the LGS, they should have some 7 PRC ammo later this week. I’ll wait until I get a chance to shoot it before I make a final judgment on it’s ‘worthiness’.

The build:

Defiance Deviant Hunter L/A Mag
Barlien S/S #3, finished at 26”
Rem 700 BDL Bottom Metal
Wyatt’s 300 PRC Mag box and follower
Triggertech Special Trigger
Leupold Backcountry 30mm Low Rings
Swarovski Z8i 2-16x50 4W-I
H-S Precision/B&C Stock (more on this later)

As mentioned, parts and pieces have been gathered over a period of a couple of months. I started gathering shortly after the late June release of the SAAMI spec for the 7 PRC Sourced the Defiance action from Southern Precision Rifles (bugholes.com); the barrel directly from Bartlein. Chose the Deviant Hunter over the anTi because of previous issues with the anTi bolt handle clearance. For the most part all of the other parts were those that I had ‘laying around’. The stock was an ePay purchase. Reamer and headspace gauges came from Manson Reamers in MI. All of the ‘smithing was done locally by MJ Gunsmithing – couple of younger guys who are making a name for themselves.

Got a call a couple of weeks ago (the day before I was to head for TX for some whitetail and hog hunting) that my 7 PRC barreled action was ready for pick-up, so I beat feet down the road and picked it up. The barreld action sat in the safe until I got back from TX last Friday. I was chomping at the bit to get the rifle completed so Saturday morning found me with a Dremel in hand, opening up the recoil lug area of the stock and preparing the stock for bedding. It was at this point that I noticed something wasn’t quite right. The stock I acquired from ePay was advertised as a McMillan Classic. You’d have been hard pressed to tell otherwise. It wasn’t until I was opening up the recoil lug area and cleaning up the receiver area for the new bedding compound that I noticed the the stock had an aluminum bedding block. Hmm – certainly not a McMillan, but I pressed on. Layed the barreled action in the stock around noon and let it cure until late Sunday.

After pulling the freshly bedded barreled action from the stock late Sunday afternoon, I cleaned up the excess bedding material and completed the assembly of the rifle. My initial impression of the completed, yet unfired rifle was – HEAVY. That said, I weighed the rifle - 10# on the nose. Not what I had even come close to hoping for. Turns out the stock alone comes in at 40oz!

As mentioned in the opening, I’ll hold my judgement on this build until I get a chance to shoot it. But, I have it in my mind to at least find a lighter stock, and possibly rebarrel it with a CF wrapped bbl – Proof or Bartlein. Before I get too carried away, I’m gonna weigh the 6.5PRC that I have built on a Deviant Hunter w/Proof 26” CF, Mesa Precision stock and same scope to see what I can come close to expecting should I decide to ‘rebuild’ this 7 PRC. (Update: Weighed the 6.5PRC build – 8# 8oz, so I’ll be lookin’ to shed a pound and a half, or so, off this rifle.)

LGS got 7 PRC ammo in on Thurs, 11/3. 20bx of the 175gr ELD-X and 20 bx of the 180gr ELD-M. 5 boxes of the 175s are in my possesion. Touched off 2 rnds this morning and will be sending the fired cases to Hornady to have them make a COAL gauge for me. Picked up some Hornady dies a month or so ago, so when the time comes I can do some reloading.

Real World Results

The weather finally presented an opportunity to get out and shoot my build. Unfortunately, I wasn’t the nut behind the butt – work got in the way, but a co-worker was heading out to shoot and ‘volunteered’. The results shown/posted below were all shot at 100yds. Chrono results are from a Caldwell chrono. Since this was the initial outing for this gun, as well as a couple of guns my co-worker took for break-in, the guns were cleaned every 3 shots as part of the break-in process. Not bad for out of the gate, though the velocity is a little short of Hornady’s advertised 3000fps.