grasshopper, last time i looked, there were some very nice new Remington 700s in .264 on the shelf. and you say it was "killed"? i think not! and yea, i have both 7mm RM and .264 WM rifles. the 7mmRM is getting rebarreled to .264 soon. i have a Lilja barrel and reamer on the shelf. the fact that i have 5,000 rounds of once fired brass in .264 WM may have had something to do with that decision, but i can (and do)neck up the .264 brass to 7RM if I wished.
Toad,
No offense! But whereever rifle looneys congregate, one can always find someone who likes a "dead" cartridge. i.e: .264 Win. Mag, .348 Win., .300 Sav..., etc... Not to say the .264 is intrinsically bad, but you have to admit, that the limited run rifles are the only ones available for the chambering. Got any idea what the ratio of sales is: .264 to 7mm Rem Mag? Me neither, but it's alot! Virtally ever rifle manufacturer in the world chambers the 7mm Mag. as opposed to how many make the .264? Now if that's not dead, you tell me what is? Even Winchester doesn't chamber it... What does that say?
I concur that you have the right to like any cartridge that you wish... But If you are granted that right, then I should have the same right to dislike it. I have had three .264's in my shooting career. None of the three would shoot less than 2" at the proverbial 100 yds. The first one exihibited excessive pressure with book starting loads and IMR-4831. That didn't exite me, and it's been all downhill from there.
In all honesty, I couldn't find anything I could kill with the .264 that I couldn't kill just as dead with a .270.
Actually, I looked at all the horns on my walls, and realized They'd all been taken with a different cartridge and lo' none of them were taken with a belted magnum... Thus, I have concluded that belted magnums just mean more powder, more bark but the end result is the same.
If hunting with a "whatever Loudenboomer" makes you feel better or more confidant, then go for it. But as for me, "How" I take a game animal is far more important than "if" I take one.
As we get older, most of us come up with some surprising, and unlikely conclusions.
