History
Hornady introduced the .300 PRC in 2018 and ran it through SAAMI standardization the same year. The brief was a modern .30 caliber built around long, heavy, high-BC bullets, not one more variation on a 1960s belted magnum. Older .30 magnums seat their heaviest match bullets deep into the powder column; the .300 PRC pairs a longer case with a generous throat, so a 225-grain bullet sits out where it belongs and leaves the powder space alone.
It built its reputation at distance. Long-range military and competition shooters adopted it where retained velocity past 1,000 yards matters more than muzzle blast.
Lineage
The parent is the beltless .375 Ruger, which carries the fat .532 inch head of the belted-magnum family but does without the belt. Hornady lengthened it and necked it down to .308 inch, trading the belt for a headspacing shoulder and a nearly straight-walled body. The result drives a .308 inch (7.82mm) bullet and shares its logic with the rest of the line: the 6.5 PRC and 7mm PRC run the same beltless, shoulder-headspaced design in smaller bores.
Specifications
| Spec | Value |
|---|---|
| Case type | Rimless, bottlenecked (beltless magnum) |
| Bullet diameter | 7.82 mm (.308 in) |
| Neck diameter | 8.66 mm (.341 in) |
| Base diameter | 13.51 mm (.532 in) |
| Rim diameter | 13.51 mm (.532 in) |
| Case length | 65.53 mm (2.580 in) |
| Overall length | 93.98 mm (3.700 in) |
| Case capacity | ~77 gr H2O (nominal; varies by brand) |
| Primer size | Large rifle magnum |
| Belted | No |
| Rifling twist | 1 in 8.5 in (SAAMI); 1 in 9 in (recommended) |
| Max pressure | 65,000 psi (SAAMI) |
| Recommended barrel | 32 in, 1:9 twist |
Barrel Design
The .300 PRC is overbore: a large powder charge behind a .308 inch bore, still gaining velocity well past the length where a .308 Winchester has quit. The slow powders that fill the case finish burning farther down the tube, so length turns more of that charge into velocity instead of flash, and it tends to tighten standard deviation on heavy match loads.
Twist matters as much as length. The 212 to 225 grain match bullets that define the cartridge run long for caliber and need a fast twist to stay stable into the transonic range at distance. A 1:9 holds them with margin at the velocities a long barrel produces, and leaves room for the heaviest .30 caliber bullets a shooter might grow into.
For the long-range mission this site is built around, lean long. I put the baseline at 32 inches, which captures the velocity the case is built to give. A 24 to 26 inch barrel makes a more packable hunting rifle and still drives a 178 to 200 grain bullet flat, but gives back the downrange velocity that justifies the powder. The tables below are computed at that 32 inch barrel.
Range Ammo Performance
Hornady American Whitetail · 165 gr InterLock SP $1.85/rd
| Range (yd) | Velocity (fps) | Elevation (mil) | Energy (ft-lb) | Windage (mil) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0 | 3376 | -0.2 | 4175 | 0.4 |
| 100 | 3156 | 0.0 | 3650 | 0.2 |
| 200 | 2948 | -0.2 | 3183 | 0.4 |
| 300 | 2748 | -0.7 | 2767 | 0.5 |
| 400 | 2557 | -1.2 | 2396 | 0.7 |
| 500 | 2374 | -1.9 | 2065 | 1.0 |
| 600 | 2199 | -2.6 | 1771 | 1.2 |
| 700 | 2031 | -3.4 | 1510 | 1.5 |
| 800 | 1870 | -4.3 | 1282 | 1.7 |
| 900 | 1719 | -5.3 | 1083 | 2.0 |
| 1000 | 1578 | -6.4 | 912 | 2.4 |
| 1100 | 1449 | -7.7 | 769 | 2.7 |
| 1200 | 1333 | -9.2 | 651 | 3.1 |
| 1300 | 1232 | -10.9 | 556 | 3.5 |
| 1400 | 1150 | -12.8 | 484 | 4.0 |
| 1500 | 1084 | -14.9 | 431 | 4.4 |
| 1600 | 1033 | -17.3 | 391 | 4.9 |
| 1700 | 990 | -20.0 | 359 | 5.3 |
| 1800 | 954 | -22.9 | 333 | 5.8 |
| 1900 | 922 | -26.1 | 311 | 6.2 |
| 2000 | 893 | -29.5 | 292 | 6.7 |
| 2100 | 866 | -33.2 | 275 | 7.1 |
| 2200 | 841 | -37.2 | 259 | 7.6 |
| 2300 | 819 | -41.4 | 245 | 8.0 |
| 2400 | 797 | -46.0 | 233 | 8.5 |
| 2500 | 777 | -50.7 | 221 | 8.9 |
| 2600 | 757 | -55.8 | 210 | 9.4 |
| 2700 | 739 | -61.1 | 200 | 9.9 |
| 2800 | 721 | -66.7 | 191 | 10.3 |
| 2900 | 705 | -72.6 | 182 | 10.8 |
| 3000 | 689 | -78.9 | 174 | 11.3 |
| 3100 | 674 | -85.4 | 166 | 11.8 |
| 3200 | 659 | -92.2 | 159 | 12.3 |
| 3300 | 646 | -99.3 | 153 | 12.8 |
Muzzle velocity 3376 fps is estimated at 32 in from the 24 in factory figure of 3200 fps at about 22 fps per inch. Expect your own barrel to read a little differently. Velocity is color coded green supersonic, yellow transonic, red subsonic; treat transonic and subsonic rows as approximate.
Match Ammo Performance
Hornady Match · 225 gr ELD Match $2.35/rd
| Range (yd) | Velocity (fps) | Elevation (mil) | Energy (ft-lb) | Windage (mil) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0 | 2986 | -0.3 | 4454 | 0.3 |
| 100 | 2871 | 0.0 | 4116 | 0.1 |
| 200 | 2757 | -0.3 | 3798 | 0.3 |
| 300 | 2646 | -0.9 | 3499 | 0.4 |
| 400 | 2538 | -1.5 | 3218 | 0.5 |
| 500 | 2432 | -2.2 | 2955 | 0.7 |
| 600 | 2329 | -2.9 | 2709 | 0.8 |
| 700 | 2228 | -3.7 | 2480 | 1.0 |
| 800 | 2130 | -4.5 | 2267 | 1.2 |
| 900 | 2035 | -5.4 | 2068 | 1.3 |
| 1000 | 1941 | -6.3 | 1883 | 1.5 |
| 1100 | 1850 | -7.4 | 1710 | 1.7 |
| 1200 | 1761 | -8.4 | 1549 | 1.9 |
| 1300 | 1674 | -9.6 | 1399 | 2.1 |
| 1400 | 1588 | -10.9 | 1260 | 2.4 |
| 1500 | 1505 | -12.2 | 1131 | 2.6 |
| 1600 | 1423 | -13.6 | 1012 | 2.9 |
| 1700 | 1344 | -15.2 | 902 | 3.1 |
| 1800 | 1267 | -16.9 | 803 | 3.4 |
| 1900 | 1194 | -18.7 | 712 | 3.8 |
| 2000 | 1127 | -20.7 | 634 | 4.1 |
| 2100 | 1083 | -22.9 | 586 | 4.4 |
| 2200 | 1054 | -25.3 | 555 | 4.8 |
| 2300 | 1031 | -27.8 | 531 | 5.1 |
| 2400 | 1009 | -30.5 | 509 | 5.5 |
| 2500 | 990 | -33.4 | 489 | 5.8 |
| 2600 | 971 | -36.5 | 471 | 6.2 |
| 2700 | 954 | -39.7 | 454 | 6.5 |
| 2800 | 937 | -43.1 | 438 | 6.9 |
| 2900 | 921 | -46.6 | 423 | 7.2 |
| 3000 | 905 | -50.3 | 409 | 7.5 |
| 3100 | 890 | -54.2 | 396 | 7.9 |
| 3200 | 875 | -58.2 | 383 | 8.2 |
| 3300 | 861 | -62.3 | 371 | 8.6 |
| 3400 | 848 | -66.7 | 359 | 8.9 |
Muzzle velocity 2986 fps is estimated at 32 in from the 24 in factory figure of 2810 fps at about 22 fps per inch. Expect your own barrel to read a little differently. Velocity is color coded green supersonic, yellow transonic, red subsonic; treat transonic and subsonic rows as approximate.
Trajectory
FAQ
What barrel length and twist should I run?
For extreme long range, a 32 inch barrel and a 1:9 twist let the .300 PRC do what it was designed to do: drive a 225 grain match bullet fast enough to stay supersonic well past 1,500 yards. Hunters who want a more manageable rifle can drop to 24 to 26 inches and still have a flat-shooting .30 magnum.
Is the .300 PRC belted?
No. It headspaces on its shoulder, like the rest of the PRC family, even though it carries the wide .532 inch case head of the old belted magnums. Dropping the belt gives more consistent headspace and easier precision handloading.
What is the .300 PRC good for?
Heavy-bullet long-range and extreme-long-range shooting, and large game at distance. Its retained velocity and wind resistance past 1,000 yards are its reason to exist; inside 300 yards a .308 or .30-06 does the same work with less powder and recoil.
How does it compare to the .300 Winchester Magnum?
The .300 PRC carries a longer, beltless case with a longer throat, so it seats heavy high-BC bullets without intruding on powder space. That gives it an edge with 215 to 225 grain match bullets at distance, but with more powder, more recoil, and a longer action.