26 Nosler????? !!!!!

[264WM]

Barrels are like tires when they wear out you replace them.

 

[Kiwi Greg]

Barrels are like tires when they wear out you replace them.

Yep for sure.

I reckon the whole "barrel burner" thing is a non-issue for hunting rifles.

Say you had a "barrel burner" cartridge, it had a life of say 700 rounds.

By the time it is sorted & ready to go for hunting you should have at least 400-500 rounds left.

At 40-50 rounds a year hunting animals, rocks etc for validation that is 10 years of hunting......

How many guys still have a hunting rifle that they fire 40-50 rounds a year hunting with that they have had for ten years ???

Obviously if you use it for steel shooting, pest control etc that's a different story.

 

[264WM]

Yep for sure.

I reckon the whole "barrel burner" thing is a non-issue for hunting rifles.

Say you had a "barrel burner" cartridge, it had a life of say 700 rounds.

By the time it is sorted & ready to go for hunting you should have at least 400-500 rounds left.

At 40-50 rounds a year hunting animals, rocks etc for validation that is 10 years of hunting......

How many guys still have a hunting rifle that they fire 40-50 rounds a year hunting with that they have had for ten years ???

Obviously if you use it for steel shooting, pest control etc that's a different story.

I purchased my 264 WM in 1963 and finally had to re barrel it in 2010. I shot a lot of hot loads in 100gr hp's with 72 gr H4831 through it at rock chucks.

 

[WildRose]

Yep for sure.

I reckon the whole "barrel burner" thing is a non-issue for hunting rifles.

Say you had a "barrel burner" cartridge, it had a life of say 700 rounds.

By the time it is sorted & ready to go for hunting you should have at least 400-500 rounds left.

At 40-50 rounds a year hunting animals, rocks etc for validation that is 10 years of hunting......

How many guys still have a hunting rifle that they fire 40-50 rounds a year hunting with that they have had for ten years ???

Obviously if you use it for steel shooting, pest control etc that's a different story.

Greg you wouldn't believe how many rifles have passed down through multiple generations of family in this country.

A hundred years ago and before it was common for pretty much every family outside of major cities to own one large caliber rifle for deer/elk/antelope hunting, one shotgun, one .22LR and one pistol. They were just pretty well standard tools that every family had as part of basic survival and food gathering.

I've got four sitting here that were all passed down from great grandfathers through the generations and some have already been passed on to my brothers kids so that's five generations right there.

The average hunter will never put enough rounds down range to burn out a barrel and doesn't know enough about firearms to know that they have LOL.

 

[MontanaRifleman]

It all depends on what you consider acceptable accuracy for barrel life. Most hunters consider 1 - 1 1/2 MOA acceptable for a hunting rifle. Not many of us here do.

Sure you can swap out barrels, but it is costly. By the time you've paid the shipping your looking at $450 give or take for a match grade barrel then comes the smithing. Most of us will spend a good amount of powder and bullets looking for a good load and that will eat into a barrels life.

It's all part of the game. If you want performance, you're gonna pay for it. No free lunches.

I'm guessing running the 26 Nosler at or near max is going cook a barrel in about the same time you'll cook a 7 RUM which is probably going to be about 500 rounds or so in a non-nitrided barrel if you are looking for 1/2 MOA accuracy.

 

[4xforfun]

Greg you wouldn't believe how many rifles have passed down through multiple generations of family in this country.

A hundred years ago and before it was common for pretty much every family outside of major cities to own one large caliber rifle for deer/elk/antelope hunting, one shotgun, one .22LR and one pistol. They were just pretty well standard tools that every family had as part of basic survival and food gathering.

I've got four sitting here that were all passed down from great grandfathers through the generations and some have already been passed on to my brothers kids so that's five generations right there.

The average hunter will never put enough rounds down range to burn out a barrel and doesn't know enough about firearms to know that they have LOL.

"some have already been passed on to my brothers kids". Looks like you need some "direct decendents"..... I understand that you have quite a collection..... and.....I am available for adoption.

 

[WildRose]

"some have already been passed on to my brothers kids". Looks like you need some "direct decendents"..... I understand that you have quite a collection..... and.....I am available for adoption.

LOL, my little brother Jimmy (who actually isn't even related to me but the only family I'll claim) and his kids are going to be well enough equipped to start their own Army and that would still leave a good many not getting used much... .gun)

He and I sat down about a month ago trying to figure out what we have and what we still need.

We came to the conclusion we were way past "need".

 

[marioq]

Rose,


I'm available for adoption. Mario Rose??????

Has a nice ring to it !!!!!

As long as I get those STWs!!! Hahahahah
Any word on NM??

 

[WildRose]

Rose,


I'm available for adoption. Mario Rose??????

Has a nice ring to it !!!!!

As long as I get those STWs!!! Hahahahah
Any word on NM??

Well I need another doc in the family so I'm sure we can work something out.

I haven't made a move yet on NM, waiting to get the verdict on the knees in a couple of weeks. I'm probably looking at a knee cap replacement on the right and not sure yet where I am on the left. Recovery time on those is generally not too bad but it all depends on when we can get the butcher lined up.

 

[Swamplord]

I wonder what the "chicken little" syndrome guys will think of these 6.5's ....

from left to right....

6.5 Pro (6.5-300 Norma Mag)
6.5-338 Lapua Mag
6.5-300 Rum
6.5- 7.82 Warbird
6.5-378 Wby

all loaded with the 160 gr Matrix bullet, ( for maximum effectiveness... )



eeeekkk !! waaaaaahhhh !!!
the sky is falling !!!!
the sky is falling !!!!
(some more of the) waaaaaaaahhhhh !!

hahaha !
sorry guys, tired of reading about the "overbore, barrel burner " bs on every single gun/hunting forum in existence !!!! reminds me of when the 300 Rum appeared on the scene years back ,
just messing around y'all .........was bored and cranked out some cool rounds to look at and envision melting barrels on a 3 shot group ! hahaha

 

[TXAoudadKlr]

A 6.5-338 improved would be sweet but I think one would very limited by bullets that could survive the launch from it.

 

[idaho elk hunter]

I have had my 26 Nosler for 6 weeks now. I have been doing load development with 872, RL33, 50 BMG, and started on Vita Vouri powders. Barrel shot out and done before I could finish.
Never did hex coat it to see what it would do with out lubricant. Maybe I should have? This would be a great test on Hex Boron.
I have a Lothar barrel coming since they tend to do a bit better with hot rounds and have been as accurate as the "BIG NAME" barrels. The steel used in them are a harder steel and resist erosion a LITTLE bit better.
I am going to HEX coat the barrel and bullets to see what this does.
Virtually no difference between virgin and once shot brass in deviation or fps. To much overbore to make a difference.
To form a case it is best to use the 7mm ultra and it is painfull for the process is long.
The end result for a long range killing machine it will not ever come close to the 338 jumbo mags.
I am sure that some will call this a unfair comparison which I suppose it is. But the title of this forum is LONG RANGE HUNTING. TARGET is nowhere close to what this community is about.
I am pretty sure at 1000yds a little Pronghorn hit with a 250 to 300 gr 338 bullet will have a better chance of expiring than a 129 pill in 264!. any meat damage difference would be .062 difference + or -!!!

 

[MudRunner2005]

I have had my 26 Nosler for 6 weeks now. I have been doing load development with 872, RL33, 50 BMG, and started on Vita Vouri powders. Barrel shot out and done before I could finish.
Never did hex coat it to see what it would do with out lubricant. Maybe I should have? This would be a great test on Hex Boron.
I have a Lothar barrel coming since they tend to do a bit better with hot rounds and have been as accurate as the "BIG NAME" barrels. The steel used in them are a harder steel and resist erosion a LITTLE bit better.
I am going to HEX coat the barrel and bullets to see what this does.
Virtually no difference between virgin and once shot brass in deviation or fps. To much overbore to make a difference.
To form a case it is best to use the 7mm ultra and it is painfull for the process is long.
The end result for a long range killing machine it will not ever come close to the 338 jumbo mags.
I am sure that some will call this a unfair comparison which I suppose it is. But the title of this forum is LONG RANGE HUNTING. TARGET is nowhere close to what this community is about.
I am pretty sure at 1000yds a little Pronghorn hit with a 250 to 300 gr 338 bullet will have a better chance of expiring than a 129 pill in 264!. any meat damage difference would be .062 difference + or -!!!

So...6 weeks of barrel life... How many rounds was that, just out of curiosity? I know I can load and shoot enough in 1 year to expire a 7mm RM barrel, so I'm sort of curious. I don't necessarily hate the .26 Nosler, but I am curious to know exactly how bad of a barrel-burner it is, to help justify my theories as to why it is not all it's cracked up to be. I am sure it is an absolute tack-driver at LR, which is quite impressive in its own rights, but if barrel life is that bad, can it really be justified as the cartridge it has been hyped-up to be?

Like I said, all bias aside, it generally strikes my curiosity.

 

[WildRose]

This is why I decided to buy my own reamer and add enough extra length to my barrels to set them back and rechamber each of them at least twice. Learned my lesson wit the .204.