Thanks, Docbill,
I didn't test the 7mm PRC in the same way I normally would for an article in, say, Handloader. Instead, in mid-August I attended what's known as an "industry event" at the FTW Ranch in Texas, along with enough other gun writers that we split up into two "squads" for two afternoons of shooting. (The mornings were class-time, both for the basic rules of the FTW range, and on the equipment we'd be testing.)
This was my 4th visit to the FTW over the past decade, and it's an excellent facility, with 12,000 rugged acres that not only offer pretty good hunting, but plenty of rifle ranges that go out to more than a mile--along with close-up stuff such as a full-sized charging elephant target. It not only hosts industry events like this one, but is often used for military and law enforcement training.
The main sponsor of the event was Remington Arms LLC, the firearms company that rose from the ashes of the Remington bankruptcy a couple years ago. They've been working hard on making substantive improvements to the 700, and half the rifles were their new 700 Alpha 1, chambered in 6.5 Creedmoor. My squad spent the first day shooting those out to around 600-700 yards, and I was very impressed--but since that doesn't involve the 7mm PRC, I would suggest reading my upcoming column in Sports Afield, which will be out in a couple of months.
The other rifles were some similar 700s put together for the event, chambered in 7mm PRC. They were noticeably heavier, maybe 8-1/2 pounds or a little more with Swarovski X5i scopes. (Swarovski was the optics sponsor for the event.) The ammo was Hornady factory ELD-M Match, featuring the 180-grain, with a very high BC and a listed velocity of just under 3000 fps--which was probably achieved from the 24-inch barrels.
All the shooting was done from prone with bipods, and after each shooter sighted-in at 100 yards (which generally resulted in 3 shots touching, or nearly so), we started shooting at gongs. The standard gong set-up at the FTW is a 9-inch round gong, representing the "vital zone" of a typical deer-sized big game animal, with a smaller gong next to it. (Can't remember whether they're 5 or 6 inches.)
There were pairs of gongs every 100 yards out to 800, and the drill was to first shoot the "big" gong, then as quickly as possible shoot the smaller one. There was some wind, though not as much as usual at FTW, especially for afternoons averaging around 100 degrees. I almost ran the pairs "clean" out to 800, but missed one small gong with the first shot, then hit it with a second. Many of the other shooters did just as well, and our general impression is the 7mm PRC, with that particular ammo, was among the most wind-resistant and accurate loads we'd ever tried, especially in a relatively lightweight rifle. (The Swarovski scopes also performed perfectly during a bunch of dialing up and down.)
The article will include far more details, including the changes made in the Model 700 Alpha 1, which are substantial.
