Nosler Nosler, Inc. is an American manufacturing company based in Bend, Oregon, known for producing ammunition and handloading components and specializing in high performance hollow point and soft point hunting bullets. The current companies also incl ...

produces six different hunting cartridges. The first to be introduced was .26 Nosler, followed by .28 Nosler, .30 Nosler, .33 Nosler, .22 Nosler, and .27 Nosler.

.22 Nosler

The .22 Nosler is a .22-caliber (.224 in; 5.6 mm), rebated-rim centerfire rifle cartridge designed by

. The .22 Nosler is a

SAAMI The Sporting Arms and Ammunition Manufacturers' Institute (SAAMI, pronounced "Sammy") is an association of American manufacturers of firearms, ammunition, and components. SAAMI is an accredited standards developer that publishes several Americ ...

approved and standardized cartridge.

Background

In January 2017 Nosler introduced the .22 Nosler. It is the fifth cartridge designed by Nosler. It is claimed that the .22 Nosler delivers 25% more case capacity and is nearly faster than a

.223 Remington The .223 Remington (designated as the 223 Remington by the SAAMI and 223 Rem by the CIP) is a rimless, bottlenecked rifle cartridge. It was developed in 1957 by Remington Arms and Fairchild Industries for the U.S. Continental Army Command ...

/ 5.56 NATO. The .22 Nosler is designed to use the existing bolt face of an AR-15, and conversions to this caliber can be accomplished with a simple barrel swap. The shoulder is set back slightly compared to the 5.56 cartridge to prevent accidentally chambering a 5.56 cartridge in a .22 Nosler rifle. The case diameter and taper resemble those of the

6.8mm Remington SPC The 6.8mm Remington Special Purpose Cartridge (6.8 SPC, 6.8 SPC II or 6.8×43mm) is a rimless bottlenecked intermediate rifle cartridge that was developed by Remington Arms in collaboration with members of the U.S. Army Marksmanship Unit and U ...

; so Nosler recommends using a magazine designed for that cartridge. While similar to the 6.8 SPC in some regards, there is no parent case and the .22 Nosler cannot be formed from 6.8 SPC brass. The

.224 Valkyrie The .224 Valkyrie (5.6×41 mm)
(5.6 mm) rim ...

Barrel Life

Barrel life ranges from 2,000 to 4,000 rounds depending on use. 22 Nosler

.26 Nosler

The .26 Nosler (6.5×66mmRB) is a rebated-rim centerfire rifle cartridge designed by

and first announced in November 2013. It is the first cartridge designed by

Background

The name .26 Nosler refers to the first two digits in the caliber (0.264 in; 6.7 mm) of the bullets that the cartridge fires and the name of the company which created it. The .26 Nosler is designed as a modern 6.5mm cartridge, using recent advances in firearm technology to attain exceptionally high muzzle velocities, up to , and maintain an extremely flat trajectory. The overall cartridge length of is the same as that of the

.30-06 Springfield The .30-06 Springfield cartridge (pronounced "thirty- aught-six" ), 7.62×63mm in metric notation, and called the .30 Gov't '06 by Winchester, was introduced to the United States Army in 1906 and later standardized; it remained in military use ...

, allowing the use of widely available standard-length

actions Action may refer to: * Action (narrative), a literary mode * Action fiction, a type of genre fiction * Action game, a genre of video game Film * Action film, a genre of film * ''Action'' (1921 film), a film by John Ford * ''Action'' (1980 fi ...

. Four of Nosler's Cartridges, the .26 Nosler, .28 Nosler, .30 Nosler, and .33 Nosler, are based on the same

.300 Remington Ultra Magnum The .300 Remington Ultra Magnum, also known as the .300 Ultra Mag, 7.62×72mm or .300 RUM is a 7.62 mm (.308 inch) rifle cartridge introduced by Remington Arms in 1999. The .300 Remington Ultra Magnum is one of the largest commercially ava ...

Performance

When released, the .26 Nosler was claimed to be the most powerful commercial 6.5 mm cartridge in the world. The .26 Nosler, when loaded with AccuBond Long Range

very-low-drag bullet A very-low-drag bullet (VLD) is primarily a small arms ballistics development of the 1980s–1990s, driven by the design objective of bullets with higher degrees of accuracy and kinetic efficiency, especially at extended ranges. To achieve this, ...

s, retains as much velocity at as the

.260 Remington The .260 Remington (also known as 6.5-08 A-Square) cartridge was introduced by Remington in 1997. Many wildcat cartridges based on the .308 Winchester case had existed for years before Remington standardized this round. Because 6.5 mm ( ...

produces at the muzzle.

Barrel Life

The high velocity of the .26 Nosler cartridge has raised concerns about excessive barrel wear, potentially wearing down barrels at a rate faster than that of the similar

.264 Winchester Magnum The .264 Winchester Magnum is a belted, bottlenecked rifle cartridge. Except for the .244 H&H Magnum and .257 Weatherby Magnum, it is the smallest caliber factory cartridge derived from the Holland & Holland belted magnum case. It was introdu ...

, which itself has a reputation for being a "barrel burner".

Specifications

The .26 Nosler cartridge specifications have been submitted to

and a data sheet is currently available.

.27 Nosler

Nosler adds a new cartridge in 2020, the .27 Nosler. Nosler plans to use a 1:8.5" (216 mm) twist barrel for their M48 rifles chambered in .27 Nosler. Nosler will be offering their complete line of M48 rifles in the .27 Nosler chambering. Initial factory loads will include the AccuBond and the AccuBond Long Range (ABLR) bullets. For handloaders, Nosler will also offer fully prepared Nosler brass, bullets and reloading data for the .27 Nosler. RCBS reloading dies are also currently available for the cartridge. When firing a AccuBond Long Range bullet from a rifle with a barrel, the .27 Nosler has an approximately advantage over the

.270 Winchester The .270 Winchester is a rifle cartridge developed by Winchester Repeating Arms Company in 1923 and unveiled in 1925 as a chambering for their bolt-action Model 54The Complete Reloading Manual for the .270 Winchester, Loadbooks USA, Inc., 2004 ...

, about a advantage over the

.270 WSM The 270 Winchester Short Magnum or 270 WSM is a short, unbelted, magnum cartridge created by necking down the .300 Winchester Short Magnum and fitting it with a .277 caliber bullet. The correct name for the cartridge, as listed by the Sporting A ...

, and about a velocity advantage over the .270 Weatherby. The primary use for the .27 Nosler is hunting.

.28 Nosler

The .28 Nosler is a 7 mm (.284") caliber, rebated-rim centerfire rifle cartridge designed by

. Introduced in 2015 and approved by

on January 19, 2015. It is the second cartridge designed by

Background

The name .28 Nosler refers to the first two digits in the caliber (0.284 in; 7.2 mm) of the bullets that the cartridge fires and the name of the company which created it. The .28 Nosler is based on the .26 Nosler which was released in 2014. The .28 Nosler shares the same overall cartridge length of as the .26 Nosler which allows it to be chambered in standard-length action. This feature helps weight-conscious sportsmen to lighten their load before venturing into the backcountry. The cases’ overall length also aids in quick follow-up shots, since the bolt throw is shorter than on a magnum action. Four of Nosler's Cartridges the .26 Nosler, .28 Nosler, .30 Nosler, and the .33 Nosler are based on the same

Design Considerations

The .28 Nosler is essentially a shortened version of the

7mm Remington Ultra Magnum The 7mm Remington Ultra Magnum or 7mm RUM is a 7mm rifle cartridge introduced by Remington Arms in 2001. Overview The 7mm RUM was created using the .404 Jeffery case which was also used to develop the .375 RUM .300 RUM, and .338 RUM . By neck ...

(7mm RUM). They share a maximum body diameter of . Rebating the rim to simplifies the production of rifle bolts since the rims of Holland & Holland-style belted magnums, such as the

7mm Remington Magnum The 7mm Remington Magnum rifle cartridge was introduced as a commercially available round in 1962, along with the new Remington Model 700 bolt-action rifle. It is a member of the belted magnum family that is directly derived from the venerable . ...

and

.300 Winchester Magnum The .300 Winchester Magnum (also known as .300 Win Mag or .300 WM) (7.62×67mmB, 7.62x66BR) is a belted, bottlenecked magnum rifle cartridge that was introduced by the Winchester Repeating Arms Company in 1963. The .300 Winchester Magnum is a m ...

, are the same diameter. Whereas the 7mm RUM case measures long from head to body-shoulder juncture, that dimension on the .28 Nosler case is . The dimension at that point on the .28 Nosler case is larger, and that reduces its body taper by just a tad. Maximum case lengths are and respectively. Shoulder angles are 30 degrees for the Remington cartridge and a slightly sharper 35 degrees for the Nosler. Due to its greater length, the Remington case is about 25 percent more capacious than the Nosler.

Barrel Life

Since the .28 Nosler burns smaller powder charges than the 7mm RUM, barrel accuracy life is potentially a bit longer. How much longer depends on a number of things, including barrel quality and whether a barrel is regularly cleaned and serviced or abused by its owner.

Reloading

The .28 Nosler cartridge case can be formed by "necking up" or expanding the neck of a .26 Nosler case to 7 mm (.284") diameter.

.30 Nosler

The .30 Nosler is a 30-caliber (.308 in; 7.62 mm), rebated-rim centerfire rifle cartridge designed by

. Introduced in 2016, the .30 Nosler is a

approved and standardized cartridge. It is the third cartridge designed by

Background

The name .30 Nosler refers to the first two digits in the caliber (0.308 in; 7.62 mm) of the bullets that the cartridge fires and the name of the company which created it. This is Nosler's third cartridge following its predecessors the .26 Nosler which was released in 2014 and the .28 Nosler which was released in 2015. The .30 Nosler shares the same overall cartridge length as the .26 Nosler and the .28 Nosler which allows it to be chambered in standard-length action firearms. Four of Nosler's Cartridges, the .26 Nosler, .28 Nosler, .30 Nosler, and .33 Nosler, are based on the same

parent case. While the .26 Nosler and the .28 Nosler share the same cartridge case dimensions, the .30 Nosler has a slightly shorter length to the shoulder dimension than the .26 Nosler and the .28 Nosler, and the .33 Nosler has a shorter shoulder dimension yet than that of the .30 Nosler. The .30 Nosler was released in January 2016. Later in October 2016, Nosler continued to add to the cartridge family by releasing the .33 Nosler, and in January 2017 they introduced the .22 Nosler.

Performance

According to a recent Nosler publication, the .30 Nosler surpasses the velocity of the

.300 Weatherby Magnum The .300 Weatherby Magnum is a .30 caliber rifle cartridge created by Roy Weatherby in 1944 and produced by Weatherby. It has become the most popular of all the Weatherby cartridges. Background Roy Weatherby already had experience with oth ...

, headspaces off of the shoulder like a

and fits the same standard length action of a

300 Winchester Magnum The .300 Winchester Magnum (also known as .300 Win Mag or .300 WM) (7.62×67mmB, 7.62x66BR) is a belted, bottlenecked magnum rifle cartridge that was introduced by the Winchester Repeating Arms Company in 1963. The .300 Winchester Magnum is a ma ...

.33 Nosler

The .33 Nosler is a .33-caliber (.338 in; 8.6 mm), rebated-rim centerfire rifle cartridge designed by

. Introduced in 2016 (production release 2017), the .33 Nosler is a

approved and standardized cartridge. It is the fourth cartridge designed by

Background

The name .33 Nosler refers to the first two digits in the caliber (0.338 in; 8.6 mm) of the bullets that the cartridge fires and the name of the company which created it. The .33 Nosler is Nosler's fourth cartridge following its predecessors the .26 Nosler which was released in 2014, the .28 Nosler which was released in 2015, and the .30 Nosler which was released in 2016. The .33 Nosler shares the same overall cartridge length as the .26 Nosler, the .28 Nosler, and the .30 Nosler, which allows it to be chambered in standard-length action firearms. Four of Nosler's Cartridges, .26 Nosler, .28 Nosler, .30 Nosler and .33 Nosler, are based on the same

parent case. While the .26 Nosler and .28 Nosler share the same cartridge case dimensions, the .30 Nosler has a slightly shorter length to the shoulder dimension than the .26 Nosler and .28 Nosler, and the .33 Nosler has a shorter shoulder dimension yet than that of the .30 Nosler.

Performance

According to a recent Nosler publication the .33 Nosler surpasses the velocity of the

.338 Lapua Magnum The .338 Lapua Magnum (8.6×70 mm or 8.58×70 mm) is a rimless, bottlenecked, centerfire rifle cartridge. It was developed during the 1980s as a high-powered, long-range cartridge for military snipers. It was used in the War in Afghanistan and ...

by 25fps while burning 18% less powder. The .33 Nosler is built on the same action length as the

.338 Winchester Magnum The .338 Winchester Magnum is a caliber, belted, rimless, bottlenecked cartridge introduced in 1958 by Winchester Repeating Arms. It is based on the blown-out, shortened .375 H&H Magnum. The is the caliber at which medium-bore cartridges are co ...

but launches projectiles at a higher velocity.

Availability

The .33 Nosler was released in 2017 with

supplying ammunition and components. Nosler is also offering rifles chambered in the .33 Nosler in its Liberty and Heritage lines, with the first rifle being the M48 Western.

References

{{reflist, 30em Pistol and rifle cartridges

.22 Nosler

Background

Barrel Life

.26 Nosler

Background

Performance

Barrel Life

Specifications

.27 Nosler

.28 Nosler

Background

Design Considerations

Barrel Life

Reloading

.30 Nosler

Background

Performance

.33 Nosler

Background

Performance

Availability

See also

References