26 Nosler... why?

[effendude]

Same response as the last week when this was brought up. There are about 12 million big game hunters in the US. Those hunters spend about 34 billion dollars a year in the economy. Despite how important we as a group (accuracy seekers, competitive shooters or ballistic geeks as a friend calls us) think we are to the shooting industry, Nosler didn't design or market this cartridge for us high volume shooters. Their market is the average hunter, who in all likelihood will never shoot the rifle enough to burn up the barrel. Take a walk through Cabela's or Bass Pro Shops and tell me that every product you see is essential to their respective sport.

I have seen many pre-64 Winchesters in .264 Win Mag still in use by hunters, especially out west. These guys are great hunters, not gun guys, and they only shoot a few shots a year. These rifles are more than 50 years old and still shoot well (enough). Factory ammo will probably cost around $4-6 a round so I doubt the rifles will be shot too frequently.

If I didn't love my 6.5-284's so much, I would build one just for the fun of it and to irk the nay-sayers. Still might as I have a used pre-64 mag action looking for a job. We should be celebrating the fact that we live in a country where we have choices. Let the free market decide whether it makes it or not.

Scott

 

[dmoran]

Ballistically = by the numbers it is stellar, to say the least
Accuracy = to soon to tell, but that is a whole bunch of capacity to get efficiency out of.
Barrel-Life = 93-grains of capacity, all to be exhausted down a .264" pipe.... oach, thats hot !.!.!

One aspect of the 26 Nosler I'm looking forward to seeing, is what all "wildcats" will be made off the brass !.!.!.
Like say a 28 Nosler, 30 Nosler, 33 Nosler, etc.. I'm thinking it could be a good capacity case for 200 to 250gr bullets for both 308, 338's.

Donovan

 

[dkhunt14]

I agree with you Donovan there might be some good wildcats made out of this case. They are claiming 3400 feet out of this 6.5. I believe this is a bit high. The 6.5-300 Weatherby was made very Popular right here and lot of guys used this case for longrange hunting and target. They used mostly 32 to 36 inch barrels and couldn't get that much. Matt

 

[MK 19]

The 7RSAUM seems to outshoot the 7 WSM. In benchrest the 7WSM never has worked out but it seems the 7 RSAUM is more accurate. If you want a long range hunting gun I wouldn't pick a 6.5 caliber. The wash disappears way before a 30 or 338 caliber. It also will not buck the wind like a high BC 7mm, 30 or 338 bullet will. Matt

Take a drive to Bass Pro and try to order a 7 RSAUM, better yet, try to buy ammo for it. It might be great for competitive long range shooters, but it has failed as a commercial cartridge.

 

[dkhunt14]

The 7RSAUM seems to outshoot the 7 WSM. In benchrest the 7WSM never has worked out but it seems the 7 RSAUM is more accurate. If you want a long range hunting gun I wouldn't pick a 6.5 caliber. The wash disappears way before a 30 or 338 caliber. It also will not buck the wind like a high BC 7mm, 30 or 338 bullet will. Matt

Take a drive to Bass Pro and try to order a 7 RSAUM, better yet, try to buy ammo for it. It might be great for competitive long range shooters, but it has failed as a commercial cartridge.

I would think Norma brass would be available. The F-class guys shoot a bunch of it. The 300 WSM brass gets hard to get to. That many guys are shooting it in BR and F-class that when a shipment comes in from Norma it disappears real quick. I prefer Norma Brass and when I find it I buy a 1000 or so. The 7WSM failed at long range accuracy, at least for Benchrest. Matt

 

[CJ6]

Ballistically = by the numbers it is stellar, to say the least
Accuracy = to soon to tell, but that is a whole bunch of capacity to get efficiency out of.
Barrel-Life = 93-grains of capacity, all to be exhausted down a .264" pipe.... oach, thats hot !.!.!

One aspect of the 26 Nosler I'm looking forward to seeing, is what all "wildcats" will be made off the brass !.!.!.
Like say a 28 Nosler, 30 Nosler, 33 Nosler, etc.. I'm thinking it could be a good capacity case for 200 to 250gr bullets for both 308, 338's.

Donovan

Except for the .09 case length (which is EVERYTHING I guess) Dakota did those years ago using Lapua brass too boot. One thing that I like about the 26 Nosler is the lack of the word MAGNUM in the title of the cartridge.

 

[58weasel]

Always wanted to have a 264 Win Mag, but it became extinct. Did buy a 100 WW cases and chamfered the necks and deburred the flash holes. That was twenty years ago. Today took that brass and necked it up to 30 cal, and will use it in my 30-338 Ruger No 1. Dreams die hard some times. Nightmares, however, reoccur on a semi-regular basis.
"This too shall pass . . ."

 

[KevinL]

I am almost finished puting my 26 nosler together. Just looks like a fun gun to me. I will find out shortly if it is a shooter or not. I dont need this hotrod but how many of use have fun guns we realy dont need? I think most of us have tride a wildcat at one point or another. I for one shoot more than my share. I do think nosler has failed the shooters by Not providing any componits. So I am making form dies on to every thing needed to shoot the gun. To bad nosler diddent have there stuff together.

 

[Patch700]

I am almost finished puting my 26 nosler together. Just looks like a fun gun to me. I will find out shortly if it is a shooter or not. I dont need this hotrod but how many of use have fun guns we realy dont need? I think most of us have tride a wildcat at one point or another. I for one shoot more than my share. I do think nosler has failed the shooters by Not providing any componits. So I am making form dies on to every thing needed to shoot the gun. To bad nosler diddent have there stuff together.

Out of curiousity what twist and length did you go with? I know when I had a 6.5 300 hoyer I was pretty much regulated to burning H870 at the time (142 mk's) in a 31" 8 twist.. Might have been a fun toy had it been throated for 120's in a 9 twist lol.

 

[vtmarmot]

I just bought an electromagnetic rail gun. 15,000 fps. Dims the lights in my corner of the state when I touch it off. Took out two Chinese satellites with it yesterday. I'll be selling my .264 win mag.

 

[KevinL]

I have a shilen #5 8 twist 26.5 barrel with my own brake all set at 29 on a old ruger77 top tang safety synthetic stock. Will all be camouflage dipped when compleat. Hope to finish by Saturday if not I will finish when I get back from Az in a little over a week. Plan on shooting 140s and 160s just have the NEED to build an burner. I have one more rem action to play with so who knows what will be next?

 

[mac86951]

+1 to Scotsman1

God Bless America,
Scotsman1

I'm always happy to see new cartridges, they don't have to be ideal or ones I'd buy, but I'm glad the market is "worthy" of a new cartridge from the marketing guys.

-Mac

 

[hogpatrol]

Just got my reamer from PT&G yesterday. Will be using a #3 fluted Brux 1-8.5 and Pierce action. The wait now is on the gauges and the brass. Talked with Nosler & was told it wouldn't be available until April or May, plenty of time before next hunting season. Plan on using the 130 or 140 Berger VLD hunters dependent on accuracy. To the original OP's question? I love projects & trying new stuff. ;D

 

[BigDMT]

Just got my reamer from PT&G yesterday. Will be using a #3 fluted Brux 1-8.5 and Pierce action. The wait now is on the gauges and the brass. Talked with Nosler & was told it wouldn't be available until April or May, plenty of time before next hunting season. Plan on using the 130 or 140 Berger VLD hunters dependent on accuracy. To the original OP's question? I love projects & trying new stuff. ;D

I wouldn't ream that barrel til you have everything in hand. End up like those people who bought the Savage B mag in 17 WSM... Rifle with no ammo.

 

[hogpatrol]

Just got my reamer from PT&G yesterday. Will be using a #3 fluted Brux 1-8.5 and Pierce action. The wait now is on the gauges and the brass. Talked with Nosler & was told it wouldn't be available until April or May, plenty of time before next hunting season. Plan on using the 130 or 140 Berger VLD hunters dependent on accuracy. To the original OP's question? I love projects & trying new stuff. ;D

I wouldn't ream that barrel til you have everything in hand. End up like those people who bought the Savage B mag in 17 WSM... Rifle with no ammo.

Big, My plan exactly. I always have the brass and dies I am going to use when chambering and try it just to double check everything works as desired. With that long a cartridge, there'd be some serious chopping off of the chamber to do another caliber.

 

[dkhunt14]

You don't have to chop off the whole chamber to make something else. You only have to cut enough off that the new diameter is bigger then what you left in the chamber. Also it has to longer then what you left. Matt

 

[CJ6]

It's based on the shorter RUM, or slightly .09 lengthened Dakota case.

 

[CacheCropp]

The 26 Nosler seems pretty irrelevant to me. However, there's a a whole world of shooters out there that don't reload and don't shoot more than 50 rounds through their hunting rifle each year. What is available to those guys in a factory long action 6.5 burner? 264 Win Mag and that's it. Maybe a few 6.5-284 in pseudo target rifles. So Nosler may sell a few of these, who knows?

 

[hogpatrol]

The 26 Nosler seems pretty irrelevant to me. However, there's a a whole world of shooters out there that don't reload and don't shoot more than 50 rounds through their hunting rifle each year. What is available to those guys in a factory long action 6.5 burner? 264 Win Mag and that's it. Maybe a few 6.5-284 in pseudo target rifles. So Nosler may sell a few of these, who knows?

I used to hunt deer in the Poconos with a buddy and his relatives. There were 20 guys on a drive. They ALL shot '94 30-30 Winchesters. Except for a Springfield '06 or Enfield .303, every other gun on the planet was "irrelevant" to them. ;D

 

[xswanted]

Who cares WHY they built it. Every time I hear someone asking or justifying why a new cartridge is no good its because, more often than not, the person doing the justifying is worried the new cartridge is going to do something better than what they have! Its comical most of the time.

Don't want one? Don't buy one, its that simple. It's like asking why Chevy is putting a 355hp motor in the new pickups or Toyota is putting a 385hp motor in theirs. Don't need it for anything. The 89 Ford I use on the farm has 195hp and pulls everything the new pickups pull.

Why the 26 Nosler? Because they can. Thats why.