SAAMI Accepts Two New Long Range Cartridges

Shooters are constantly looking for the next best rifle cartridge. Many times we resort to wildcat cartridges that require handloading and specialty gun builds. When the Sporting Arms and Ammunition Manufacturers' Institute (SAAMI) accepts a new round, those cartridge and chamber drawings become public information.

With the cartridge specs being public, firearm and ammo manufacturers can make products more accessible to consumers. Ammunition companies can load factory ammo according to SAAMI cartridge designs and gun manufacturers can chamber rifles according to the published specifications.

SAAMI recently announced its approval two new rifle cartridges:

• 6.5 Precision Rifle Cartridge (6.5 PRC)
• 300 Precision Rifle Cartridge (300 PRC)

Prior to these rounds being accepted by SAAMI, the 224 Valkyrie was the most recent cartridge to be added to the SAAMI list.

In a press release, SAAMI stated:

NEWTOWN, Conn. — The Sporting Arms and Ammunition Manufacturers’ Institute^® (SAAMI^®) is pleased to announce that it has accepted two new cartridges, the 6.5 Precision Rifle Cartridge (6.5 PRC) and the 300 PRC. The cartridge and chamber drawings for both cartridges are available here.

Both cartridges were developed by Hornady Manufacturing Company, a leading manufacturer of premium handgun, rifle and shotgun ammunition for consumer, law enforcement and military markets. The company also produces muzzleloading components, reloading components and reloading presses. Hornady Manufacturing, headquartered in Grand Island, Nebraska, is a Voting Member of SAAMI.

“SAAMI member companies are the leaders of firearm and ammunition development and innovation,” said Rick Patterson, SAAMI’s Executive Director. “Both the 6.5 and 300 PRC cartridges seek to meet the demand for increased accuracy in today’s trending sport of long-range shooting, and we are pleased to add these new cartridges to our SAAMI Standards.”

“Both the 6.5 PRC and the 300 PRC are multi-functional cartridges that are excellent choices for target and match shooting as well as hunting applications,” said Joe Thielen, Hornady’s Assistant Director of Engineering. “The primary focus of the design of both the 6.5 PRC and the 300 PRC has always been long-range precision shooting. These cartridges and their respective chamber designs were carefully engineered to efficiently use today’s low-drag projectiles coupled with modern propellants that provide shooters with the capability to hit targets at ever increasing distances.”

Headquartered in Newtown, Connecticut, SAAMI is an association of the nation's leading manufacturers of firearms, ammunition and components. SAAMI was founded in 1926 at the request of the federal government and is an ANSI-accredited standards developer. SAAMI’s many tasks include creating and publishing industry standards for safety, reliability and interchangeability, coordinating technical data, promoting science-based decision-making by regulators and legislators and promoting safe and responsible firearms use. These efforts are conducted on a global scale. For more information, visit www.saami.org.

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About SAAMI

The Sporting Arms and Ammunition Manufacturers’ Institute, founded in 1926 at the request of the federal government, is dedicated to creating and promulgating technical, performance and safety standards for firearms, ammunition and components, and is committed to being the preeminent global resource for the safe and responsible transportation, storage and use of these products.