Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Ask The Gunwriters .264 barrel life latest news

FYI after all the discussion on this forum last year and this year about barrel life and the .264 I thought you gents might find it interesting that I am in the 2000 shots down the tube range and she still shoots good. There is some visible wear but nothing major just in the beginning of the throat. If I could take a picture that would come out good I would. I used the gun again this year during crop sniping on damage permits and it was flawless. Didn't have to do any shots over 350 yards this year but on the 300+ yard shots it was business as usual. I figure at the present rate it will probably need replacement after 750 to 1000 more shots but a far cry from some of the claims of burnout in 150 to 500 shots. It is done shooting .25" groups but .50" are still in reach. It has been an interesting journey and around 100 deer kills now between the 2 rifles. reflex264

Thanks very much for posting the results. This doesn't surprise me, as in general I don;t worry much about barrel wear, even with hot rounds. Barrel steels are so good these days that it takes a LOT to burn out a barrel--and they make new ones every week.

JB

I posted before about the care and feeding of the .264 and I feel like my cleaning regimen along with good steel are contributing factors. I just have to decide at what point it fails to perform acceptably. Right now I think when 3 shot groups open up to 1.25" I may replace it. At 1.25" I would still use it on 400 yard deer. The most basic rules are don't shoot it till it is ready to melt, scrub to bare metal every 60 shots and pull the bore snake with tetra gun on it then fire 3 fouling shots. Every 20 shots pull the snake with tetra gun and 2 fouling shots and repeat the 60 shot cleaning when it rolls around. It is certainly one of my favorite rifle/cartridge combos. reflex264

That is good to hear. I am considering rebarreling my dad's old pre 64 70 to either a 257 WBY or 264 Win Mag. My dad rebarreled it about 10 years ago to 7mm Rem Mag. It has shot very well over the years with the 7mm barrel but it seems to be shot out now. It was originally a 264 so I am thinking seriously about that cartridge. What length barrel do you have? What bullet weight and make are you using? What twist rate is your barrel? What velocities are you able to safely get?

If I do rebarrel to either of these two cartridges it would be in order to get a flat deer and mountain lion cartridge. I would want to be able to zero the scope at 300 yards and have the bullet within 3" of point of aim out to 350 yards. That would require 3650 fps or so with a 100 grain bullet. Thanks, Rufous.

My barrel is a 1:8" douglas. It shoots 120gr ballistic tips extremely well. Launching them at 3400fps sighted in to be dead on at 340yards (this equates to the first stadia line in my weaver tactical scope) I hold in the ribs out to 430yards. The first line down from zero then gives me 560 yards. If I read a distance inbetween say 500yards I split the difference and still hit vitals. I don't use this bullet much during normal hunting because of a blow up on a buck's shoulder but truthfully have seen more deer drop in their tracks with this bullet than any other. The 140gr Grand Slam launced at 3150fps has been great and is usualy my go to load. I can get a little more velocity out of it but in my gun this seems to be the pratical limit when measuring case heads. In the custom rifle I was baby setting while working him up loads his rifle easily got 3200fps with the grand slam. reflex264

Thanks for the info. How long is your barrel? Why did you go with an 8 twist? Rufous.

26" barrel would not go any shorter. That last 2" on a .264 is good for nearly 200fps. Sorta defies logic but I can prove and and have proven it. Thinking about going a 28" when this ones worn out. Though about going to a Lilja barrel or Krieger next time but not sure I would gain anything over what I had. The 8 twist actualy just happened that way because it was avaiible and I didn't want to wait but it has worked out perfect. reflex264

reflex264:
Just curious, if you think that the 264 WM will burn out a barrel faster than a 7mm RM, generally speaking.
Thanks
Smitty of the North

That is a hard question. I had a 7mag that I couldn't get to duplicate the trajectory trick with the tactical scope. Because of this I didn't put near as many shots down the tube. Not knocking the 7mag. It is a great cartridge but wasn't as ideal for my purposes. I have read some posts that had .264 barrels burning out in less than 500 shots. I guess burn out is determined by when the rifle stops doing what it started doing because of throat erosion. If you have a barrel with an eroded throat that still shoots 1" groups and 1" groups sufice for you intended purpose then does it realy matter that the throat shows some wear? I am a crop sniper. I shoot deer for the state on depredation permits. The bean fields I shoot in are pretty big. Shots over 400 yards are fairly common. As long as the rifle still performs its intended task of taking these shots I will use it. Would the 7mag go longer before it needed replacing? Its possible. The closest set up I found with the 7mag was with the 160gr Sierra bt. It has a high bc and shows it not just on a printout. To start with you couldn't launch it nearly as fast as I am launching the 120BT from the .264. The bearing surface on the 2 bullets is pretty close to the same. Common sense tells me if I am dragging the same lenght of jacket metal down the tube at a higher velocity it would have to generate more friction. Sqeezing all that fire out of a smaller hole would also have to have a bit of the torch effect. I guess in my mind it comes down to how many shots does the average feller put through a rifle? I am not an average shooter. I have a small ammo factory and can produce around 2000 rounds an evening in several calibers so loading is not a burden (when I have time) which means more shots through a rifle than most gents shoot. I also know there are fellers that put more rounds out than I do. I hope I haven't confused you but with this many variables it is hard to say. If I had to answer yes or no I would answer yes while scratching my head. reflex264 ;-}

I checked out your photbucket pictures. Looks like you are capable in a lot of capacities. Would like to hear more "stories" of your shootings\hunting and guns. Guess I really mean opinions.

i had heard the rumors on burning barrels in the 264 but just had to have one, i also have a 7 mag. I shoot the 125 NP on a very very stiff load and it groups like a champ and has the speed i want. i also lean on my 7 mag pretty hard with 150 nps. both guns have close to 3k down the tube and both are still under 1" guns @ 10 yds with handloads andcneither throat looks much differnt then my old 06 with close to the same # of rounds but a much milder load

Am curious to know what method/tools/cleaners/etc that you use to clean down to bare metal after every 60 shots? Thanks

I use Shooters choice to start the process. A wet patch the let it set for a couple of minutes. I use a nylon brush then about 10 strokes then follow up with a couple of dry patches. This removes powder residue and a little of the copper. Next I use a wet patch of CR-10 and about 10 strokes with it. I let it set just a few minutes then nylon brush about 10 strokes followed by dry patches. I repeat this until no more blue patches with the CR-10. I then take Hoppes #9 and repeat the process. When I get to the point of now more debris on the patches I take the bore snake which is the best way I have found to apply the tetra gun evenly in the bore. Now is this needed in every barrel. No. In this particular barrel with the loads it shoots most often copper (guilding metal) builds up in the bore rather quickly. I have other rifles that an occaisional pass with #9 keeps them shooting just fine but this rifle is very finicky about fouling and accuaracy. The tetra gun keeps it from being shot dry. I have grown quite fond of the stuff. It stays where you put it and after using it for a while does seem to slow fouling. reflex264

MallardAddict, It looks like you are one of the guys that burns more powder than I do. Cool.

Cabarillo, I have a bunch more pics I haven't uploaded yet. I have killed somewhere around 400 deer. Every one has a story and sooner or later I plan on putting some of the best ones out for all the world to see. I have volumes of data gathered from 30 years of chasing whitetails. I do get sidetracked every now and then but allways come back to whitetails and just try different ways to harvest them. reflex264

The 264 Win Mag was one of the calibers that I always wanted and avoided because of the barrel erosion.
Thanks for the info, I have a few more spaces in the gun safe.
A question: Is there any measurable difference between chrom moly and stainless?
Another question: The barrel twist, you are using 1 in 8 would there be any advantage say 1 in 7 for 140 grain bullets? Or maybe 1 in 10 for 100 grainers?
What action are you using?
Jim

One on a Encore,one on a FN. I haven't had any problem stabilizing the 140grs with the 8. It would be hard for me to say a 7 would do it any better. As for a 10 twist I think you would limit yourself to the 100gr and lighter crowd. If doing this over I would probably go right back with a 8. I know of a few SS guns that have done well. As far as barrel steel goes It would be hard to convince me that one would significantly outlast the other now. Early on the steels were all inferior to modern steels. I guess when I do go for round 2 I would probably call Lilja and get his take on what barrel and twist he would use. I have read about some .264s that he built that were awsome. I know where a santa barbara magnum is in the white, in the box that has been calling me. A 28" Lilja on that bad boy with a big Leupold just sounds right. ;-0

reflex264:
Thank You.
Smitty of the North

I have always wanted to try a 264Win, but have not because of all these horror stories I hear about short barrel life. I think I will give one a whirl.Thank you for the info!

Your results confirm what I've always believed; treat a barrel fairly, even with the .264 or similar rounds, and it will give you good service for 2500+ rounds..

Excess heat can be the real bore-killer. My .264WM is still puttin' 'em where I want 'em even after 35+ years of use. I really have no idea how many rounds have gone down the barrel but I don't shoot it a lot every year. I'm guessing it's less than 1500 to date..

Hey Redneck, My personal feeling is that any normal shooter probably won't ware one out. I still believe people shooting prarie dogs are where most of the rumor came from. I am not saying all because anything can happen. Your 1500 shots is more proof. reflex264