Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Long Range Hunting The new 26 Nosler

I love 6.5's, but the 26 Noz using 130s needs help in convincing me to get one when my 7mm WBY is getting the same
ballistics at distance using a 24" barrel and 5 grains less powder.
Recoil is probably equal between the two but I'm done (for now) with 26" barrels.

6.5/130 LRAB 3,400 mv.. 600 yds......8.3 moa 1000 yds...19.5 moa
7mm/150 LRAB 3,300 mv.. 600 yds....8.7 moa 1000 yds...19.9 moa

The 26/140/612 bc Berger VLD would probably shoot at 3,300 making no difference with the 7mm/150/611 bc LRAB.

All said and done, it's to bad the .30 Adolf Express was not a long lasting success in its day to be eventually necked down to 6.5 & 7mm.

So far I've just done some very preliminary shooting with the 26 Nosler test rifle they loaned. The top 129-grain listed load of 82.0 grains of Ramshot Magnum shoots well under an inch at a little over 3400 fps, and not just with 3-shot groups.

Recoil is noticeably less than with my 7mm Weatherby Magnum using 140-160 grain bullets, but it has a 26" barrel and gets a little more zip than your rifle. Both rifles are about the same weight, but stock shape is different. Will see what happens with more load development.

Greatly looking forward to reading your report.

I'd actually like to see a 150 or 160 plain old PT or Accubond along with more LR type bullets, but I would think a 150/160 class bullet would be pretty awesome from a big case like the 26 Nosler. Seems like a bullet like that would dig pretty deep, still be a relatively flat shooting load and offer a little more bullet weight for larger than deer stuff. I guess it is more of a dream as the 140 PT in the 264 Win is pretty amazing as it is, but a guy has to dream right?

Yeah, us Loonies gotta dream...

With the std. length mags, those super long bullets may not be practical. In a std. mag. the 140 NPT's, NAB's etc. should be OK.

My 6.5-284 will push a 140 VLD at 3K with RL-17. Hopefully, the 26 will be able to push those bullets at around 3,200 fps, or so. The point blank range will be extended for shooters not wanting to use a ranging reticle or turret.

DF

Yes sir, without a doubt. Seems like there should be plenty of room for powder with that big case. The 264 Win Mag does pretty decent with 140's so I can imagine the bigger 26 Nosler should really whoop it on as well. I love my 264, one of my favorites since it just shoots very well, all the time. It was giving me a little grief when I first got it with Retumbo, but once I changed over to RL25, the planets aligned and it's been pretty easy to work with.

Did some on line research. The .264 Thor (8mm Rem Mag necked to .264) has 98 gr. water case capacity vs. 26 Nosler's 90 gr. It seems as slower and slower powders are available, the definition of "over bore" gets pushed back...

The Thor with super slow powders can push a 140 gr. bullet nearly, but not quite 3,400 fps.

With slow powders, the 26 should be able to push 140's at 3,200, one would think.

And, 160's at 3,000+.

We'll see...

DF

I would think a 26 Nosler should easily reach 3200 with 140's with a 26" tube. I run 140 AB's at 3180 in my 264 with RL25. I have a 26" barrel, maybe I am lucky, but Nosler brass holds up really well. I haven't lost any primer pockets and the accuracy is as awesome as I could hope for out of a factory Sporter.

With the 1-4 rule, if the 26 has 10% less case capacity than the Thor, thus 2.5% less velocity, or 84 fps from 3,380 fps, maybe the 26 can push a 140 closer to 3,300 fps.

Hope I figured that correctly.

But, I have no idea the pressure it took to get the Thor to 3,380 with 140's.

140's in the mid to upper 3,200's would be pretty good, hopefully at reasonable pressure.

DF

Yeah, I believe that would be the key. I don't have a way to measure pressure other than measuring chrono strings, H20 capacity and observing case life and such, so I think I am probably around 63K with my my loads in the 264. I would think the 26 Nosler could loaf that same load along at the same speed and case life would be excellent if they were annealed every so often. That would be the advantage in my eyes.

That Thor sounds like a monster. I can't imagine putting more powder behind a 140 than my 264, that makes the 264 look like a weenie!

Yeah, I'd think it would take a "special type" to build and enjoy a Thor.

Maybe those guys give us Loonies some relief, i.e. there are Loonies out there who are "more worser than us"...

DF

I know .264 fans don't want to hear this, but to me it seems that round can be a bit finicky...

Hopefully the 26 won't be...

DF

I haven't tried 140's yet but will as soon as the weather calms down and I get the rest of the 130-grain testing done. (Montana's rainy season, which normally starts in May and tapers off by mid-June, decided to start in mid-June this year, and its bee rainy AND windy for a while.) My figuring is also that 3300 or close to it should be safely attainable with 140's.

The guys at Nosler also informed me they'll have data for 140's up pretty soon, but another educated guess is that max charges will be 2-3 grains lower than for the 129 LRAB.

Looking forward to that data, and maybe you can find a few 160 Matrix bullets to try.

DF

Great intel MD. Sounds like a nice cartridge for a guy that wants to push 140's pretty quick, not beat himself up too much and have a fully capable round for just about everything.

DF, I agree, I really think the 264 can be a real pain till you find what it's like. I have seen a couple so far and none of them have been particularly easy to find loads for.

Both of the .264's I've owned settled down nicely with Ramshot Magnum and 130-140 grain bullets.

Good info MD. Never tried Magnum in anything, but I have heard good things about it in the 264. Looks real good on paper though.

Just copied and pasted my post on the .264, where to go next thread.


"Some here on the Fire claim that .264 shooters don't use slow enough powder. One guy got great results with RL-33. It's made by NitroCheme, Switzerland, same bunch making RL-17, both powders having progressive burning properties.

I like Ramshot Magnum, which is a very dense, slow burner. You can get more powder into a case without compressing the load. I like that feature. Magnum is my best powder for 100 gr. NPT in the .240 and it's Noslers accuracy powder with the 129 ABLR in the 26 Nosler.

I'd give those two a serious workout. Who knows... Back when I was working with a .264, I didn't have access to those powders."

DF

Hot off the press, 140 gr. data for 26 Nosler.

DF

http://static.squarespace.com/stati...01786c91e9f9b/1403289208653/?format=750w

That's what I'm talking about. It looks a whole lot better to me with 140's. 3300 with 140 ABs or PTs seems pretty deadly.