Are new calibers 7mmPRC,300PRC,the WSMs practical,realistic option for hunting??

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big bear

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While at the range the other day checking the zero on my 15 year old Remington AWR in 300 in Mag (still spot on as usual). A nice guy was sighting in his very nice new rifle in 7mmPRC.. He had one boxof ammo, cost him $90.He couldn't get brass and he wanted to reload for his rifle with a premium bullet.So he was shooting ammo at almost $5 a pop to get brass so he could reload with a bullet he preferred.To my old guy mind having an older common cartridge seems more practical.

I have seen a couple of nice used rifles in 300WSM ( I was looking for a Finnlight 75 in 300winMag to replace the one i sold to buy an expensive scope), BUT I couldn't find any 300WSM brass in Canada. I can even get Lapua 300WinMag brass.

So what is the PRACTICAL utility of some of these new calibers for use as a hunting tool. I understand the use appeal of uncommon calibers in some settings. A couple of benchrest guys I shoot with shoot calibres I've never heard of but they buy their brass/bullets in large batches 500 or more for their special purposes.

Not hating on the "modern" new calibers but with our new reality of supply chain issues are they really a practical option??
 
It seems everything is harder to get these days, it looks like “premium” factory ammo is all $90-200 a box, fed premium 300win mag was $155 a box when I saw some the other day. Its all pretty $$!. I put premium in quotes as I don’t think theres much premium about it.. but anyways..
I have some hard to get things myself, 26 and 33N, couple short mags, 6 dasher. 6ppc. Only way it works for me is to watch all year and pickup supplies when they are available. If I was just starting out right now it would be tough!

I don’t know if anything is a practical option for a person just starting out, hard to find what you want and when you do its very $$.
 
Are new calibers 7mmPRC,300PRC,the WSMs practical,realistic option for hunting??

I'll give my perspective from an old timer if you will and answer this with a question
If supplies / components are low and not accessible at best why would big companies like Federal , Winchester , Norma , Hornady etc
even think about any PRC"s ?
What would you do if you owned these companies and the demand exceeds supply
7Rm or 7PRC
300WM or 300PRC
and so on . to me the writing is on the wall
 
Like everything else in hunting/shooting, It depends on the person. For me, sure it’s practical. I’ve got 500 pc brass each of 375 Ruger, 300 WSM, 300 PRC and about 300 pc 6.5 PRC.

So for me, loading for one of these cartridges isn’t any less practical than loading a 300 Winchester or .270

Some guys scramble to buy a box of ammo and sight in a few days prior to hunting season. For them the practical choice is .308 or similar
 
Well if your 300 win mag is still serving you well there is no reason to change, unless you want to change……..if a guy is buying his first 7mm or 300 I highly recommend either of the PRC cartridges, they are an excellent option as the 7 PRC does everything a 7 Rem Mag does and more or a 300 PRC does everything a 300 win mag does and more, best of both worlds really,

I used to love the 7mm Rem Mag, 7mm Wby and 300 Wby shot them for years so I know the practical differences, for hunting distances inside of 3 or 400 yards there is no difference but if you want to shoot farther and punch paper out to 1200 yards your good to go with off the shelf ammo in the PRC cartridges, on top of that they are a dream to hand load for.

To make a simple comparison drive a 1962 ford 4x4 then go drive a 2023 Ford 4x4, advancements in cartridge design is no different than vehicles, simply a better design and more efficient, not to say most guys don’t love a classic vehicle !!!!
 
Weatherby Fan said:
Well if your 300 win mag is still serving you well there is no reason to change, unless you want to change……..if a guy is buying his first 7mm or 300 I highly recommend either of the PRC cartridges, they are an excellent option as the 7 PRC does everything a 7 Rem Mag does and more or a 300 PRC does everything a 300 win mag does and more, best of both worlds really,

I used to love the 7mm Rem Mag, 7mm Wby and 300 Wby shot them for years so I know the practical differences, for hunting distances inside of 3 or 400 yards there is no difference but if you want to shoot farther and punch paper out to 1200 yards your good to go with off the shelf ammo in the PRC cartridges, on top of that they are a dream to hand load for.

To make a simple comparison drive a 1962 ford 4x4 then go drive a 2023 Ford 4x4, advancements in cartridge design is no different than vehicles, simply a better design and more efficient, not to say most guys don’t love a classic vehicle !!!!
Click to expand...

so there is a diff or maybe not in hunting conditions ... Am asking what benefit to the PRC in hunting 400 yards ?
I don't know , or like you said None
 
big bear said:
While at the range the other day checking the zero on my 15 year old Remington AWR in 300 in Mag (still spot on as usual). A nice guy was sighting in his very nice new rifle in 7mmPRC.. He had one boxof ammo, cost him $90.He couldn't get brass and he wanted to reload for his rifle with a premium bullet.So he was shooting ammo at almost $5 a pop to get brass so he could reload with a bullet he preferred.To my old guy mind having an older common cartridge seems more practical.

I have seen a couple of nice used rifles in 300WSM ( I was looking for a Finnlight 75 in 300winMag to replace the one i sold to buy an expensive scope), BUT I couldn't find any 300WSM brass in Canada. I can even get Lapua 300WinMag brass.

So what is the PRACTICAL utility of some of these new calibers for use as a hunting tool. I understand the use appeal of uncommon calibers in some settings. A couple of benchrest guys I shoot with shoot calibres I've never heard of but they buy their brass/bullets in large batches 500 or more for their special purposes.

Not hating on the "modern" new calibers but with our new reality of supply chain issues are they really a practical option??
Click to expand...

The much-vaunted 7mmPRC™️ has the same case capacity as the dearly departed, 7mmWSM(Case Capacities). If you had a 7mmWSM in a longer than short action with a fast twist, use the same bullets, you could theoretically get similar performance to the new must-have 7mmPRC™️ from old and forgotten and ridiculed chambering.
 
Weatherby Fan said:
Well if your 300 win mag is still serving you well there is no reason to change, unless you want to change……..if a guy is buying his first 7mm or 300 I highly recommend either of the PRC cartridges, they are an excellent option as the 7 PRC does everything a 7 Rem Mag does and more or a 300 PRC does everything a 300 win mag does and more, best of both worlds really,

I used to love the 7mm Rem Mag, 7mm Wby and 300 Wby shot them for years so I know the practical differences, for hunting distances inside of 3 or 400 yards there is no difference but if you want to shoot farther and punch paper out to 1200 yards your good to go with off the shelf ammo in the PRC cartridges, on top of that they are a dream to hand load for.

To make a simple comparison drive a 1962 ford 4x4 then go drive a 2023 Ford 4x4, advancements in cartridge design is no different than vehicles, simply a better design and more efficient, not to say most guys don’t love a classic vehicle !!!!
Click to expand...

That's how I see it too.

If you already have one or the other, you're good to go. Not sure how having more capability hurts with the PRCs. But if that doesn't interest you at all, cool.
 
I hafta remember that most of you re-load where as I don't
So my thoughts are what ammo on the shelf is more likely
7PRC or 7RM
300PRC or 30-06 , 308
Etc
Many new cartridges have gone way of the do-do bird ,
Better or not than the old 62 ford ...not hard to improve on that
I'm a chevy guy
LOL
 
Well… many of us shoot wildcats with brass you have to form, and some of us shoot home cast bullets. And some of us have properly obscure chamberings, like .318 Westley Richards, .41 Colt, or .505 Gibbs.

So… I’d say yes, production modern flavor of the month chamberings are practical. The question is only if it’s practical for you, personally I’m becoming less and less about the hobby, more and more about where it takes me in life. The chambering isn’t important in that balance, all that matters is you have a small bore, and a .375.
 
It depends I guess. With a little patience I was able to pretty easily get enough lot-matched 7PRC components to last a very long time. Was it expensive? Sure. Had I purchased a 300 win mag today instead, I'd be buying the same quality components that would cost more or less the same as 7PRC. Same goes for "premium" ammo you buy today. 300 win mag, 6.5/7/300 PRC, 30-06, etc. It's all expensive. Even just basic power-point 300 win mag is $70 a box on the local shelves. These new cartridges don't have many "non-premium" options for factory ammo yet, so that's a consideration. This is all assuming you're buying everything today. Comparing to 300 win mag from 15 years ago is a different story really.

I have and use and like old common cartridges. But I'm looking forward to using the 7PRC this fall and don't regret the purchase one bit. For what it's worth, I was shooting 0.35MOA groups this morning with factory 7PRC ammo and no tuning or effort at all really. It certainly impressed me. You could probably make the argument that for typical hunting distances it doesn't matter a whole lot, but impressive nonetheless.
 
Would I be wrong in assuming that your chamber throat dimensions match factory ammo quite a bit closer than say, something with a very wide variety of bullets commercially loaded for it?
 
Jon87 said:
It depends I guess. With a little patience I was able to pretty easily get enough lot-matched 7PRC components to last a very long time. Was it expensive? Sure. Had I purchased a 300 win mag today instead, I'd be buying the same quality components that would cost more or less the same as 7PRC. Same goes for "premium" ammo you buy today. 300 win mag, 6.5/7/300 PRC, 30-06, etc. It's all expensive. Even just basic power-point 300 win mag is $70 a box on the local shelves. These new cartridges don't have many "non-premium" options for factory ammo yet, so that's a consideration. This is all assuming you're buying everything today. Comparing to 300 win mag from 15 years ago is a different story really.

I have and use and like old common cartridges. But I'm looking forward to using the 7PRC this fall and don't regret the purchase one bit. For what it's worth, I was shooting 0.35MOA groups this morning with factory 7PRC ammo and no tuning or effort at all really. It certainly impressed me. You could probably make the argument that for typical hunting distances it doesn't matter a whole lot, but impressive nonetheless.
Click to expand...

Nice , very nice .. I just wanted to highlight factory ammo
when you hit the match ammo and rifle it can't be beat
IMO
 
Joel said:
Would I be wrong in assuming that your chamber throat dimensions match factory ammo quite a bit closer than say, something with a very wide variety of bullets commercially loaded for it?
Click to expand...

Absolutely. That's the formula for all these new cartridges. Tighter tolerances, and able to accommodate long, high BC bullets.
 
Spruster said:
I hafta remember that most of you re-load where as I don't
So my thoughts are what ammo on the shelf is more likely
7PRC or 7RM
300PRC or 30-06 , 308
Etc
Many new cartridges have gone way of the do-do bird ,
Better or not than the old 62 ford ...not hard to improve on that
I'm a chevy guy
LOL
Click to expand...

What I see in the local shops tells me that 7 RM, 30-06, 308 and 300 WM are much more common than the other cartridges named. - dan
 
Spruster said:
Nice , very nice .. I just wanted to highlight factory ammo
when you hit the match ammo and rifle it can't be beat
IMO
Click to expand...

This is actually the first time I've had a rifle and factory ammo combo that left me thinking I probably can't improve much by handloading. That said, the factory stuff I'm shooting is all from the same lot number so I'm not sure how it would do with a different batch. I'm getting an ES of 17fps and SD of 8fps with this stuff so it seems pretty solid all around. I'm still going to handload for this once the factory stuff is gone because I have the components and enjoy doing it though, just not really convinced yet that it's necessary.
 
Jon87 said:
This is actually the first time I've had a rifle and factory ammo combo that left me thinking I probably can't improve much by handloading. That said, the factory stuff I'm shooting is all from the same lot number so I'm not sure how it would do with a different batch. I'm getting an ES of 17fps and SD of 8fps with this stuff so it seems pretty solid all around. I'm still going to handload for this once the factory stuff is gone because I have the components and enjoy doing it though, just not really convinced yet that it's necessary.
Click to expand...

Lot number is everything ,
I have spent a few bucks testing my 280AI but found the sweet one "lot" and am set for a long time
it's kinda like reloading but at 5.00 a pop
it's all good
If not too late I would buy all avail in that lot ..
I mentioned this before when you buy factory, shoot fast and buy fast if good

sounds like u got it figured
 
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Jon87 said:
Absolutely. That's the formula for all these new cartridges. Tighter tolerances, and able to accommodate long, high BC bullets.
Click to expand...

Thanks! Wanted confirmation there...I know its part of the reason that a 6.5mm shoots real well, or that you can use a specific reamer for a specific factory cartridge when building a barrel etc.


That definitely removes one variable that a handloader is maximizing....doesn't mean it applies to other rifles/chambers at all lol.
 
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