Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Ask The Gunwriters 7mm Big Game Cartridge Showdown

My buddy frequentflyer sent this to me and I am really looking forward to watching this when all the testing is complete.. Count me in the group that has never seen or heard of anyone getting close to 3000 FPS from a factory 175 gr 7 PRC! And, I have a 26" barrel.

I started to hand load for it and will hit the brakes around 2900 fps. with a 180 Scenar. Have not gotten to the range yet. Does an extra 100 fps matter? Nope, I just wish Hornady was more honest in their trumped up marketing.

I still find that very interesting given the almost identical case capacity as the 7 RM. I've not shot the 180s but have shot various 175s. My current 7RM will launch a 175 ABLR at 3050 give or take a few ft/sec. It does have a 26 inch barrel.

For a Geezer...Why not stick with the .280 Rem or AI.
Not getting it.

26 inches.
About 3200 fps.
dave

Thanks for posting that. Looks like it could be very interesting to follow

What a loser... No Mashburn Super

Good video. I like the 7's in general, particularly the 7mm Rem Mag. Have some limited experience loading and shooting the 7 PRC as well, but have not yet taken game with it.

Looking forward to the rest of the series as the four cartridges are tested.

Regards, Guy

LOL!

Did you watch the video? He likes the 280 AI. Lays it out that there are pros and cons to each of the four cartridges they're going to test. I like that attitude. Nothing wrong with the 280 AI, it works great!

I'm really looking forward to the rest of the series.

Regards, Guy

Same here. It’ll be interesting to see what he gets with each cartridge optimized for their guns.

No I didn't, I stand corrected.....if he mentioned the AI.
Maybe I am a little cranky today.

So will mine.

I’ve not pushed my Rem mag real hard with 175s but 3000fps has been no trouble although best accuracy has been at 2950.

I've always been a big fan of 7mm's, the first deer rifle I ever bought was a 700 Mtn Rifle in .280. Since then, I've added 7mm TCU's, 7x57's, 7mm-08's, and a couple 7mm Rem Mag. Haven't gotten too interested in the newer PRC cartridges, just don't offer me anything I couldn't do with a Rem Mag (or even a .280 for that matter).

Watched the video. Interesting. Horn 160 CX is the best bullet.......

The most successful 7mm cartridge worldwide is daddy of them all, the 7X57.

I was of the same head tilt myself. Guess it’s a decent all rounder to keep things on an even playing field. I’d have thought a 175/180 would’ve been a better choice myself but it might be good to see what they all do with the same bullet.

As long as they're using the same bullet in all the tests it doesn't make any difference. I think their choice of a 160gr bullet is a good one as I'd bet more hunters use that weight or even a 150 than folks using the 175-180 class.

My other immediate thought is his discussion on COAL of the various cartridges. He claims all of them are "handicapped" because of 3.34" COAL. He opines they reach their full potential at 3.6 or 3.7 COAL. Using a modified Homer Powley spreadsheet, the difference in case capacity in a 7 RM between 3.34 and 3.6 COAL using a Nosler 175 ABLR is 4.3 grains. Using Homer's speed calculation, which I modified a bit to match actual velocities, this difference is 38 ft/sec. Using 3.7 COAL, the differences are 5.9 grains increase case capacity and 52 ft/sec. And I'm not aware if a Rem M700 can actually contain a 3.7 COAL in its mag. Maybe, I've never tried it and its been 15+ years since I owned a Rem 700.

I'm all about maximizing case efficiency but I'm not sure I'd sweat those differences.

Does that change if you had added the 7-08 to the group? I shoot 162s in mine but I bet most are 140/120 class there.