7 x 64 - Trying to Make an Excuse for It.....

dak47

dak47

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There is a certain Sako Bavarian Carbine singing it's siren song to me, BUT the whole 7 x 64 thing has me hesitating.... At first glance for me it seems to be a split between the ought six and a .270? Just a cursory first look and it was pretty generic ballistic data. It's no even listed in my old Nosler manual so I was wondering how much extra oomph one could gain by rolling his own for it?

Have a 25-06, several ought sixes, and some heavies, so having a bit of an arguement with myself to justify it as a useful caliber in the hunting collection, The pedigree is certainly there and that may be justification enough. Do you all think this cartridge would suffer too much with a 20" barrel? looking forward to responses from folks who have dealt with this oldie....

Dirk
 
I had considered a 7x64 Brenneke but chose a 7x57 instead. I think it's a much more balanced calibre. Brass & bullets are readily available and its inherently accurate. I have an Interarms Mark X in 7x57. Shoots awesome.
 
280 Remington, and 7mm-08 Remington are probably the 2 most versatile and perfect all around cartridges for Canadian hunting. There are dozens of good bullet choices (unlike the .270) so if you load you can use it for basically anything you can hunt. Personally I like short actions for the shorter stroke and stiffer receivers.
All the 7x64 will do that the 280 or 7mm-08 can't is lighten your wallet buying factory ammo, or dies n brass. Not to mention resale will be a ##### unless you have somebody looking for that cartridge...which isn't common.
 
The 7x64 is actually older than either the .270 or .280. It was introduced in 1917, and if Winchester had simply adopted it, neither the .270 nor the .280 Rem would exist. If you want it, go for it, but there's no ballistic advantage, and has the disadvantage of hard to find brass.
 
7x64 has more charm,280 remington copy paste this old proven calibre,like many other calibers american copy from europeans,6.5x55' 7x64' 8x57'8x68S,9.3x62 were inspiration for many american
 
Hey Dak, look in the EE right now, as I have a LNIB 7X64 CZ 550 FS up for grabs right now. As far as ammo goes, Remington makes it for the same price as 270/30-06, I bought 5 boxes when I bought the rifle. However brass cannot be made from 280 Rem, as I tried that. The 7X64 is just a touch smaller in the web/rim and even a small base die still leaves 280 cases a touch big for a 7X64 chamber.
 
Tradeex has ammo for relatively cheap as well. I also bought several bags of nickel plated Speer brass but I'm not sure if that is still available or not. It's a great cartridge but as others said no real advantage over the 280, 7x57, or 7-08 other than the cool factor and the blank looks you get on peoples faces when you tell them what you're shooting.
 
+1 Tradeex seems to always stock it. Nothing wrong with a classic like 7x64! Who cares if it's not widely available. Stock up on factory ammo when available, and save the brass for future reloading. I also stuck with 7x57, but only because my first firearm in that calibre (Venezuelan Mauser) was an incredible shooter and so I built another rifle specifically around that calibre.
 
When I collected M/S and lettered Steyrs, the 7x64 was one of my favouites, along with the 9.3x64, I carried a model of 1950 M/S standard rifle for many years. I had managed to acquire a good supply of RWS brass from a friend in Europe along with a set of dies, there was very little load data available so I loaded it to .280 rem specs with no issues. Brass, dies, factory ammo and load data are easy to come by now, so don't pass up a great rifle because of the caliber.
 
I handled a Sako Bavarian Carbine in 7x64 a few months ago, but the chambering kept me from purchasing it. I ended up finding one in 6.5x55 for $400 less, and Lapua 6.5x55 brass is reasonably priced, and easy to find.
 
I just picked up a Ruger M77 MKII RS in 7X64 Brenneke... while components may not be as common as .270 or .280, they are not difficult to source... my LGS had the dies in stock and when I asked for brass he found me 200 pieces... it is also available online from the usual suspects. 7X64 Brenneke has a touch more panache than the standard offerings. This one will be a travel mate for my M77 RS Whelen.

M77-RS%207X64%20Brenneke4_zpspgncbskt.jpg
 
I have two 7x64's, and like them a lot. If Americans weren't so averse to anything metric and foreign it would be a standard cartridge in North America just like it is in the rest of the world. Slightly better than the .280, it does not suffer from Remington's design and marketing blunders. Most rifles chambered for 7x64 are properly twisted to handle 140-175 grain bullets well, and factory loads are always loaded to full pressure and velocity. I have not had any trouble finding enough brass to keep my rifles shooting. 7x64 is loaded by every European manufacturer, and occasionally by American companies like Remington. Norma and RWS are my favourites. The only frustration I've ever had with mine is finding good load data, most Europeans buy factory loads. Most American reload manuals say "just use .280 Rem data" but that would result in a reduced performance load, although very safe. VV N160 is a good powder in this cartridge and VV has good load data.
 
Longwalker said:
I have two 7x64's, and like them a lot. If Americans weren't so averse to anything metric and foreign it would be a standard cartridge in North America just like it is in the rest of the world. Slightly better than the .280, it does not suffer from Remington's design and marketing blunders. Most rifles chambered for 7x64 are properly twisted to handle 140-175 grain bullets well, and factory loads are always loaded to full pressure and velocity. I have not had any trouble finding enough brass to keep my rifles shooting. 7x64 is loaded by every European manufacturer, and occasionally by American companies like Remington. Norma and RWS are my favourites. The only frustration I've ever had with mine is finding good load data, most Europeans buy factory loads. Most American reload manuals say "just use .280 Rem data" but that would result in a reduced performance load, although very safe. VV N160 is a good powder in this cartridge and VV has good load data.
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I have loads with RL-22, IMR 4350 and W760... still have to test them though... a couple of my old manuals have loads for 7X65R that can be directly extrapolated.
 
we had few 7x64s as a kid and my first lh rifle was a zastava 7x64. we used speer and nosler bullets and worked great.

glad to see there is in Canada still 7x64 users.
 
Hitzy said:
280 Remington, and 7mm-08 Remington are probably the 2 most versatile and perfect all around cartridges for Canadian hunting. There are dozens of good bullet choices (unlike the .270) so if you load you can use it for basically anything you can hunt. Personally I like short actions for the shorter stroke and stiffer receivers.
All the 7x64 will do that the 280 or 7mm-08 can't is lighten your wallet buying factory ammo, or dies n brass. Not to mention resale will be a ##### unless you have somebody looking for that cartridge...which isn't common.
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I agree completely ... OTOH it didnt stop me from buying a ZKK 602 in 8X68S years ago!!
 
AP said:
I agree completely ... OTOH it didnt stop me from buying a ZKK 602 in 8X68S years ago!!
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For a reloader... there is no big deal to shooting most of the common European metric cartridges... there are plenty of cheap components available... you may have to order them as opposed to running down to your local store, but with the current online global market, that is no big deal.

I just finished Skyping with my daughter and SIL, who are on a mountain in Taman Negara... it is a much smaller world, than when us old pharts were kids.

Resale of these types of cartridges is not the issue that it might first appear to be, because on the used market, metric cartridge platforms can generally be purchased cheaper up front than rifles chambered for more common cartridges... particularly in the USA, where there is little desire for anything metric.

I enjoy shooting cartridges that are just a little different.
 
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Hitzy said:
280 Remington, and 7mm-08 Remington are probably the 2 most versatile and perfect all around cartridges for Canadian hunting. There are dozens of good bullet choices (unlike the .270) so if you load you can use it for basically anything you can hunt. Personally I like short actions for the shorter stroke and stiffer receivers.
All the 7x64 will do that the 280 or 7mm-08 can't is lighten your wallet buying factory ammo, or dies n brass. Not to mention resale will be a ##### unless you have somebody looking for that cartridge...which isn't common.
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I wouldn't be so quick to say that resale would be affected. I've sold a lot of rifles, on this site and Alberta Outdoorsmen, in odd and less popular chamberings. In general there are no shortage of gun guys who like the odd ball stuff. Whether the reason is for something new to try, a love of history or just some extra panache, less popular cartridges sell pretty quick on this site. Of course there is a limit, if brass and dies are impossible to find that the rifle may be a hard sell. This is not the case with the 7x64 though as Tradeex has dies and components.

Like you say though Hitzy the mid sized 7mm cartridges are remarkably versatile.
 
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