264 MAG

[Centex Bill]

Against my better judgement, I am getting the hots to build a 264MG.

I want a long range cartridge for South Texas deer hunting. What I have read in the literature the last 40 years has been mixed. Some say it is the best thing since "sliced bread". Other have written that it is notorious barrel burner that will almost burn a barrel even before you find a good load.

What do you guys think about a 26inch 264 Mag. GOOD ROUND OR A BAD CHOICE?

Look forward to hearing what you think?

Centex Bill

[Titandriver]

Bill --- I had a Sendero II in 264 mag and could never get what I felt was good target accuracy. Acceptable for hunting, but not great. Ending up selling it. Must admit that I was spoiled by my 260's, especially this Savage: http://i840.photobucket.com/albums/zz326/TitandriverRR/IMG_0334.jpg

Never got a 264 Mag to group like that!

Rich

[Uncle Jack]

A 264 Win Mag with a 26" barrel was the first LH Savage 110 I bought back in the 60's. I never had to shoot any animal twice and I never had to track one. (WW case, CCI250, 140grn Speer, 56.5grn H4831) I know of no better long range open ground cartridge. I wasn't into paper punching back then, but sub MOA groups were more than I needed for mule deer.

uj

[BobT]

The .264 WM can be a little picky to load for but once you find the right combination it is IMHO a superb mid-long range hunting cartridge for medium game. I would stick with a 26" or longer barrel and the 140 grain bullets. When the throat is toasted in my 6.5-.284 in will become another .264 WM. A barrel burner it can be but it depends on how you treat it, I would say that a good barrel should maintain hunting accuracy up to near the 1K round mark given proper care.

Bob

[GONRACN]

The .264 WM can be a little picky to load for but once you find the right combination it is IMHO a superb mid-long range hunting cartridge for medium game. I would stick with a 26" or longer barrel and the 140 grain bullets. When the throat is toasted in my 6.5-.284 in will become another .264 WM. A barrel burner it can be but it depends on how you treat it, I would say that a good barrel should maintain hunting accuracy up to near the 1K round mark given proper care.

Bob


I have to agree completely. If you plan on putting a large number of rounds through it then go to a 7mm.

[okie2]

Come on guys how many people do you know that shot out the throat in a 264???
the 7 mag has the very same brass case so the heat and pressure is about the same as the 264
so how can one be so bad and the other fine.
I have 2 Remington 264's and neirher of them are picky either about what I shoot in them.
one is an older BDL 24" barrel I have been shooting it for 20 years it is still fine
the other is the sendro 26" stainless
You that never found a good load didn't look long enough.
My best load that I use in both of them is 100gr ballistic tips with 68grs. RL 22 3680 fps.
good long range deer and antalope round always have been DRT shots for me.
The next best thing I have to my 264's is my 25-06 AI 87gr at 3920 fps also good long range round.

[GONRACN]

Never had a problem with a load for the 264 Mag...

My uncle is on his third barrel in his (pre-64) 264 Mag and all he has ever shot was factory ammo until the last 10 years. My latest custom was going to be a 6.5 WSM but my gun smith talked me out of it as he indicated the number of re-barrels he has done for 264's in the past.

[Uncle Jack]

".......My uncle is on his third barrel in his (pre-64) 264 Mag"

Chrome/Moly or Stainless?

uj

[okie2]

My uncle is on his third barrel in his (pre-64) 264 Mag

how many years did it take him to do that or how many thousand rounds did he shoot
Maybe he don't know not to get a barrel over heated and just keep shooting it.
I have been shooting my 264 for 27 years and it is still in good shape with 1 barrel.

[GONRACN]

I guess I'm supposed to knuckle to the masses...

6.5's never burn barrels....

Reeducation complete...

[Uncle Jack]

Assuming that as a shooter and reloader, "This ain't your first rodeo", most of us with an IQ higher than the humidity realizes that large, overbore, high performance cartridges are hard on barrels. To single out any one of them (220Swift, 6-06, 25-06, 264Win, 270Weatherby, 30-378, etc. etc.) is a futile exercise in mental masturbation. If you want to drive a Maserati Quattroporte , you are going to pay the price, in more ways than one. If driven as it was meant to be, I guarantee that you will not get 100,000 miles between engine rebuilds. Driven with some common sense, it will probably last as long as a Honda Civic. The problem is that if you choose and pay for that kind of performance, you want to use it, so quit *****ing and just go for it.

"If you want to run with the big dogs, you have to..............."

uj

[savageboy]

Amen- if you want to play, u gotta pay! I am doing a 6mmRem Ackley now w/ 1:8 twist. Yeah, I know its gonna burn barrels w/ the 105Gr. Berger VLD's- but boy those 1000 or so shots are going to be awsome! Then, getta new one. So

[Hammer]

.

Have played with the 264 Win Mag and its virtual twin the 257 Weatherby quite a bit.

With 160-grain bonded partition bullets, the 264 is good for bull prairie dogs out past 50 yards.

Have seen it with my own eyes.


.

[okie2]

Hammer (50 YARDS)
You must have gone to the same place
my brother goes to try out new loads in his
BENNIE FLIP

[Westbrook]

I have studied building a .264 Win Mag for some time now using a Savage 110 action and a Shilen barrel. Definately 26" length to maximize performance. Don't believe everything bad you've heard about this round. I'm sure they're no worse than any other high velocity, high powder consumption round yet this one still takes a beating on this subject. I'm in agreement with the post comment about the same case as the 7mm Rem Mag.

[okie2]

Beings the 264 was on the market first
I'm thinking the bad rap as a barrel burner may
have come from Remington just to help their sales
on the 7 mag.

[ThorBird]

My brother in law has been using a .264 WM for years, and when I was back home in Western Maryland for Christmas he told me he shot a deer just recently at a measured 575 yards. He hit it right behind the front shoulder. Went right down with out a step, as they evidently all do with that gun. I think he may be using reloads of 140 grainers. He swears by it.

[BobT]

Come on guys how many people do you know that shot out the throat in a 264???
the 7 mag has the very same brass case so the heat and pressure is about the same as the 264
so how can one be so bad and the other fine.
I have 2 Remington 264's and neirher of them are picky either about what I shoot in them.
one is an older BDL 24" barrel I have been shooting it for 20 years it is still fine
the other is the sendro 26" stainless
You that never found a good load didn't look long enough.
My best load that I use in both of them is 100gr ballistic tips with 68grs. RL 22 3680 fps.
good long range deer and antalope round always have been DRT shots for me.
The next best thing I have to my 264's is my 25-06 AI 87gr at 3920 fps also good long range round.


If you are referring to my post you need to re-read it. I have nothing but praise for the .264 Winchester Magnum! There were no criticisms intended and if I gave that impression I apologize. I require performance from my rifles and if it is a hotrod I run it wide open, if it doesn't perform like it should it goes away quickly. I have seen two .264 WMs with the throats toasted from factory ammunition, both of them were M70 Westerners from the early '60s and I have no idea how many rounds were fired from either of them but I know that at least one of them made a few trips to the dog towns. I have also seen a few more that were supposedly "shot out" that simply needed a good scrubbing to remove the fouling.

Bob

[Uncle Jack]

Most high performance cartridges perform better when used in a SS barrel. This is a lesson that Winchester has learned a couple of times starting more than a half a century ago with the 220 Swift.

uj

[Hammer]

.

The most important part of any barrel is to have two or three replacements in the pipeline at all times.

And to tip the UPS man well at Christmas.

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