7mm PRC RRB discussion

[Team4LongGun]

Post your thoughts, ideas and recommendations for this build here.

7mm PRC Rokslide Rifle Build

All- Having recently joined the esteemed ranks of Rokslide’s Mod crew, I wanted to share with the Slide how I do rifle builds. I’m going to detail the steps I take from component selection all the way through load development and the final accuracy test for a rifle. Why? Very few factory...

rokslide.com

 

[fngTony]

Excited to follow along! I agree with you on lightweight vs ultralight but do you have a ball park goal for weight?

 

[theoutdoorsman]

Looks like you already know what you want for the build. Lightweight is certainly open to interpretation these days, for a precision rifle, 8.5lb is light to some. To a mountain hunter that could be sub 7lb all in. For my 7prc I’m aiming for 7.5-8lb (23” barrel, no brake or suppressor). Enough weight to hold the rifle steady with ease, while reducing the risk of catching the scope on an up angle shot. Any heavier and they get annoying to pack around all day (coming from a kimber guy).
I’d suggest the rokslide special for optics (nxs 42mm), but for some reason most fellas feel the need for more magnification (and usually more weight/larger objectives that go with it)

 

[Unckebob]

Does you lightweight build include a plan for a suppressor or brake? For a gun that is going to be "hunted" often but shot rarely, I would eliminate any weight associated with a can. Give/take few ounces, a suppresor ads about a full pound by itself not to mention weight added by a thicker barrel. If I don't need a can, I might go with a blended muzzle brake if recoil in a lightweight rifle is a problem.

BTW - I shot my 280AI for the first time on Sunday. Preferred Barrel Blanks did a great job on the barrel. I am a very satisfied customer..

 

[Team4LongGun]

Excited to follow along! I agree with you on lightweight vs ultralight but do you have a ball park goal for weight?

I don't focus on final weight at all. I build to a specific purpose based on application and roll with what I got! I know this may be taboo on here, but saving ounces when it comes to the primary tool of hunting, I'll be stingy somewhere else.

Do I have sub 6 pound rifles that wear a damn near 3 pound scope-Yup! My focus is on performance, if the implement doesn't perform, does it matter how light it is?

 

[Team4LongGun]

Does you lightweight build include a plan for a suppressor or brake? For a gun that is going to be "hunted" often but shot rarely, I would eliminate any weight associated with a can. Give/take few ounces, a suppresor ads about a full pound by itself not to mention weight added by a thicker barrel. If I don't need a can, I might go with a blended muzzle brake if recoil in a lightweight rifle is a problem.

BTW - I shot my 280AI for the first time on Sunday. Preferred Barrel Blanks did a great job on the barrel. I am a very satisfied customer..

I do most all my hunting with a suppressor. With the XLR's folding buttstock, it makes a world of difference. Again, I'll take the weight penalty for the benefit all day.

Great to hear about Preferred, this will be my first barrel from them. I spent a good time on the phone with Marshal, who explained in detail how stringent they are with tolerances. They have gone through some changes recently which is why I chose them. Their commitment to accuracy-such as rejecting drill wander that is more than .001"/inch, and bore or groove diameter variation that is more than .0003" is something that got my attention! This is not industry standard, and clearly is not a cost saving endeavor.
They make all their barrels in house now, out of necessity to control the consistency. I'm excited to put some rounds down range.

 

[ID_Matt]

What bullet will UM be building around? I think the 180 hybrid or 180 eldm is about perfect for the 7PRC. As for trigger, I have TT's on 3 of my builds but have had to send 2 of them back after getting dust in them, resulting in hang fires. These came after 2 day matches in extremely windy/dusty conditions, so on the extreme end of things for sure. Considering a Bix 'N Andy next but who knows. As for optic, I have been a fan of the trijicon tenmile 3-18x44 for my hunting optic. Also, the new unknown munitions rings look intriguing and would make good sense to test on this gun.

 

[robby denning]

Good project Dave and welcome to the Mod staff.

 

[Kimber7man]

Nice project!
I’ve got a Nanook LA mag for my 7 PRC build too. Very smooth action!

 

[Keener22]

Could you elaborate more on the specs and material of the barrel you chose? I’ve been considering building a 7 PRC myself and this will be a great project to shorten my learning curve.

 

[Team4LongGun]

What bullet will UM be building around? I think the 180 hybrid or 180 eldm is about perfect for the 7PRC. As for trigger, I have TT's on 3 of my builds but have had to send 2 of them back after getting dust in them, resulting in hang fires. These came after 2 day matches in extremely windy/dusty conditions, so on the extreme end of things for sure. Considering a Bix 'N Andy next but who knows. As for optic, I have been a fan of the trijicon tenmile 3-18x44 for my hunting optic. Also, the new unknown munitions rings look intriguing and would make good sense to test on this gun.

I am also thinking about trying a Bix N Andy, have heard great things. I'm going to talk with Jake and see about those rings-good call!!

As far as bullet, I'd like to hear from our members on what they would like to see. I haven't had great accuracy with the ELD's in the past but won't rule them out. Hammers are my go to for accuracy, so they will be in the mix for sure.

 

[Lawnboi]

I got a bix and Andy Dakota I’m going to try. Now that the super 700 is discontinued. I like that I can take it apart and clean it/ diagnose problems. Going into a hunt with a fresh trigger seems like a good idea. It will be replacing a trigger tech in my only 700 based action.

Hopefully I’ll get a warm up so I can muster the ambition to shoot here soon.

Edit: looks like euro optic has some super 700s, unknown to me if they are discontinued but they disappeared from many websites.

 

[carter33]

Building a 7 PRC as well with Bat Vesper, HNT26 and carbon 6 20” barrel. I have used both TT and Bix n Andy. Both are great and to be honest I can’t tell a huge difference between them. I am gonna put an ATACR 4-16 on it which isn’t the lightest in the world but it checks all the boxes for me. Expecting the weight to come out a few ounces north of 8 1/2 lbs and I may still take it on my Dall hunt.

Managed to find some 175 factory eldx to get started as well.

 

[wind gypsy]

Great to hear about Preferred, this will be my first barrel from them. I spent a good time on the phone with Marshal, who explained in detail how stringent they are with tolerances. They have gone through some changes recently which is why I chose them. Their commitment to accuracy-such as rejecting drill wander that is more than .001"/inch, and bore or groove diameter variation that is more than .0003" is something that got my attention! This is not industry standard, and clearly is not a cost saving endeavor.
They make all their barrels in house now, out of necessity to control the consistency. I'm excited to put some rounds down range.

Any idea how recently these changes were made? I have read enough from unhappy customers in the past that I wouldn't consider them at any price but I'm open to reconsidering in the future if there is clear consensus things have changed.

 

[freedomhunter25]

this will be great information to follow along with the build .

 

[carter33]

I am also thinking about trying a Bix N Andy, have heard great things. I'm going to talk with Jake and see about those rings-good call!!

As far as bullet, I'd like to hear from our members on what they would like to see. I haven't had great accuracy with the ELD's in the past but won't rule them out. Hammers are my go to for accuracy, so they will be in the mix for sure.

The 180 Berger VLDs are another bullet I'd be interested in and I would guess it would be popular for the 7PRC.

 

[Keener22]

Any idea how recently these changes were made? I have read enough from unhappy customers in the past that I wouldn't consider them at any price but I'm open to reconsidering in the future if there is clear consensus things have changed.

This is why I asked more about the specifics of the barrel. I’ve heard those types of things as well, and both of my Proof barrels are shooters even with factory ammo. I don’t see a reason to go away from them at this point.

 

[264 MHC]

I have a Preferred Barrel in 280AI. I went with them because they were one of the few that would throat the chamber to a supplied dummy round, and I wanted a longer freebore. I sent them three dummy rounds with 184 Bergers at 3.65" COAL and when I got the barrel, those same bullets in the same brass hit the lands at 3.775" COAL, .125" too long (don't remember the CBTO numbers off the top of my head). I was pretty disappointed since my mags allow 3.7" max which should have been plenty. The machining of the barrel, the threading, and fluting were all excellent. I decided to just shoot it because it would have required a new barrel or a setback and reduction of length to fix along with the required lead time. Turns out it shoots very well with multiple bullets at mag length, and the Chamber matches my Hornady bushing dies very well, with minimal work on the brass. It also seems to be a very fast barrel, producing much better velocity than expected for given powder charges, but the extra freebore may contribute to that. Still wish it came like I ordered it but I'm satisfied now.

 

[chasingbulls]

Nice project!
I’ve got a Nanook LA mag for my 7 PRC build too. Very smooth action!

I was also looking at that action for my 7PRC build, most likely will go with defiance tenacity

 

[Team4LongGun]

Any idea how recently these changes were made? I have read enough from unhappy customers in the past that I wouldn't consider them at any price but I'm open to reconsidering in the future if there is clear consensus things have changed.

This is my first dealing with Preferred, and it has been great so far.
I have read on here a couple posts about a few barrels and issues, and before I ordered I asked Marshal Sip directly how many barrels have come back. The answer was 2, and they immediately made it right and provided a new barrel. Given the thousands of barrels these guys are producing, 2 is not a significant number to me.
As far as the rumor mill and or stories that seem to grow on the internet, you have been around long enough on here to know how that can be.
I pressed further about this issue, and was made aware that Preferred Barrel sells blanks to all types of customers-individuals that want to thread and chamber their own, and gunsmiths-good and bad. If a person uses a poor gunsmith, or makes a mistake on their own, it would be easy to blame the blank. In this situation, they have had several barrels come back after being butchered by a smith. I was told they won’t name names and still helped make it right.
As far as the change I referenced in my initial posting, it was how they began making all their own blanks in house. This was because consistency was not there, even from the same sources. They now control every variable in the process and it has exploded their business. They are turning out way more barrels than I had thought, and to and for big names in the industry.
If you or anyone has any questions or concerns, I encourage you to call them. I was inundated with so much technical info that it went well past my end user/shooter brain.
These guys are machinist at heart, and don’t have any biased on caliber, action or manufacturer. I like that. However, I reserve final judgement on accuracy.