300 WinMag VS 300 PRC

[sarduy]

Hello guys,

from a ballistic perspective, the 300PRC Seems to have the edge, however I would like to hear what you guys have to say about it from a reloading perspective. I’m planning to get a new rifle next year. It will be for occasional hunting and target shooting nothing too crazy. Also something that i looked at was the 338Lapua.

For reference, my biggest caliber at the moment is the 7mm Rem Mag.

 

[AJC1]

From a reloading perspective not dealing with a belt would be a bonus. They have special dies to help size belted magnums but if I was making an initial investment I would avoid it.

 

[WrongHanded]

I think the more people loading and shooting the PRC, the better. The parent case is apparently the .375 Ruger, and I'd like you guys to make that brass more affordable for me.

 

[.308 Norma]

From a reloading perspective not dealing with a belt would be a bonus. They have special dies to help size belted magnums but if I was making an initial investment I would avoid it.

Without doing one bit of research (just going by the picture) I prefer the longer neck of the cartridge on the left. And as AJC1 pointed out, from a "reloading perspective," you have to deal with the belt on a .300 Win Mag. Dealing with the belt on a belted magnum cartridge is not all that hard to do IMO, but it does have to be dealt with.

 

[mcb]

If your after raw speed all be it somewhat bullet weight limited 300 RUM might be something to look at. RUM get you another 100 - 200 fps extra velocity, but tops out at ~220 gr where PRC has the room to push 250 gr bullets.


Left: 300 PRC; Right 300 RUM.

 

[EricBu]

Yes.....because belted magnums can suck it. I dream of a future where guns and ammo in equivalent non-belted cartridges become prevalent, brass becomes cheap and plentiful, and we finally put those belted cases to rest.

 

[dh1633pm]

Yes the belt is something to consider. I went with the Winmag. Reason is purely availability. It has been available since 1963, not going to disappear anytime soon. More components means less expense. The cool thing is that there are so many choices these days. You can get what you think works for you. For me 300 Winmag works.

 

[sarduy]

Sounds good,

after some search it seems like the 300 PRC is very scarce at this time when it comes to components. Good thing is that it can shoot the 150gr 308 bullets starting at around 3000fps and i have bullets from 150-220gr stored for my 300blk and 308win reloads, also i have Magnum primer from the 7mm

 

[Armorer 101]

I would just stick with the 7 RM you already have, there is not much it will not do and do well in north America. Plus the cartridge is capable of very good accuracy.
Frankly these whiz bang 300s are all compared to the 300 WM, I found over the years that you might be better off in the long run with the one they all try to emulate.

 

[dcloco]

I would just stick with the 7 RM you already have, there is not much it will not do and do well in north America. Plus the cartridge is capable of very good accuracy.
Frankly these whiz bang 300s are all compared to the 300 WM, I found over the years that you might be better off in the long run with the one they all try to emulate.

AGREED!

First consideration when adding any new caliber to my house, what is the cost and availability of brass and other specific components?

 

[Kaldor]

Mark and Sam After Work did a great comparison between the 2. Go check out their YouTube channel.
One thing Mark found is that the WM seems to be a little bit less pressure sensitive with really heavy bullets like 250s if my memory serves me right. Whereas the PRC seems to work a bit better with 225s. Accuracy? Its all about the rifle and the shooter.

Personally, Ive weighed all the options, and the PRC seems to be a better fit for me. First off, I dislike belted cases, as I have done some reloading with them. The belt requires a different die to resize properly once you get to that point where the base of the case starts to get fat from sizing. They also dont feed as well from a magazine. The downside of the PRC, and I think this is a temporary issue, is case availability. Lapua and ADG brass are both top notch, and when I build my PRC, Ill just buy 500 pieces of one or the other and be done with it, forever, just like I do for any bolt gun that I am trying to get alot of accuracy out of. The PRC does feed better, that is proven.

Neither is bad, just weigh your options.