7 PRC Loads

[DrMike]

That is some fine riflery. Excellent work all the way around.

 

[Blkram]

I did get that LH Fierce Carbon Rogue in 7MM PRC w/ 24" barrel.
Have just tried factory ammo so far...
Federal 170 gr Terminal Ascent: 2920 fps, ES of 59.0, SD of 22.9, 3-shot group of 0.708" (pulled my second shot a little, and third shot was cutting first - potential for better groups)
Hornady 175 gr ELD-X: 2788 fps, ES of 38.7, SD of 13.8, 3-shot group of 0.892"
Nosler 175 gr ABLR: 2888, ES of 14.0, SD of 5.8, 3-shot group of 1.049" (pulled the cold bore shot to the left, second and third shots cutting each other where they should have been - potential for better groups)

Still have to try the Federal 175 gr ELD-X ammo. Expect it to get better velocity than the Hornady Precision Hunter ammo.
If it shoots well, may use ot for paper punching and ringing steel out to 500 yards. Still not convinced that this is a bullet I want to use for hunting...better options available!
Update: Did get out to try this ammo. While it was faster than the Hornady Precision Hunter ammo, it wasn't quite up to the factory specs of 3000 fps. It averaged 2899 fps and produced a 1.185" group at 100 yards, with an ES of 19.2 and SD of 8.
(I am still trying to get used to this trigger, and have yet to take it to the gunnsmith to get it set at 3 lbs of pull to be consistent with all of my other bolt action triggers for weight of pull.)

Powders looking at to try handloading the Nosler 175 gr ABLR are MagPro, Magnum, H1000 and StaBall HD.

When I was talking to the technician at the Federal Custom Shop recently, he indicated that Federal has not yet decided if they will offer the 170 gr Terminal Ascent bullet as a component bullet. Hope they do.

 

[NYDAN]

I finished load development with my 7 PRC, found a lot more successful grouping when I dropped the powder charges and sacrificed some velocity. I ended up with 62.4 gr of H4831sc in peterson brass shooting a 168 gr Barnes LRX.
2868 FPS
ES: 28.6
SD: 9.8
First picture is a 10 shot group at 100, second is a 4 shot group at 300, just over an inch.

Excellent results

 

[Aussie Wanderer]

As Shrek would say, that’ll do donkey, that’ll do. Great shooting and that is a load that will put meat on the table every day of the week. The only problem is now when you miss, you can’t blame the rifle

 

[SeanMTactical]

Thought I'd share some load results.
Bergara HMR Carbon 24" barrel with TBAC Ultra 7

175gr ABLR
64.0gr H4831SC
Hornady brass
CCI250
2872 fps, 5.8 SD
0.35" group 3 shots. I shot a sub 1/2 MOA group right after this one with 64.3gr charge and the velocity average was the relatively the same.

168gr ABLR
65.7gr H1000
Hornady Brass
CCI250
2871 fps, 5.1 SD
1.03" group, 3 shots. There's room to play with this load, but this is the accuracy node as I worked up in charge weight.

150gr ELD-X
67.8gr H1000
Hornady Brass
CCI250
2971 fps, 19.1 SD
1.08" group, 4 shots. One I threw I called it before it even hit paper. 0.93" group without the flier. This was the accuracy node and I had a lot of upper end play room to go hotter. This load is really soft and basically 3000 fps. Not sure I want more from it really.

 

[CurrentTX]

Thought I'd share some load results.
Bergara HMR Carbon 24" barrel with TBAC Ultra 7

175gr ABLR
64.0gr H4831SC
Hornady brass
CCI250
2872 fps, 5.8 SD
0.35" group 3 shots. I shot a sub 1/2 MOA group right after this one with 64.3gr charge and the velocity average was the relatively the same.

168gr ABLR
65.7gr H1000
Hornady Brass
CCI250
2871 fps, 5.1 SD
1.03" group, 3 shots. There's room to play with this load, but this is the accuracy node as I worked up in charge weight.

150gr ELD-X
67.8gr H1000
Hornady Brass
CCI250
2971 fps, 19.1 SD
1.08" group, 4 shots. One I threw I called it before it even hit paper. 0.93" group without the flier. This was the accuracy node and I had a lot of upper end play room to go hotter. This load is really soft and basically 3000 fps. Not sure I want more from it really.

H4831sc just seems to shoot well. What ambient temperature were you shooting these groups at? I noticed that my zero shifted slightly from 55 to 98 degrees, but speed stayed consistent with a 20-shot average, although the SD and ES were a little higher with the added heat. Very dry and hot in West Texas, so load stability with variable temperatures was most essential for me. That first group is phenomenal. How does the ABLR perform on a game? I have a box, but I haven't loaded anything with it yet.

 

[wvbuckbuster]

That 175gr ABLR load looks great. That should work really well for you.

 

[JD338]

Thanks for posting this load data.
I like that load for the 175 ABLR. It's been passed on to my buddy.

JD338

 

[remingtonman_25_06]

How far off the lands are those 175 ABLRs?

 

[FOTIS]

I no longer have the Mossberg. I did buy a Ruger go wild. Shoots lights out.

 

[Blkram]

I still want to shoot like you FOTIS when I grow up!

But as I am a rifle "Toys R Us" kid, that may never happen! (Cause I shake like a leaf in a high wind, even on my best days!)

I have learned where to break the trigger, or release, in my wobble to get the smaller groups I do.
I am perfectly content to be able to produce sub-MOA groups and put meat on the table!

 

[SeanMTactical]

H4831sc just seems to shoot well. What ambient temperature were you shooting these groups at? I noticed that my zero shifted slightly from 55 to 98 degrees, but speed stayed consistent with a 20-shot average, although the SD and ES were a little higher with the added heat. Very dry and hot in West Texas, so load stability with variable temperatures was most essential for me. That first group is phenomenal. How does the ABLR perform on a game? I have a box, but I haven't loaded anything with it yet.

roughly 80-85 degrees F and at least 50% humidity. It's Missouri, we can almost swim in the air. I haven't shot an animal with an ABLR set, but it's bonded and accurate. I'm not concerned.

 

[SeanMTactical]

How far off the lands are those 175 ABLRs?

Haven't measured to be honest. I am having sub-MOA results with the Hornady ELD-Xs, so I went with the same OAL as factory. I do know that consistently over multiple calibers the Nosler bullets have all wanted to jump 0.050" ish. So I let them jump and don't get overly concerned about it until I want to refine a load I know is on the accuracy node. These are hunting rounds for me. If I'm shooting MOA and the SD isn't over 20ish it's going to be fine. I get more picky with competition loads.

 

[Hunter26]

@CurrentTX the ABLR's do great on game. Ive shot a few deer with them in the 168gr variety from my 7mm PRC and 142gr from 6.5 PRC. Pictured is the 168gr ABLR from an Alabama buck. Bullet went almost the whole length of the deer. You can check the bullet test forums on here for my posts and others for more info. I havent tried the 175gr version yet in the 7mm PRC. I really like the 168gr in the 20" barrel.

 

[CurrentTX]

@CurrentTthe ABLR's do great on game. Ive shot a few deer with them in the 168gr variety from my 7mm PRC and 142gr from 6.5 PRC. Pictured is the 168gr ABLR from an Alabama buck. Bullet went almost the whole length of the deer. You can check the bullet test forums on here for my posts and others for more info. I havent tried the 175gr version yet in the 7mm PRC. I really like the 168gr in the 20" barrel.

Fantastic retention!

 

[FOTIS]

ABLR's are awesome if you can get them to shoot. Up to date I have tried them in just about every guise and the only one that ever shot for me was the 142 in a Ruger #1 in 264 win.

 

[phil]

I’ve been told to sort them by length, and seat them close to the lands.
Haven’t tried yet, though.

 

[remingtonman_25_06]

I tried them in about 10 different rifles when they first came out and never got any of them to shoot consistently. I thought I was doing something wrong until I started reading all the reports of others about the accuracy inconsistencies.

Great LR bullet though, if your rifle will shoot them!

 

[Hunter26]

I was hesitant to try the ABLR's after using the regular AccuBond so well for so long. I'd heard of the accuracy issues with it but decided to grab a couple boxes of the blems and have been extremely happy with them as you can see from my post(s). I haven't shot any bug hole groups with them like the AB's but their accuracy has left very little to be desired. My buddy's Bergara 7mm PRC shoots Nosler's factory 175gr ABLR really well. I have some 150gr 270 ABLR's I'll try one day too. If nothing else, their on game performance has been excellent. I'll still shoot lots of "regular" Accubonds too!

 

[Blkram]

DrMike has a great load with the ABLR in his 280 Rem...unfortunately, my rifle didn't like it all! But as it shoots so well with the 140 gr AB, I haven't bothered any further. Although, I only have a couple boxes of that Federal ammo left and they don't make it anymore, and as I want to use the 140 gr in the 7mm-08, I have acquired a bunch of 150 gr BTs and ABs to develop a load for the 280.

I have tried the Nosler 175 gr LRAB in my 7MM PRC as indicated earlier in this thread, and while roughly at one MOA, it is acceptable so far, as there has been less than 40 rounds down the barrel of the Fierce as yet, and I expect it to improve as it breaks in. (So far the Federal 170 gr Terminal Ascent ammo has shot the tightest groups and has produced the best velocity in this new rifle.)

I just picked up a box of the Nosler 142 gr LRAB ammo for my 6.5 PRC and will see how the Browning likes it.