Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Rifles 7mm PRC and velocity with my 26” Bartlein

Got my rebarreled 7 PRC to the range today. 26" Bartlein barrel that used to have a Bartlein .257 Weatherby barrel. 1/8 twist. Rem 700 action in a McMillan game scout stock.

It shot great but was expecting more velocity. Have not hand loaded for it yet.

Factory 175 gr ELD X averaged 2897 fps over 27 shots using a LabRadar. ES was 46 fps.
.

Shot out to 550 yards with 2.5 milrad. That translated to 2960 fps in my app. Thinking I may need to tweak the BC? Whatever. I am not a long range competitor. Will try 1000 yards when I settle down with the new rig.

What velocities are you getting from factory loads? 3000 fps on the box ain't gonna hapoen

24 " barrel. Mossberg Patriot



https://imgur.com/6tPu1bI

Looking for 175 ELD X velocity from factory loads.

2875 here

Sak,

This question has been pretty well investigated here.

Here’s a couple recent threads on the subject. To say you’re not alone on this question of muzzle speed, especially with Hornady boxed ammo would be an understatement.

My Seekins Element with a 22” tube, using the same ammo as yours, has an average of 2767 based on a Labrador.

https://www.24hourcampfire.com/ubbthreads/ubbthreads.php/topics/18865498/7mm-prc-280-p#Post18865498

https://www.24hourcampfire.com/ubbthreads/ubbthreads.php/topics/18205701/7

Buddy of mine has a new Christensen build with a 24” CF tube running Horn 175’s Eld-x. He’s getting, iirc 2825 out of it.

Good luck!

🦫

Sounds like I am right in the reality velocity window. Not that 100 fps more will have any meaning but I was really expecting 3K fps with my 26” barrel with factory loads. I will eventually hand load for it, but Hornady needs to get the 3000 fps off of the box.

I've got a PRC in the build process and after reading the back/forth on various forums, about more than just velocity, I'm curious how it will pan out when I put ammo through it.

Below is straight from Hogdon's online data. The issue of not using the same bullet for both is worth considering but I'm not getting into that...just looking at published numbers and 2 powders common between them for the same bullet weight. I just chose those powders, others might show something different. Ramshot is the only one listed that gets more than RETUMBO - 3083, from the list for the PRC.

280AI - Twist 1/9 - Barrel L 24" - 175 GR. SFT SP
H4831 - 55.5 - 2651 - 62,000 PSI
RETUMBO - 60.3C - 2743 - 59,800 PSI

7PRC - Twist 1/8 - Barrel L 24" - Nosler 175 ABLR
H4831 - 63.3 (+7.8) - 2923 (+272) - 62,300 PSI
RETUMBO - 70.0C (+9.7) - 2985 (+242) - 62,200 PSI

Rough estimate, from the numbers, the PRC should be 250-275 fps more than a 280AI. Again, only bullet weight and the powders above looked at.

I've seen where folks posted velocities from earlier Hornady factory ammo that was noticeably quicker than the later ammo. Also noted was an individual pulling the bullets and visually determining that a different powder was used in the factory ammo between earlier and later factory loads. I can only guess about the change, maybe availability, maybe related to pressure or "clicker" issues...I don't know.

One thing that has caught my attention is the relatively low number of Seekins rifles chambered for it, specifically the PH2. What is curious to me, is that I see more 7 Rem Mag's (1/8) available than PRC's. It may be nothing but the cycle of production, but I've wondered if Seekins has slowed the roll on production of them for a reason. Again, that is only my curiosity on that, nothing more.

I picked a 7mm PRC, a Fierce CT Rage with a 24" stainless CF wrapped barrel, as an "improvement" on the 7mm Rem Mag. The "improvement" being a factory rifle with the "right" twist (1:8) for the higher BC bullets. And a cartridge made for the longer bullets where the bullet isn't taking up powder space. If over 3000 fps was a concern, I would have gotten a 28 Nosler. The Fierce is very easy to shoot and extremely accurate, even for me! Hornady's velocity claims aren't the first time we've been lied to about that, but I'm also not sure what their test protocols were to achieve what they posted. Using factory 180gr ELD-M and 175gr ELD-X I'm getting excellent accuracy, but haven't been able to chronograph anything as my old chrony took a dump. And no, I didn't shoot it! Lol! My long range shooting isn't as long as some of you guys, but plenty long for me. 50 plus years of getting as close as possible (archery and traditional style muzzleloading) to now being able to hit at 400 and 500 yards. And a 175gr going 2750, or 2650, or 2850... is going to kill anything when put where it needs to be put. And for the people that say "you don't need" a 7mm PRC to achieve that, you're right. We don't "need" any of it, but I "wanted" it. Plus, there sure are a lot of really nice high BC .284" bullets available today...

Enjoy!

Well said Dean!