Why did SOCOM ditch the .300NM for PRC?

[Litehiker]

Willi,
This looks like an Army cluster ____ Now we will have .300 NM, 300 PRC and .300 Win mag as sniper ammo plus .338 LM for the few Remington Defense rifles.

SO...
1. With a $5M Barrett MRAD/300 PRC contract it looks like more than a "unit" purchase.
2. Who gets the .300 NM rifles and precisely what rifles are they?

Eric B.

 

[FEENIX]

Variety is the spice of life.

 

[Willib9]

Willi,
This looks like an Army cluster ____ Now we will have .300 NM, 300 PRC and .300 Win mag as sniper ammo plus .338 LM for the few Remington Defense rifles.

SO...
1. With a $5M Barrett MRAD/300 PRC contract it looks like more than a "unit" purchase.
2. Who gets the .300 NM rifles and precisely what rifles are they?

Eric B.

Barrett won with their MRAD rifle. This contract is a $50 million contract. SOCOM as a whole will get the ASR. Tier 1 units can get whatever they want in whatever flavor they want. They do not have the same rules as the rest of us in SOCOM. Now that a unit is "evaluating" it they could do a separate contract for a 300 PRC barrel kit.

 

[DJ Fergus]

What's your load data. I just got a 300 Norma I plan to run N570 in

I've just been shooting it about a week or more. I have a long throat, really to long but right now I have 88.8 grains behind a 225 eld. It's running 2923fps.

 

[odoylerules]

I've just been shooting it about a week or more. I have a long throat, really to long but right now I have 88.8 grains behind a 225 eld. It's running 2923fps.

I'm planning to run 215's. I have a pile of them

 

[Litehiker]

OK Willi, so the MRAD, with its changeable barrels, magazines and bolt heads, seems to add on to the similar switch-cartridge Remington Defense rifles that win the 1st PSR solicitation.

And it seems you are saying that some MRADS will be chambered in 300 PRC but others will have other 30 caliber cartridges. Aaaaarrggghh!

 

[Willib9]

OK Willi, so the MRAD, with its changeable barrels, magazines and bolt heads, seems to add on to the similar switch-cartridge Remington Defense rifles that win the 1st PSR solicitation.

And it seems you are saying that some MRADS will be chambered in 300 PRC but others will have other 30 caliber cartridges. Aaaaarrggghh!

So...essentially yes. Unless you are at a Tier 1 unit, you will not have a PRC. But at that level you are shooting nonstandard stuff anyway. For instance, SOCOM as a whole is moving to 6.5 Creedmoor but there are units that are shooting 260. That's the benefit to being at a Tier 1 unit. They can do rapid fielding of products whereas SOCOM as a whole has to stick to the contracting process.

 

[Litehiker]

I see "Tier 1" as Army Delta, Navy DEVGRU and Marine non-SOCOM Force RECON and some Air Force, NSA and CIA operators.
That's a small club and so within that club Delta and a very few other Army SF folks will be the MRAD recipients. Interesting.

For several reason I feel the MRAD is superior to the still very good Remington Defense switch-barrel rifle - not the least of which is the ability to quickly remove the MRAD's trigger group for cleaning or replacement. The only other military sniper rifle that has that feature is the British AI. In my competition experience triggers are usually the first components that go tits up on a precision rifle, and usually at the worst time.

Thanks for your insight into the MRAD procurement/disbursement story.

Eric B.

 

[Michael O'Connor]

I read an article that related to the pressure inconsistencies caused by shooting at various angles with the 300NM compared to the PRC. The NM was having issues when the rifle was canted past a certain angle. IDK if this is the sole reason, but i believe it may be a contributing factor.

BINGO !! We have a winner !. I have been told by a Custom Manfacturing Ordinance Source, that is exactly the reason SOCOM status was lost.

 

[DJ Fergus]

I don't really see it as a flaw with the 300 Norma but an issue for who ever can't or won't use a powder that will adequately fill the case to shoot at steep angles. It looks like the 300 prc was built around using h1000 and that's a good thing for the 300 prc and probably good for the military since they want to run a powder that they are already tied to for various reasons such as good temp stability. I also realize that they don't load their own rounds. For myself, the 300 Norma with n570 & 225 grain plus sized bullets is not lacking anything to be desired. I haven't ran H1000 or shot at steep angles with h1000 so I can't comment on that but it seems reasonable that there could be a possibility for inconsistency in velocity with any cartridge (not just a 300 Norma) that doesn't have good case fill shooting from steep downhill vs a steep uphill angle.