7x64mm
Encyclopedia
The 7x64mm is a rimless
bottlenecked centerfire cartridge
developed for hunting. As is customary in European cartridges the 7 denotes the 7 mm bullet caliber
and the 64 denotes the 64 mm (2.5 in) case length. The 7x64mm is a popular hunting cartridge in central Europe and can due to its 84 mm (3.3 in) overall length easily be chambered in standard sized Mauser 98 bolt action rifles.
(1865–1951) was experimenting with the engineering concept of lengthening and other dimensional changes regarding standard cartridge cases like the M/88 cartridge case, then used by the German military in their Mauser Gewehr 98 rifles, to obtain extra muzzle velocity.
In 1912 Brenneke designed the commercially at the time rather unsuccessful 8x64mm S
cartridge (again in production since 2001). It was intended as a ballistic upgrade option for the Mauser Gewehr 98
rifles that were then standard issue in the German military. The German military chose however to stick to their 8x57mm IS rifle cartridge avoiding rechambering their service rifles for a cartridge that due to its more favourable bore area to case volume ratio ballistically would outperform the .30-06 Springfield
cartridge of the United States Army
. Brenneke’s engineering concept to enlarge exteriour cartridge case dimensions like overall length and slightly larger case head diameter compared to the German 8x57mm IS military cartridge case coupled to an increase in maximum pressure to create new for those days very powerful cartridges was essentially sound and he persisted in the development of new cartridges along this line.
In 1917 Brenneke necked down his 8x64mm S design of 1912 to 7 mm calibre and introduced it as 7x64mm and achieved a major commercial success. The 7x64mm offered compared to the 7x57mm about 10 to 12 % extra muzzle velocity. This results in a flatter trajectory and better performance at longer range. In the years between World War I and World War II the 7x64mm was often regarded by German hunters as a “miracle cartridge” and dozens of different factory loads where available on the German market. It was that highly regarded the German Wehrmacht
(Army) during the 1930s even considered replacing the 8x57mm IS in favour for the 7x64mm for their sniper
s. The Wehrmacht decided - just like the German army in 1912 - to stick to the 8x57mm IS cartridge for their Mauser Karabiner 98k
to keep things as simple as possible in their logistical chain.
Beside the 7x64mm rifle cartridge Brenneke also designed a rimmed version for break action rifles such as double rifles and combination rifles as well as for single shot rifles such as the falling block action Ruger Nr 1. of the cartridge in 1917. The rimmed 7x65mm R variant of the cartridge was also immediately a commercial success.
In countries where military service cartridges are banned for civil ownership (like France
), the 7x64 Brennecke is a successful cartridge for hunting
and marksmanship.
(69 grains
H2O) cartridge case capacity. A sign of the era in which the 7x64mm was developed are the gently sloped shoulders. The exterior shape of the case was designed to promote reliable case feeding and extraction in bolt-action rifles, under extreme conditions.
7x64mm maximum C.I.P. cartridge dimensions. All sizes in millimeters (mm).
Americans would define the shoulder angle at alpha/2 ≈ 20.42 degrees. The common rifling
twist rate for this cartridge is 220 mm (1 in 8.66 in), 4 grooves, Ø lands = 6.98 mm, Ø grooves = 7.24 mm, land width = 3.70 mm and the primer type
is large rifle or large rifle magnum depending on the load.
According to the official with C.I.P. (Commission Internationale Permanente Pour L'Epreuve Des Armes A Feu Portative) guidelines the 7x64mm case can handle up to 415 MPa (60190 psi) piezo pressure. In C.I.P. regulated countries every rifle cartridge combo has to be proofed at 125% of this maximum C.I.P. pressure to certify for sale to consumers.
The American .280 Remington
cartridge is probably the closest ballistic twin of the 7x64mm. When compared to the 7x64mm the .280 Remington has a slightly lower maximum allowed chamber pressure and as an American 7 mm cartridge has a slightly smaller bore. European 7 mm cartridges all have 7.24 mm (0.285 in) grooves Ø diameter. American 7 mm cartridges have 7.21 mm (0.284 in) grooves Ø.
and geese or medium game such as roe deer
and chamois
. Loaded with long heavy bullets it can be used on big European game like boar
, red deer
, moose
and brown bear
. The 7x64mm offers very good penetrating ability due to a fast twist rate that enables it to fire long, heavy bullets with a high sectional density
. The 7x64mm rimmed sister cartridge, the 7x65mm R, is also very popular in central Europe for the same reasons as the 7x64mm. The (former) legal banning of (ex) military service cartridges like the .308 Winchester
, 7x57mm, 8x57mm I, 8x57mm IS and the .30-06 Springfield
in countries like France
and Belgium
also promoted acceptance and use of the 7x64mm and the 7x65mm R.
Rim (firearms)
A rim is an external flange that is machined, cast, molded, stamped or pressed around the bottom of a firearms cartridge. The rim may serve a number of purposes, the most common being as the place for the extractor to engage...
bottlenecked centerfire cartridge
Cartridge (firearms)
A cartridge, also called a round, packages the bullet, gunpowder and primer into a single metallic case precisely made to fit the firing chamber of a firearm. The primer is a small charge of impact-sensitive chemical that may be located at the center of the case head or at its rim . Electrically...
developed for hunting. As is customary in European cartridges the 7 denotes the 7 mm bullet caliber
7 mm caliber
This article lists firearm cartridges which have a bullet in the to caliber range.*Length refers to the cartridge case length.*OAL refers to the overall length of the cartridge....
and the 64 denotes the 64 mm (2.5 in) case length. The 7x64mm is a popular hunting cartridge in central Europe and can due to its 84 mm (3.3 in) overall length easily be chambered in standard sized Mauser 98 bolt action rifles.
History
At the start of the 20th century the famous German gun and ammunition designer Wilhelm BrennekeWilhelm Brenneke
Wilhelm Brenneke was a German inventor of smallarms ammunition, including the Brenneke shotgun slug. He was born in 1865 in Hanover and died in 1951, from natural causes...
(1865–1951) was experimenting with the engineering concept of lengthening and other dimensional changes regarding standard cartridge cases like the M/88 cartridge case, then used by the German military in their Mauser Gewehr 98 rifles, to obtain extra muzzle velocity.
In 1912 Brenneke designed the commercially at the time rather unsuccessful 8x64mm S
8x64mm S
The 8x64mm S is a rimless bottlenecked centerfire cartridge developed as a military service round for the German Army who never issued it...
cartridge (again in production since 2001). It was intended as a ballistic upgrade option for the Mauser Gewehr 98
Gewehr 98
The Gewehr 98 is a German bolt action Mauser rifle firing the 8x57mm cartridge from a 5 round internal clip-loaded magazine that was the German service rifle from 1898 to 1935, when it was replaced by the Karabiner 98k. It was hence the main rifle of the German infantry during World War I...
rifles that were then standard issue in the German military. The German military chose however to stick to their 8x57mm IS rifle cartridge avoiding rechambering their service rifles for a cartridge that due to its more favourable bore area to case volume ratio ballistically would outperform the .30-06 Springfield
.30-06 Springfield
The .30-06 Springfield cartridge or 7.62×63mm in metric notation, was introduced to the United States Army in 1906 and standardized, and was in use until the 1960s and early 1970s. It replaced the .30-03, 6 mm Lee Navy, and .30 US Army...
cartridge of the United States Army
United States Army
The United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...
. Brenneke’s engineering concept to enlarge exteriour cartridge case dimensions like overall length and slightly larger case head diameter compared to the German 8x57mm IS military cartridge case coupled to an increase in maximum pressure to create new for those days very powerful cartridges was essentially sound and he persisted in the development of new cartridges along this line.
In 1917 Brenneke necked down his 8x64mm S design of 1912 to 7 mm calibre and introduced it as 7x64mm and achieved a major commercial success. The 7x64mm offered compared to the 7x57mm about 10 to 12 % extra muzzle velocity. This results in a flatter trajectory and better performance at longer range. In the years between World War I and World War II the 7x64mm was often regarded by German hunters as a “miracle cartridge” and dozens of different factory loads where available on the German market. It was that highly regarded the German Wehrmacht
Wehrmacht
The Wehrmacht – from , to defend and , the might/power) were the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. It consisted of the Heer , the Kriegsmarine and the Luftwaffe .-Origin and use of the term:...
(Army) during the 1930s even considered replacing the 8x57mm IS in favour for the 7x64mm for their sniper
Sniper
A sniper is a marksman who shoots targets from concealed positions or distances exceeding the capabilities of regular personnel. Snipers typically have specialized training and distinct high-precision rifles....
s. The Wehrmacht decided - just like the German army in 1912 - to stick to the 8x57mm IS cartridge for their Mauser Karabiner 98k
Karabiner 98k
The Karabiner 98 Kurz was a bolt action rifle chambered for the 8x57mm IS/7.92×57mm IS cartridge that was adopted as the standard service rifle in 1935 by the German Wehrmacht. It was one of the final developments in the long line of Mauser military rifles...
to keep things as simple as possible in their logistical chain.
Beside the 7x64mm rifle cartridge Brenneke also designed a rimmed version for break action rifles such as double rifles and combination rifles as well as for single shot rifles such as the falling block action Ruger Nr 1. of the cartridge in 1917. The rimmed 7x65mm R variant of the cartridge was also immediately a commercial success.
In countries where military service cartridges are banned for civil ownership (like France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
), the 7x64 Brennecke is a successful cartridge for hunting
Hunting
Hunting is the practice of pursuing any living thing, usually wildlife, for food, recreation, or trade. In present-day use, the term refers to lawful hunting, as distinguished from poaching, which is the killing, trapping or capture of the hunted species contrary to applicable law...
and marksmanship.
Cartridge dimensions
The 7x64mm has 4.48 mlLitre
pic|200px|right|thumb|One litre is equivalent to this cubeEach side is 10 cm1 litre water = 1 kilogram water The litre is a metric system unit of volume equal to 1 cubic decimetre , to 1,000 cubic centimetres , and to 1/1,000 cubic metre...
(69 grains
Grain (measure)
A grain is a unit of measurement of mass that is nominally based upon the mass of a single seed of a cereal. From the Bronze Age into the Renaissance the average masses of wheat and barley grains were part of the legal definition of units of mass. However, there is no evidence of any country ever...
H2O) cartridge case capacity. A sign of the era in which the 7x64mm was developed are the gently sloped shoulders. The exterior shape of the case was designed to promote reliable case feeding and extraction in bolt-action rifles, under extreme conditions.
7x64mm maximum C.I.P. cartridge dimensions. All sizes in millimeters (mm).
Americans would define the shoulder angle at alpha/2 ≈ 20.42 degrees. The common rifling
Rifling
Rifling is the process of making helical grooves in the barrel of a gun or firearm, which imparts a spin to a projectile around its long axis...
twist rate for this cartridge is 220 mm (1 in 8.66 in), 4 grooves, Ø lands = 6.98 mm, Ø grooves = 7.24 mm, land width = 3.70 mm and the primer type
Percussion cap
The percussion cap, introduced around 1830, was the crucial invention that enabled muzzleloading firearms to fire reliably in any weather.Before this development, firearms used flintlock ignition systems which produced flint-on-steel sparks to ignite a pan of priming powder and thereby fire the...
is large rifle or large rifle magnum depending on the load.
According to the official with C.I.P. (Commission Internationale Permanente Pour L'Epreuve Des Armes A Feu Portative) guidelines the 7x64mm case can handle up to 415 MPa (60190 psi) piezo pressure. In C.I.P. regulated countries every rifle cartridge combo has to be proofed at 125% of this maximum C.I.P. pressure to certify for sale to consumers.
The American .280 Remington
.280 Remington
The .280 Remington, also known as the 7 mm Express Remington, was introduced in 1957 for the Remington model 740, 760, 721 and 725 rifles. The .280 is based on the .30-06 Springfield necked down to accept 7 mm bullets, with the neck moved forward .050in...
cartridge is probably the closest ballistic twin of the 7x64mm. When compared to the 7x64mm the .280 Remington has a slightly lower maximum allowed chamber pressure and as an American 7 mm cartridge has a slightly smaller bore. European 7 mm cartridges all have 7.24 mm (0.285 in) grooves Ø diameter. American 7 mm cartridges have 7.21 mm (0.284 in) grooves Ø.
Contemporary use
The 7x64mm is one of the favorite rifle cartridges in central Europe and is offered as a chambering option in every major European hunting rifle manufacturers products palette. The versatility of the 7x64mm for hunting all kinds of European game and the availability of numerous factory loads all attribute to the 7x64mm chambering popularity. Loaded with short light bullets it can be used on small European game like foxFox
Fox is a common name for many species of omnivorous mammals belonging to the Canidae family. Foxes are small to medium-sized canids , characterized by possessing a long narrow snout, and a bushy tail .Members of about 37 species are referred to as foxes, of which only 12 species actually belong to...
and geese or medium game such as roe deer
Roe Deer
The European Roe Deer , also known as the Western Roe Deer, chevreuil or just Roe Deer, is a Eurasian species of deer. It is relatively small, reddish and grey-brown, and well-adapted to cold environments. Roe Deer are widespread in Western Europe, from the Mediterranean to Scandinavia, and from...
and chamois
Chamois
The chamois, Rupicapra rupicapra, is a goat-antelope species native to mountains in Europe, including the Carpathian Mountains of Romania, the European Alps, the Tatra Mountains, the Balkans, parts of Turkey, and the Caucasus. The chamois has also been introduced to the South Island of New Zealand...
. Loaded with long heavy bullets it can be used on big European game like boar
Boar
Wild boar, also wild pig, is a species of the pig genus Sus, part of the biological family Suidae. The species includes many subspecies. It is the wild ancestor of the domestic pig, an animal with which it freely hybridises...
, red deer
Red Deer
The red deer is one of the largest deer species. Depending on taxonomy, the red deer inhabits most of Europe, the Caucasus Mountains region, Asia Minor, parts of western Asia, and central Asia. It also inhabits the Atlas Mountains region between Morocco and Tunisia in northwestern Africa, being...
, moose
Moose
The moose or Eurasian elk is the largest extant species in the deer family. Moose are distinguished by the palmate antlers of the males; other members of the family have antlers with a dendritic configuration...
and brown bear
Brown Bear
The brown bear is a large bear distributed across much of northern Eurasia and North America. It can weigh from and its largest subspecies, the Kodiak Bear, rivals the polar bear as the largest member of the bear family and as the largest land-based predator.There are several recognized...
. The 7x64mm offers very good penetrating ability due to a fast twist rate that enables it to fire long, heavy bullets with a high sectional density
Sectional density
Sectional density is the ratio of an object's mass to its cross-sectional area. It conveys how well an object's mass is distributed to overcome resistance. For illustration, a needle can penetrate a target medium with less force than a coin of the same mass...
. The 7x64mm rimmed sister cartridge, the 7x65mm R, is also very popular in central Europe for the same reasons as the 7x64mm. The (former) legal banning of (ex) military service cartridges like the .308 Winchester
.308 Winchester
The .308 Winchester is a rifle cartridge and is the commercial cartridge upon which the military 7.62x51mm NATO centerfire cartridge is based. The .308 Winchester was introduced in 1952, two years prior to the NATO adoption of the 7.62x51mm NATO T65...
, 7x57mm, 8x57mm I, 8x57mm IS and the .30-06 Springfield
.30-06 Springfield
The .30-06 Springfield cartridge or 7.62×63mm in metric notation, was introduced to the United States Army in 1906 and standardized, and was in use until the 1960s and early 1970s. It replaced the .30-03, 6 mm Lee Navy, and .30 US Army...
in countries like France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
and Belgium
Belgium
Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
also promoted acceptance and use of the 7x64mm and the 7x65mm R.
See also
- List of rifle cartridges
- 7 mm caliber7 mm caliberThis article lists firearm cartridges which have a bullet in the to caliber range.*Length refers to the cartridge case length.*OAL refers to the overall length of the cartridge....
- BrennekeBrennekeBrenneke GmbH is a German manufacturer of ammunition and bullets, based in Langenhagen, Lower Saxony.The company was founded by Wilhelm Brenneke in 1895 and is currently owned and run by his great-grandson, Dr. Peter Mank....
- 8x64mm S8x64mm SThe 8x64mm S is a rimless bottlenecked centerfire cartridge developed as a military service round for the German Army who never issued it...
- 9.3×64mm Brenneke
External links
- Homepage of the Brenneke Company
- Lutz Möller's webpage on the 7x64mm Brenneke (including images)
- The 7x64 Brenneke" by Chuck Hawks
- 7 X 64 BRENNEKE" at Accurate Reloading
- 7x64 Brenneke cartridge dimensions" at Steves Pages
- Patronenporträt 7 x 64 - Kraftpaket oder Papiertiger?, Wild und Hund 6/2005
