Testing 7mm PRC Brass Small sample size part two.

If you have not read my first article on the first half of this test, go back and check that out. It will give you more data on this testing. For this testing, I used 15 pieces of five timed-fired brass. All fired out of Kelbly Nanook Carbon 26" 1:8 twist Preferred barrel and Athlon Ares ETR UHD 4.5-30x56 optic on top with Nightforce X-Treme Duty 34mm Ultralite Rings. Brass for this test is ADG, Hornady, and Weatherby. Components used were Hornady 175 grain ELD-X, Federal large Rifle 210 primers, and VihtaVuori N570. All 45 rounds were loaded the same way

, and the only thing that differed was the brass being used

Loading step processes.

1.   Annealing

2.   Hornady full-length size die with expander ball out

3.   Size case month with a Cortina Precision expander mandrel dies and coated expander mandrels .282 size

4.   Deburr/Chamfer

5.   Hand primed with Frankfordarsenal to have primers .006 below flush.

6.   Throw powder with RCBS Match Master on match mode

7.   Seated the bullets with Hornady adjust seating die and Short action custom Nexus Press.

All velocity were taken by Garmin Xero C1 Pro Chronograph.

For this test, the barrel was scrubbed to bare metal so there was no carbon ring or copper in it, and it was inspected with a bore scope. Then, the barrel was fired 15 shots with the ADG brass. The barrel was cleaned again to achieve as close to the same test conditions across the board for all three different types of brass. The brass case capacity for each brass type is listed.

ADG 81.1 grains of water on 5th time fired.

Hornady 82.9 grains of water on 5th time fired.

Weatherby 81.9 grains of water on 5th time fired.

As you can see, there was a good spread on case capacity, which resulted in ADG having the fastest speeds at AVG of 3,085 FPS (Feet Per Second), Weatherby not far behind with AVG of 3,073 FPS, and Hornady with the most case capacity at AVG 3,057 FPS. I didn't really see any pressure signs on this test. The primers looked great, and there was no heavy bolt lift. The Weatherby had the best Standard deviation of 13 FPS and an extreme spread of 45 FPS.

So, to start the test, we started with the first 15 shots with ADG on a clean barrel. All shots were shot with no barrel cool down. The first shot flung high on the target on the clean barrel, resulting in a 6.02" group.

ADG 15 Shot Group

Now, if you remove that first shot from the group, the group shrunk to a 2.41" group with a standard deviation of 18.4 FPS and extreme spread of 69.8 FPS and AVG 3,085 FPS over the group.

15 shots with ADG

Once the barrel is back to background temperature, check it with a temp gun.

I started testing the 15 shoots on Hornady. The first shot dropped low on the clean barrel for a 15-shot group of 3.09". If you remove the first shot like the previous, it shoots into a 1.79" group, which is outstanding for a 14-shot group. The standard deviation is 15.8 FPS, and the extreme spread is 69.8 FPS and AVG 3,057 FPS over the group.

Hornady 15 Shot Group

I repeated the same procedure to test the Wetherby brass. The first shot dropped low on the clean barrel for a 15-shot group of 2.51". If you remove the first shot like the previous one, it shoots into a 2.19" group, which I also find to be a fantastic grouping for 14 shots. The standard deviation is 13.0 FPS, and the extreme spread is 45 FPS and AVG 3,073 FPS over the group.

Weatherby 15 Shot Group

I was very impressed with the results from all three brass offerings. But for the price, the Hornady did amazing. So, if I had to pick based on price and performance, the Hornady would win this test. But you could not go wrong with any of these three. Stay tuned for more testing to see how many firings the primer pockets will hold up for!