Description
The rimmed 7x65R exists so that break-action rifles, drillings and combination guns can shoot what the bolt-action 7×64 shoots. The Sellier Bellot 7x65R 173gr SPCE is the standard hunting load for those guns.
- Why the Rim Matters
- Sellier Bellot 7x65R 173gr SPCE Specifications
- Honest Notes on Feeding a Drilling
Why the Rim Matters
Wilhelm Brenneke designed the 7×64 and the 7x65R together in 1917, one rimless for bolt actions and one rimmed for everything else. A break-action rifle, a drilling or a combination gun has no bolt face to grip a rimless case; it needs a rim to headspace against and to give the extractor something to pull on. That single difference is why two nearly identical cartridges exist.
Interestingly the rimmed version is loaded slightly hotter. The Sellier Bellot 7x65R 173gr SPCE leaves at 795 metres per second, roughly 2608 feet per second, against 770 for the rimless 7×64, giving 3539 joules or about 2610 foot-pounds. In practice the difference is small, but it is real and worth noting if you own both.
Sellier and Bellot load this in Vlasim, Czech Republic. As with all Continental ammunition the published figures are metric, and the imperial values here are conversions.
Sellier Bellot 7x65R 173gr SPCE Specifications
SPCE means Soft Point Cut-through Edge. The jacket mouth is trimmed square rather than tapered, giving the exposed lead a defined shoulder to peel back from, which makes expansion begin predictably across a wide range of impact velocities. The jacket thickens toward the base so the rear of the bullet holds together and keeps penetrating once the nose has opened.
At 173 grains in 7mm this is a heavy-for-calibre bullet, and the combination of high sectional density with controlled expansion is what European hunters rely on for boar and red deer in cover. The Sellier Bellot 7x65R 173gr SPCE is a woodland load in the way it is actually used, effective well inside the ranges where its trajectory would become a problem.
A note specific to combination guns: drillings and break-action rifles are regulated at the factory with a particular load, and point of impact with any other ammunition may differ. Shoot this at your intended distance and confirm where it prints rather than assuming the barrels are still on.
- Cartridge: 7x65R
- Bullet weight: 173 grain, 11.20 g
- Bullet type: SPCE semi-jacketed soft point cut-through edge
- Muzzle velocity: 795 metres per second, approximately 2608 feet per second
- Muzzle energy: 3539 joules, approximately 2610 foot-pounds
- Case: rimmed brass, boxer primed, reloadable
- Primer: non-corrosive boxer
- Country of origin: Czech Republic
- Rounds per box: 20
- Manufacturer part number: V332032
- UPC: 754908510313
Honest Notes on Feeding a Drilling
Buy the Sellier Bellot 7x65R 173gr SPCE if you own a break-action rifle, drilling or combination gun chambered for it. Factory 7x65R is not commonly stocked in the United States, so buy several boxes when you find it and keep the brass.
It suits boar, red deer and similar medium game at the woodland ranges these guns are built for. The heavy bullet and controlled expansion are well matched to that.
Read your barrel marking carefully before ordering. The rimless 7×64 and the rimmed 7x65R differ by one character in the name and are not interchangeable. A 7x65R will not chamber in a 7×64 bolt gun, and a 7×64 round will not headspace correctly in a break-action chambered for the rimmed version.
The rimless version for bolt actions: Sellier and Bellot 7×64 173gr SPCE. Another rimmed European chambering: 6.5x52R 117gr SP. Sellier and Bellot publishes full SPCE ballistic data on its own site.
MAG5 Firearms stocks ammunition for European and obsolete chamberings. If you own a drilling or a combination gun and are unsure what it takes, send us the barrel markings and we will work it out.
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