Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Rifles Which fast 6.5? .264 mag, 26 nosler, or 6.5-300 Weatherby?

Think one of these would be fun, but can't figure out which way to go. Currently leaning toward 26 Nosler as it has no belt, can fit in a long action, and seems pretty well supported by Nosler.

Anyone else thinking about this?

Yeah I've been considering a pre-64 Model 70 in .264 WM for awhile now. Mostly to use on an Alaskan Dall sheep hunt.

Don't think it makes THAT much difference with good hand loads...that being said, I've always thought the .264 was super cool(although I've never owned one).

No.

But if I were, I'd go and immediately buy 500 to 1000 rounds of brass and the first one for which I could do that would be my choice.

A gun store in El Paso has a Pre '64 M 70 .264 Win mag for $1700,would like to own it but.....

Of the three,I would choose the 6.5-300 Wby.

264 brass is easily made from 7 Rem mag , which will always be available as long as we can burn gunpowder.....

Be different. Go 6.5 rem mag!

Another vote for the 264 WM. Brass is available or, easily made, and there are rifles out there to be had.

I have a 264 and really enjoy shooting it. As sdgunslinger noted, brass can be made from 7mm Mag ammo and your better LGS will probably have a couple of boxes of ammo for you to try out if you don't re-load.

sd: The 264 would be my choice. I keep flirting with getting another pre 64. have to admit I did like mine.

264 model 70 shoots lights out.

My 264 launches a 125gr Partition at 3300fps. Pretty fair open country deer getter. Don't think I need/want any more speed

A fellow posted a pre 64 .264 on Trapshooters.com not long ago. It was around $1200 if I remember correctly. Not in perfect shape, but it might be worthwhile to look for if you want one!

Personally, i think the 264 is about the max case you'd want coupled with a 6.5 bullet. Not sure why the latest push for giant magnums pushing a 6.5 bullet. The 140 bullets seem to perform magically in the 2900-3100 fps range.

6.5-06 if I were building from scratch. On year 3 playing with a .264 WM and agree it's as big of case as you need. Really can't come that close to 100% load density.

Will take it if I draw a 4th season muley tag in CO this year - and that is my objective.

264WM only because I have owned mine since 1963.

So long term winner is .264?

Main focus is to buy a cartridge that will be well supported over time.

139 Scenar @ 3400

I should be getting my 6.5 Bee form their custom shop any day

Give us a report as soon as possible. I have two RC'c coming in for customers but was told they would not ship until April 1.

For my purposes the 26 Nosler and 67.5-300 WBY are ‘too much of a good thing’. Factory ammo is expensive, both Nosler and Weatherby use 26” barrels to get the velocity, Nosler brass is over $2 each, recoil is in the 300WM range and they burn a lot more powder for little gain.

My choice was a 6.5-06AI for a couple reasons, one being the action I wanted to use had a .30-06-sized bolt face and cartridge follower. A 6.5-06 would have sufficed but properly headstamped brass was $2 each. Going AI provided a velocity boost and assured that the formed and loaded cartridges would not fit into a standard chamber, regardless of whether I fire-formed the cases using .25-06, .270 Win or .280 Rem brass. (In the end I went with necked up .25-06 brass.) With a 24” barrel I get 3161fps with a 130g Scirocco II. While that is shy of the 3400fps Nosler claims, or the marginally faster claims for the 6.5-300 WBY, brass is cheap, the loads only burn 58.5g of powder, I’m not carrying around a 26” barrel and recoil is pretty mild. The fire-form loads consist of 49.0g H4831SC and a 140g A-MAX for 2760fps. They are so accurate and gentle I sometimes wonder why I don’t just build a standard 65.-06. Two days ago I was using the fire-form loads to bust clay pigeons off the 600-yard berm because 500 was too easy and I was short on pigeons. I ended up busting 8 pigeons at 600 with about 30 shots. While I missed more than I hit, the misses were usually just off the edges.

If I was building another fast 6.5 from scratch total rifle weight, barrel length and recoil would be primary considerations and I would happily trade a bit of velocity for a handier, lighter rifle. Having spent a lot of time researching this in the last week, I'd go with another 6.5-06AI or a .264 Win Mag in a standard long-action cartridge. In a short action my choice for fast would be a 6.5-300RCM or 6.5SAUM.

I like the way you think. I bet 6.5 wby and 26 nosler are more readily available then 264 win mag .

Based on midway, .264 is the best bet for brass.

26 Nosler brass is readily available, the price is coming down, quality is excellent.

One note. And I'm not gossiping as this was published.

After JB did his testing and write up on the 26 Nosler, he wrote that he sold his .264, bought the Nosler test rifle.

To me the 26 Nosler is very easy to work with, a well thought out round. I like mine.

DF

Yeah, but "264" has a much cooler ring to it than "26".

I have a 6.5X300 WSM and love it, 3180FPS with a Berger 140VLD.

They both pretty loud.

Last year, I was hunting with my good bud on my lease. He was in a box stand, around 600 yds. thru the woods from my location. I shot a hog in his general direction with my 26 Nos. He texted, "That sounded like a cannon". I texted back, "It was!"...

Hog was toast...

DF



Edited to add.

"RING" could be taken several ways, noise, magic magnum belt or coolness of the name. I went with racket.

You may have tongue in cheek referred to the H&H legacy belt. Well, you can have it. The slick 26 is "cooler" for the lack there of...

Coolness of the name:

Well, that just depends. Nosler probably thinks their series of named ctgs. must be pretty cool, seems to be working quite well for Bob and the family...

good post

I am considering the 6.5 saum because GAP is making it a popular offering this year . But ...

Not a bad choice, at all...

DF

10generation,

Ever consider a wildcat. I have my small wildcat that is barely larger than a .264 Win Mag and a larger one that is slightly larger than the .26 Nosler. If you want info let me know.

I rebuilt a pre64 264wm for my Dad that he inherited from Grandpa. Love that rifle, and the 264. Its incredible. Brass is essy to get from 7RM, but we have enough to burn out a couple barrels.

I have 10 boxes of brand new, unopened 26 Nosler 140 GR Accubonds for sale if anyone is interested. I finally talked myself out of the caliber. I don't need it in Virginia. I think I'm going to stick with my 260 & 300 win mag.

Wilco


Mine will be an Accumark RC also with all the fixins

I have a 264 WM, 6.5 WSM and 2 6.5-06s. For me it is a no brainer to go with the 264. However, I would go with a 28" barrel. If you only use a 26" barrel go with a 6.5-284 or 6.5-06AI

I just ordered an action for a 6.5 RUM, I have an action at a 'smiths now for a 6.5 RM and my heavy barrelled 6.5-06 will become an AI soon. Yes I have a love affair with the 6.5 bore. The RUM will be a 31" barrel and shoot Matrix 160gr bullets.

+1

I would be curious to know what the difference in barrel life would be for all 3 cartridges. I have a 264 Win Mag with lots of rounds through it that has throat erosion but still can shoot decently. Have thought about the 26 Nosler and to a lesser extent the 6.5-300 Wby but brass for them is extremely expensive here.

Brass prices on the 26 are coming down. SPS has 140 NAB ammo for a good price, check it out.

I've not worked with the 6.5/300 Wby, but did spend some time working with a friend's .264 WM. I find the 26 Nosler easier to work with, more forgiving as long as one uses very slow, Vulcan type powders, such as 869, 872, etc. With conventional slow burners, there isn't enough difference, IMO. The 26 starts to really shine with ultra slow powders.

DF

I would get a 264 WM mostly because I love the pre 64 M70's....or an old Sako or Rem 700!

6.5 SAUM!

Rick, (rcamuglia) has done a lot of LR work with the .264
WM. IIRC, his favorite powder is RL-33.

Send him a PM.

DF

If I didn't have a Cooper 52 in 280 AI that shoots 3" groups at 600 yes I'd think about it....

So far I'm good.

I am aware of three 26 Nosler that have been built.
All were pretty fussy as max loads were approached. A little more fuel gets LOTS more pressure.
Accurate barrel life is over at 600 shots.

Of the three mentioned, I would get 264 Win.

I'm curious; what powders were "fussy" at or near max.

The 26 is overbore with conventional slow powders, like RL-33, Retumbo, MagPro, etc. Even H-50bmg doesn't seem to be an optimal performer.

With 869, 872, etc. I don't find that to be the case. Performance is pretty smooth, even when pushing max.

DF

Another vote for the .264 WM . . .

+1!

Any more than a 264 is too much of a good thing.

I use 869 powder in my 26 nosler I get great groups with 140 ballistic tip noslers.

yep Id do a 264 Win Mag, bit of a hero catridge that ive dreamed of owning

had 260s, 6.5x55, will be getting a Grendel later this year and then I'll grow a pair and build a 264WMag.

What is the parent case for that?

300 WM

hanco,

Yeah, I use US869 in my 26 as well, though with 140 AccuBonds. It shoots just as well with 140 Partitions, though, and the only bullet I've found that won't shoot so far is the 120 Ballistic Tip, maybe because it's being pushed too fast, though that's not usually a problem with BT's.

Would like to hear personally from somebody who's shot a 26 out in 600 rounds. The word around here is 1000 and sometimes more, as long as you don't shoot it wham-wham-wham and really heat up the barrel.

As in 300 wby mag

264 mag brass should be easier to find

My 264WM gets 3550-3600 fps with the 100gr TTSX and good accuracy. Starting to work with the 120-125 grainers now, and the results are similar to what southtexas reported.

Wow! That'll be sizzling.

Of the calibers you mentioned my first pick would be the 26 beltless Nosler. From seeing the cartridge drawings it seems to be the most evolved or modern design, and if I settled for one of the other chamberings I would always wonder if the Nosler would have been the most accurate.

However, I don't want another 26" barrel, I'd go 24" and live with slightly less velocity which would still be plenty fast.

From the 264WM Sierra 85gr HP at 3831 causes ground hogs to explode.

Why not get one of each. You can't have too many guns. I have three 264's and a 26 Nosler. Buy a 264 Sendero. Have it reamed out to 26 Nosler. I'm gonna get a 6.5 Weatherby as soon as I can. I have a 6.5 Creedmoor. It kills just as well as the big boy out to 350 yds. Way cheaper to load for too. No recoil. We are all way over gunned in my opinion. I came to that conclusion after watching grand children blow the same holes in deer and pigs with a 243 as I do with my cannons. Just my own opinion.

Has anybody gotten their hands on a 6.5-300 Weatherby? If so how did it shoot?

If anybody's interested I am thinking about selling my .264 WM
It's totally custom built by Karl Kampfeld and has a 30" 8 twist barrel.
Only 50 shots down the tube and it's fast!

6.5 Romulus in short action = 165 gr Matrix VLD's at 3400 fps
6.5 Prometheus in long action = 165 gr Matrix VLD's at 3500 fps
170 gr bullets coming soon .......

140's need not apply

Yes

Mark V Terramark shooting 130 Scirocco II; recoil was moderate (nowhere near .300 Mag territory) and it shot well inside of 1 inch.

Get a .264 if it's pre-64 for nostalgia, but the 26 Nosler and 6.5-300 are both worthy. Long term they will both catch on making brass readily available and affordable.

Ballistics are negligible between the two, but I like the redesigned Mark V.

One of the few old model 70's I owned was a Westerner in .264.. Very accurate even in those long ago days of the 60's.. Let a friend talk me out of it... Have regretted it ever since!!

Another vote for the 6.5 4S aka 6.5 SAUM...

Well, it ll sounds like fun boys, but I guess I'll stick with my 6.5X55.

I have one of the old Westerner's, built in 1960. It will still shoot 1" groups with Nosler partitions. It is a nice rifle.