7x64 why is it not more popular?

[Hales Smut]

Being new to informal targetshooting as a training for stalking, I read books , internet , etc...... The 6,5-284 seems to be very popular as a long range round. I also read that the balisticly strong 7 mm rounds take over at long range, the 284 win as an example.

Why is the 7x64 not more popular? Neck to short or long ? Angle of shoulder ? .............? I am curious to know why.

[gbal]

Being new to informal targetshooting as a training for stalking, I read books , internet , etc...... The 6,5-284 seems to be very popular as a long range round. I also read that the balisticly strong 7 mm rounds take over at long range, the 284 win as an example.

Why is the 7x64 not more popular? Neck to short or long ? Angle of shoulder ? .............? I am curious to know why.

Several contributory reasons: mainly a european cartridge,not well known in USA where most long range developments occur.And it is very similar,but no better,than the 284,which has been recovered from its obscurity as a hunting cartridge,to be a good 7mm long range option-just enough,not excessive.The 7 rem mag outclasses the 7x64 as a hunting cartridge in USA-though the 7rem mag has not been used as a long range target cartridge.The 280Rem isn't far away either.

The 284 win does have the perceived advantage of a shorter fatter case,and the recent range of 7mm short

/ultra magnums from Winchester and Remington have had quite a bit of long range development.

So,7x64 does not offer anything not readily available,or bettered in US cartridges....especially 284 Win

 

Gbal

[kent]

Being new to informal targetshooting as a training for stalking, I read books , internet , etc...... The 6,5-284 seems to be very popular as a long range round. I also read that the balisticly strong 7 mm rounds take over at long range, the 284 win as an example.

Why is the 7x64 not more popular? Neck to short or long ? Angle of shoulder ? .............? I am curious to know why.

Availability and fashion, govern much in shooting. 12 bore v 16 bore in game shooting, 7-08 v .308 in stalking. same with LR target work it was the 6.5mm it seems the 7mm has more than taken things by the throat now, wait on a while and someone will come up with a new winner and it will all change again

[Laurie]

It's simply an issue of 'local markets' and buyers' preferences. When the 7X64 was introduced in 1917, not only was GB and US at war with Germany, but US interest in 'metric cartridges' was minimal. THE US calibre was .30 in various forms plus later the .30-06 case based .270 Winchester. 7mm (0.284-inch) bulleted cartridges simply didn't figure in the US amongst Joe Shooting Public, a few wealthy characters aside who had custom rifles built or imported by upmarket gun dealers like Griffin & Howe.

 

The .280 Remington / 7mm Remington Express (same thing) is ballistically identical to the 7X64mm Brenecke, and even that as a homegrown US cartridge sold relatively poorly for decades, hence the two names as Remington renamed it twice durings its early life to try and drum up some trade (reverting to the original .280 Rem moniker on the 2nd change). It's only relatively recently that 7mm cartridges took off amongst US 'hunters', the 7mm remington Magnum (1962) being the catalyst for acceptance of the calibre. .280 Rem then had a revival of interest maybe 20, 25 years ago when there was a fad in the USA for lightweight 'mountain rifles' in calibres for long-range shots on sheep, goats, and similar. .280 Rem was the preferred chambering - probably pretty nasty to shoot, but I suppose not an issue if you were fit enough to clamber 3,000 ft up a mountainside to get the shot!

 

While we in the UK tend to look to the US for developments and kit, less so to continental Europe, the two regions have remained quite separate markets in some respects with us in the middle looking a bit both ways. Many European stalkers have remained with 'traditional' rifles and cartridges, and most Americans have litlle interest in, and even less knowledge of, European developments. The 7X64mm is often described as 'a near copy of the .280 Rem' in US publications, although it actually preceded the American number by exactly 40 years (1917 v 1957). In reality, neither cartridge designer likely copied the other - both used existing cases. In the 280 Rem's example, the .30-06 was still the dominant design in the American public's mind during the 1950s and Remington needed a .30-06 based number to challenge Winchester's similar .270.

 

American interest in the 6.5mm and 7mm cartridges has grown enormously in recent years, but her manufacturers still tend to adopt homegrown designs. In reality, whether for match or game shooting, there is not a lot between the .280 Rem (increasingly used in the US for long-range F-Class in standard and AI 'improved' forms), .284 Win in long-throat / heavy bullet form, and cartridges like the 7X61mm S&H, and 7X64mm.

[Cumbrian 1]

I shoot one at Diggle for tactical and mcqueens and I love it It has a 1:8.7 twist and will easily handle the berger 180grn pills

[BBear]

Several calibres were mentioned which one do you shoot at Diggle?

[DW58]

I owned/used a rifle in 7x64mm for a number of years, used it primarily on Roe and Red deer. It's a very accurate and versatile calible fit for anything Europe has to offer and most US game as well.