Wilhelm Brenneke designed his 7x64mm rifle cartridge in Germany in 1917. This is a rimless, bottleneck cartridge designed for use in bolt action magazine rifles. It's appearance, case capacity and basic performance are similar to that of the .280 Remington. The 7.65R is simply a rimmed version of the cartridge for use in single shot rifles and drillings.

The 7x64 is a versatile cartridge. Like the .280, it uses standard 7mm (.284") bullets. A reasonable number of factory loads for the 7x64 are offered in North America, and a large selection of 7mm bullets are available to the reloader.

As this is written, the Shooters Bible lists 7x64 factory loads from Federal, PMC, Remington, and Speer among US ammo companies. In addition, Norma and Sako factory loads are imported into the U.S. from Europe.

Federal offers a premium 160 grain Nosler Partition bullet at a MV of 2650 fps with 2495 ft. lbs. of ME. The 200 yard figures are 2310 fps and 1895 ft. lbs.

Remington offers a 7x64 factory load using a 175 grain PSP Core-Lokt bullet at a MV of 2650 fps with 2728 ft. lbs. of ME. The 200 yard figures are 2248 fps and 1964 ft. lbs.

The reloader with a 7x64 rifle can approximate these factory loads and has access to a wider range of bullet weights. Of particular interest are the 139-145 grain bullets, which are an excellent choice in any 7mm rifle. Data from Hornady suggests that 49.3 grains of IMR 4350 powder will drive a 139 grain bullet to a MV of 2600 fps, and 54.7 grains of IMR 4350 will give a MV of 3000 fps.

Also according to Hornady reloading data, their 154 grain bullet can be driven to a MV of 2500 fps by 46.9 grains of IMR 4350 powder, and 2900 fps by 52.9 grains of IMR 4350. A Hornady Spire Point Interlock bullet at 2800 fps would have the following trajectory (Hornady figures): +1.9" at 100 yards, 0 at 200 yards, and -8.3" at 300 yards.

Note: A full length article about the 7x64 and 7x65R can be found on the Rifle Cartridge Page.