Thread: Is the new 7mm PRC a lemon ?

I had a 7prc with a 20" It didn't like the factory Hornady rounds at all, low speeds and high pressure even loading their brass gave shit results.
Mine only came to life one I got ADG brass and RL26 2900rps with the 180eldm.
Then I decided I didn't need such a big cal so I moved it on.
New owner seems really happy with it.


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20” bartlein barrel on mine. I get subMoa groups with precision hunter, speeds from 2830-2900. Inconsistent pressure signs with the factory hornady brass though. I get 180 eld-m up to 2860 with Adg brass and 2225, primer swipe just starting to show. It’s one thing to sit at the loading desk and load your powder charges up to the single kernel, another thing entirely I would imagine in a factory environment with batch difference in powder and different powders available at different times as well as trying to keep up with the demand which lets be honest, at this current time, good luck to anyone trying to keep up with the demand. A mate has a 6.5 prc, factory tikka, shooting factory precision hunter, almost 1 hole groups. Fairly slow velocity but he does have a short barrel.

I think it would be fair to say the lack of performance in factory ammo applies to any cartridge, new or old. I couldn’t imagine what it must cost to shoot a few rounds and have to buy factory hornady these days too, shit it must sting.

Originally Posted by stagstalker

I think it would be fair to say the lack of performance in factory ammo applies to any cartridge, new or old. I couldn’t imagine what it must cost to shoot a few rounds and have to buy factory hornady these days too, shit it must sting.

Yeah and to add that the benefits aren't just the availibility of factory ammo. The saami specs are far better suited to the long heavy pill setups used in modern shooting. Coals optimised for mag length and throats optimised for vld style bullets..

This means a good selection of plug and play factory rifles, as well as eventual increased offerings in factory ammo capability.

The limited amount of factory ammo will not be suitable for each and every rifle (length, harmonics) and it seems there are some teething problems.

On paper 7prc sounds like a very good upgrade, but it will take a few years till (if) it is more common and those issues have been eleminated.

@6.5 CRD It would be interesting to know why someone would buy a box of factory ammo and pull it all.
But, in my limited experience a difference of + / - 0.5 gr can make no discernible difference to the point of impact at 100m so that 1.5 range you found could still give tight groups in short range testing. But thats not what the 7 PRC is for and if 100m sub moa is all you need you would gave got a .243.

I pulled it because at the time i couldnt get any brass, adg wasnt available yet and i didnt feel like shooting 60 odd rounds of factory ammo for the hell of it just to get the brass so i pulled it, Brass is already primed with FED215 which is what i used & reused the projectiles too.

As you eluded to, powder charge / velocity inconsistency aside, it was easily sub moa at 100m. Longer distance would be a different story, at 600yd theres best part of 12 inch elevation difference between 2800 and 3000fps.

Interesting, seems I'll have to get some ADI brass n set of dies to get full horse power outta the ugly girl.

The reason I went 7 PRC was I've ended up with a dozen boxes of 175 & 180 Horny & I'm not going to be shooting it alot ( it's a hunting rifle not a gong gun ) 180's @ 2840 will still do everything I need n want & there were no pressure issues, plus with my completely rooted boney arsed Clavicle that's enough kick for me, firing 50 rounds without a break or can - plus 60 + rounds of other CF in a range session on Saturday was enough punisment.


Re - factory ammo, as I don't really shoot it I don't normally crony it, but I did run some factory Nosler Trophy stuff in a 208ai ( which was a hot load ) with 24" tube & was only 10fps under the claimed speed which was impressive

Same with Sako amo, it is getting close or above advertised speed.

Hornady came up with a good cartridge but their brass is so shit it was blowing primer out on first batches when loaded to reach advertised speed so they reduced the charge on next batch

I was getting 2600-2700 fps from sako 165gr green tip what ever it was in 7mm rem mag out a 26” barrel. Switched to superformance 162 sst and was getting a little over 3000fps.

Bit concerning if there’s so much variation in factory ammo loads, especially when that variation pushes into high or excessive pressure. If Hornady have decided to load factory ammo that close to the edge in order to get claimed speeds, then they are in very dangerous territory. Marketing hype should never compromise safety.
The cartridge is what it is, not necessarily a “lemon” but like any cartridge it must be loaded & used within safe limits. This may or may not make it a 7RM killer?
However I think Hornady missed the mark slightly in design. I would have gone for a “stretched” SAUM with base at 0.550 rather than 0.532, like 7WSM or N28 & 7RUM cases. I guess something half way between SAUM & WSM, choose your taper & shoulder angle & put a decent length neck on it (not like 7WSM). This would increase case capacity slightly and powder, hence permit higher velocities for 180gn pills. You’d need to ream chamber to allow big pills to be loaded long.

They were definitely playing with fire... Two 180 eldm factory batch I got last June (one of the first NZ shipment) was loaded with Staball HD. Round shot from these batch all recorded 2950fps minimum and some up to 3050fps. That was before my barrel even sped up... Immediately noticed primer were pancake flat and bolt a bit hard to lift. Had this by the past with some 270 federal ammo so carried on. Then a round poped a primer out. Contacted Hornady there reply was it is your rifle.... No issue after I started reloading and few months after surprise those muppet had reduced the charge in their latest batch

I had a look in GRT, using the staball HD charge I weighted from a round of this first batch and the charge they used was producing pressure way way past SAMI max.

Anyone found it difficult to chamber the 7PRC after sizing when loading it hot?

Seems a lot of people encountered the problem of cases expanding forward of the case web with the 6.5PRC (to match advertised speeds). Hence the 'AW2' reamer fix.

No issue on my side but my gunsmith used a Manson reamer. From their website: “ The 7 PRC is made to Hornady & SAAMI Specifications.
Chamber is minimum SAAMI spec with the exception of the larger base diameter, to address known extraction issues.”
Similar to the aw2 I guess

Originally Posted by caberslash

Anyone found it difficult to chamber the 7PRC after sizing when loading it hot?

Seems a lot of people encountered the problem of cases expanding forward of the case web with the 6.5PRC (to match advertised speeds). Hence the 'AW2' reamer fix.

That’s not good