Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Long Range Hunting 26 Nosler

Oh hell.... no one would be offended.

I already knew the Mashburn capacity anyway. Interesting where it sits in comparison to the others.

Given these data and my editorial about a potential 28 Nosler, what's your take?

DF

DF,

After firing a few 26 Nosler cases in the Nosler rifle, I measured the H20 capacity with a 129-grain Hornady Spire Point seated to the front of the cannelure, and it went exactly 90 grains. (This is a more accurate way to measure useful powder room than just filling a case to overflowing.) In comparison, a fired Winchester-brand .264 Winchester Magnum case held 80.6 grains with the same bullet, seated the same way. According to the 4-to-1 Rule, this works out to a 4.8% velocity advantage for the 26.

Also tried some rounds in three different rifles chambered for .30-06 legth belted magnums, and while not every round fed perfectly I doubt it would be hard to tweak either a CRF of push-feed action so it would work well.

John,

Do you think the 26 Nosler would benefit from a mag length action or is the std. length action enough, even with long bullets?

I gave the example of my Damara .300 WM and how much I liked the full mag box for that round, even though it's a std. length magnum round.

DF

No doubt some shooters are going to want to make 26 Noslers on 3.6" magazines. There's no need to with any of the Nosler bullets, but the 130-grain Norma Diamond match bullets I used to sight-in and do initial load-testing with are a little too long for the magazine when seated just shy of the lands.

I'm thinking with a RUM action little tweaking will be needed for the fat 26 round to cycle thru that action.

The downside, there are a lot more std. length mag. actions floating around for donors than RUM actions.

Does the Nosler rifle have a wider than standard box mag, or do they cut windows in the box like Winchester does for their RUM's?

DF

The three actions I tested were a Ruger Hawkeye .264 Winchester Magnum, a NULA Model 28 chambered for the .257 Weatherby, and a standard (.30-06) size Remington 700.

The one that would take some adjusting was the Ruger, but usually CRF actions are the most finicky about feeding a particular cartridge. But I've adjusted the feeding on a number of CRF actions, including several Rugers, and feel I could get this one to feed the 26 pretty easily. It just isn't that far off.

It fed easily from the NULA and the Remington, though I could only get two rounds in the magazine of each rifle.

I am sure the Nosler rifle has a wider magazine box, but it isn't slotted, probably because unlike Winchester (and Remington) they made the box wide enough for the round, rather than modifying their standard magnum box. Nosler has been chambering fat, beltless rounds since they started offering rifles, and all I've tried have fed perfectly.

Not knowing anything about the 26 Nosler other than what you guys are posting, I am guessing that if you neck it to 7mm,it's going to be very much like a 7mm LRM.

Whoops, I missed that one.

I think the 7 LRM is around 100 gr. H20.

I'll edit and put it in the list.

DF

................

Cartridge OAL is 3.650" for all.....

"shortstroke" the long 7mm, 300, 338, 375 RUM reamers to 26 Nosler case length (make dummy cartridge for headspace gauge)
cut the bottom off the RUM dies to length needed, = an inexpensive route for 26 Nosler based wildcats.....

It's an Idea , the question is ....will it work ?

left to right .....

26 Nosler 160 gr Matrix VLD Bonded
28 Nosler 180 gr Berger VLD Hunting
30 Nosler 230 gr Whiskey 3 Precision TAC-PM RBT
33 Nosler 300 gr Berger Hybrid OTM Tactical
37 Nosler 320 gr Cutting Edge MTH L04



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So it can/has been done, I'm interested in this can you provide any more info on the 28 Nosler Swamplord ???

You been busy...

Thanks for that line up of interesting rounds.

DF

I'm still trying to visualize how one seats a bullet in a case full of water. Does the excess water seep out around the bullet? Sounds messy...

If some water capacity measurements are done like this and others to the brim, it sorta taints the comparative validity between rounds. It has been mentioned that Nosler has different case capacities, based onbullet types, so that must be the way they're measuring case capacity.

That method makes sense, as case capacity can only be subject to room left after the bullet is seated.

Thanks,

DF

What velocities are you guys getting with the 160 Matrix?

DF,

It's extremely easy, and only slightly messy:

1) Use fired cases, since they better represent actual powder room.

2) A bullet can easily be slipped into the neck of fired brass. Or at least it should. If not, there's insufficient neck clearance for some reason, usually a too-long case.

3) Fill the case with water to the brim, then set it on some flat surface and carefully insert the bullet. The excess water will flow out of the neck around the bullet.

4) I usually use a cannelured bullet, since it's easy to seat them to the same depth when comparing the capacity of two or more cases. But you can also use a Magic Marker to make a witness mark.

5) Remove the bullet. Often a drop or two will stick to it, so I scrape them off on the edge of the case mouth, then wipe down the outside of the case.

This shows the actual amount of space available for powder with that bullet seated. Filling to the brim gives a few grains advantage to long-necked cases, where the neck is filled by the bullet.

Thanks, John.

I was visualizing sized cases, but can see how a fired case wouldn't be that big a problem.

Is there any way to know which case capacity measurements are done that way, or to the brim? Not knowing (which would be my guess) sorta taints meaningful comparisons between rounds.

DF

DF,

If you are cool with only 2 down, a Wyatt's CF box would be an idea for a std mag LA 700. That gives you 3.710in. He also sells a long box CF mag where you can alter the action and bolt stop to get over 3.8. Some folks bitch about CF boxes, but it was night and day difference in feeding for my 700 SMs.

To me, I like the factory box if it can be made to work. It's a cleaner, sleeker product for a hunter, IMO.

If all else fails, a Wyatt could become a necessary option. My HS .240 has a box and feeds super slick. They just don't hold many rounds.

DF

DF,

Other than long experience with measuring the H20 capacity of various cases probably not. But I've been doing it long enough to get a feel for which method was used. For instance, most .30-06 length belted magnums will have a capacity around80 grains, and "full length" belted magnums around 90 grains.

Once in a while there are surprises. .338 Lapua cases, for instance, are so heavy they don't have nearly as much room as you might guess, in fact not all that much more than the .340 Weatherby.

So, my little chart of relative big 7 case capacities is just that, relative and not a real accurate comparison. These data were picked up on line, so who knows the methods or precision used with each measurement.

I guess it gives only a ball park idea of how those rounds line up.

DF

..................(gr. H2O)
7.21 Lazaroni.......117
7 RUM...............114.8
7 LRM...............100
7 STW...............98.3
26 Nosler...........93...(may be slightly more opened to 7mm)
7 Washburn Super..90
7 Wby...............87.5
7 Jarrett...........85.5
7 Dakota............85
7 RM................83.2
7 WSM...............83