I kinda said that Dusty. How many serious competitors shoot a ppc? By that, I mean quality shooters who can contend at all. How many shoot something else? I really think that the "something else" crowd is probably some fraction of 1%. Of course a ppc shooter is likely to win. With those odds, when something else does actually win or even contend, I think we should shout about it a little louder, as those are some long odds. Instead, the sheep just chalk it up as a fluke much like they pretty much ignore the fact that a 30 Grendel broke the small group record for 100 yards that a ppc never did, with virtually every competitor shooting one for 40 years. What are those odds, too? It's not a fluke imho, when something else beats those odds and it happens more than once. As I said, the ppc doesn't leave a lot on the table and there simply isn't room for anything earth shattering.
The notion that nothing else can compete with a ppc because everyone shoots a ppc, is frustrating and is not what I consider to be a good argument.
With the odds being what they are, something besides a ppc winning in a decade should get attention, much less multiple matches in a single season.
I almost never do anything with the reason being, that's what everyone else does. If anything, that's a good reason to do something different. This is a competition. Why would I do the same as everyone else?
Not knocking a ppc. It's a great cartridge, no doubt.
Back to the subject, I do think that a short br can compete with a ppc. Again, I think case design, good components and optimum powders for the optimum bullet weight..is where it's at. The 6 Grinch and Grendel is a good example. How bad can a .070 long ppc be? That's exactly what a 6 Grendel is, which is smack between two of the best ever, a ppc and a br. It can't be bad. Now load it to the same pressures and/or speeds as a ppc OR, optimize powder and bullet weight to the small additional capacity.
It's an excellent cartridge as well.
If 99.5% of competitors shot one, this discussion would sound very different imho.