Unveiling of the 26 Nosler!

[yorketransport]

How much is a reamer?

About $150. Reamers are pretty cheap.

You know what they call the 26 Nosler necked up to 7mm, 30 and 338? The Dakota cases! Necked up to 375 and you've recreated the 375 Ruger!

Since it looks like this is based on 404 brass, any belted mag rifle could be rechambered with a little work on the magazine to get it to feed. The Dakota case is just a little too wide to feed without some work.

Now I need to order the 6.5-375 Ruger reamer to see if I can match or beat the Nosler with less expensive and more available brass. The Nosler has a theoretical capacity advantage of 2.5 grains when using similar OAL. They should be pretty close.

[Biggerhammer]

It's all about Persenal preference and taste. I'm not big on the Nosler action, personally I think their rough and crude compared to other factory actions out there, not mentioning the customs available. The case length is right, about perfect for a long action. There are very few new mouse traps to be had. The 26 Noslers performance while new to guy that buys factory rifles and factory ammunition is old news to the wildcat crowd and was done long ago. The 26 Nosler just puts that performance in the hands of anyone without all the extra work. Rifle, ammo and hotrod ballistics without the hassle. For a non handloader it's great stuff, for the handloader it's great stuff. The cartridge itself is a win/win. The rest is what you make it.

[Curly]

I still can't see getting a 26 Nolser.  The brass is so expensive and the performance is not that much more than the .264 WM, and almost identical performance to the 6.5 WSM.  Why not go with one of those cartridges instead? 

[Biggerhammer]

The cartridge makes complete sense to the long range guys. It's all about the max cartridge length you can feed in a long action, the length of the longer 6.5 bullets that perform at distance. Neck length , ogive location and throat specs. All these need to work together to perform, looks like Nosler thought it out.

[Curly]

Ok.  Thanks.  I see now..........I guess I'm a little slow. 

For a guy that simply wants a hunting rifle and wants a speed demon in 6.5mm, then other choices might make sense..........like the 6.5-06AI, 6.5WSM, or .264WM.

[whacker1]

Interested to see what the actuals are from those of you going down this path.

[bearpaw]

Did more research, the 26 Nosler is very flat shooting but I will need to weigh the advantages/disadvantages of this cartridge compared to other magnum cartridges when more reloading data becomes available for more bullet weights. I'm still wondering about energy levels at long range with various bullets verses some of the other magnums, that could be the deal maker/breaker since I want this for a long range hunting rifle.

Handy Ballistics Calculator: http://www.jbmballistics.com/cgi-bin/jbmtraj_simp-5.1.cgi

[Hornseeker]

How fast might it push that 160 gr pill you guys speak of?

Thing outta have a sweet bc right?

Personally, I love all the new round development... I"ll probs never own most of them, but its fun to look at and dream about! Then I pick up my 06' and just go hunting...

[WoodlandShooter]

How fast might it push that 160 gr pill you guys speak of?

Thing outta have a sweet bc right?

Personally, I love all the new round development... I"ll probs never own most of them, but its fun to look at and dream about! Then I pick up my 06' and just go hunting...

well, advertized for a 140 grain bullet is 3300 fps, so keeping muzzle energy at a constant (~3385 foot pounds), then a 160 grain bullet would need ~3085 FPS

Per Matrix,

Caliber Inches: .264
Weight, grains: 160
G1 BC .685
1-8 twist

This bullet would be supersonic to 1685 yards in standard conditions!! 15.9 mils of drop with a 200 yard zero!!

For comparison, my 270 winny with the 165 matrix @ 2850 goes subsonic at 1400 yards on a standard day, has 2976 foot pounds at the muzzle and needs 14.8 mils at that range

[Biggerhammer]

The Matrix 160 is going to require a 8 twist. If you build on a 8 twist you need to consider what bullets other than the 160 Matrix that can survive the twist rate at those speeds.

The handloader is going to be able to push the velocities allot harder than published data/ factory ammo. Speed is a big factor.

[rbros]

Looks like we will be playing with a couple of these as well for customer builds.  Will be interesting to see how it compares to the 6.5/338 RUM's that we have done in the past.  Barrel life was the problem with them, but barrels are a consumable component.  I run the 160's in my 264WM now at 3200, 140's at 3300, so it will be interesting to see what handloading the Nosler will do.  Still going to be short on barrel life, but thats the tradeoff.   

[yorketransport]

Looks like we will be playing with a couple of these as well for customer builds.  Will be interesting to see how it compares to the 6.5/338 RUM's that we have done in the past.  Barrel life was the problem with them, but barrels are a consumable component.  I run the 160's in my 264WM now at 3200, 140's at 3300, so it will be interesting to see what handloading the Nosler will do.  Still going to be short on barrel life, but thats the tradeoff.

What sort of barrel life were you seeing? I've heard it range from 400 to 1000.

I'd feel better about this round if nosler brass were a bit stronger. I haven't been impressed with the nosler brass I've tried in 300 RUM, 6.5x284, or 243.

Andrew

[rbros]

Most of them were in the 600-700 range before accuracy started to go.  The throats were moving constantly in them.  They did run like crazy, but a guy just has to be aware that they aren't going to last.  The 6.5STW's' typically go around 1000 rounds and the Nosler has another 10-15gr capacity over it.  This could be a problem since the cartridge is designed for long range and that takes practice.  It will definitely shoot flat and that is how they are marketing it.  The 7mm version of it could be more interesting and should offer a little more barrel life.

[Biggerhammer]

Their already all over Wildcatting it. But the other versions, like mentioned before. Will basically mimic other wildcats already available, based on the Dakota and Ruger cases.

https://shop.pacifictoolandgauge.com/index.php?main_page=products_new&disp_order=6&page=2&zenid=9b8fmrucfu2eamg81uc57f6282

[rbros]

Their already all over Wildcatting it. But the other versions, like mentioned before. Will basically mimic other wildcats already available, based on the Dakota and Ruger cases.

https://shop.pacifictoolandgauge.com/index.php?main_page=products_new&disp_order=6&page=2&zenid=9b8fmrucfu2eamg81uc57f6282

Yup, have a 7mm reamer version on order as well for a customer.   He wants a matched pair of rifles, one in 26 nosler and one in 7mm nosler.