Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Rifles 7mm PRC

Did a search of the forums for it and found ..... nothing.

Pretty surprising since SAAMI has announced the specs and rifles and ammo are expected to be available this fall. Looks like a great cartridge - like the 6.5 PRC but longer.

I have a Savage 110 7mm RM I purchased January 1, 2019. The barrel was rusty and pitted inside and out but for $279 out the door I didn't care as it was intended to be a donor rifle. Last Savage donor I bought I fired and decided to keep as it was, a .243 Win. This one I ripped the barrel off, had the action Cerakoted and put it away, waiting for the 7mm PRC announcement I thought would be coming. I think Covid delayed the announcement. When the announcement didn't come I looked at other options - 6.5 PRC and 280AI in particular. Even bought a .473" bolt head in case I went the 280AI route.

Now that the 7mm PRC is announced and ammo is expected, the wait is almost over. Won't get to it this year but by next fall hope to be hunting with it. The long range ballistics smoke most of the competition and recoil should be quite manageable - more than a 30-06, less than a 300WM. Already ahve a 280 Rem, 7mm RM. multiple 30-06, 300WM and 338WM so don't really "need" another elk rifle. But as they say, it ain't about "need".

7 PRC




GR

To me this a solution to problem that doesn't exist.

People have said that about the 6mm CM, 6.5mm CM, 6.5 PRC, 300 PRC and a whole bunch of other cartridges. And yet their popularity grows...

Seems to me that a 180g/.319 S.D. bullet with 2000fps and 1600fpe at 910 yards isn't a bad thing - few cartridges will do that, including a 300WM.

7mm Rem Mag does fine with 175’s - won’t it work with 180’s?

7mm PRC sounds like an orphan-to-be a’ la 7mm WSM, 7mm SAUM.

But like you said, it doesn’t need to be about need or anything else, if it is what you want to do.

Not that you want my opinion, but if I owned what you already have, I’d do a 6.5-06!!

I already have a 6.5-06AI but it is a heavy barrel - not a walk-around antelope/deer/elk rifle.

A 7mm RM may work with 180's but with a standard 9-1/2" twist may not stabilize the heavier bullets that will come out for the 7mm PRC, which is twisted at 8". The 7mm PRC also has a higher pressure rating, 65Kpsi vs 61Kpsi - this will make a difference in factory ammo. Federal, Remington and Winchester claim 2860fps for a 175g bullet in their 7mm RM ammo. This is 100fps slower than the 7mm PRC with a 180g bullet. Hornady and Nosler 7mm RM ammo is at 2800fps with a 175g. HSM is at 2845fps with a 180g Berger bullet. And so on.

The 7m PRC is another Hornady creation and they have a pretty amazing record of successful introductions - in part because they are not a rifle manufacturer. I think the 7mm PRC will have an even better adoption rate than the 6.5 PRC by elk hunters and the long range shooter group with side support among manufacturers of both rifles and ammo - something the 7 SAUM, 7 WSM, 280 Nosler and 7 WBY never had because they were rifle manufacturer creations. The 7mm caliber is long overdue for a cartridge upgrade that loses the anachronistic belt, uses a fatter case with higher pressures than the 7mm RM, has a faster twist and allows heavy bullets to be set with less protrusion into the powder space in a standard 30-06-length action.

Just a shame that the excellent .338 PRC (called the .338 RCM) didn't do well.

The 338 RCM was a short action cartridge. Excellent cartridge but I think a long action cartridge would have succeeded better. Hoping for a 338 PRC in a long action format.

Y’all go ahead. I have a 6CM, but am otherwise happily living in a past chock-full of .270s, .308s, and yet one more, hopefully the last, .30/06.

I’m certain, however, that this one will solve all of someone else’s troubles……

My battery includes rifles chambered for .243 Win, .257 Roberts, 6.5-06AI, 280 Rem, 7mm RM, 308 Win, multiple .30-06, .338WM as well as various levergun cartridges. I am well past the point of "needing" a new rifle to hunt with. But, as they say, it isn't about "need" - for me it is about fun and a flatter shooting cartridge with significantly less wind drift and reasonable recoil is definitely in the "want" category, even though every animal I've taken in the last 40 years would have fallen to my .257 Roberts.

For new hunters or those needing a long range "elk" or "deer" or target rifle, the 7mm PRC will be a great choice. It won't be long before the 7mm PRC is outselling all other 7mm cartridges and rifles, just as the 6.5CM and 6.5 PRC are top dogs.

Shot opportunities here are typically short, and the biggest thing on the menu is black bear, which I’ve never seen while hunting. My focus is on light, but shootable rifles for modest cartridges, and somewhat on better glass, illuminated if possible. Have a few Mausers around because I’m such a whore for them, and also a lever gun on the way for “educational purposes”, maybe to stay, maybe not. Nothing resembling any sort of magnum is required, nor are long, pointy bullets or other long-range-enabling doodads. Anything over 6mm typically gets loads in the starting load range for economy and to lessen meat damage.

HMM the velocity of this may be REALLY close to the 280AI….

If your gun smith is worth his salt he has a 280AI match reamer that will match the brass to chamber spec’s of this one….

I’ll be interested to see what the speeds are - I don’t always chase fat bottom girls (wider profiles) unless they perform better than the Optimal 280AI…




Well balanced design around payload is more important than speed to me…. So 169 grain 7mm pill is where things are for longer performance…

Other than that - 7mm kicks more so you better be fighting wind or shooting over 1200 yards… so make a better performer call.

Case capacity is case capacity,pressure is pressure and speed is speed. TwatShooter is a Drooling CLUELESS Fhuqk,but she's welcome to take a stab at reamer specs. Hint.

Bullets matter wayyyyyyy more than headstamps ladies,no matter your FAVORITE Bed Time Story and how crossed your eyes are. "Match" reamers and 169's are fhuqking HILARIOUS,when Drooltards haven't even a FIRST fhuqking clue! Hint.

Bless your hearts for doing your best though.

Hint.

Fhuqking LAUGHING!...............

I agree about a well-balanced payload. Some of the problems with the 280AI that the 7mm PRC addresses:
1. The 280AI case is too long to allow really high B.C. bullets without seating them past the neck.
2. The 280AI gets max velocity with compressed or nearly compressed powder charges. This limits 180g loads to around 2875fpswith little or no room for faster.
3. The 280AI twist rate is 1-9, which is great for 140gto 175g or 185g bullets. The 7mm PRC has a 1-8 twist and is designed for a heavier range of bullets with longer profiles and B.C. values.
4. The 280AI has not been very successful in attracting major manufacturer support. Federal and Nosler and ??? I predict the 7mm PRC will be widely supported by manufacturers of both firearms and ammo.

Not knocking the 280AI. I have a 280 Rem and was considering the 6.5 PRC and 280AI for my Savage donor if the 7mm PRC didn't appear. (Have been waiting 3 years for the announcement.) Started out thinking 6.5 PRC but lately had been leaning toward a 1-8 twist 280AI. The 7mm PRC announcement by SAAMI means I'll wait for brass and a pre-fit barrel for the Savage.

If Hornady throws the 180 ELDM in match factory ammo, the 7PRC may be a hit....

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I believe MD verified that he shot some in another thread.

The 7 prc is a long action cartridge.

I see that now. Just catching up...