.264 WM Madness!

IMHO the best long range deer cartridge out there. I have two .264s and my son just had one built. I have a good friend that builds custom rifles and according to him the .264 has become the most requested rifle caliber he dose. Everyone need a .264. reflex264
 
A handsome rifle, indeed, Scotty. A pox on Remington for making that cartridge and in such a handsome platform as well. They are aiding and abetting people suffering RADD. Consequently, I just picked up my 260 CDL and arranged to transform the 243 Featherweight into a 338 Federal. It gets a Pac-Nor barrel and a bedding job. I cannot believe this. This does mean more work in order to pay for this.
 
That is the rifle I have, I put it in a HS precision stock it was not bedded right from the factory. I also had the throat lengthed so i did not have to seat the bullets so deep
 
I have been close to pulling the trigger on that CDL 264 a few times now, but with Christmas around the corner I need to resist. I figure there will be something else as nice later on, once I am more ready to buy again. It is a very sharp rifle though!

RR, how does your shoot? They just look so good, they have to shoot, right? Scotty
 
Mine did not shoot all that good out of the box- problem with the factory stock. if you touched the barrel it would stick to one side of the stock and change the point of impact. Groups were not what I expected. That is why I changed stocks. I took it out for the first time after the new stock and after sighting it in shot about a 1 1/2 inch group at 100 yrds and hit the 300 yard dong with both shots. My gun likes 140 grain Partitions and Ramshot Magnum powder. Now that It has a new Stock I might try some of the other loads I could get to shot very well.
 
I need to continue to resist! Too many guns and not enough season to use them all right now. Scotty
 
beretzs":jbadbz63 said:
Too many guns and not enough season to use them all right now. Scotty
Click to expand...

Oh, I totally understand.

But, I sure want a Ruger Creedmoor!
 
I shot out the barrel on my Winchester M70 Classic stainless 300 win and re-barreled it to a 264. I love it, the flinch I developed shooting the barrel out of the 300 is under control now. For those wanting to build one, here is what I did and maybe it will help you.

Winchester M70 Classic action
McGowan #3 fluted barrel 25" cryoaccurized. I definitely wouldn't go less than 25" with this round. Longer is better, my gunsmith gets 3350fps from his 30" 264 but I wanted a shorter handier hunting rifle.
Bell & Carlson ultralight stock w/ full aluminum bedding block.
Extra long magazine box fitted into the stock, the long bullets seated out require it. The stock Winchester magazine is considerably shorter than the stock Remington 700's I've had.
Leupold rings, bases, and 6.5x20 scope. Once I am completely finished with load development it will be switched back to a 4.5x14. Both have the varmint hunter reticle.
Loaded weight ready to hunt with ammo & sling 9.2lbs.

I get an average of 3122fps with 60gr of H4831 and a 140gr AccuBond. Accuracy is .5" but I want to do a little more tweaking and see if I can get 1 hole and a little more consistent velocity before having a CDS turret built.

I am also intrigued with the 6.5WSM, I may try one of them in a lighter 23" barreled rifle for mountain hunting someday.
 
I went down this afternoon and got the 6.5 Ruger sighted in and ready for the next two weeks of hunting. Five shoot group, three and wait then two more, for 3/4". 130 ABs at 3400 ft/sec. Hunting small deer not elk with this load.

Is it hopeful thinking here but does there not a seam to be a lot of interested in 264s. A young conductor I worked with last night bought one of the 325WSMs. That surprised me. Maybe we are learning. The 6.5, 8mm and 358s are very good calibers.

An after thought here. Maybe Ruger/Hornady should look at this. When was the last time these calibers were addressed. 325 WSM??? A 325 Ruger WOW!! Spank'em.

Jim
 
mcseal2,

That was a lot of shooting to shoot out the barrel on your 300 Win. What sort of velocities were you generating and how many rounds did you put through that barrel?
 
DrMike":2ywpgjja said:
mcseal2,

That was a lot of shooting to shoot out the barrel on your 300 Win. What sort of velocities were you generating and how many rounds did you put through that barrel?
Click to expand...

The 300 barrel started as a 28" Shilen #4 and I was getting 3200-3250 with 180gr ballistic tips. After a couple years I got tired of hunting with the long pipe so I had my gunsmith shorten it to 24" and was getting 3050fps. I shot that rifle for everything coyote size on up for years, and shoot lots of practice. I don't know the exact # of rounds shot through it, but it was over 2000 easily, probably closer to 3000. I live on a ranch and shoot at least 3 days a week through the fall and winter.
 
Well, it did start out long, to be certain. Nothing wrong with getting opportunity to put a good number of rounds through the pipe. As the old saying goes, "Beware the man that has one rifle. He likely knows how to shoot it." Are you putting as many rounds through the 264?
 
No, I have acquired more rifles since those days so none get shot quite as much. I have a custom 243 that gets lots of shooting now from January thru August and then I shoot the bigger guns more often. I've got about 300 rounds down the 264 between load development, testing drop data, practicing, and coyotes. I hope to use it on a whitetail this fall.

The story with the 264 barrel gets better. Mcgowan sent my gunsmith the wrong barrel originally. I ordered a 1 in 8 twist to shoot 140gr bullets for the high BC. The barrel they sent me wouldn't shoot heavy bullets worth a darn. I spent over $200 in loading supplies trying to find a load. Finally I tried the 120 ballistic tip and it shot pretty decent. I then tried the 100gr ballistic tip and it shot great. I suspected a problem and had my gunsmith check the barrel, it was the wrong twist, a 1 in 10 if I remember right. They immediately sent him a new barrel and lots of apologies, and let him keep the old barrel in return for him putting the correct one on my rifle. It shoots 140's much better with the right twist. He is going to find an action for the other barrel and build himself a 264 for the 100gr BT to shoot coyotes with.

I take 2 rifles on most hunts now, a Browining A-bolt 270WSM that weighs under 8lbs ready to hunt, and the 264. I like the 264 better for shorter walks and sitting and the lighter, shorter rifle for hiking. Both shoot 140gr accubonds with similar ballistic coefficient at similar velocity, so I can use the same hold points out to 500yds.
 
MC, that 270WSM is growing on ya! I love mine. It is such a flat shooting rifle that delivers the goods. As much as I really want a 264, the WSM really handles anything the 264 could ever do for me I believe. It has accounted for elk, muleys and a bunch of whitetails. My hunting partner is going to use it this year for this little skinny Va deer!

Your 264 does sound like a great one though! You all with 264's are hurting me a little. Seems like the old 264 is making a comeback in a major way right now. Especially with some powders that allow you to really load it up properly. Scotty
 
Yeah, Scotty, I love that style of rifle - SS and grey laminate, but like Pop, I feel a .264 should have a 26" (minimum) barrel. But then I like long barrels. I wish my Whelen had a 24"!
 
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