What do you guys think about the 264?

[Mike P.]

I have been looking for a new rifle/caliber that is capable of shooting flatter at longer range than the 270 I have been shooting for 20 years. I am planning on chasing deer/antelope/bears with this gun and want something that shoots nice and flat, but still has enough grunt to get the job done at longer ranges. I was originally set on getting a 257 weatherby, but was told by a friends dad that the 264 magnum will do everything the 257 weatherby will do at a lower price (for ammo).

Any comments or personal experiences with this caliber? I can find very little ballistics data on the 264.

[baltz526]

7mm rem mag out performs the 264win mag. if you can find a good 264 it is a great bullet to shoot. 6.5x55, 260, 6.5-06, 264 win mag all shoot great bullets. i like my 6,5x55 with 120gr ballistic tips at 2850fps.

[Blowing Smoke]

If you reload hard to beat it. If you don't I would not buy one only 3 ammo selections. Remington 140 grain corelokt and bonded core very close in design I'm sure will have very close flight/vibration patterns $35.00-$52.00 a box, winchester 140 grain powerpoint if you can find them $37.00-$44.00 a box and Prvi 140 grain from grafs $22.00 a box. There are other choices in in calibers that preform very close in factory ammo. All of the factory and custom guns I've had all shoot very well with factory and reloads, However I would hate to gamble on 1 of the 3 ammos working in a gun that I bought. I love the 264 win mag because its different and quite rare these days. From 1990-2004 I loaded 140 grain sierra boattail game king at 3210 fps. I have tried the Barnes 130 and 140 grain and they also shot well, I Had tried the nosler partitions 140 however never would get a group to shoot less then 3" at 200 yards, I also have tried some 130 grain accubond noslers, they shot very good also 1.75 inches at 200 yards, I'm now using Swift Scirrocco II 130 grain and these bad boys leave the barrel at 3315 fps (warm load) and they have a BC ballistic coeffienct of .571 yes that is .571 which is %15 better than any other .264 cal bullet available . A person would have to 7mm 175 grain plus boattail design or a .30 cal in 200 grain boattail and the one thing a person will get with both of these bullets is a HUGE AMOUNT of RECOIL. Now with being said I have always found the people against the .264 Win Mag are the people would do not own one. Or are reading old press from the 1960's any other questions send me a PM thanks .......BS Remember opinions are like toilet seats most people have one or two of them

[Flatfish]

The 264 is everything the 257 is, and it can shoot heavier bullets.

It's more or less the same case internal capacity with a .007" bigger slug.

To be honest, if you like a rifle chambered in either, buy it. I would use both in exactly the same places, and expect exactly the same results.

Ammo for either will not be easy to get. If you are buying factory loads, I would lean towards the 257, simply because they are loaded to advertised velocity(Or damn close to it).....the 264 factory loads that I have played with are anemic at best-it turns what is a rocket into a 270.

Since your parameters seem to revolve around getting more speed than the 270 offers, unless you reload, the 257 wby is much easier to meet uber speeds with than the Winchester round.

If you reload, buy the rifle either is chambered that makes you happy.

[jager]

The only downfall for the 264win came when winchester chambered it in the model 70 featherweight, a 22" barrell isnt enough to get the bullet moving full speed. I think swift makes a 130, barnes makes a 130, and nosler has a 125 gr partition that would make great deer and antelope rounds. I have a 6.5/06 with a 26 that lags about 200 fps behind what you should get from the 264 and love the 129 gr Hornady. I dont know if it will hold up on a close shot from a 264 but I know for a fact that at 30 yards is holds up well on blacktails at 3000 fps. Great caliber and all that speed is fun to load for, btw if your gun will shoot them well the sierra 90gr hp are devastating on coyotes, just dont plan on skinning, alreadt done for you..

[wheelerite]

I ve owned a mod 700 264 win mag for 35 years. Ive killed elk, bear and deer and two antelope with it . It is a flat shooting gun and I always buy the 140 grain bullets for reloading or premium rounds when I buy a new box. with the right set up you can get one inch groups at 100 yards. This is my favorite gun to shoot. It doesnt have the knock-down power the 7mm mag does at 350 yards but it will kill an elk at that distance with one shot in the lungs.I think it is one of the best calibers to use for this part of the U.S.. What it really comes down to is what you are comfortable with and if you can put that shot where you want it to go. I believe the shell is a 300 mag necked down to 26 caliber.
the only downfall I know of with this caliber is that it is going so fast that at close range the you will have a problem with bloodshot meat on the front shoulder with a double lung shot.
k. smith

[Washington Hunter]

I used to hunt with a 264 Win Mag but sold it and bought a 270. It's a good cartridge, but I think if I were to get a new flat shooting cartridge, I would look at the 7mm Remington Ultra Mag.

[ehunter]

Actually look at the 270 WSM it compares pretty close to the 7MM and it is about 200 feet faster than the old 270.

[Don Fischer]

I'm not sure if your 270 just let you down in some way or thats just an excuse for a new rifle? The difference in performance between the 129gr 6.5 and 130ge 277 in the 270 and 264 isn't worth mentioning. same goes for the 140 gr bullet in both!

[deadelk]

Just caught up to your thread, I think your friend is on track both the 264 and 257 should be hand loaded thease days but I dont feel the 257 is worth talking about when used to comp. the 264. the 264 was the best cal. that never took hold in the market. Good luck.
ps. Blowing smoke seams to have it going on with the 264.

[DAB]

If thats the rifle you want, GO FOR IT, It has enough punch for anything in the lower 48, Factory ammo is pricey, what the heck it's only money.
Now if you hand load for it you can make it into a great killing tool.
I wasn't looking for one when I got the one I have. A friend of mine had it and was looking to trade for a shot gun or two. When I found out it was a Pre 64 Mod. 70 I hurried home and got an old Rem. and an old Win. shot gun and ask him if he wanted to trade, to my surprise he said yes.. The 2 shotguns were only worth about $300 for both and this Pre 64 is worth about $1100.oo give or take a $100.

Yes we are still friends

I my Pre. 64 .264 Win Mag. I only use it for deer as I don't hunt elk anymore.
Mine is a great shooter. and I load my own





I told the wife I needed a new gun safe and she asked me why and I told her I needed it to put the other guns I am going to buy but don't need in it.

DAB

[Charlie Storey]

I'm a fan of the 6.5 caliber. I'll be using my son's 6.5 x 55 this year for my blacktail deer hunt. But, to answer your original question. You want something that shoots flatter than a .270 and you think that a smaller bullet at higher velocity is the way to go, but it isn't. I used a .257 Roberts (hand-loaded) for many years, but it came time to upgrade (I'm mostly a one gun guy) so I did some checking and found that the .280 Rem. with 150 gr. bullets shot flatter than a .270/130 (more bullet weight retains more downrange velocity/energy) and retained more downrange energy than the .30-06/180. So, keep your .270, have your favorite gunsmith jerk the barrel off and put on a .280. Problem solved cheaply. If you insist on spending a lot of money on a whole new gun go for a 7 mm mag. Like someone said, the .264 Win. Mag. is the best rifle that never made it (likewise the 6.5 Rem. mag.), but if you want a real upgrade go for one of the bigger 7 mm's.

[huntinfool]

.264 is no slouch, but for the critters you mentioned I'd look hard at something in a 7mm(.284" bullet). It is the best all-rounder for everything on this continent. I own a 7 WSM, 280 Ackley, 7 Mauser and a 7STW.

A Kimber Montana in 7WSM shooting 140 Barnes Tripple Shocks would easily hammer everything on your grocery list and be nice to carry all day (7 pounds scoped).

P.S. I'd think about getting into reloading........it'll open up worlds of options for you.

[StickFish]

If I remember correctly the 264 is a short action, nice plus in my opinion over the 257whby. I looked at getting into a 264 and some say the bullet selection is thin, well when you find one that works - why do you need 22 others to try For me I don't look too far past Swift.

I am more fond of .284's however. You did mention bear, but not which bear - really big nasty Brown or Grizz - I'm going to want a bit bigger bullet and maybe something along the lines of crew served with a lanyard for a trigger.

I have a 7mm STW that I'm rather fond of, if I didn't have that one already I'd really look at either the 270wsm or 7mm wsm in a short action. In a regular length action I'd probably stick with the 7mmRem.

Now there is nothing wrong with getting a new gun, but if you want some better performance from the old trust one you have. Consider haveing the chamber recut for the 270 Win Ack improved - you will have to develop a new load for it with the change in case volume, but you will get that same 270 with more performance.

Either way have fun and enjoy what you do.

[Extrapale]

264 win mag is not a short action.

I have shot a couple deer and elk with it, and I was pretty happy with the results.

You can get a decent selection of loaded ammo from Nosler for it. Along witha few other manufacturers.

[Don Fischer]

6.5 rem Mag was a short action. The 264 Win Mag is the same case as the 300 win mag, the 7mm Rem Mag and the 338 win mag.

[James in Idaho]

If (and it's a big if) I recall correctly, the .264 had a reputation as a barrel burner, lots of powder and a little hole. I think both my Hornady and Nosler manuals mention that. But unless you're shooting a lot most likely not something to worry about in a new rifle, I'd have a used one checked out.

[baltz526]

PS: i wish i had a pre 64 winchester model 70 feather weight in 264 win mag

[Killertraylor]

Originally Posted by baltz526

PS: i wish i had a pre 64 winchester model 70 feather weight in 264 win mag

Which is exactly what I have . I love it. I rarely take it out of the safe as it's probably the nicest old gun I own, but I've taken several deer with it and wouldn't hesitate to use it on elk if I didn't have so many others begging to get out of the safe. Nosler makes a 130 Accubond for it that would be a great deer/elk round. I've killed all my deer with the 125 partition and it does a number on them - very fast and very flat - compares very well ballistically with the 7mm mag and as some mentioned, almost identical to .257 Weatherby with similar weight bullets.

[Flatfish]

As far as barrels burning out, just read at campfire that a fella has a 264wm with 2000 rounds thru it.....groups have gone to 1/2 moa.

So much for that.

[Dan360]

Figuratively speaking, 2000 rounds is nothing. The military standard for a cartridge is 10,000 rounds.

The 264 Winchester Magnum is the result of horrible marketing on the part of Winchester. It was marketed as a deer/predator rifle. Who wants a belted magnum for shooting coyotes? I believe the case size is similar to the 7mm Rem Mag and performance is also similar. The 7mm Rem Mag was marketed as a deer/elk rifle that was supposed to shoot flatter and hit harder than the 30-06. Also, with the introduction of the Model 700 and the reaction to the post-64 Winchester M70, people went Remington. The big whammy is that no one could duplicate the ballistics claimed by Winchester. Instead of 3200 fps, people were getting around 3000, which is curiously duplicative of the 270 Winchester.

As far as barrel burning, the 264 Win Mag is over bore capacity. What that means in a hunting rifle, I don't know. Its not like a 220 Swift that you'll be burning away on a sod poodle field.

Like all of the other 6.5mm cartridges, it just never really survived. It had a brief bit of popularity, but was quickly overshadowed by Remington's Big 7. America is 7mm/30 caliber land. If you bought the 264, you'd be have a conversation piece and a flat shooting rig.

[okie man]

i love my 257 weatherby, i bought the vanguard version for 400 bucks, put a burris 3-9 on it, cut 1 coil off the trigger spring and worked up a few pet handloads. less than 700 bucks later i have a gun that shoots 1/2'' groups with 3 different loads, i'm not afraid to HUNT with it because of its value and if some wants it more than me its easily replaced.

[Weatherby]

After all is said. I love the .264 calibers. The bullets have some of the highest sectional densities and very good BC as well. But a close look at the data shows that .007 larger .270 bullet diameter makes for a lot of somewhat meaningless numbers. Much to do about nothing. Your .270 is almost everything a .264 mag is and you dont have to reload to get preformance. You can buy .270 150 grain bullets anywhere. It would take a pretty smart deer at 500 yards to know the differance what caliber killed him. In real life terms most hunters know with most flat shooting guns sited in 3 inches high at 100 you would put the cross hair on the top of the deers back for referance on a 400 yard shot. 3 or 4 inches differance in drop is not going to make or break any shot under 400 yard if you know where you gun shoots. Wipe your knife off and tag this one lets pack him out!