Home Forums Reloading Big Game Rifles 264 Winchester

I have a Remington 700 CDL in 264 Winchester. Usually, when I get on paper and try different loads, the group is on the paper although in a different spot. This rifle moves WAY off the paper. I thought it was the Leupold scope but once I move the settings to the group hits the paper, the rest of the group does too. A friend of mine said that this isn't uncommon in the 264 Win, shooting to a completely different area. What are your thoughts?

"Usually, when I get on paper and try different loads, the group is on the paper although in a different spot."
Can you explain what you mean ? Different loads don't have the same POI ? The norm with few exceptions, usually big bores.

The 264 is just another hot rod 6.5mm and will shoot 1 MOA in a properly bedded rifle and good ammo.
Your friend is probably repeating what he has read/heard. Does he have a lot of experience with a 264? I had one of the first 70 Westerners, a Schultz & Larsen M65 and a Steyr 6.5x68 (264,w/no belt) and a 6.5 Gibbs on a P17 (dangerous). All would shoot sub MOA and with proper bullets killed "bang, flop".

I think he was referring to different POIs. Most of my different loads shoot to slightly different POIs in all my guns. But most of the time in my .264, if I stick with the same bullet weight, it hardly changes.

It is not the cartridge. Something is loose with the gun/scope/scope mount.

Different loads shoot to different points of impact, even loads with the same bullet weight but different brand of bullets will change point of impact.

I had a similar experiance with my remington 721 solved the problem by free floating the barrel. The original barrel would be pushed by the stock as it heated up causing the POI to change. My new barrel is free floating from the chamber end forward and the action and chamber area are glass bedded. So far 95gr, and 100gr have same POI

Gotta agree with the two posts above.

I've been shooting a 264 WM in a M700 BDL for over 30 years.

I've used factory Rem 140's, factory Win 140's, and various handloads using a few different 140 grain bullets.

I can't ever remember a group being more than an inch or two away from whatever the last load I was using, let alone moving off the paper.

Matter of fact, I can't ever remember changing loads in any rifle, in any chambering, with any bullet weight changes, and missing the paper.

Same here. My model 70 Classic shot 140 Sierra, 120 ballistic tips and 100 gr ballistic tips close enough together that it did not matter which load I grabbed.

If the target was as big as a coyote and within 300 yds, I could use the same aim point for all three loads. But I loaded the lighter bullets slow to match trajectory and point of aim to the 140's.

If the scope is good, and the mounts are good, then I wonder if you have a barrel that is loose in the receiver?

It changes poi. A big difference. I haven't floated the barrel yet. The scope rings and bases are tight. I'll keep playing with it for a while before getting rid of it.

float the barel and check the muzzle for any nicks.

i will take it for the doner action price

My .264 doesn't act that way. Some small differences in POI, but not much, with different loads.