Hornady knows how to design and promote new cartridges. Over the past two decades cartridges such as the 6.5 Creedmoor, 6mm ARC, 6.5 PRC, .300 PRC and others don’t lay claims on the fastest, nor most powerful cartridges in a like bore diameter. What Hornady excels in is finding the sweet spot for a particular caliber and optimizing case design to squeeze every last bit of consistent velocity from a new cartridge.
And Hornady has hit another new sweet spot with the 7mm PRC (Precision Rifle Cartridge) that was officially announced to the world at the NASGW Expo October 26. A quick review of the SAAMI data released on this new cartridge June 7, 2022 reveals the following:
The 7mm PRC is designed for long-range hunting owing to its ability to launch heavy-for-caliber, high ballistic coefficient bullets from a long-action centerfire rifle. Rifles firing 180-grain bullets at approximately 2,950 fps should prove to excel at hammering elk-sized game at longer ranges.
Here’s a few stats on the 7mm PRC:
- Bullet Diameter: .284
- COL: 3.340
- Case Length: 2.280
- Case Head: .532
- Case Shoulder: 30 degree shoulder angle
- Twist Rate: 1:8
- Muzzle Velocity: +/- 3,000 fps
- SAAMI Max Pressure: 65,000 MAP
By all measurements, this new cartridge is just the latest non-belted magnum. One of the benefits of the 7mm PRC is its ability to fit a large number of existing magnum rifles with a simple barrel swap. If you’ve got an old .264 Winchester Magnum, 7mm Remington magnum or .300 Winchester Magnum taking up space in your gun safe, they’re all candidates for a new 7mm PRC barrel.
Kick much?
How does the 7mm PRC stack up recoil-wise to other .284-caliber cartridges? A 10-pound 7mm PRC rifle firing a 175-grain ELD-X generates 23.80 ft/lbs of recoil. By comparison, a 7mm Rem Mag firing a 162-grain ELD-X (Hornady factory, mind you) will generate 20.85 ft/lbs of kick. Stepping it up a notch, a 7mm STW firing a 162-grain ELD-X generates 25.21 ft/lbs of recoil. Even more stout, a 28 Nosler firing the same 162-grain bullet will produce 29.84 ft/lbs of free recoil from that same 10-pound rifle.
New factory loads
The first loads Hornady will release in 7mm PRC is a 175-grain ELD-X in their Precision Hunter series, a 160-grain CX Outfitter round and a 180-grain ELD Match load.
First Shots
Also serving as the Editor of Athlon Outdoors’ Complete Reloading for the past several years has afforded me the opportunity to shoot several new rifles and cartridges before they’re available to the public. I agreed to keep the 7mm PRC under wraps until Hornady launched it at NASGW, but I’ve been loading shooting this cartridge since last summer.
The kind folks at Alterra Arms loaned me their carbon-wrapped-barreled test rifle chambered for the new cartridge for a couple of weeks of load testing.
Starting with 139-grain bullets and finishing with 195-grain pills, I was able to do ladder tests with nine different powders launching five different bullets. Two rounds with each load were fired across a chronograph to capture velocity data. Subsequent loads were increased 0.3 grains until reaching max. My primary goal was to find stable velocity nodes, so I pushed various bullets faster until they exhibited visible pressure signs. With the short amount of time I had the Alterra Arms rifle for testing, I saved accuracy testing for a later project.
DISCLAIMER: Any load data represented on this website is a result of data collected from specific rifles. Every rifle will produce varying velocity and pressure, so keep that in mind when creating your own loads. Always drop back at least 10% below cited loads when creating loads for a new rifle. At the least, it will save wear on your rifle, and at the worst it’ll save you from experiencing a catastrophic failure that could lead to injury or death. Keep in mind that powder temperature matters, too, when loading. Some powders are more temperature sensitive than others. For example, a temperature-sensitive powder loaded and tested at 60 degrees can be over-pressure at 90 degrees.
Powders
- H4350
- IMR 4831
- IMR 4831 SC
- RL-22
- RL-23
- RL-25
- RL-26
- Viht N-560
- H1000
Bullets
- Hornady 139-grain SST
- Hornady 150-grain GMX
- Hornady 162-grain BTSP
- Berger 180-grain VLD Hunting
- Berger 195-grain EOL
Starting with the 139-grain Hornady SST, I found that I could reach 3,300 fps with IMR 4831, RL-22, RL-23, RL-25, RL-26 and Viht N-560. RL-26 came out on top, pushing the 139-grainer to 3,350 fps.
Stepping up to Hornady’s 150-grain GMX, four powders passed 3,150 before showing pressure. RL-22, Viht N-560, RL-25 and RL-26 were top performers.
Five powders, RL-22, Viht N-560, RL-25, RL-26 and H1000, made it just beyond 3,100 fps before topping out with the Hornady 162-grain BTSP. I think that RL-26 stepped out of the crowd and holds the most promise for this weight bullet.
A bullet weighing 180 grains is the ideal for the 7mm PRC as set forth in SAAMI data. I had some 180-grain Berger VLD Hunting bullets on hand, so that’s what I tested. RL-25 and RL-26 passed 2,900 fps by a wide margin, while H1000 and IMR 4831SC were able to just reach 2,900 fps before topping out. Loading to an overall length of 3.310 inches atop 67.1 grains of RL-26 drove this bullet to a stable velocity node of 2,975 fps.
The heaviest bullet in this test was the Berger 195-grain EOL, posting a 0.775 G1 BC. Not surprisingly, powders that have performed well in the 6.5 PRC also exhibit promise in the 7mm PRC. RL-25, RL-26, Viht N-560 and H1000 were all able to push this bullet past 2,825 fps before showing pressure.
How’s it compare?
The 7mm PRC shares quite a bit of territory with the 7mm Rem Mag, Gunwerks 7 LRM and 28 Nosler as an elk cartridge. This new PRC is intended to handle heavier, high-BC bullets than the 7mm Rem Mag. It might be thought of similarly to the comparison of the 300 Win Mag and the 300 WSM.
Several jump on the 7mm PRC train
Since the new cartridge was announced October 26th, Savage, Mossberg and Christensen Arms have come out waving the 7mm PRC flag. Ruger is playing their cards close to the vest, but I know that their Hawkeye Hunter and possibly more will soon see the light of day. I’ll be hunting with a Ruger this fall.
Check back periodically, since I’ll be adding new information on loads that work in the Ruger and others.
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