Twer it me, I would go a different way... you say that you are not really a magnum fan... buy a .280 and AI it... then look for a 6.5mm down the road; .260 Rem, 6.5X55, 6.5 CM etc... I agree that your arsenal has holes in the 6.5mm and 7mm area.
No doubt some magazine writer told him so ...therefor if he read it, it must be true.
Really liked my 26" Win70 in 264WM ....and sorely miss H870. Shot some nice small groups with 85gr. varmint loads of H-4831.
I really miss H 870 as well, put a lot of that through my first 264 staring back in the 1960s and back then it was all I used in it...
Ok here we go
-264 versus 270win. Well if a 270win can push a 140gr bullet to 3240fps, then I guess there the same
7mm can stabilize heavier bullets.
-.264(6.5mm) has a higher BC and SD than 7mm.
ANY over bore magnum if you fire consecutive shots is hard on throats.
Watch out for old data, lots of new powders with burn rates right in the 264 wheel house out there. John Barness did a great article.
From my old Speer Manual, p.178 .... "max" loads (back in the day) Model 70 Winchester rifle, 26" Barrel, 1-9 twist Speer 140gr. Spitzers
5010 - 76.0gr. 3,303fps / H870 - *76.0gr. 3,293fps / H570 - 75.0gr. 3,313fps / H4831 - 64.0gr. 3,267fps / H450 - *62.0gr. 3,245 fps
* denotes CCI 250 Magnum primer, otherwise CCI 200
Note in text, p.176: "Winchester advertises their 100 grain bullet at 3,700 fps and the 140 grain at 3,250 fps. These velocities are in 26" barrels. Muzzle
velocities in 22" barrels are about 200 fps slower."
.... Not what we see today !!!
BB and c-fbmi,
do you know why they reduce that much the load?
Well, since the 270 has been brought up, and apparently the magnums need 26" barrels to get best performance, guess I will have to get my 26" 270 Win out and take it to the range for a checkup. IIRC, 130 ge bullets were a tad over 3300 fps, and 150s well over 3000.
Shooting both loads into the same target at 200 meters produces three inch groups, so makes chosing a huntin' load pretty easy.![]()
Ted
....On a more serious note - I wonder how RL-33 will do with the .264 WM. I suspect it would be a good.
Because back then, pressure measuring equipment was costly and few companies had access to them. SO they relied on pressure guessing techniques such as case head expansion and "making sure the primer pockets will stay tight for X amount of loads"
Once equipment that actually gives you accurate pressure measurements became common, some loads were reduced, some were increased, but most stayed about the same.
It's also why many wildcats were touted as having incredible velocities, but once they became legitimized and were tested, the velocities dropped, as the wildcat originators were almost always loading them incredibly hot.
You might be interested in this little bit of trivia too ... SAAMI's limits set for the 375 Ruger in 270 gr. and 300 gr. velocity loadings, are fractionally lower than those for the upper limits of the 375 H&H with identical bullet weights by 10 and 20 fps respectively. Both at the identical upper pressure levels. Just seems there are no commercial loads for the upper-end of the 375 H&H (maybe because of all the oldies out there since 1912) The only advantage I can see to "The New King" is "Short with no Belt" ... same as a Wizzum !!!
Simplicity is elegant.![]()
I'll beg to differ ...
Winchester introduced the 264 WM along with the 338 WM in 1958. They assuredly had to submit to SAAMI's oversight at the time. I can't for a minute believe Speer, Hornady, Sierra, Nosler, Hodgdon, Hercules (Alliant) and Dupont IMR didn't have the latest in test equipment. ( Copper crusher technology had been around since the virtual advent of smokeless powder and piezo electric
pressure measurement was in place at the Springfield [and no doubt Frankford] Armory as early as 1921. Isn't that the spots characters like Askins, Ackley, Keith, Whelen & Howe etc.
used to play when not engaged in army work ???
SAAMI as I'm sure you know was requested (back in the '20's) by the US Federal Government to provide uniform technical standards among the US arms and ammunition manufacturers. It's constituent committees were and are made up of direct representatives of the US firearms, ammunition and component manufacturers. Besides their "Technical" Committee, which oversees the standards for cartridge dimensions and commercial ammunition velocity & pressure levels ... their "Legal & Legislative Committee" has had an ever increasing influence, commensurate with the propensity for litigation within the US legal system ... vis-a-vis, specifically that directed towards the firearms & ammunition manufacturers.
NO matter the gun, the cartridge, or how strong the materials, there is no SAAMI cartridge pressure above 65,000 psi ( MAP - 66,000 psi MPLM or 69,100 MPSM ) seems like a magic
"Glass Ceiling" ... and I'd bet it's not based on anything technical.
You might be interested in this little bit of trivia too ... SAAMI's limits set for the 375 Ruger in 270 gr. and 300 gr. velocity loadings, are fractionally lower than those for the upper limits of the 375 H&H with identical bullet weights by 10 and 20 fps respectively. Both at the identical upper pressure levels. Just seems there are no commercial loads for the upper-end of the 375 H&H (maybe because of all the oldies out there since 1912) The only advantage I can see to "The New King" is "Short with no Belt" ... same as a Wizzum !!!
Anyway, looking at older manuals, some have changed data due to pressure testing equipment, some powders and bullets have changed, and I'm sure that lawyers might get involved when they are told "Well, we had no pressure testing gear, but now we do, and it turns out that some of these loads were running 10 000-15 000 PSI over the max that we all agreed was proper"




























