Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Deer Hunting Your Favorite .264WM Deer Bullet/Speed?

I finally found a like new Mod 700 BDL SS 26" .264 Magnum I could afford! I plan on setting it up with 100-120gr Deer/Pronghorn bullets as I am a point and shoot hunter. No dialing for me...I can't read the wind very well out around 250 on. Wondering what the prairie/bean field deer hunters use?

I use 140 grain ballistic tips in mine and a 26 Nosler. They do well in both. I use 120 TTSX in a 6.5-06 and Creedmoor’s.

Take a look at Barnes 127 gr. LRX bullets.
I'm getting right at 3300 out of a 26" barrel.

What powder (s) you gentlemen using respectively?

120 gr ballistic tips @ 3400 fps..........RL25

I haven't seen any 120 NBT in years! ha I used them 25yrs ago in a 6.5/284, they were greased lightning!

125gr Partition; IMR7828. Been using that load 20+ years. It's worked so well, I've never bothered to try anything else. >3300 fps

Thanks Tex, I have some 7828. I used a few of those 125 PTs in that 6.5/284 on Pronghorn too, I thought they were tough enough for elk, but traded the rifle off before I could find out. I've played with the .260, the CreedMoor and a 6.5 PRC a wee bit. I just never had a 264WM before. I'm looking forward to wringing it out.

I use iMR 4350, not the fastest, but groups well.

I am using Accurate 3100 (think IMR4831) and 7828. 140 gr Speer Deep Curls.

I have a good friend down in SE Texas that has been using the 264WM since 1976. Always 140gr of some make. It was owned by another good friend I worked with and I would always, in jest, "offer him $150" for it, Redfield 3x9 and all. Well, his wife ended up leaving him and he told me he would take the $150! I had 2 yr old Twin girls, two car notes, mortgage, meaning zero money! ha My other friend had been looking for " a good deer rifle", so I put them together. About 10yrs ago he had a gunsmith really clean it, ha. It shoots good as ever! That's one reason I wanted one, the nostalgia experience, but his barrel is 24". I would have bought several Browning Hi Powers 264s but all I ever found were the 22" barrels! Bummer! ha I was thrilled to see this one in 26". Keep it coming guys, lots of you serious 264WM deer hunters out there!

Oh yes, the it is a Mod 700 BDL. Has that old Fleur De Leis checkering pattern. His three boys have made some long shots in clearcuts with it too.

Mine is a 700 action w a 28 inch McGowen #5 contour barrel.
130 Accubonds on top of WC872 for 3350 FPS

Mine is an old Sako L-61 with 26 inch barrel. I tried to sell it on here for 1500.00 with a Leupold 4.5x14 CDS scope, but it didn’t sell. I’ve decided to keep it. I thought I could get down to 6 to 8 rifles, just could not, but at least it’s manageable now. They are all in the 40 gun safe instead of under every bed.


140 ballistic tips shoot well in it. I’ve been threatening to try the 120 TTSX that I load for Creeds and 6.5-06

Hot-Duck- McGowan barrel? Isn't that cheating on those poor deer? LOL
Hanco- I've never seen a Sako in 264,ever, at any gun-show, used gun rack either. What are the odds of that? Before ObammaCare bit me in the heinie, years back, I had a Sako AV. I had just bought it at a Pawnshop locally. It was a 24"30-06. It had been there awhile for about $600 I asked the guy if he would take $450, Cash, right then. He did it! I shot it a tiny bit, then "Boom", had to sell it, ha.

I have been hunting with a Sako Deluxe .264 - 26" Barrel . 140 Gr. Noslers at about 1-2 Grs past max , where she shoots excellent, since late '60's.

Another Sako in 264! I have yet to lay my hands/eyes on the first one, Rare for me! And I have been at this Rifle Looney stuff since I was eight, ha. Before this thread, I knew of exactly 3 guys who used the 264WM, another rare find in my travels. I think the round was unfairly criticized as a "barrel burner" from the beginning. Back then, most everyone I knew who hunted with a centerfire shot them sparingly anyhow. The .22 was the one we all shot all year long, ha.

I had two, sold one locally a month and a half ago. Shrap has one for sale in the classifieds. A Deluxe.

I bought a Model 70 XTR a couple of years ago for my uncle who lost his in a trailer fire. One day it will be returned to me. I look forward to hunting across the hollows and into the fields with it.
I would try different ammo and see which shoots best and go from there. Accuracy is the best criteria. None of the loads are too slow to do what you want to do.

The only good bullet when I had mine was a 140 grain partition. Now there are many good bullets including partitions v

In the 1980s the 129 grain Hornady did well for my father. He was using IMR7828 and also H1000 when it first came out and was made in Scotland.

Before I had a 260 reamed to the aforementioned 6.5/284, I made an Exotics hunt with the 129sp. It was a last minute opportunity and I just worked up an accurate load, barrel was still in the white. I took an Axis Buck in hard antler and a full blood Mouflon. Both ran a bit, both took finishing shots and wound channels were pretty small. I felt they were a tough bullet for 260 speed. I never tried them in the 6.5/284, but I would if I had went after elk. Now, it might have been that particular Lot of bullets, but I always felt they would do better at faster speeds. It is one I would try in this Remington 264WM later. For me, only the early SSTs were the only "soft" Hornady's I ever shot. From 270W to 9.3x62, good strong bullets.

I use the 130AB in mine, a pre64 westerner with ss barrel. 3250 or so? Its been super good for me, no reason to look elsewhere. I use RL33 but 7828 was good also. I'm sure I could make Staball HD work as well. Its a darn good rifle.

R33 has been scarce around here for quite some time! I do have some 7828 and a few others that will work. I am looking forward to getting this thing to the range. I spoke with the Gunsmith last night and he should have my two elk rifles (bit of tweaking) ready some time next week. I can drop it off with him then. I can't abide that J-Bolt Shroud , so a FP Asmbly replacement's gotta be ordered. It also has to have a twisted off scope base screw removed. I'll get it all sorted out, got my dies and some ammo today. Once those two thing are done I may shoot it like it is until this summer, then tweak it.

130 Accubonds and 147 ELDM’s is all I’ve loaded in mine and my sons. Powders have been 7828ssc, 8133 and Retumbo. My buddy has had good things happen with VV n570.

That N570 has been rare also! I do have a small amount of N560, plenty of 7828, 4350,4831,Hunter and Magnum. I'm sure I have some others way in the back of the shelves, ha But no Retumbo, R33/23/26 but ok with R16/17. I have an Amorous, almost "fleshly" desire to try these 118 HHT Hammers, ha.

I have killed deer with a pile of .264 cartridges, from the 264MS to the 264WSM.
My favorite was likely thr 264 WSM and the 6.5/303 Brit., although o also like thx 6.5x55.
Most of the bullets I used were 140 Game Kings, which were awesome on the long range stuff.
Cat

Pardon my ignorance, but what is the 264MS? Thanks,,,

140 gr Sierra GK It’s a lighting bolt on deer

I just got the box of Lapua Scenar L 120gr OTM in today/ Man, they look like miniature "Rockets". I had also ordered a box of ammo loaded with the Nosler 140 RDF (?) in 1x fired Winchester Cases. When I bought the rifle the guy gave me a mixed box of Hornady ammo/fired brass with the 140 Interlock. So I will have some brass to start out with. I still have Fed 215M Primers from the "Clinton Primer Scare", almost 30yrs ago, lol.

6.5x54 Manlicker [Mannlicher Schoenauer]

The only 6.5’s I’d be interested in owning again - 264 WM and 6.5-06 (AI).

I’m not sure which. Since I have 25-06, 270, & 7mm RM…

I had a 6.5 Rem Mag and used the Nosler 130 gr AB at 3050 fps.
Only shot 1 buck with it but it was DRT.

thanks!

Tweaking the question a bit- I know the monos work up close and on elk, but have any of you gentlemen used a cup n core up close or especially on elk? Reason is I like any rifle I have to be "elk capable".

A rancher friend has a Colt .264. He only shoots Rem 140 factory loads. He has been killing his elk with it for 50 years. Maybe the only reason people need a tssx or what ever is the don't know where to put a killing shot.

When I had this rifle built we were hunting large tilled acreage and a couple of sections of CRP in Missouri.
Needed something fast and flat.
McGowen put the barrel up on their website for $65.00
It's a #5 contour w 6 flutes that someone had ordered and paid for and then never collected it from them.

I sent them an action and had them fit and chamber the barrel.
It's a nail driver w the 130 Accubonds.
Myself, my son and one of my buddies have all killed deer w it and only one of them have taken another step.
That was a nine point I shot through the lungs at 350 yards and he made it 30 yards before cartwheeling to a stop.

Sounds like you got a great deal on a great barrel! I have read, for decades, how accurate the McGowan barrels are too. It also sounds like that 130 Accubond is a real killer.

I absolutely believe that the bullet chosen should be determined by the cartridge used. My 6.5x55 does a great job with 129gr bullet's but my 25-06 drives them a bit to fast. Ends up with more damage to the animal and could ruin a bunch of meat you'd rather eat! I don't use monolithic bullet's so don't know a lot about weight with them. But as I understand it, a lot of them retain 100% bullet weight or close to it. Seems to me there would be a lot less destruction with a 130gr mono bullet. But a 130gr cup and core driven at 264 Wim Mag velocity might just get torn up and destroy a lot more than you might want. In my 6.5x06 I use 140gr cup and core bullet's and the few deer I've shot with it, it worked fine. My 6.5x55 works alright with a 129gr bullet but I think a 140gr would be better even there. If I had an 8" twist in my 6.5x06, I'd step up a bit in bullet weight. As a younger man I liked velocity but growing older I started seeing where velocity is really not your friend when choosing bullet's. Heavier bullets won't be driven nearly as fast as lighter bullet's and will hold together better and ruin less meat! I think a really good deer cartridge would be something like a 6.5x52 with a 160gr bullet! That said I'm still looking for a load that will work for me in my 260 with 129gr bullet's. Just can't find components! Well powder!

First year with my 6.5x06 I used it on elk. One shot one elk with a 140gr Hornady interloc. have done two more since with it. heavier bullet pulls down velocity letting the bullet hold together better!

Thanks Uncle Don! I have used a wad of Monos and or Partitions through the years. But as mentioned, I think I have shot "more" Hornady than any C&C. I am zeroing in on the 118gr HHT tipped Hammers for game and the Scenar 120 for practice. I am also a big believer in Barnes TTSX, so I have that option. If I decide to try a heavier bullet,(and I may, all depending) I think I would skip the 130s and just go straight to the 140 Hornady. I have alot of game killing experience with the Nosler 120 BT and the 125 PT out of that 6.5/284, so been there/done that, ha. I'm all about the experience, and I will surely not die of hunger if I pass on a tough shot, ha. I really look at this .264 WM as my "Prairie Rifle" on mule deer/antelope does. Its also a great spare elk rifle.

I've taken whitetail deer with the .264 WM and 6.5 WSM, plus mule deer and antelope in addition to whitetails with a 6.5 SAUM. I used the 129 gr SST once about 15 years ago and thought it opened up too violently. I used the 140 gr Sierra SBT a couple of times and found it adequate. I've taken the most game with the 130 gr JLK VLD (the older iteration made by Swampy before he passed away). It has performed very well on chest shots, almost always resulting in lots of internal damage and a golf ball sized exit. I plan on trying Hammer bullets, as I used a 90 gr Absolute Hammer this year from my .257 Wby and it performed flawlessly on a quartering away shot, taking out 3 ribs going in, shredding one lung and the heart, and exiting the front of the far shoulder. It was about a 60 yard shot with a starting velocity of 3800 fps.

My favorite .264 deer bullet is the 140 gr. Speer Grand Slam.

... at ~ 2750, from my 6.5x55 Mauser.




GR

This for the win! Good velocity for flat trajectory and a bullet that will leave you some deer to bring home….unlike some others listed! 🤔 memtb

I have used the 140gr VLD for many years with great results on elk, deer, and antelope.

3250 fps in 26 inches with custom throat.

Just shortened the barrel to 22 inches for mounting a suppressor. Will probably drop the load down as suppressors add a bit of stress to the brass.

shoot a 6.5 Gibbs, 140 at 3280 fps, I like the Berger 140 match VLD.

30 years ago I used Norma 130 grain VLDs in my 6.5/06, and they worked just fine@ 3200 or so (molycoated)

Then 129 Interlocks, 156 Norma Oryx and 123 SST out of a 260. All of them were entirely adequate - I think it's more about where you put them than the bullet itself, but I used a 22.250 for years and that tends to help you realise that there is no replacement for accuracy.

Nowadays I'm using 143 Norma Bondstrike in a 6.5 SAUM at 2950, and they are very good. I haven't shot anything past 600m with it yet, but so far I'm happy.

We got 3200 from our 6.5x06 improved rifles. Hard to believe the 06 case could do it. Whether it's a .264 wm, 6.5x06, 6.5x284, you cannot beat a 140 vld at 3000 to 3200. Total carnage.