AN EVEN FASTER 26 FROM WEATHERBY

The date is 10 October 2015. Earlier this year, a few of us were visiting about the 26 Nosler, as well as the even newer 28 Nosler. The 28 Nosler is a full-bodied beltless magnum case that could be described as a somewhat shortened 7mm Remington Ultra Magnum, or perhaps as a cartridge very similar to the 7mm Dakota. As far as capacity goes, it's on a par with the 7mm STW. 

All of us (in the conversation) admire Nosler very much for many reasons. We do not, however, see anything particularly new in concept with the 28 Nosler. All of us have several 7mm magnum rifles. When it comes to well-balanced larger magnum power, the 7mm Weatherby Magnum just can't be beat. This all-too-often passed-over member of the Weatherby lineup has proven over and over that it is wonderfully accurate, has measurably more power than the 7mm Remington Magnum, essentially equals the larger 7mm STW, and simply should be far more popular than it has been. For the next step down in power, both the 7mm WSM (Winchester Short Magnum) and the 7mm Remington SAUM (Short-Action Ultra Magnum) have exhibited extreme accuracy when built into match-grade rifles. Neither is particularly popular, and the Remington version is all but extinct even though it was introduced as recently as 2002. Some F-Class matches have been won with the 7mm WSM, and the 7mm SAUM is so delightful and efficient that it has been referred to by myself and others as the 280 Ackley Improved-Improved. Performance of the 7mm WSM is on a par with the conventional and highly popular 7mm Remington Magnum, while the slightly smaller 7mm SAUM is slightly less powerful; but it is powerful enough for most any use of a 7mm bullet. 

There is considerable interest these days in the 6.5mm cartridges. Among the most popular in recent years is the 6.5-284, which started as a "wildcat" cartridge made by necking the 284 Winchester case down half a millimeter. There have been plenty of 6.5s around for a century or so, starting as military cartridges, and there have been several new designs with mid-sized cases. The path set for them has pretty much remained, as longer bullets requiring faster rifling twist rates is the norm. The next diameter down, 25 caliber (0.257"), uses a 10 twist. So does the next size up, 27 caliber (0.277"). The 6.5s, however, most commonly have an 8-inch twist. There are exceptions, of course, as the 260 Remington in Remington and some other rifles has often been paired with a 9-inch twist, as has the 264 Winchester Magnum in recent years in both Winchester and Remington rifles.

The 26 Nosler is especially interesting to us, because it has more rock-n-roll than the 264 Winchester Magnum. The 264 had been criticized nearly into oblivion by most anyone who could write an article or a letter with a crayon on a torn-out piece of paper sack, or utter some grunting sounds that could be translated, The complaint was either that it didn't have more or much more power than the 270 Winchester (from people mimicking Jack O'Connor), or that it burned out barrels rapidly. That left readers and listeners wondering how rapid is rapid, and if the barrel would start to melt while still in the rack at the gun shop. In all my years of shooting centerfire, which began well before the 264 was introduced in 1958, I have met only one person who actually "shot out" a 264 Win Mag barrel. He was a 600-yarder, who shot all of his rifles a lot. He particularly liked his extremely accurate 264, built on an FN single-shot bench rest action with set triggers and a Douglas Barrel. It was a eight twist, and the bullet used was Sierra's 140 MK. The barrel lasted way longer than anyone suggested that it might, so sometime after 2000 rounds he had it re-barreled exactly the same way. 

So, here came a cartridge with even more steam than the 264. Would the 26 Nosler become a victim of the gun writer, and of supposed shooters who have never held or fired one complaining about this or that? My only complaint at the time of the discussion was that it wasn't the hottest 6.5 ever developed. What I had remembered was the old 6,5 Weatherby-Wright-Hoyer, which was a real bad boy on the 1000-yard circuit in the late 1960s and early 1970s. It was the 300 Weatherby Magnum case, necked down and with loads developed by Paul Wright, and rifles built by Alex Hoyer. Wright used to practice constantly in the deserts of New Mexico, and have the rifles built by Hoyer in Pennsylvania; not far from the original 1000-yard range (actually 1032 yards). Finally it climbed to the top, when Frank Weber used one of Hoyer's rifles to set a new world record (140 Sierra MK). Records back then were fair and honest, and they stood for awhile. Today there are thousands of 1000-yard competitors, and now and then one of them accidentally (not statistically) breaks the record set the month before.

Just as the ink is drying from the announcement that the 26 Nosler is the new commercial record holder for 6,5 power, here comes Weatherby with their announcement for 2016... they are introducing the former wildcat 6.5-300 Weatherby Magnum as a regular member of the long brass line. It will be available in selected models from their Mark V Ultra Lightweight (which I promptly ordered) to mid-heavyweight versions with the No. 3 barrel (Accumark, etc.). 

Okay, I'm ecstatic. While I was pleased to see the 26 Nosler, and hope that there is also a resurgence in 264 Win Mag interest (Winchester's Model 70 Extreme Weather SS is a dandy), I can't even begin to express how grand it is that Weatherby has made this decision. I have always admired the courage of Weatherby to move forward with products that are different, while they still understand and embrace the classics. For 2016, they have advanced yet another step with new products that incorporate various changes that can only be considered as advancements. This relatively small company continues to understand what true class is, while some of the giants and former giants continue to flirt with polymer. Before buying any rifle, ask yourself, "Will I be proud to hand this down to the next generation?" Some lucky member of my family is going to be getting that Weatherby Ultra Lightweight in 6.5-300... but before they do, it will be mine!

JDC