Hornady 7 PRC a Lie?

[Elky Welky]

Recent videos from Backfire, Reloading Weatherby, and Who-Tee-Who have all chronographed factory 7PRC ammo only going about 2800 FPS out of a 24 inch barrel, even though the Hornady Boxes are saying it is throwing 175 grain bullets at about 3000 FPS. When they try to load it up to 3000 FPS, they are getting too much pressure. Backfire is speculating that the reason Hornady is lying about their numbers is because they are trying to bury the 6.8 Western.

A 280AI gives better speeds than that and more rounds in the magazine, and the 6.8 western out of the box is awful close as well with a short action. So it kinda seems like the 7 prc is actually the worst of both worlds.

I've been thinking about getting something better suited for a suppressor than my 300 win with the 26 inch barrel and brake, and the 7 PRC has been on the short list. But this new info about Hornady lying to consumers has me fired up. It will be many years before I can afford to get into reloading, but even then, the 7 PRC is starting to sound an awful lot like a sham, and others here seem to be having feeding issues with it on top.

Are others experiencing the same?

 

[brownbear932008]

Which is the reason I stick with tried and true calibers that work. I have a feeling 20 years from now there will be a lot of guys stuck with calibers that must be reloaded because ammo will be non existent.
Manufacturers are trying their best to have the latest and greatest new caliber out every year to boost sales. Old calibers may be boring but they work.
But, to answer your question I haven't had anyone personally that has gone down the 7 PRC rabbit hole. Sorry I went a little off topic there. But it drives me nuts with the new round craze these days and trying to reinvent the wheel.

 

[Caseknife]

My 7 PRC has a 20" carbon barrel and just starting load work-up with 145 LRX and it is at 3020. Think the factory ELDM were right at about 2750

 

[Elky Welky]

My 7 PRC has a 20" carbon barrel and just starting load work-up with 145 LRX and it is at 3020. Think the factory ELDM were right at about 2750

Yeah, that makes sense with the lighter bullets. I'd like to find something spitting heavy-for-caliber bullets at 3000 in the 175 grain range to take advantage of the higher BCs and get less wind drift. If I were to shoot 140s I'd be leaning towards the 6.5 PRC, or a fast-twist 270.

No matter what my faith in Hornady is shook knowing they are lying on their boxes.

 

[belshawelk]

All I know is my buddy bought one and we went a shot at 1000yrds. Easy shooting

All I can say is its a sexy som beach..................

Not as sexy as my .28 Nosler but there can only be one beauty queen.

 

[Big Sky Guy]

Haven’t heard of this but this guy is getting 2965fps with the factory ELDX ammo in a 24” tube. I just had a 22” 7PRC built so hopefully I didn’t get sold snake oil.

The snake oil I bought into was that these newer cartridges have smaller tolerances and it’s much easier to get really tight groups with factory ammo, which has been a challenge with .30-06 factory loads etc. IME. I don’t handload so this is a selling point to me.

Haven’t shot the rifle yet.

I’m surprised you can get that velocity with that bullet out of a .280AI though but again I don’t reload so maybe that can be loaded hotter with longer bullets than I realized. That was a caliber I strongly considered but I gambled in that I think in 10 years the 7PRC will be the most popular 7mm with the most available factory ammo.

 

[Elky Welky]

Haven’t heard of this but this guy is getting 2965fps with the factory ELDX ammo in a 24” tube. I just had a 22” 7PRC built so hopefully I didn’t get sold snake oil.

Here's the video I was referring to:

 

[Elky Welky]

I’m surprised you can get that velocity with that bullet out of a .280AI though but again I don’t reload so maybe that can be loaded hotter with longer bullets than I realized.

Just to clarify, I was saying you can get 2800 out of a 280AI, at least according to Nosler reloading data.

 

[Forkyfinder]

This backfire guy is a tool/douche in general. PRC and rem mag are very close in terms of speed/performance/capacity - except the 7mm prc is twisted for long bullets. 6.8 western is very close to wsm in the same regard. The bigger cases have a slight advantage. Some barrels shoot slower until broken in. Most box velocities for most cartridges are optomistic and/or taken under ideal circumstances.

All sorts of reloading data get that - plus forums and reviews say its close in speed. Not sure of temp- but if its really cold - it can slow things down by .5 - 2 fps per degree.

Id say if you want a prc - get a 6.5 or .300 - but im biased i guess. The reality is that 243 to 375 ruger out to 400 yards on almost any game is perfectly fine. Get one if you want to try long range...

https://www.outdoorlife.com › guns
The 7mm PRC: Hornady's New .284-Caliber Cartridge, Tested and Reviewed

Hornady 7mm PRC: The Best 7mm Mag. Ever. - Guns and Ammo

Hornady has applied modern chamber design to the 7mm. Let's take a look at the round in-depth.

www.gunsandammo.com

 

[Big Sky Guy]

Just to clarify, I was saying you can get 2800 out of a 280AI, at least according to Nosler reloading data.

Ooo, that makes more sense. I was thinking you were saying 3k fps for that.

 

[Fire_9]

Yeah, that makes sense with the lighter bullets. I'd like to find something spitting heavy-for-caliber bullets at 3000 in the 175 grain range to take advantage of the higher BCs and get less wind drift. If I were to shoot 140s I'd be leaning towards the 6.5 PRC, or a fast-twist 270.

No matter what my faith in Hornady is shook knowing they are lying on their boxes.

You're truly surprised that a manufacture would artificially inflate their numbers?

How far are you comfortable shooting at animals? I'm going to go out on a limb and say more than likely, 400 and in. If that's the case, you can shoot almost anything out there. I know I've spent waaaaaaayyyyyyy too much time mulling over different calibers and cartridges when 90% of my hunting is done at distances where it won't make a damn bit of difference.

 

[winmag]

The 6.8 Western is a short action cartridge with a .277” projectile while the 7PRC is a long action cartridge with a .284” projectile. I don’t see these two as direct competitions, where one would need to squash the other for market share.

 

[Wind Gypsy]

Just to clarify, I was saying you can get 2800 out of a 280AI, at least according to Nosler reloading data.

Nosler, as in the guys that ran adds saying the 33 nosler ran 25 fps faster than a 338 lapua mag..

This is all a big nothing burger. Hornady has factory ammo running below published speeds. Gasp, nobody has ever done that before!

What’s the federal ammo running at?

 

[Elky Welky]

You're truly surprised that a manufacture would artificially inflate their numbers?

In a day and age where many consumers have chronographs, and being off by 200 FPS, yes. I'm fine with a standard deviation of 50 or so, that's pretty common for factory rounds.

How far are you comfortable shooting at animals? I'm going to go out on a limb and say more than likely, 400 and in. If that's the case, you can shoot almost anything out there. I know I've spent waaaaaaayyyyyyy too much time mulling over different calibers and cartridges when 90% of my hunting is done at distances where it won't make a damn bit of difference.

Yup, you're not wrong. But I enjoy mulling over these kinds of things for fun because that's who I am (and this is the exact forum to do it). But for me it is less a matter of what I'm comfortable with and more a matter of I like hunting more than shooting; which to me means stalking in close and not taking unethical shots.

The 6.8 Western is a short action cartridge with a .277” projectile while the 7PRC is a long action cartridge with a .284” projectile. I don’t see these two as direct competitions, where one would need to squash the other for market share.

Hornady seems to feel differently about that, as they are not making high BC .277 bullets nor brass for the 6.8 western. And the difference between .277 and .284 is .007: negligible enough for them to compete.

This is all a big nothing burger. Hornady has factory ammo running below published speeds. Gasp, nobody has ever done that before!

The video is interesting, all the published speeds for a variety of .308 ammo are spot on. Maybe nobody cares enough about .308 to feel the need to lie about it anymore, but with a new cartridge, they feel the need to pull the wool over our eyes. I like to be an informed consumer, personally.

 

[brockel]

Hornady is lying about their numbers is because they are trying to bury the 6.8 Western.

The 6.8 western does a good enough job of burying itself it doesn’t need help from hornady

 

[Doublecluck]

I’m not drinking the kool aid. I’m sending 168’s at 3150 and 175’s at a little over 3000 in my 7rm. No problem loading them at 3.415 in my ridgeline.


Fwiw in a 175 class .284 bullet the wind drift difference at 600 yards from mid 2800’s to 3000 is like 1/10th or (2ish inches) . I’m no 7prc fan boy but short barrel factory ammo it makes sense.

 

[Elky Welky]

The 6.8 western does a good enough job of burying itself it doesn’t need help from hornady

True. Even Browning has accepted defeat and are chambering their rifles in 7 PRC along with the 6.8. Which is a shame, the 6.8 Western seems like a sweet little improvement over the 270 WSM.

 

[mtmuley]

The letters PRC sell a lot of ammo and rifles. mtmuley

 

[Wind Gypsy]

 

[Forkyfinder]

The letters PRC sell a lot of ammo and rifles. mtmuley

Google found me a picture of why it sells.