Reloading The .24 Nosler Handloads For A New 6mm

Nosler, Inc. has been busy of late; not only with its ever-expanding line of bullets, but with the company’s home-grown rifles and a proprietary line of cartridges.

- R.H. VanDenburg, Jr.

Beginning with the .26 Nosler in 2014, new cartridges have included the .28 Nosler (2015) and the.30 Nosler in 2016. In 2017 the company added the .33 Nosler and, to the surprise of many, the .22 Nosler. This latter cartridge was developed for use in an AR-15 but was also made available in the Nosler Model 48 bolt action. My report on the .22 Nosler in a bolt action appeared in the spring 2018 issue of this magazine (wolfe outdoorsports.com). For 2018 I was expecting something else – a .35 Nosler perhaps – but was once again taken aback to find a 6mm cartridge, the .24 Nosler.

All of the larger Nosler cartridges were designed to provide exceptional velocities. The .22 Nosler, on the other hand, was more narrowly focused to produce increased velocity over the standard .223 Remington when fired in an AR-15. It will not match .22-250 Remington velocities in a bolt action but is a very accurate cartridge.

The .24 Nosler, so far as I know, is available only in Nosler’s bolt-action rifles. It is made by necking up the .22 Nosler case, setting the shoulder back and shortening the overall case length from 1.750 inches to 1.600 inches. The shoulder angle remains the same at 30 degrees, as does the cartridge overall length at 2.260 inches. Whether there is an AR in the .24 Nosler’s future or not, we have a fine new 6mm cartridge, but one that needs a bit of explanation.

As with the .22 Nosler, the .24 Nosler has a rebated rim. Body diameter in front of the extractor groove is .420 inch; head diameter is .378 inch, the same as the .223 Remington. All three use small rifle primers. In an AR all this makes sense; in a bolt action it matters less. There are several interesting facets regarding the .24 Nosler. Most importantly, the 1:8 rifling twist rate identifies the cartridge as one that heavy-for-caliber bullets will find a home.

Reloading the .24 Nosler