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

Yep. Simple solution.

They certainly are. My son uses a 7mm Rem Mag Bergara. Excellent accuracy. I worked up a fast load with IMR 8133 (discontinued now doggone it) and the Hornady 150 gr ELD-X.

Really nice accuracy and flat shooting too.

Guy

Only reason for a new 7, IE the PRC is the inherent accuracy. The 7 Rem Mag over the years has consistently been known to throw weird flyers at long range. Not often, but often enough to make one leery of using it if you shoot it to its ability.

Nothing much new on speeds is going to come. Powders are basically the best they can be. Bullet shapes are the best. Now the case vs burn to get the inherent accuracy can be shape, powder column, percentage full, and then how the reamer is designed.

The only way we get more speed anymore is by going larger and shorten barrel life or run up pressure like the sig fury thing.

As to factory speeds, thats been known that they inflate for the most part. I never buy assuming I can get to whats advertised.

The 700 has been chambered for many long action cartridges including 7mm STW, 300 H&H, 300 Wea.

I have several belted mags in the safe, including 7mm STW, two 7 RM, and a 264 Win mag.

NONE of them headspace on the belt.

It is not just belted mags which get false shoulders formed on virgin brass.

I prefer to and often buy brass which needs necked down before use.

I’m with you. I’ve just seen the worst headspace and case head stretch on belted cases.

For another potential heartbreaker, measure a factory load for your favorite belted mag with your comparitor and then measure the same case after you fire it. (Helps if you use the same comparitor.) I have seen some high dollar rifles with really long chambers, from the belt to the shoulder. Not much of a problem if one shoots and then leaves the brass on the ground. One of the newer premium brass guys was making 300 Win and I believe 7MM Rem brass with a bit longer base to shoulder measurement to address this.

When I started handloading for a belted magnum, I picked up a Wilson headspace gauge. The gauges for belted cartridges are adjustable. Take a fired (1x or 2x) unsized brass and adjust the gauge to that brass. Voila, there is your chamber blueprint (at least close enough) to adjust your die so you headspace on the shoulder.

Yeah, yeah hear it all the time about no big deal loading for belted brass, but given a choice, no thanks. No choice? Sure, no problem.

Same here. 300 Wins and 7 Rem's from my little corner. Once I was learned to neck em up one caliber and size to fit, stretch and such has mostly become a thing of past.

Peterson makes long brass I believe.

Yep, they do. Seen it for sale just recently.

Should be an interesting video. My take on the 7prc is that unless you want to shoot the heaviest highest BC match type bullets (eldm) for hunting it is nothing special compare to other 7mms. With hunting bullets - whether thicker jacket cup and core, tougher bonded bullets, or monos (even the new high bc like TA ir ablr) there is not much gain over cartridges with other advantages. I personally have no interest in using that type of bullef for hunting but for those that do and need the utmost precision at extreme range the 7prc looks great.

Several popular podcasters/influencers will droll over the BC of the 180 eldm and use that in all their ballistic comparisons with similar rounds then say use the cx load for elk hunting. While the BC of the 160 cx is high for a mono the 7prc there is not much if any gap over even on paper over lots of other stuff. Probably in the genius of hornady marketing. Sell the sizzle, not the steak

Lou

"I have several belted mags in the safe, including 7mm STW, two 7 RM, and a 264 Win mag". If you had a 7mm PRC, you wouldn't need the STW, RM or WM :-)

And if you have a 30/06 you don’t need any of them

Shhhhh....

Guy

I think the reason to buy the 7mm PRC is accuracy (hopefully), good factory ammo and maybe a cartridge that will be easier to load without some of the things for which the 7mm RM a reputation.

I don't have extensive experience with the 7mm RM. With that said, I've never gotten great velocities or accuracy with the few I've played with so have quickly lost interest. Regarding the .30-06, I've never gotten accuracy that met my expectation and that over dozens of rifles I've tried, though I do have an AI that meets my expectations. A 30-06 that is accurate with most loads is the holy grail and about as easy to find.

Those about .30-06 ballistic of the 7mm PRC (and 7mm Rem Mag) are for my hunting, pretty much perfection for much of all big game. I have high hopes for my PRC but need to spend more time wringing it out.

You’d go nuts….

My experiences with 7mms are pretty limited. I have had one 7 mm mag that had a lot of pressure excursion issues and never really gave velocities close to 7 mag performance. without questionable loads. Only load it shot consistently accurate nad with out any pressure issues was with H870 and 160s . On the flip side, my 7x57 is two shots for two elk and never not ready to go hunting.................

If I still handloaded I'd have to have a 7x57 again!