Is the 264 Win Mag a hot commodity?
- Thread starter pacobillie
- Start date
Falconflyer
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
It seems as if there is a small cult following. I had a couple of them years ago and I have an action that I'm not doing anything with so I'm thinking of doing a build in 264. To be honest, it's not much of a performer if you put it beside a 257 or 270 Wby and it has very little over the 6.5 PRC in velocity but it's still kinda cool.
I bought dies for it at one point. Pretty sure I sold em though. I just couldn't justify one with a 270win and 7mm rem mag already. Cool caliber, I just didn't see a place for it.
I disagree. It's such a generic name. So many cartridges have "win mag" or"rem mag" (or Norma mag, Weatherby mag, etc) after the caliber. Mind you, I don't think creedmoor is the best name either despite the fact it goes against that norm... And 6.5-300wby is a mouthful lol
I disagree. It's such a generic name. So many cartridges have "win mag" or"rem mag" (or Norma mag, Weatherby mag, etc) after the caliber. Mind you, I don't think creedmoor is the best name either despite the fact it goes against that norm... And 6.5-300wby is a mouthful lol
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nowarningshot
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
If i was buying or building a .264, it would not be my first choice, but neither would a creedmore. Not selling mine.
Falconflyer
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
I haven't decided for certain on the caliber of the build yet for certain but like I said, I've had a couple of other 264's in the past so I know realistically what I'd be getting into. Besides, I'm not trying to please anyone other than myself and I've still got a set of dies and maybe even some brass around.
I thought about a 264 Win Mag for my next one as well, I have owned three previously, ( amongst a pile of other rifles in 6.5 caliber) I talked about it at length with the 'smith that is building my barrel and chambering my single shot We decided that it is too much powder for the amount of gain you get for what I want to do with it, so went with a 260 Remington , of which I also have a set of match dies as well as the 264 Win.
Cat
Cat
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I rebuilt a Browning Safari which had been in .264. Got a NOS .264 barrel from Western Gun Parts. Could have got a 7mmRemMag, they had those too, at the time.
Very frustrating rifle. Shoots very well with light varmint weight bullets, not so well with big game types. Can't imagine hitting a critter with an 85gr hollowpoint travelling at very high velocity.
Should have gone with the 7mm.
Very frustrating rifle. Shoots very well with light varmint weight bullets, not so well with big game types. Can't imagine hitting a critter with an 85gr hollowpoint travelling at very high velocity.
Should have gone with the 7mm.
When comparing it to a 7mm Rem Mag I kept asking myself what does the 264 Wm do that a 7rm doesn't? And judging by the numbers that Hodgdon and nosler give, the only answer I can come up with is "shoot 6.5mm pills" - 140gr loads in the 7RM are 150-250fps faster according to those sources.
I have a pre-64 Model 70 in 264 magnum. Stainless barrel so it'll take the hotter loads if I wish to reload some hot ones. To me, the 264 compared to the 270 is similar to comparing the 30-06 to the 300 Win mag or H&H mag.
Its not unreasonable to get 3100fps+ from a 130gr 270 win (nosler lists up to 3158 w/ w760).
The max load Nosler lists for 130gr pills in the 264wm is 3195 fps w/LRT.
Both numbers come from 24" barrels. If you ask me, judging by the numbers provided in reloading data, it's a very fair comparison.
Falconflyer
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
I got my first crono when I was shooting my second 264 a lot and shortly after that I started calling the 264 a 270 Winchester with a belt and boy does that get 264 fans riled up! Frankly, if your getting a 140/264 bullet over 3000 to 3050 fps from a 24 inch barrel then your doing well from what I've seen.
I've owned 7mm rem mags and I agree with those who say it's a better choice than the 264 but I'll reiterate what I said before about the Weatherby cartridges, the 257 and 270 Wby's are closer to the 264 caliber than the diameter of 7mm and outperform the 264 by a wide margin if velocity is what your after.
I've owned 7mm rem mags and I agree with those who say it's a better choice than the 264 but I'll reiterate what I said before about the Weatherby cartridges, the 257 and 270 Wby's are closer to the 264 caliber than the diameter of 7mm and outperform the 264 by a wide margin if velocity is what your after.
Falconflyer
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
H870..... it's been a while since you reloaded that!
Some say that the newer powders get better performance out of the 264 but the load data I've looked at doesn't reflect that claim.
Falconflyer
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
Do you have some real world numbers?
I have a pair of 264 win mags, H870 is the go to powder for me. I have a good stock pile. The Sako I have has a 24 in barrel so the best velocity is not likely, will have to check it out next summer. I wouldn't bother with another unless I had the mag bolt face, when my Sako needs a new barrel I'm not sure which direction I will go. Overall I like the cartridge, not hard to get it to group with various weights of bullets 120 gr -140 gr. I have a good stock pile of new brass as well.
