At the start of the 20th century the famous German gun and ammunition designer Wilhelm Brenneke (1865–1951) was experimenting with the engineering concept of lengthening and other dimensional changes regarding standard cartridge cases like the M/88 cartridge case, then used by the German military in their Mauser Gewehr 98 rifles, to obtain extra muzzle velocity.

It was intended as a ballistic upgrade option for the Mauser Gewehr 98 rifles that were standard issue in the German military.

In 1917 Brenneke necked down his 8×64mm S design of 1912 to 7 mm calibre, introduced it as the 7×64mm, and achieved major commercial success.

The Wehrmacht decided — just like the German Army had in 1912 — to stay with the 8×57mm IS cartridges for their Mauser Karabiner 98ks to keep logistics as simple as possible.

(Commission Internationale Permanente pour l'Epreuve des Armes à Feu Portatives) rulings the 7×64mm Mauser can handle up to 415.00 MPa (60,191 psi) Pmax piezo pressure.

The versatility of the 7×64mm for hunting all kinds of European game and the availability of numerous factory loads all attribute to the 7×64mm chambering's popularity.

Loaded with long, heavy bullets, it can be used on big European game like boar, red deer, moose and brown bear.

The 7×64mm 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 legal banning of ex-military service cartridges like the .308 Winchester, 7×57mm Mauser, 8×57mm I, 8×57mm IS and the .30-06 Springfield in countries like France and Belgium also promoted acceptance and use of the 7×64mm and the 7×65mmR.