Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Rifles 264 Win Mag

Love my .264. I take her just about everywhere with me. Gonna light up some antelopes with her in October, then deer in November, then elk in December and some more antelope in December. And no, you can't eat right up to the hole with either Ballistic Tips, Partitions or TSXs.

So true,

I just handled JimD's new buy in a pre 64 Westerner yesterday.


The 264 can shoot higher BC 120 bullets at 3,450 very easily and just smokes any 270 Win out there. To even try to compare a 270 with a 264 is ridiculous.

But then we've been this road before haven't we Steve.

I haven't loaded as much for the 264 as I have for the 270, but IME I was easily able to hit 3325 from the 264 with 120-125 gr bullets,without straining a thing.

And while I have had a 270 here and there that with certain loads hit 3200 with a 130, this was far from run of the mill,as most loads do about 3100 fps.

I would not exepct a 270 to really keep up with a 264 simply because the 264 has greater powder capacity,albeit smaller bore size.I think that sometimes we look at the velocities that are obtained from 140 gr loads in the 264(3100-3200 from what I can tell) and assume from there that the 264 and and the 270 are not too far apart.This may have been true back when we shot Power Points,and stuff like that,but with todays very high BC bullets I don't think it's true any longer.

Muzzle velocity does not tell the whole story,and I would expect that with those very high BC 264 140 gr bullets started at over 3100,the 264 will trump the 270 quite handily.

I am seeing this very same thing so far in working with 175 Nosler Partitions in the 7 Mashburn with a starting velocity of 3050.This bullet has a BC of .519,quite high for a standard leadcore bullet,and the Nosler manual indicates it shoots as flat to 500 yards as a 180 NP started from a 300 Weatherby at 3150-3200. My shooting so far is showing this to be true.High BC bullets can make a difference.

Disclaimer: This does not mean I am selling my 270's

DANG!

Ingwe

Infidels lurking.......

yes, we have

.264 will shoot like a lazer beam !

What manual has high performance loads for the 264? Even Nosler, which usually has the hottest loads, has it loaded only to 80%. Seems to me to be an epic underachiever, or they haven't published the proper loads with a slow enough powder. If I go by published loads, it barely outruns the 270...it must do better than that - without resorting to 30" barrels.

I really am trying to justify one, mainly because of the 6.5 bullets, but keep coming back to the lackluster velocity...when compared to the 257 Weatherby and 270 Weatherby and even the 270 Winchester.

264 WM for me needs good slow powder to perform. H870 seems to be magic with a 140gr. I have lost interest in it myself as they can be a prick to get too shoot. 7mm is my preference now.

So much depends on the the rifle barrel and it's chambering,that no one can say this cartridge is a slow 2900 or a fast 3200,with a 140 of course.

While N-560 was accurate,more powder didn't increase the vrlocity to an acceptable level. Magnum and Magpro worked best for me.

Good old H4831 gets the accuracy and volicity. The old Manuals at one time listed max loads but the newer ones have dropedback 10% to protect them selves from the idiots and there lawers.

With todays slower burning powders the 264 will leave the 270 in the dust. Use a good 140gr. bullet, a chronograph, a 26" barrel, and work up slowly. The results will amaze you.

What are some of the powders you are using? I just tried Retumbo and a 140 VLD and didn't get over 3000 fps with a max load. I would like to get around 3100 fps for this rifle.

I easily get 3100+ fps with a 140 gr. bullet with RL17 out of my 270.

Many rave about Retumbo, but I have never got great accuracy out of it myself.

I find Retumbo on the fast side for the 264 & US869 on the slow side for the 264. Nothing touches H870 IMO.

RL25 has worked well for me, but a max charge is 64gr & speed will tip only just over 3100 FPS in a 26" tube I have found.

Us869 will go to about 78gr but speeds seem to be just at or under 3100 FPS in my testing.

I tend to use H870 mostly myself, but maybe I have a fast barrel. I also have a 220 Swift that does better than it should.

It helps to have a 30" Shilen 1 in 8" twist with the 264 it burns all the powder.

I think my Dad has one like that.
Hunted with his older winchester before it was stolen.
Now I have a 7 mag and a .270. Wouldn't need either if
I had chosed a .264 first.

stumpy

You are right about that. My son has a 7mm mag and I don't like shooting it, just more recoil than I like when sighting in.