26 NOSLER

Since the turn of the last century, 6.5mm cartridges have been popular and efficient game-getters in Europe, but not so in the U.S. until after World War II. Even then the 6.5s were slow to catch on here, due to a lack of good expanding bullets for hunting. The most popular of the bunch was the 6.5mm Swede (6.5x55). Then, in 1958, Winchester came out with an All-American 6.5; the 264 Winchester Magnum. The Model 70 Westerner had an appropriate 26-inch barrel.

For a few short years, the 264 Win Mag captured the imagination of western hunters, who often had to reach out across long stretches to connect with a mule deer or pronghorn. With the 140-grain bullets and 26-inch barrel, they did the job intended. What wasn't understood by many was that the long-for-weight 0.264" bullets held velocity very well, and with their high sectional density also penetrated very well. Accordingly, the rifling twist needed to be faster than the typical one-turn-in-ten inches for most cartridges.

But people on the downside of understanding the performance properties proceeded to crab about the 264 Win Mag, and sales began to drop off. Winchester also chambered the round in their 70 Featherweight with a 22-inch barrel, which was another dumb move. Reduced muzzle velocity and severe muzzle blast added to the negative remarks showing up in gun magazines.

In recent years, Americans have begun to understand the attributes of long 6.5mm bullets. The 260 Remington became the modern version of the 6.6x55 Swede, fitting comfortably into a short action. Hornady introduced the 6.5 Creedmoor, and wildcatters quickly learned to love the 6.5-284. Even the Europeans have hopped back on the 6.5mm band wagon, and specialty cartridges have been developed for competition and tactical applications. 

Let's get serious about the upper end of these rounds... The 264 Winchester Magnum will out-muscle any of the others mentioned above, or easily equal the maximum velocity of the 6.5-284 when loaded to a lower pressure. As far as accuracy goes, the 264 has shown well in countless 1000-yard matches for decades. To make sure that the cartridge does not make a resurgence in popularity, it appears that several published reloading manuals have taken the trouble to develop loads with a 24-inch barrel.
Get serious; that much case capacity and a relatively small bore needs a long-enough barrel. The hunter needs a 26 inches, while the 1000-yard competitor is better off with at least 28 inches. 

Only in the past couple of years has the performance of the 264 Winchester Magnum been eclipsed by any other readily available commercial cartridge. The 26 Nosler drives a 140-grain bullet at 3300 fps from a 26-inch barrel at an acceptable pressure level, which is about 200 fps faster than the 264 Win Mag. Its greater case capacity is the source of the additional power. The use of US869 powder in the 264 may prove to increase velocity somewhat, reducing the difference in velocity between the two above mentioned cartridges to be more in the range of 150 fps.

Any way you slice it, the 26 Nosler puts the shooter into new territory. Its eight-inch rifling twist handles the most streamlined 6.5mm bullets available, including Nosler's 142-grain Accubond Long-Range with a ballistic coefficient of 0.719. Said differently, Nosler's Model 48 Patriot Rifle, at just over 7-1/2 pounds, is capable of flatter trajectory and greater impact energy over greater distances with less recoil than anything else we've known before. Too many wolves? Staying out of range? Not anymore!