The Ole' Westerner 264 WM

Pathfinder

Pathfinder

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So the 264 Win mag is making a comeback !

IM looking for suggestions for loading and will likely be using a 130 gr Barnes TSX and/or another 140 Gr. Bullet.

This will be used for Game up to Bull Moose :cool:
 
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Pathfinder said:
So the 264 Win mag is making a comeback !

IM looking for suggestions for loading and will likely be using a 130 gr Barnes TSX and/or another 140 Gr. Bullet.

This will be used for Game up to Bull Moose :cool:
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with a 130 grain tsx i use 60 grains of reloader 22 ,and with a 130 grain accubond i use imr 4350 at55.0 grains ..the nosler load shoots nice but the barnes needs more tweeking not bad accuracy but not great..im sticking with the nosler load as this one shoots great and now i dont need another load as the accubond will perform awesome on moose,deer,bears which is all i need
 
Interesting. Im gonna test some SST's too but im afraid what kind of a mess they would make on a game animal at 3100 fps ++ I do have some RL 22 so I will probably start with that.
 
I tried H 870 I was lucky to find a 10 lbs er a few years back.

My 264 came to life with H 4350 and 130 grainers. Shoots 120s very well.
RL 22 was a close second as mentioned above.
 
Pathfinder, I have had a fair amount of experience with the 264 Win Mag, owning 6 or 7 over the past 35 years. H870 usually works well, but I had just as good success with H5010. Recent testing has given Hodgdon's Retumbo a positive spot as well. In my personal experience, RL22 and IMR 7828 are fine up to about 125 grains, but after that, slower burning powders work better in this speedball. If you want maximum velocities (That is what the 264 is all about, IMHO!) then slower powders are needed. Others that work well in the 264 with 140 grain bullets and heavier are: H1000, Reloder 25, Norma MRP-2, Vihtavuori N170, Ramshot Magnum & Accurate 8700. I would think that US 869 should work well also, but have not tried any yet. Please feel free to PM me if you want more info. Regards, Eagleye.
 
You gotta try US869. The 264 Win Mag will give max velocities with the 120gr and heavier bullets with its use. RL22, IMR7828, Retumbo and the likes can give good accuracy, but with the heavier bullets are just too quick a powder to give top velocities at sane pressures.

You can use H870 data, for example:

For 140's try starting at 74grs
For 120's try starting at 77grs
 
It certainly seems like It prefers a slow powder that fills a higher proportion of the case. Im planning on working up to 73-74gr. of H870 with 140 gr. Bullets. I was convinced by Steve (Steve's reloading pages) He tells me that H-870 is a national treasure :)

I will certainly keep all these suggestions noted as refer back as Im trying to create a pet Load for my 264.

thanks
 
Pathfinder said:
It certainly seems like It prefers a slow powder that fills a higher proportion of the case. Im planning on working up to 73-74gr. of H870 with 140 gr. Bullets. I was convinced by Steve (Steve's reloading pages) He tells me that H-870 is a national treasure :)

I will certainly keep all these suggestions noted as refer back as Im trying to create a pet Load for my 264.

thanks
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By all means try it, and I'm sure you'll be satisfied. I'd also encourage you to try US869. Those who have used both report similar results - both spherical, high density, US869 a bit slower. Best part is that US869 is readily available and will be (hopefully) for some time - I bought seven pounds and use it in my 6.5-300 Win Mag (gives top velocities in 120, 140 and 160gr) and 8mm ARP (tops in 200gr and 220gr).
 
I found Ramshot Magnum and AA Magpro the best of the ones I tried. RL-25 was very heat sensistive(serious rising velocities in a group),H-1000 spikey,Retumbo inaccurate,and N-560 wouldn't go fast enought.
 
Because of Black fly issues, I didnt' get to test my loads this weekend. I wanted to start off by testing some Factory Ammo I found to see if it would match the advertised speed by Winchester. I only got one reading in 10 tries so I will have to try again and relocate the Chrony next time.

Winchester advertised 3030 fps (140 gr. power point)

My reading was 3008 fps (24" barrel)

I think I will have a bug net for the round of testing....
 
My best load with the .264 Win Mag is 63.5gr of 7828 with a 140gr Sierra Gameking, getting about 3120fps MV and 5/8" at 100yds. This is out of a sporter weight rifle so I won't be winning any BR matches with it but Coyotes to Moose, that rifle and load combo has dropped everything it has touched.

Ivo
 
I started testing with the Game King SBT bullet. I didnt' have any data from sierra for H870 so I used 140 gr bullet Data from Hornady 6th edition.

The max load in Hornady was 77.3 grains which was supposed to give me 3100 fps. I worked up to that load but it gave me 3284 FPS and way too much pressure. It was quite a spike ! (pierced primer) Time to back down and check the grouping now....I really need to get that rifle throated (will have to wait until mid November).
 
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I have a 6.5-300 Win Mag which has about 12% (10 grs) more case capacity than the 264 Win Mag. With a 140gr Hornady and 83.0 grs of US869 (full case) I got 3310 fps from a 24" barrel. Clearly a max load, but primer pockets remained tight and no other pressure signs.

Getting 3284 fps from a 264 Win Mag is definitely an over-pressure situation, as would be anything over 3200 fps, even with US869.

You mention a "Spike". Were other loads with the same charge (77.3 grs) display a slower MV? Did you build up slowly and suddenly (from say 76 to 77) see a large increase in MV?

Before you throat it, it might be fun to try a Winchester Powerpoint 140gr in it. The PP can be seated out very far given that it is a "two dimension" (smaller ahead of the cannelure) than most other bullets.
 
I believe my previous load (I would have to check my data) was 1 grain down so 76.3 and it was 120 fps slower, I guess I was little careless and should of worked up slower given how close I was to the max. My previous increments we not so dramatic, lessons learned.

After the primer pierced and the case failed to extract I stopped shooting that rifle for the day since I didnt' bring a cleaning rod with me. My extractor pulled free of the extractor groove leaving me with a useless rifle, I was able to easily push the case out of the chamber with a cleaning rod later at home .

The factory stuff I tried were actually Power-Points and they are seated much further than I can seat the SBT's but somewhat underpowered around 3010 fps. Accuracy was fairly good, Ill give them another try still have 30 rounds.
 
With US 869 I discovered that you need to work up loads slowly, but I found one grain at a time fine. This powder has a pressure "sweet spot" that once hit yields some big MV gains.

The PP, because it can be seated out so far, effectively increases case volume, in my case by about six grains. You should be able to go through 76 and 77 grains and higher, possibly over 80 grains, before your chrony tells you to stop. I wouldn't go over 3200 fps.
 
Andy said:
With US 869 I discovered that you need to work up loads slowly, but I found one grain at a time fine. This powder has a pressure "sweet spot" that once hit yields some big MV gains.

The PP, because it can be seated out so far, effectively increases case volume, in my case by about six grains. You should be able to go through 76 and 77 grains and higher, possibly over 80 grains, before your chrony tells you to stop. I wouldn't go over 3200 fps.
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Ive got a hold of some core lokts that I can out to the maximum my magazine will allow, time to work up with some US869. results to follow.
 
Cummins4x4 said:
Interesting, just got 2 8lb jugs and 20 1lb in stock, not sure where you are getting your info:confused:
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Just because they had in stock, it does not mean that they are still producing it. I got the info from my components dealer. Try finding H 870 on www.hodgdon.com ? Of course some shops still have some because its not very popular, hardly worth working up a load with a powder this is no longer available (as I found out)

http://www.reloadbench.com/gloss/hh870.html

H870™ AVAILABILITY - As of July 15, 2002, Hodgdon Powder Company will no longer offer H870 powder. As most who read this will know, H870 has always been a military surplus product. The United States Military is no longer using this product so there will be no availability of fresh surplus. We would like to warn you that some powder sellers may try to sell you some form of military surplus powder and claim that you can use our H870 data. This is simply not true. What they are selling will most likely be some slow burning powder but it will not conform to the burn speed of H870. Do not be fooled. If the seller cannot supply data specifically for his powder, it is untested and the burn speed is unknown. This could lead to a dangerous situation resulting in damage to property or injury to shooters and bystanders. If it does not come from our bottle, with our label, it is not a Hodgdon product.
 
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