Lane’s .30 Newton-PRC wildcat (center left) bridges the modern .300 PRC and the obsolete .30 Newton (center right). It performs much like other .30-caliber magnums. (Shooting Times photo)
If you’ve read my column for a while, you know I’m fond of odd cartridges and enjoy handloading obsolete and wildcat rounds. The latest of which I’ve designated as the .30 Newton-PRC. The idea came about while I was reviewing the .300 PRC for Hodgdon’s 2020 annual reloading manual. One of the rifles included in that review was a one-off version of Montana Rifle Co.’s M1999 Extreme Tactical Hunter.
Although it would readily chamber factory-loaded cartridges, the action and magazine were approximately 0.15 inch short. That minor issue was easily overcome by single-loading factory rounds and building my handloads to 3.5 inches COL. However, the Magpul...