SHOT Show 2026: New from Berger & Lapua with Emil Praslick

At SHOT Show 2026, we stopped by the Capstone Precision Group booth to catch up with Emil Praslick. As a renowned ballistics expert and former coach of the U.S. Army Marksmanship Unit (AMU), Emil walked us through an exciting lineup of new bullet offerings, factory-loaded ammunition expansions, and technical reloading insights from Berger and Lapua. Watch and read on for the full breakdown of everything new from Capstone for 2026!

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What’s New from Berger & Lapua

Capstone has heavily focused on expanding its menu of factory-loaded ammunition and precision projectiles to satisfy specific competitive, tactical, and hunting needs.

Berger 69-Grain 22-Caliber OTM Bullet & 223 69-Grain Factory Ammo

While Berger previously offered 73-grain and 77-grain magazine-length bullets for 223 Remington, they hadn’t produced a 69-grain option.

The 69-grain weight class was one of the first precision bullets engineered specifically for 223/AR-style platforms back in the 1990s. Berger optimized this new 69-grain OTM using their signature design process. Test tunnel results show exceptional precision. The Berger factory 223 69-grain ammunition is ideal for law enforcement agencies requiring ammo with pre-approved or specific grain weights as well as for tactical match shooters. The 69-grain bullet is also a favorite in traditional disciplines like High Power where it is most suitable for the 200 and 300-yard lines. Like all Berger OTM ammunition, the new 69-grain 223 ammo is loaded in premium Lapua brass with Vihtavuori powder and match primers.

7mm PRC Factory Ammunition & Bullets

With 7mm PRC cartridge cases now manufactured by Lapua, Capstone is offering factory-loaded ammunition featuring two standout projectiles: the 7mm 175-Grain Elite Hunter and 7mm 195-Grain Elite Hunter.

The 7mm 195-grain is the heaviest-in-class bullet available for factory-loaded ammunition. Emil noted this bullet offers exceptional ballistic performance, extreme accuracy, and impressive terminal effects across cartridges ranging from 284 Winchester up to necked-down 300 Normas.

New Berger 270 Caliber/6.8mm 150-Grain Hybrid Target Bullet

To support the inevitable evolution toward accurized, designated marksman variants of the military’s 6.8x51mm rifle platform, Berger developed a new 150-grain hybrid bullet in 270 caliber. This bullet is engineered to fit optimal overall cartridge lengths for military and civilian applications and has a strong 0.283 G7 BC. The minimum required twist rate for this bullet is 1:10 encouraging custom builds in 6.8 Western and 277 Fury.

300 Norma Magnum & 338 Norma Magnum Additions

Berger made minor changes to their .30 caliber 245-Grain Elite Hunter Bullet to create the .30 caliber 245-grain Long Range Hybrid Target (LRT) bullet. According to Berger, this bullet is designed “to increase long-range target hit percentage at 1,500+ meters” and is optimized for large capacity cartridges like the 300 Norma Magnum, 300 PRC, and others.

Berger also now offers a commercial factory 300 Norma load with this bullet that mirrors special operations capability requirements.

Capitalizing on the military’s multi-caliber MRAD sniper rifle kits (which utilize 338 Norma barrels), Capstone paired the 338 Norma case with the proven 300-grain Hybrid bullet to create their newest 338 Norma Mag Hybrid OTM Tactical Ammunition. This bullet is widely trusted by extreme long-range shooters—even when pushed hard in ultra-magnums like the 33 XC and 338 SnipeTac—without breaking apart in flight.

Lapua Expansion: TRX Solid Copper Bullets & New SKUs

Lapua’s new TRX Solid Copper Bullets are engineered for reliable expansion even at relatively low velocities (down below 2,000 fps) while delivering amazing precision. Lapua also has new factory ammunition offerings in 308 Winchester, 6.5 Creedmoor, 6.5x55mm, 300 Win Mag, and 30-06 Springfield. All Lapua ammunition is loaded in premium Lapua cases!

Emil Praslick’s Philosophy on Reloading & Load Development

During our discussion, Emil shared his expert perspective on reloading methodology, shaped by decades of coaching top-tier military and civilian marksmen.

Moving away from complicated ladder tests, Emil echoes Brian Litz’s practical approach to load development: determine target velocity and case fill (90–95% case capacity), select candidate powders from the Vihtavuori manual that match the application, and fine-tune from there.

Having coached competitive shooting teams with multiple rifles on the line, Emil emphasizes that reliability and vertical spread win matches—not riding the absolute edge of pressure. Chasing an extra couple of inches of wind deflection by hot-rodding loads introduces catastrophic crisis events (over-pressure or blown components) that ruin a match.

The ultimate goal of load development is maximizing hit probability. Using ballistic solvers (like Kestrel or Applied Ballistics) to model wind deflection and weapon employment zones helps dial in the exact projectile needed for the job.