7mm PRC Build

[MT_Wyatt]

I just ordered 2 boxes
From Midway.
I did find brass tp pre order as well so I grabbed 50 of those
All Hornady
We'll see what gets here first.
I have 1 die here and the other due next week



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I got a couple boxes of eldx locally last night, up to 6 of those and 2 match. Hoping CX comes soon. My two boxes of eldx from Midway are due here Friday.

 

[mfllood3800]

I got a couple boxes of eldx locally last night, up to 6 of those and 2 match. Hoping CX comes soon. My two boxes of eldx from Midway are due here Friday.

Thats awesome. I have 4 boxes here today, 4 tomorrow and 4 on Mon all ELDX 175. I have b/o from Midway with no ship notice yet, but hopefully soon. I promised some of these to my smith so he can test the rifles he builds before sending them out. His Pre order boxes from Hornady have not shipped yet. He has first rifle built and ready to shoot. And it's single digits here in the morning....lol Oh well, the excitement will keep the blood flowing.

 

[mfllood3800]

Here they come. I now have everything needed to shoot/reload the 7 PRC. Testing w/o can will start Sat if weather holds. 4 more boxes due today, and then again on Monday. I hear big lots have shipped out as well.

 

[mfllood3800]

Shot the 7PRC today to get measurements and such.
It definitely is gonna be a shooter.
The close up of the target has the last 3 shots in a ragged straight line

 

[Mike D Texas]

What would those "multiple reasons" be?
PRC clickers were "mostly" ADG or other thicker type brass infringing on the tight precision chamber specs, certain actions built out of material that compromised the brass more creating premature clickers, Max powder loads, or 2x or 3x fired not fully sizing down to the web or base. Yet SAC modular dies some what help with that concern. I emailed them last night with a response they will have a modular die for the new PRC around March. I do not expect to have 2 firings on my cases by then let alone 3 due to weather and work.. I think I will have 130 cases in hand shortly. The brass will be Hornady, as it's all I can get, and most folks had little to no issues with clickers on the softer Hornady brass in the 6.5 PRC.
On my 2- 6.5PRC's I got clickers in my defiance but not my bergara, both with Lapua, also near 3rd powder node but still had 2 above it, but I decided to stay a full grain+ off pressure and still reached my 1000 yard goal for KE.
I did take my rifle to my smith who ran a new reamer thru it when I got my first clickers consistently. I honestly don't know who's reamer it was. It helped slightly, but reducing my OCW is what gave me the best results IMO but still had some heavy bolts. But again my Bergara had no clickers at all. I have 300 rounds thru it, blew out an extractor , replaced it and it has sat.
But even with all this said, this clicker is the only issue I can foresee, but still seems manageable.
Just curious what are these "multiple reasons"...

Clicker issues
Lack of quality brass (I consider Lapua, ADG & Peterson quality)
Lack of quality dies


It will be on ok cartridge (like all of the other CM/PRC cartridges) once the market catches up, but really on a custom build you can do the same thing with a 7mag with plenty of “stuff” available right now. It will likely be a year before the brass makers introduces new offering and it will be impossible to find when they do.

For the guy that’s wants a factory rifle with good factory ammo the CM/PRC cartridges make sense. For the custom rifle I don’t see any advantage.


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[Gila]

Dies showed up today.
Barrel is being chambered and special attention the rear section where PRC has issues is to be addressed. Will follow up on resolution and effect.View attachment 473915

Those dies aren’t going to do you much good. You should return them and get the Hornady Match dies. Or bone up for the Redding Competition dies. You will need a micro on the seating die. You will also need the ELD-X seating stem. You will need a full re-sizing die and be able to adjust neck tension. Hornady Match dies use a bushing to adjust neck tension, depending on the neck thickness of your brass. If you don’t adjust for neck tension on the heavy low drag bullets, your pressures will be all over the place, so will your groups. If you don’t already have one, you will need a ball micrometer to check neck wall thickness which determines which bushing you will need to use. I am a newbie reloader (rifle anyway) but I was quick to listen to advice from the old timers. I use Hornady Match dies.

 

[mfllood3800]

Those dies aren’t going to do you much good. You should return them and get the Hornady Match dies. Or bone up for the Redding Competition dies. You will need a micro on the seating die. You will also need the ELD-X seating stem. You will need a full re-sizing die and be able to adjust neck tension. Hornady Match dies use a bushing to adjust neck tension, depending on the neck thickness of your brass. If you don’t adjust for neck tension on the heavy low drag bullets, your pressures will be all over the place, so will your groups. If you don’t already have one, you will need a ball micrometer to check neck wall thickness which determines which bushing you will need to use. I am a newbie reloader (rifle anyway) but I was quick to listen to advice from the old timers. I use Hornady Match dies.

Yes I am aware these dies arent the greatest, and they were only intended to be used to get me going for testing. These were like $45 and did the job so I could start shooting. I have Modular dies ordered from SAC with full neck bushing on order. I won't order redding dies for a PRC again as it wont size the entire die at the base, which causes clicker issue to be magnified. I have the Zero press and use various size shell holder plates to shove case as high into the die as possible and it's still not enough. I love the redding dies for other stuff just not PRC. Hornady dies are crap, like most Hornady reloading equipment. If you are a serious reloader, move on from Hornady into real quality equipment.
I use a mandrel to set neck tension, so even with the cheap hornday die, I can set the neck exactly how I prefer..

I have gone thru boxes already, reloaded and shot more. Match grade dies are showing up every where. Hornady 175 eldx is showing up every where.

Anyway loving the 7 PRC. You all should get going on yours. Everything is out there other than the good brass. But this thing is already shooting under .5 MOA so..........

 

[mfllood3800]

Clicker issues
Lack of quality brass (I consider Lapua, ADG & Peterson quality)
Lack of quality dies


It will be on ok cartridge (like all of the other CM/PRC cartridges) once the market catches up, but really on a custom build you can do the same thing with a 7mag with plenty of “stuff” available right now. It will likely be a year before the brass makers introduces new offering and it will be impossible to find when they do.

For the guy that’s wants a factory rifle with good factory ammo the CM/PRC cartridges make sense. For the custom rifle I don’t see any advantage.


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The only valid point you have is quality brass, and that is ok. This rifle already shoots under .5 moa.

Dies are already hitting the vendors from SAC to Redding (if you like Redding). I really doubt it will be a year before brass comes out. This rifle has taken off and many companies are already selling it. Everybody thought this launch would be like 6.8 Western. But when a bullet company releases a caliber VS a rifle company, things move much faster.
Why use a custom rifle for PRC, cause I can- it's money I worked hard for and aint ashamed to have it. If you don't want one thats great for you, You do you. My rifle aint custom anyway. It's assembled with OTC components. It's actually just an assembled rifle, far from custom. And it's already eating ammo.

 

[Gila]

Clicker issues
Lack of quality brass (I consider Lapua, ADG & Peterson quality)
Lack of quality dies


It will be on ok cartridge (like all of the other CM/PRC cartridges) once the market catches up, but really on a custom build you can do the same thing with a 7mag with plenty of “stuff” available right now. It will likely be a year before the brass makers introduces new offering and it will be impossible to find when they do.

For the guy that’s wants a factory rifle with good factory ammo the CM/PRC cartridges make sense. For the custom rifle I don’t see any advantage.


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Yes I am aware these dies arent the greatest, and they were only intended to be used to get me going for testing. These were like $45 and did the job so I could start shooting. I have Modular dies ordered from SAC with full neck bushing on order. I won't order redding dies for a PRC again as it wont size the entire die at the base, which causes clicker issue to be magnified. I have the Zero press and use various size shell holder plates to shove case as high into the die as possible and it's still not enough. I love the redding dies for other stuff just not PRC. Hornady dies are crap, like most Hornady reloading equipment. If you are a serious reloader, move on from Hornady into real quality equipment.
I use a mandrel to set neck tension, so even with the cheap hornday die, I can set the neck exactly how I prefer..

I have gone thru boxes already, reloaded and shot more. Match grade dies are showing up every where. Hornady 175 eldx is showing up every where.

Anyway loving the 7 PRC. You all should get going on yours. Everything is out there other than the good brass. But this thing is already shooting under .5 MOA so..........

I don’t have much use for a 7 PRC. There are other 7s out there that are very well suited to my type of hunting and are just as ballistically capable as the PRC or very close. I am not one that needs to jump on the latest new cartridge fad either. I would rather shoot a cartridge that has been proven over time. I prefer to let someone else ring out the bugs. I am enjoying using my crap because it gets the job done and quite well I may say. Have fun with your build and good luck!

 

[mfllood3800]

I don’t have much use for a 7 PRC. There are other 7s out there that are very well suited to my type of hunting and are just as ballistically capable as the PRC or very close. I am not one that needs to jump on the latest new cartridge fad either. I would rather shoot a cartridge that has been proven over time. I prefer to let someone else ring out the bugs. I am enjoying using my crap because it gets the job done and quite well I may say. Have fun with your build and good luck!

Thank you

 

[mfllood3800]

People acting like the 7PRC needs to be proven. lol
What exactly does?
The 7mm bullet? Nope that is already proven and loved more than any bullet out there for distance and drift.
Being a Long Action? Nope. The fact that it is eliminates the potential issues presented to other 7mm in utilizing the newer higher BC bullets in small SA magazines as far as bullet seat allowance.
Barrel life? Nope. Unlike the 28 Nosler, the barrel life in this will be much better.
Barrel harmonics, staying on shot for a follow up? Nope, again unlike the 28N this is designed to allow that to be doable-and it is.
Parts availability? Nope.
I already had 175 ELDX and Berger 180's in 284. I already had 215 M primers. I already had H1000, Retumbo, 4831,8133,N570. What I did not have were 7PRC cases. It took me 2 weeks after I decided to get this rifle to have 240 cases.
Soon enough I will have the cases of my choice so I can take my already .5 MOA down to .49 MOA.
Good quality Dies? I had Hornady die set before I had my first loaded rounds. Redding has already released their version of the 7PRC.
Good reamers? JGS already has both the standard and the AW modded reamers for the PRC line out.

So other than just being a keyboard hater, what are the real reasons to be so against the 7PRC? The 7PRC clearly checks boxes the other 7's just can't. Not saying those 7's aren't good but they just can't check the boxes. This is a 7mm, LA, Stay on target, Barrel conscience, non wildcat, over the counter friendly, modern High BC design function, with so many rifle manufacturers, action builders, reamers, die manufacturers jumping on board already, what is not to like?

 

[Gila]

I don’t think anyone hates it. Nor does anyone think it isn’t a great 7 cartridge. Just that there are other 7s out there that can certainly hold their own against the PRC. If a person is looking for a 7 the PRC is another choice and looks to be a promising one. BUT one of it’s “cons“ if you will, is that it is a “long” cartridge. If you hand-load and need to seat the “heavies” out past 3.34” which is SAMMI COAL, the cartridge won’t fit in some DBMs. The Tikka being one of them. Some actions aren’t necessarily true “long” actions either. The Tikka being one of them. But then, you are already having “clicker” problems with the 6.5 so is there going to be a problem with the 7 PRC reamers? That is a question that has been raised here. There could be other bugs but until people shoot enough and handload enough, these bugs if there are any, remain unknown.

 

[WyoElkHntr]

More intrigued I get about this round as I research more. Good thread

 

[mfllood3800]

I don’t think anyone hates it. Nor does anyone think it isn’t a great 7 cartridge. Just that there are other 7s out there that can certainly hold their own against the PRC. If a person is looking for a 7 the PRC is another choice and looks to be a promising one. BUT one of it’s “cons“ if you will, is that it is a “long” cartridge. If you hand-load and need to seat the “heavies” out past 3.34” which is SAMMI COAL, the cartridge won’t fit in some DBMs. The Tikka being one of them. Some actions aren’t necessarily true “long” actions either. The Tikka being one of them. But then, you are already having “clicker” problems with the 6.5 so is there going to be a problem with the 7 PRC reamers? That is a question that has been raised here. There could be other bugs but until people shoot enough and handload enough, these bugs if there are any, remain unknown.

Yea the clickers are reloaded ammo problem only. Honestly, the Hornady 175 ELDX shoot so dang good, there isn't a reason to reload unless you want more speed or better SD. But even with a terrible SD of 40 with factory loads it grouped .5 MOA. I don't shoot tikka so don't know about their issues, but those are theirs not the 7prc's, as it relates to tikka not 7prc across the board. Not sure why you would want to put tikkas problems on the 7prc.? I see no other issues. It isn't rocket science or new technology. We're talking good barrel life, recoil management, utilizing COAL high BC bullets in LA capacity, great distance/drift, heavy bullet for deer/elk both, great KE at 1000 yards, and so on. As stated there is 1 issue- clickers. And that is for handloaders , but not with the AW2 reamer. The other reasons ya'll keep trying to place on the 7prc, are not the 7prc's problem, its other manufacturers problems?

 

[mfllood3800]

More intrigued I get about this round as I research more. Good thread

For sure- wade thru the mud and you can see the 7prc checks the boxes more than the other 7's. I talked with both SAC and Bullet Central and both said the same thing- March/April for their die sets to be available. What is super surprising is how little the one I shot kicked. recoil management was as easy as the 6.5 prc I have. Could've been the Brake it had too. Either way I was pleasantly surprised by that. I now have 12 boxes of 175 eldx in house and 4 more due Fri. They come up available every 2 days it seems.

 

[Archer86]

I don’t think anyone hates it. Nor does anyone think it isn’t a great 7 cartridge. Just that there are other 7s out there that can certainly hold their own against the PRC. If a person is looking for a 7 the PRC is another choice and looks to be a promising one. BUT one of it’s “cons“ if you will, is that it is a “long” cartridge. If you hand-load and need to seat the “heavies” out past 3.34” which is SAMMI COAL, the cartridge won’t fit in some DBMs. The Tikka being one of them. Some actions aren’t necessarily true “long” actions either. The Tikka being one of them. But then, you are already having “clicker” problems with the 6.5 so is there going to be a problem with the 7 PRC reamers? That is a question that has been raised here. There could be other bugs but until people shoot enough and handload enough, these bugs if there are any, remain unknown.

If I am not mistaken. I belive the prc rounds are built around heavy for caliber bullets so 7 prc would probably be a perfect caliber to build on a tikka action as most the heavies would fit only one that might be a issue is the 195 berger.
So I wouldn't really consider that a con.

 

[Gila]

If I am not mistaken. I belive the prc rounds are built around heavy for caliber bullets so 7 prc would probably be a perfect caliber to build on a tikka action as most the heavies would fit only one that might be a issue is the 195 berger.
So I wouldn't really consider that a con.

It isn’t a Tikka problem. Quite a few production hunting rifles that use a DBM have the same COAL issue with long cartridge handloads. If all you are going to shoot is factory ammo, then a 3.34” COAL will fit the Tikka (and other production rifles) just fine. But if you are going to handload to chase accuracy nodes then COAL will be between 3.4 and 3.6” For the 7 PRC:

7MM PRC Cartridge Guide - Long Range Only

DISCLAIMER: This is a guide. Everything listed within is for information purposes only. All loads should be worked up carefully. We have seen loads that require as much as two grains of charge weight adjustment from one powder lot to another. We have seen as much as five grains of powder...

www.longrangeonly.com

 

[WTSN]

That’s gonna be one bad dude of a rifle!

 

[mfllood3800]

That’s gonna be one bad dude of a rifle!

yep, I already took the prototype out and after walking the scope in shot 3 into less than .5 moa. It was actually a .3 with less than 20 shots down the barrel. With the XLR chassis and Mag system I forsee no issues with my set as some are suggestion. This will be a sweet all around carry.

 

[ID_Matt]

Those dies aren’t going to do you much good. You should return them and get the Hornady Match dies. Or bone up for the Redding Competition dies. You will need a micro on the seating die. You will also need the ELD-X seating stem. You will need a full re-sizing die and be able to adjust neck tension. Hornady Match dies use a bushing to adjust neck tension, depending on the neck thickness of your brass. If you don’t adjust for neck tension on the heavy low drag bullets, your pressures will be all over the place, so will your groups. If you don’t already have one, you will need a ball micrometer to check neck wall thickness which determines which bushing you will need to use. I am a newbie reloader (rifle anyway) but I was quick to listen to advice from the old timers. I use Hornady Match dies.

You don't need a ball micrometer to determine which neck bushing you need.