26 Nosler...any guesses?

[RadSav]

I may have missed posts about this recently if there were any.  http://www.nosler.com/news-and-articles/2013/11/22/the-26-nosler

I've been curious as to what this is going to look like. I was originally thinking similar to the Ruger Compact Magnum case or the Remington SAUM case.  Then I got to thinking with Nosler's success with offering the 280 AI maybe it will be a 6.5-06 AI.  Not sure if that puts it above the 264 or not.  Maybe it would if they used the 284 case diameter and the 06 length. Be interesting how long they expect barrel life to be. 

My curiosity is getting the best of me on this one.  Anybody else  
What do you think it is going to look like?

[X-Force]

who is going to offer factory rifles in it?

[RadSav]

Good question.  That's why I was wondering about barrel life.  Beyond Nosler I'm not sure how many main stream manufacturers want to offer a rifle with very limited barrel life.  I'd be willing to bet that had a lot to do with the limited small caliber short mag offerings.  Even the 6.5-284 seems to be slow in getting major manufacturers to chamber for it.  And try to find a good 264 these days.  With all the buzz about 6.5 you would think the 264 would be on a roll if not for the barrel burner reputation.  Maybe I'm wrong

[JustinC]

I have a custom 6.5-06 AI and it gets close to a .264 but I don't think it's faster.
Mine shoots the 140 Bergers up to 3200 fps.

[JustinC]

I also don't see how they would claim that it's the most powerful 6.5?

How about a 6.5 Allen Mag?

[RadSav]

I have a custom 6.5-06 AI and it gets close to a .264 but I don't think it's faster.
Mine shoots the 140 Bergers up to 3200 fps.

They claim 3400 with 129 grain so case capacity can't be too far from that.  Or an awful efficient case design.  Although they might be using a 28" inch barrel to get that velocity, who knows!  I have a buddy who shoots almost exclusively 280AI and his 139 SST loads are almost identical to my 7mm 140AB loads.  You don't see much separation until we reach 160 grain bullets.  He has 2" of barrel on me, but the 280 AI case capacity holds about 12 grain less water.

[RadSav]

I also don't see how they would claim that it's the most powerful 6.5?

How about a 6.5 Allen Mag?

The 6.5 Allen is not a commercial cartridge is it?

[Biggerhammer]

A 129gr Accubond LR @ 3400 is some bad medicine! The .270 WSM handloaded with 130's will get the same velocities but I have a soft spot for the 6.5 (.264) bore diameter and Nosler bullets. I'll take a little more speed over mass any day when it comes to extended, open country shots. Looks to a interesting rifle/chambering.

I've had a wildcat reamer laying around for awhile that I had Dave build me at PTG. I haven't got to sending it and the parts off yet. I've been busy with work and other projects. It's my version of the .338 Ultra Magnum necked down to 6.5 ( 6.5 Badger ). I'm curious as to what speeds I can get with it but with that size case and the 6.5 diameter bullet. One can only get them going so fast due to the over bore. Ball powders help with the powder bridging issues.

[RadSav]

6.5-284 with a case length of 2.400" sounds like the ticket to me.  Should be able to use -06 length magazine and bolt face.  Would make it easy for manufactures to offer it.  And I would think you could get those numbers without too much work.

[JustinC]

The 6.5-284 isn't as fast as the 6.5-06 AI.

Radsav,
No the Allen mag is not a factory round. I was just pointing out that faster 6.5's already exist. Their claim is probably only including factory cartridges though.

[rbros]

I am guessing it will be based off of something like the 375 Ruger case.  Gunwerks was going to bring out a 6.5 version of their 7mm LRM, but maybe they sold it to Nosler?  The 264WM will reach those velocities with a 130 in a 26" barrel, so I am not sure to their claims.  In wildcats, a 6.5 SAUM will almost do it, and there are several larger cases that will exceed it such as the 6.5 Allen Mag or 6.5/338 RUM.

[Jim the Plumber]

Travis, your thoughts on the 6.5 SAUM?
Like what I read about it so far.
As much as I shoot,( both my 6.5X47 Lapua and my 338 Lapua are getting close to needing new tubes) I need all the barrel life I can get and the 6.5 SAUM seems to have good barrel life.

[Biggerhammer]

George Gardner (GA Precision) has proved his point and chambering (6.5 SAUM) with multiple PRS competitions wins and taking a SnipersHide Match title with it.

[rbros]

The 6.5 SAUM works well, but keep in mind that George set the barrel back a couple times on his rifle to get the "overall" barrel life.  Still, it will run 1500 to 2k before needing a setback.  If you run full house loads, it will be sooner as he has said in numerous posts.  The ones I have built have worked well and its a very good option for a short action.

[RadSav]

The 6.5-284 isn't as fast as the 6.5-06 AI.

Yeah, but I think the factory case length is 2.150 where I was thinking of a 2.4" length.  That would give it the same powder column length of the 06 but additional diameter.  Should produce an advantage over the 06AI...I would think!

I had thought about the 375 Ruger case too.  But the compact magnums have been such a bust it sounds risky.  And expensive to build!  Rbros is probably right, though, as it seems to me like a very efficient case.  And if the Gunwerks thing is true it should find a loyal following quite rapidly.

Too bad we have to wait another month and a half to find out.  Going to drive me nuts