Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Rifles 7mm PRC = 280 +P?

You almost make me wanna try the Mashburn, just to see what happens..

Just don't use a Berger hunting bullet.
dave

You know what will happen, pull the trigger and critters will die. Meat in the freezer.

I preach interlock. Like the eldx. Alot. Berger has never failed me either. Wouldn't hesitate to load one in a 7. Dang it, now I want a mashburn....

What scope mounts are those and how do you like them?[/quote]

They are ARC: https://www.midwayusa.com/product/1024428347?pid=486103

I like them a lot, have three sets, ordering another today. They are expensive but most good pic rings are $100+ these days so it just a little extra. Solid as a bank vault, incredibly simply and easy to install.

My apologies Brad!

I would be very content to hunt with a 280 stoked with 160 Nosler Partitions but the 7 PRC is just easier for me, ammo and pre-fit barrels easy to come by...

The 280 rem with 162 eldxs is what I grab right now, doubt the new will wear off this one!

No problem, just wanted to be clear I'm not a reactionary old fart!

Aside, if I wanted a 7 Mag (which I don't), I'd dive in with the 7 PRC.

The more money I spend on rifles (I'm culling the herd to finance new spending) the more I want to enjoy shooting them and with age, I find little enjoyment in recoil. The 7 PRC turns out to be very easy to shoot without much punishment, 22" barrel with a suppresser. My last three builds were 308, 6.5 CM and the 7 PRC and I enjoy shooting them all, the CM the most.

I'm down to three 308's, two 6.5 CM's, a 257 Rob and 270 Win, so I'm pretty squarely in your camp. I sold-off my last magnum, a 300 WSM, about 6 years ago, and have no plans to ever acquire another. When I first moved to Montana I was fairly certain a 22" bbl'd 338 WM was ideal for elk, and it probably is. I killed elk with it, but I saw my friends having the same results with stuff like the 270 Win, so I slowly made the change to cartridges like the 30-06, 308, 7-08 and 270. And, no surprise, they killed elk as dead as my 338 WM's and 300 WSM's, but were far more fun to shoot, and could be built far lighter.

Were I interested in LR elk killing I'd probably build a 6.5 PRC on a lightweight platform, or a suppressed 7mm PRC. But, practically speaking, I still don't believe they have anything over a plain-jane 270 Win inside 500 yards, and I have no interest shooting game at that sort of range anyway.

Well guys the 160gr CX that killed this deer was going all of my chrono'd 2,904fps because he was actually a tad closer to me than the chronograph was. Still-hunting some thick stuff, saw him at 25yds trotting. Shot him at 15yds quartering away, one shot, took out half the heart and made the off-side shoulder into a bag of bones and exited. He didn't make it 10yds and piled up. Might be the shortest shot on game for the 7PRC as a cartridge to date! Love my new short range woods gun!

A beautiful Vermont buck!

Thanks, Brad!

Dandy buck, and a good looking rifle too!

Your rifle looks nice and trim, and pretty light.

Seems like you've got it loaded pretty light too. Is that for accuracy, or for recoil management?

Nice buck!

Specs on that rifle?

Boy, that is cooler than the other side of the pillow! What a great VT buck and happy as heck that your rifle has counted coup!

Very nice!

Thanks, guys! Appreciate the kind words!

WhelenAway and bwinters,

The load is the Hornady Outfitter with the monolithic CX bullet. It's actually kind of heavy for a .284 copper bullet. It is sub MOA in this rifle. The recoil must be somewhat less than the 175/180 gr loads but, not so much that I notice it.

The rifle is a Colt Light Rifle that Outkast Arms gave the NULA treatment. The Colt Light Rifle was based on the NULA 28 which was a medium magnum action. Basically, the only things original are the action, recoil lug, and bolt, though they replace the firing pin spring. New mag box, spring and follower, Timney trigger that locks the bolt on safe, NULA style stock, Douglas stainless barrel, the donor was a .270 so they opened the boltface, drilled and tapped for 8-40 scope base screws, and bent the bolt handle to clear the ocular on a low mounted scope with a big Euro ocular. You don't have to do all that but I did. Bare rifle weighs 5.98 lbs. As you see it in the picture - scoped, slung and fully loaded it's 7.56 lbs. That's with a 24" #2 contour barrel.

The main compromises are that it holds two in the mag not three, and the OAL in the mag is short for a long action at 3.34".

My main worries were close range terminal performance - I'm used to 180 gr round-nosed Corelokts from an 18 1/2" barreled .30-06 - much slower and right where you want a cup and core at close range. The CX laid those concerns to rest. And also, the more barrel heavy balance. The shot was not a see/hear him at 30 yds when he's already banging-through-gears-for-the-next-county quick but, it was quick enough for any issues to be apparent. It was all magic. The rifle disappears, you look where you want the bullet to go and there's the reticle. FAST. The reticle felt more planted and glued than I'm used to but, otherwise just as quick. I was told about this on here but only half believed it. I've always been more of an ergonomics guy than a ballistics guy and when that magic combination of stock fit, weight, balance, scope height, magnification, eye-box, and trigger all works together, I get a little misty eyed. I love talking about this rifle, my fingers aren't tired and I'm not prideful, but I'll stop there.

Anywho, there's the specs and a bit more.

Sounds like a tailor made rifle for you and you should be darned proud. It’s a helluva good set up.