I have been wanting a 25/06 for a while now and went in to a local gun shop and they had a Winchester pre 64 model 70 featherweight .264 win mag in on consignment. Its about 90% and they are asking $1000 for it.

What are your thoughts? Its a cherry rifle and I think it will always be worth more than I'd pay for it.

I'm seriously considering buying it today and putting a 25/06 on the back burner. Cherry pre-64's can be tough to find

Sounds like a nice rig, most likely a 22" tube on it. While not the model perfect length for a .264 it wouldn't scare me off.

I'd stick it in a Hunters Edge and rock on.

Could alway rebarrel if you wish, sounds like a sweet deal to me.

Dober

Sounds like a good deal. I would take off the original stock and put on a McMillan though.


ddj

I was under the impression pre 64 .264s had 26" tubes, would they have cut off that much for a feather weight?

They did but on the Westerner but on the Fwt I'm darn sure they went 22".

Still wouldn't scare me, if nothing else I'd have a super action for a 7 Mashburn Super and or a 257 Wby.

Dober

I'll get pictures up by lunch time. I'll measure the barrel as well

As always, thanks guys!

If'n it's 22" Drum I wouldn't sweat it no bit. Easy to rebarrel if it's not exactly what you want.

With a Hunters Edge wrapped around it it'd be a Rock Star +P. Far as I'm concerned a pre64/with a HE wrapped around it is nirvanna.

Looking 4-ward to the pics.

Dober

I would buy it and hunt with it as is, and be really happy about the buy. One of the all time great hunting rifles. Great stock for hunting both from an aesthetics and useful configuration POV. Shorter barrels in fast stepping Magnum calibers has now been shown to not be the velocity stealing monster that we all grew up beleieving to be the case.

While I love the 25.06, I'd would likely just leave it a .264. Tain't any flies on that caliber ya' know. One other thought if you are willing to spend $1000.00 for basically just an action why not look into some other custom action options? Just a thought.

If I buy it I doubt I would change it, I'd just leave it as is and shoot it. Only thing I might do is buy a different stock and keep the original in the safe. I'm a sucker for older guns that have character.

I'll be back at home with pictures in 45 min

Only ~3,100 Featherweight Westerners were made. $1,000 sounds very fair.

huntsonora, I sure wouldn't fault you for hunting with the rifle as is. In fact, I would find great pleasure it hunting with that rifle just like it is provided it was any kind of accurate.

The FWT 264 usually go for a lot more than $1000 in nice shape. Buy it, shoot it, make a profit when you're done.

Here are the pictures and as Pal says, only 3100 of these ever made...









Any thoughts?

I am going to offer them $750 I think and see what they say. Is that an insult?

Yes, it would be an insult. That's a nice looking and rather rare FW configuration that appears to be all original and includes rings.

I deal in guns quite a lot, and often in older Winchesters. I am not offened my any offer, feeling that any real cash offer is welcome. I can accept, not accept or counter. The gun is worth the 1K with ease, but no harm in offering less if you think you can do better, so long as you are dealing with an equal in the gun trading biz or nearly so. Do buy it if you can.

Drummond..I seen enough...get a deal if you can, but..... just buy it!


I'd bolt down the screws, slap on a scope,and go hunting.

I believe I read in an old Jack O'Conner book "Rifles and Shotguns" he described the featherweight pre 64 with the 22" barrel as a "loud 270".
Me, I would get some earplugs and just dig that rifle!

Thanks bud! I think I'll be picking it up tomorrow. When I went in this evening I asked if the price was firm and they said it was because its a pre 64 so I never made an offer.

I just like older guns and I think this one is pretty damn cool

Jack O'Connor was a good writer, but 1) I am not at all sure that this quote is attributable to him 2) he did not have a chronograph 3)On this point, which most of us have read and maybe even repeated he or whomever wrote it first is just plain wrong. O'Connor or someone else, it Not a big deal, my hero PO Ackley was way off base with a lot of his reloading data and estimated velocities. Welcome to a bright new age of knowing rather than guessing.

To the OP, the rifle is well worth the 1K, still thinkin on it?

No sir, I plan on buying it in the morning. I think it'll be a great gun to shoot and I have a number of nephews I'll need to leave some good rifles to so I'll add this one to the collection

Uncle Drummond, is that you?....

Take a look at reloading data for the 264 Win Mag and the bullets ft/sec muzzle velocity from a 22 and 26 inch barrel rifle. There is quit a loss of velocity when fired fron a 22 inch barrel.

That hurts the cool factor, how?

A loud .270 aint a bad thing...

Obviously it's not in my possession yet but I have 2 options here if I pick it up in the morning...

1. Leave it as is and just enjoy it in its classic form. Only problem here is I don't want to ding it up too bad and I know that 26" barrels will get the maximum performance from the caliber

2. Take off the barrel and the stock and putting them in my safe. Buying a new synthetic stock and put a new 26" barrel on the action and use it for a lot of my hunts.

Right now I am leaning towards option 2 because I think it's a great caliber and a great action. I will retain everything I need to put the gun back together in its stock form.

Any thoughts? What would you guys do?

Drummond

I hunt mine the way Winchester made it.
It's value to me is not as a collector, but a hunting rifle.
Mine was minty when I bought it, now it has character, and is mine.
I doubt my sons will value it any less because I used it.

Old data and news, recently proven to be incorrect. Very little velocity is lost going from 26 to 22 inches in this round. In some cases, not measureable and certainly less than what one can expect between two barrels of even the same length.

This was hard for me to swallow as well, I have been a long barrel speed freak for decades.

Just enjoy your $1,000 rifle. Why make a big deal out of this?

I'd set it up in a way that I'd use it the most. In other words set it up so that you'll hunt the living dog crap out of it.

Years back I was fussing about the fact that my G-dads old Pre64/70/06 was shot out. One of my hunt buds said, he'd want you to use it. Restock it and rebarrel it and go to filling up arks.

I bought a McM handle for it, and a Schneider barrel and go to it. Now it's been from here to there, and has been thru 3 more barrels. I'm dang glad I did it, and if I want I can still go back to the way it was.

Bottom line, I like #2.

Life is short, so hunt your azz off!

Dober

I'm not making a big deal out of this, just trying to have fun with it, thats all. To me, this kind of stuff is fun to talk about

Right on! Thats good to know! Thanks

Sorry, you asked what we would do. My point was: Why immediately get upside down in an expensive gun project from which you can never get your money back? Sure, it's a lot of fun to just blow stacks of $100 bills and, if you can afford to spend this way, go for it. But no amount of retained resale value can rationalize preserving a $1,000 90% gun by rebarreling and restocking (and back), presumably to minimize wear. If you really feel like spending buy a really nice scope.

My $700 1963 FW .30-06



is getting a 3-9X40 Leupy and Warne q/d rings & bases for Christmas.

It might not be ideal with a 22" tube,but it sure won't be dog doo-doo either...if it drops 100 fps over a 26" tube, no big deal.Like someone said a slightly louder 270 is not a bad place to be.

I have gotten 3300+ fps with 120 BT's and 125 Partitions from the long barreled pre 64's in 264 WM,and 62-63 H4831....assume you will drop 100 fps from that; you still have about 3200 fps....at the same time I'm burning 61 gr H4831 with a 130 in a 270 for about 3100 fps in a 22" barrel.....so, no need to use excessively heavy charges of slow powder here

This is a pretty trifling difference in power and trajectory and noise factor..

So, I see no big deal and would run it as is...if the one's I've had are any indication,it's gonna shoot, too.

Buy it, scope it, and hunt, as is.

I've never owned a wall hanger and never will.

My 26" barreled 264's fetched me 3,450 with 120's.

You should get 3,300 to 3,350 out of this rifle.

I don't know if you could find a better mule deer rifle.

If I wasn't interested in using the rifle as is or as a investment I would move on. New stock/rebarrel is custom action and tube @24"chambered 25 06 stuffed in a McMillan territory.
As to a 264 mag. in a 22" barrel it wouldn't be a dog but it would lose quite a bit of fps. Believe JB did an article on the 264 a while back and said it appears to be a cartridge that does indeed gain quite a bit at longer barrel lengths. FWIW.

One of the farmers who lets me hunt his place had that same rifle (pre 64/264/fw). He sold it about 10 years ago for $1300, so I'd say you did well assuming the barrel isn't shot out.

What HE said - in spades...

Keep us posted. Looks like a steal......

I want to thank all of you guys for your responses and opinions, I really appreciate it! I was never a "gun guy", I just like to hunt and left the gun stuff to my dad.

I went in and picked up the .264 today and brought it home. The stock was really dirty and needed to be cleaned up so I've spent the past hour or so cleaning and oiling it. I dont know why they didnt do this at the gun shop, it looks so much better! The wood is starting to really show its character now and when I'm done I think it will be amazing.

I will get more pictures up this evening

Drummond

This is a BEAUTIFUL rifle!

Well! it's evening!

Here are a few pictures, it's going to take some work to get the wood where I want it but I think with the little bit of elbow grease I put into it today it looks a LOT better. Give me a few weeks and I'll have it all shined up and looking great.













[img]http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c11/drumdaddy/DSC_0637.jpg[/img]

[img]http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c11/drumdaddy/DSC_0638.jpg[/img]

Drummond, look on page 83 of the "rifleman's rifle" book by Roger Rule.

It looks pretty much all original to me. Made from late 1962 thru 1963 with only 3116 produced. I think you did very well. I'm a bit jealous. Pal always shows the pic of his non original pre 64 and pats himself on the back for paying $700.00 for it but if it were me, I'd much rather have this 264........Just sayin.

I dont have the book but I will look for it

GREAT GRAB and congratulations! I am thrilled for you. I sense some mule deer blood on that one in the very near future, and maybe even Elk. A FINE hunting rifle you have there.

+1...buy it and hunt it. ubercool rifle.

Huntsonora: Man the more I see of your Rifle the more I like it - I think you have a top flite rig in the making here.
When I was young (and naive!) I always dreamed of taking one of my Model 70 Featherweights in 264 Winchester Magnums on a Bighorn Sheep Hunt.
The naive part was that I would soon be getting the first of my many Sheep tags in just another drawing year or two.
I am still waiting for the first tag.
There is a lot of blue on that Rifle (the bolt handle, the extractor, the action etc) so I don't think its been abused or over-used.
Good for you on the acquisition - at that price I would have jumped on that Rifle in a minute.
Enjoy your nifty Rifle and I hope it shoots well for you (or I hope you win the lottery and buy a 25/06 to Hunt with and you put that 264 in the safe where it belongs!).
Hold into the wind
VarmintGuy

Since I already had a .260 the .30-06 was a better fit, for my battery. But had I run across the OP's deal I would have bought it w/o hesitation, even though I don't need it.

OP--great find! Just enjoy it.

That's a beauty.. Congrats - you now own a fine rifle..

Thanks bud! I agree, the more I handle it the more I like it. I just cant believe how dirty is was in the store. I'm glad it was because it would have sold had they put a little effort into it.

I know what you mean about the sheep tag and I'm just glad I dont have the sheep addiction that others do. I am content hunting big mule deer, its cheaper and easier to draw so I'm good! Hopefully I can smack a giant with this gun so it has a story when I give pass it down the line

What a great rifle. You won't regret that purchase.

NICE!