Has anyone used a 7X64 caliber and is it a good all round caliber for plains game .
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Has anyone used a 7X64 caliber and is it a good all round caliber for plains game .
I have played with it a bit and its an excellent caliber. It is no more nor less than a 7mm-06, 280 Rem. or 284 or even a good handloaded 7x57 from a practical standpoint..Brass is still available from Remington..
If I found one in a real nice rifle then I would buy it, otherwise I would prefer a 280 Remington or a 7x57...
Like Ray said.
I have shot a pile of game with one, deer and elk here in the states.
Used it last month in SA on Impalas and Springbok, used my .325WSM for everything else.
Mark
A really fine caliber, which in most factory loads, seems to lie between the .280 and 7 mag in performance. Obviously, it is a very popular round in Europe, and Norma and DN put together some wonderful loads in their factory offerings. It would be an excellent round, with a lot of reach, for any plains game. I, personally, would prefer a larger bullet for wildebeest up, but I would hardly feel unarmed using a 7x64 for the larger plains game.
I use the same recipe in mine, a modern Ruger M77, as the books list for 280.
Shoots great and shows a little class with the long tapered case. Of course, I'm a sucker for 375, 300 H&H & 6.5x55, they share a little taper in the case.
Hi Raptor
I am a outfitter in SA and my clients sometimes use my 7*64 with great sucsess in the bush as well as long distances.It is usable from Steenbuck up to Kudu although I hunted Cape Eland myself with it at distances around 100yards
You will enjoy this caliber--good penetration and accurate --use 168gr.
Koos
This is an excelent all around caliber for plains game in Africa, widely used for hunting deers and wildboars in Europe, and very common un Germany and Central Europe countries.
Flat trajectory, and good penetration. This caliber uses bullets from 125 to 175 grains and offers 3500 jules (aproximately depending on manufacturer) in the mouth of the barrel. Curiously is a low recoil caliber... very pleasant to the shooter.
Even i know is not well known in USA , everybody can buy any rifle chambered in this awesome caliber, knowing that he has an excelent option for any deersized animals...
Here a pic of my Mauser Stutzen 7x64 in a wildboar hunt in the pyrinees mountains.:):)
http://i39.tinypic.com/ir6p2u.jpg
Jose
Just finished reading Finn Aargard's book again. He used one for many years and it was one of his favorites.
I love this caliber! I have a fine shooting one in the Ruger 77 limited run rifle and recently picked up, wait for it, the same EXACT rifle that Finn Aagaard used while hunting in Kenya. Not his rifle but the same rifle in every respect right down to the barrel markings, sights, stock, recoil pad (toast) etc., and everything else! Got it for reasonable cost off AuctionArms. Barrel is marked Specially made for the B.E.A. Corps, just like Finn's. I dont think the seller knew what he had and probably didnt know that BEA stood for British East Africa. These guns were made as the barrel says specifically for use in Africa and to find one on the net in very good condition, (not perfect) was a real find. I submitted an article to the new editor at Gun World magazine where I have been getting printed semi-regularly for some time now but have no publication date set for it yet. Soon I hope. Glad to see the mention of this fine caliber.
As stated by some above the round is nothing more than the .280 Remington and similar rounds and will do for the same range of game. The one I picked up has not been d&t'd for scope or peep sights and will stay that way for now, (never say never), but seems to shoot pretty well with the open sights, around 3-4 inches at 100 yards with aging eyes.