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The '7 x 64', also known as the '7 x 64 Brenneke', is a rimless bottlenecked centerfire cartridge developed for hunting. As is customary in European cartridges the 7 denotes the 7 mm bullet calibre and the 64 denotes the 64 mm (2.52 in) case length. The 7 x 64 is a popular hunting cartridge in central Europe and can due to its 84 mm (3.307 in) overall length easily be chambered in standard sized Mauser 98 bolt action rifles.

Contents

History

Cartridge dimensions

Contemporary use

See also

References

External links

History

At the start of the 20th century the famous German gun and ammunition designer Wilhelm Brenneke (1865–1951) was lengthening standard cartridge cases like the M/88 cartridge case, then used by the German military in their Mauser 98 rifles, to obtain extra muzzle velocity.
In 1912 Brenneke designed the commercially rather unsuccessful 8 x 64 S cartridge. 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 8 x 57 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 lengthen the 57 mm (2.244 in) long M/88 cartridge case 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 8 x 64 S design of 1912 to 7 mm calibre and introduced it as 7 x 64 and achieved a major commercial success. The 7 x 64 offered compared to the 7 x 57 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 7 x 64 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 1930-ties even considered replacing the 8 x 57 IS in favour for the 7 x 64 for their snipers. The Wehrmacht decided - just like the German army in 1912 - to stick to the 8 x 57 IS cartridge for their Mauser Karabiner 98k to keep things as simple as possible in their logistical chain.
Beside the 7 x 64 rifle cartridge Brenneke also designed a rimmed version for break action rifles of the cartridge in 1917. The rimmed 7 x 65 R variant of the cartridge was also immediately a commercial success.

Cartridge dimensions

The 7 x 64 has 4.480 ml (69.0 grains) H2O cartridge case capacity. A sign of the era in which the 7 x 64 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.
According to the official with CIP (Commission Internationale Permanente Pour L'Epreuve Des Armes A Feu Portative) guidelines the 7 x 64 case can handle up to 415 MPa (60190 psi) piezo pressure. In CIP regulated countries every rifle cartridge combo has to be proofed at 125% of this maximum CIP pressure to certify for sale to consumers.
The American .280 Remington cartridge is probably the closest ballistic twin of the 7 x 64. When compared to the 7 x 64 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 7 x 64 is one of the favourite 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 7 x 64 for hunting all kinds of European game and the availability of numerous factory loads all attribute to the 7 x 64 chambering popularity. Loaded with short light bullets it can be used on small European game like 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 7 x 64 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 7 x 64 rimmed sister cartridge, the 7 x 65 R, is also very popular in central Europe for the same reasons as the 7 x 64. The legal banning of (ex) military service cartridges like the .308 Winchester, 7 x 57, 8 x 57 I, 8 x 57 IS and the .30-06 Springfield in countries like France and Belgium also promoted acceptance and use of the 7 x 64 and the 7 x 65 R.

See also

★ List of rifle cartridges

References

1. Cartridges of the World, , Frank C., Barnes, DBI Books, 1997,

External links

★ Homepage of the Brenneke Company

★ Lutz Möller's webpage on the 7 x 64 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