What can people tell me about 7x 64?

Boarboy

Well-Known Member
I'm looking into the baser r8. I was going to go .308 but have the opportunity to try something new if I wanted I guess? Was looking at the calibre list and basically I'm after a one for all cartridge, from roe to fallow, to driven boar. I have a separate rifle for foxes now, so this is purely deer and above. 7 x 64 caught my eye as something different, but would ammo supply be a problem?. Thankyou.
 
Ammunition is readily available throughout Europe. I have a 7x64 barrel to go with my 9.3X62, great combination and choice. Enjoy!:thumb:
 
Used 7x64 for about 15 years, shot anything from fox to pigs and red deer. If you want something different, go for it, it is one of the most popular cartridges on the continent. It used to be quite difficult to find a good choice of ammo in contrast to .270 that's very similar.
 
European 270 but a bit smoother to shoot in comparison ammo not to hard to get hold of easy to reload and does what it says on the tin very well.
 
Used a 7x64 on all deer for las 3 years found no problems with it, I have found 140 grain a good all round bullet and flat shooting
 
I've been using a 9.3x62 for driven boar, but it's a little heavy on recoil shooting boar from a high seat, so decided to get something a little different, and chose the 7x64, which shoots a good range of bullet weights.

First off, I would check the availability of ammunition in your area. I always intended to reload for it, but needed some ammunition for a trip to Hungary, and hadn't had the time to reload. Because I intended to reload, it never dawned on me to check what factory ammunition was available local to me. Not a lot. Don't forget that the trade have major issues with shipping firearms, & ammunition at the moment, and at best, it's very expensive. I was quoted £60.00 for carriage, and the local dealer wanted £25.00 to accept it.

I'd picked up a box of Winchester 162g to test, when I collected the rifle, but the rifle didn't like it, not even good enough for boar ! Then fortunately, a local dealer found a few boxes of RWS 173g soft point, he'd had in stock for a number of years, and that worked very well, and will cover me until I sort a load.

So just check first.

That aside, I love it. Mine is on a Merkel Helix, and it came with a relatively short barrel. The RWS was quite slow across the crono, 2480fps, and I was a little concerned how it would perform on a boar. Turns out, no issue, certainly out to circa 150yds, where it passed through, doing what it needed to.

I'm very pleased, but I will still stick with 9.3 for driven.
 
Pretty much everything the 270 should have been. Has the ability to handle heavier rounds than the 270.

David.
 
It is by a long way the most popular hunting calibre in France. It can use bullets from 120gr to 180gr, they can be very fast and flat shooting, or slow and heavy, and there's pretty much a load that's perfect for just about everything you're ever going to encounter in Europe and most other places.
 
Joe Beatham, Gun Shop Cat Hill has 7x64 ammunition and, did have when I last looked, an old BSA CF2 in that calibre. Cheap enough to buy, try, and if you like the cartridge get your Blaser or Sauer as well.

No, no, no, KALAHARI...the .280 Remington is what the .270 WCF should have been! :D

I've both a 7x64 and a .280 Remington. Although are both almost the same there's something 'just' about the .280 Remington that IMHO makes it the better design. But in reality the 7x64 in practicality is a better choice. Gregor Macleod at Tain has ammunition too I believe as do Garland's near Tamworth.
 
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I've got a 7x64 and think it is great. Shoot everything with 165gr Geco soft point and it works very well.
 
Always wanted a 7X64, but couldn't find a rifle I liked (24" barrel that hasn't been threaded), and after enquiring about ammo, realised it would be a serious pain to feed.

So got a .270 instead. And feel a little sad from time to time...

Does anyone have real world experience shooting both 7X64 and .270 with 140gr, and whether these really differ substantially? I have a box of Hornady 140gr .270 ammo that, if Hornady are to be believed, gives identical ballistics to a 7x64 - which I find a touch hard to believe.
 
Think ammo & brass a problem depending where you are of course

What about a straight .284 ? Lapau brass readily available and very common bullets / choice ?

I have a .25-06 but had a hankering for 7x64 too but would probably go straight .284 to negate feeding it issues



Paul
 
Think ammo & brass a problem depending where you are of course

What about a straight .284 ? Lapau brass readily available and very common bullets / choice ?

I have a .25-06 but had a hankering for 7x64 too but would probably go straight .284 to negate feeding it issues



Paul

Norma brass is pretty easy to get hold of. Ruag have stock, and there are no restrictions on shipping to/from dealers. There's a fair selection of bullets for re-loading, 7mm-08 popularity helps, although I'm going to try the Norma Vulcan 170g, and something around the 140g if I can acquire some to try from my friend :D
 
I think the idea of shooting boar with big slow heavy cup and core bullets shedding fifty per-cent of their weight stems from before the war.
Ask any top class pheasant shot what he uses, ( the fastest cartridge he can find ? less lead )
New bullets can now retain more than ninety five per-cent of their weight.
So why not order some 140 grain hornady gmx superformance ammunition at 235 pound's per hundred or the rws h.i.t. ammo about 300 pound's per hundred in 7x64 140gr.
Both are doing 2900-3070 fps. they will kill any boar you can find.
 
7x64 and .280 Remington, ballistic twins, have a huge selection of great bullets, and many of them have high BCs. The case holds enough powder to drive the 150, 154, and 160-gr bullets at within 200 fps of a 7mm Rem Mag, with a lot less powder and recoil.

The 175-gr bullets were common in the early days, because that is what the 7x57 was designed around, so the 7x64 twist rates are usually in the 8.66 to 9.25 range, whereas the .280 Rem is often found with a 1:10 rate of twist. Long boat tail bullets with polymer tips or monolithic metal construction are very accurate.

Bullets in the 150-gr range have BCs in the .500+ range, and many of them retain a lot of weight, so you can load something like the 150-gr Sierra or 154-gr Hornady IL to a mild 2,800 FPS, or the 154-gr BTSP, SST, 150-gr Nosler BT or Accubond, Barnes TSX, or the Scirocco, up to well over 2,900 FPS - for long range bullets on a variety of game.

No problem with feeding if you rebarrel a .25-06 to a 7x64, especially in a long action Mauser, Remington 700, Sako, or Steyr Mannlicher.
 
The quest for Hi Velocity began at the end of the 19th century and commercial rifle cartridges came out that met or exceeded 3000fps early in the 20th Century the 250-3000 Savage came along in 1915. The 3000 of course is the velocity produced and there were others before this in Europe and the UK. The 7x64 itself dates from 1917 according the the Vhit information on the cartridge. The issue was the powders available at the time.
 
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