Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Ask The Gunwriters 264 Win Mag

I had a .264 WM barrel put on a Ruger #1 about 28 years ago. This was before there were all the current 6.5s obviously. I shot it this year and it still shoots small groups with Hornady 140g SP. Would I have picked the .264 if the others were available then I don't know, but I do know I have a lot of brass and good loads for it so will stick with it until I shoot it out.

Exactly. Brass, nice die set, powders applicable.

I’m not moving into another chambering and buying a bunch of brass and dies for a modest gain. I’m quite happy with accuracy and velocity the old, decrepit .264 Winchester Magnum spits out.

😁

The 264 is the gun I couldn’t make myself buy but wished I had. Bad press and to much reading of the experts. A couple of buddies had them and made some very long shots back in the hold and hope days.

Never had one but wanted one for years. I was always worried about barrel longevity. Looking for 6.5-06 these days.

I'm waiting on somebody to revive the .256 Newton, the original 6.5mm barnburner. But I won't hold my breath!

Hunted with a very accurate custom 6.5-06 for several years, which would average around 3-inch groups with it's best load--at 600 yards.

A fine round though since it's a wildcat (or at least has been since A-Square went out of business) there are some quirks to handloading it. I mention them in Chapter 29 of the first Big Book of Gun Gack, "The 6.5-.284 and 6.5-06."

The 6.5 PRC is even closer to a short-action 6.5-06 than the 6.5/.284, and has several advantages, both in factory ammo and brass.

My Grandfather had one! He loved it until it was stolen out of the gun rack in his GMC

I still have the original ammo!

Thanks for the information. I'll check out chapter 29.

David

Same here. I didn’t find it all that fussy either once I realized 25, Retumbo, 33, etc really make it run.

Mule Deer,
I'm having a .264 Win mag assembled this winter. I was wondering if there is any evidence of inconsistent pressures with this cartridge like there is with the 7mm Rem Mag?
Thanks for sharing your knowledge with us here on the fire!
Sam

sambo3006,

No, the .264 doesn't seem to have that quirk! It's also easy to get to shoot well, if the brass is of consistent dimensions, especially the neck thickness--which tends to be a problem with 21st-century Winchester brass. That's why I used necked-down 7mm Remington Norma cases in my first .264 in 2004: Their necks were very uniform, and they worked very well.

The major problem I've seen with the .264 is short barrel life, as several people have already mentioned. This is caused not just by the large powder charges compared to the bore-size, but the shoulder angle directing more of the hot powder gas into the rear of the rifling.

The .243 Winchester is also known for short barrel life, due to its combination of shoulder angle and a short neck--which is why David Tubb developed his 6XC cartridge. It has only slightly less powder capacity than the .243, but a steeper shoulder and far longer neck--which extends barrel life considerably.

Many of the commercial hunting cartridges introduced in the 1950s and 60s had a combination of shoulder angle and short neck similar to the .243's and .264's, one reason many more recently introduced rounds have steeper shoulders, and often longer necks. Both tend to extend barrel life. The 26 Nosler's barrel life tends to be at least as long as the .264's, despite its much larger powder capacity, because its sharper 35-degree shoulder tends to direct more powder gas inside the neck, rather than into the bore in front of the case mouth.

Whether all of that is relevant to hunters who may only shoot a rifle a few hundred times in their life is another question! But it is a factor that's changed case design over the past half-century.

Thank you MD!
I have also considered the 6.5-270 Weatherby due to it's longer neck and shoulder angle configuration. I just don't think the increase in barrel life is worth it for the amount of rounds I shoot a given rifle per year. Also, I'm using an action that was trued by Longrifles Inc and therefore they are my choice for the barrel installation. They do not include this cartridge on their reamer list.

Nosler and Norma both make 264 Win mag brass, but it's kind of pricey.

I'm glad I bought a few hundred pieces before the prices skyrocketed.

If you need .264 brass, just neck down 7mm Rem Mag. WIth a factory chamber you won't need to turn / ream necks. With a custom chamber, you might already have to even with .264 brass.

Yep, the 264 Win mag is like the old school front engine nitro dragsters, burns rubber all the way down the quarter mile track, they'll both get you there, but, newer offering are more efficient, the 140gr Grand Slams are running 3200 fps and 3 inches high at 100, ready for some old school white tail hunting, blast, flames, dirty bore and all, it'll be great!

The old 4-12x40 AO gloss Redfield is still plenty clear for dawn/dusk hunting, it's AO is marked in yards and meters, period correct glass that right at home on the 26" barreled Westerner.

Yeah buddy! You aren't leaving nothing behind there!

^^^^^^^^^Going to be some fun stuff my Friend.