For many years, we have been told the belt on magnum cases was superfluous. Later, it was not just superfluous, but detrimental. It caused feeding problems, headspace issues, reloading issues and contributed to chronic dandruff. So it was that we began to see the introduction of the beltless magnums (like the ones Charles Newton marketed over 100 years ago). At the same time, perhaps due to lifestyle differences, shooters began having trouble operating bolt action rifles with long bolt throws, so we got short Magnums. Now, these are a lot different than such cartridges as the Remington short magnums (350 and 6.5) because those cases had belts and would barely launch a bullet.
Strangely enough, when I built 6.5 Rem Mag rifles, 40 years ago, with 24 inch barrels, they performed pretty well. I put 8 twist barrels on them because I always thought an 8 was better in a 6.5. The belt seemed to be a fairly innocuous, if unnecessary, feature of the case. Today though, brass is hard to get and top quality brass, nearly impossible.
The PRC checks the boxes necessary for a modern cartridge. It is beltless, shortish, and well advertised. It may not perform a lot differently than the old 6.5 Remington, but it will perform a lot better with factory loads because 6.5 Rem factory loads suck!
In many respects, everything being accomplished with modern offerings could have been accomplished by changing a few things on existing cartridges. Throat configuration, bullet offerings, different powders, and other changes would have done the trick. Unfortunately, some changes could not be accommodated by rifles already chambered for these cartridges, so it worked as well to just start fresh.
I am always saying, if Winchester had chambered the Newton cartridges, there are a whole bunch of cartridges we would never have seen. A Ruger 77 in 30 Newton would be a fine rifle. Do you know, a 30 Newton will still push 180's to 3100 fps?
In the end, the cartridge case is nothing but a powder holder and a gasket. Some gaskets catch and hold the attention of shooters; others do not. GD
