# 264 Win Mag ???



## mayor (Dec 30, 2006)

Does anybody out here have a rifle in 264 win mag. Sounds like an interesting caliber. Have read some reports its hard on barrels. How is the accuracy? How is it on larger game moose, elk, black bear. Is it worth building this caliber? How easy is it to find brass?
:sniper:


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## hagfan72 (Apr 15, 2007)

I too am getting into that caliber, and have done a lot of reading on it. Midway USA sells a lot of brass for it, and there are a lot of companies that make 6.5mm bullets. THe hard on barrels theory has been debunked due to newer and better metals in todays firearms and more efficient powders. Ballistically, it has enough punch to take elk, although i am building mine as a dedicated antelope gun.

Do a search on .264, and you will find a boatload of info on it.


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## Scooter (Nov 4, 2005)

The answer to most your questions is yes! I shoot a custom .264WM it is accurate and yes it will cleanly take moose, elk, deer, antelope, and mice if yous o choose. As far as it being hard on barrels the answer is no more than any other overbore cartridge. It is easy to load for but it has been my experience that slower buring powders are the ticket. I use RL22, H4831sc, and alot of RL25.


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## Teufelhunden (Dec 4, 2007)

I have two and I love them. My dad reloaded for them and I know that the brass life is short. Both of my rifles have been extremely accurate. I would suggest glass that can handle magnum calibers if you are shooting the 140 gr. Good luck with your build, keep us informed.


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## Scooter (Nov 4, 2005)

Teufelhunden, "Semper Fi" when did you serve? I was in from 95-00 as a 6113 at K-Bay HI. Aslo what did you mean by short brass life I have reloaded mine 5 plus times with higher end loads and have not had to get rid of any yet and no signs of failure. I agree on the good quality bedding compound that is one are not to cut corners.


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## hagfan72 (Apr 15, 2007)

Nice posts. Scooter, which brand of brass do you recommend?


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## Scooter (Nov 4, 2005)

Unfortunately there arn't many .264 brass manufacturers so Remington And Winchester are the only 2 I know of and I use Remington. I have had nothing but good results with it.


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## Teufelhunden (Dec 4, 2007)

Scooter I was in 91-95 also K-Bay Echo 2/3. 0311 to be exact but thats is another story. Spent alot of time at Mooses in the Keys. I am not sure where my dad got the brass he used but I missed several nice bucks due to primers getting hung in my firing pin (yes, he reloaded hot) also had a brass come apart at the belt and leave the reat of the case hung in my chamber. It was hell getting it out but luckily my rifle wouldnt chamber another rifle.


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## Scooter (Nov 4, 2005)

The cases failing at the belt is common with belted magnums so that comes as no surprize. No for the primers coming out of the primer pockets thats no good. I load on the warmer end myself but with the primers falling out that means that excess gas pressure is being directed back toward the boltface. That is good at all but can be fixed by backing off the powder charge as you well know. The problems you listed though aren't specific to the .264. These problems can happen to any hot loaded belted case. Once my dad was asked to load some .300 Weatherby rounds for a friend and this guy gave him the load data and said you find this in any book but its a good load. At the same time he gave my dad some once fired Norma cases and the primer pockets were enlarged so much that they would not hold a primer. Again a case of a load that was way too hot.


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## Teufelhunden (Dec 4, 2007)

I have no doubt that they were too hot. I have talked to several people about reloading since my dad passed and they all tell me that the distortion caused from firing and subsequent resizing make the brass crack in the neck and split on the side.

I am more than happy to buy handloads for the rifle. Stars and Stripes will handload 20 rnd of 125 gr. Nosler Partition for $39.99. That is cheaper than any of the factory loads except at Cabelas (that I have found at least). I dont reload(yet) so I like Stars and stripes so that I can buy matched ammo and save money in the process.

By the By who were you with First Radio?


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## hagfan72 (Apr 15, 2007)

Stars and Stripes? Tell me more! THe only Stars and Stripes i am familiar with is our daily newspaper over here. I am pretty sure they don't deal in reloads. hehehe :wink:


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## Teufelhunden (Dec 4, 2007)

The website is www.starsandstripesammo.com. They load for just about any rifle or pistol you can think of. They are out of Largo Fla.


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## Teufelhunden (Dec 4, 2007)

Never mind Scooter I thought 6113 was a Comm. MOS after a check I see you were a Mekanik :lol: Thanks for all of the safe helo rides ( I wouldnt be here without you). I sure miss playing pasture pool on that base course nicest on Oahu IMO.


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## Scooter (Nov 4, 2005)

That is correct I fixed CH53-D's and was a quailified 50 BMG door gunner!! Your welcome for the rides it was fun flying in those days. I agreee about the pasture pool course too!


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## Csquared (Sep 5, 2006)

Hey teufelhunden and scooter! First of all.....THANKS FOR YOUR SERVICE! I owe you both dinner if we ever meet up!

No reason for belted cases to separate at the belt. Measure a fired case compared to a sized case and you'll probably find you've pushed the shoulder back too far. That's not all that uncommon...I believe due to the fact that belted cases headspace off the belt. But it doesn't HAVE to be that way. Set up your sizing die to just "bump" the shoulder and your brass should last as long as any other cartridge designed to operate in that pressure range.....which is MOST of them!


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## Plainsman (Jul 30, 2003)

Csquared, I shoot a 165 gr bullet out of a 300 win mag, Depending on the bullet, I will push it from 3350 to 3425 fps. I get seven or eight loads out of brass. Your absolutely right about headspace off the belt, just bumping the shoulder, and brass life. 
Neck splitting can be cured by annealing the neck. Once that stops however you will have to watch for head separation. Brass has to wear out somewhere, and if the neck doesn't split then the head will separate. Use a piano wire bent sharply at the tip. Insert it to the bottom of the case, and drag it up the side. If it catches throw the case. The area where the head separates will first appear as a grove around the case on the inside. You may see a bright ring around the outside, but the head may separate before you notice exterior evidence of impending head separation.


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## Teufelhunden (Dec 4, 2007)

Thanks for the info Csquared. Although I never pass up a meal, free or other-wise, you owe me nothing.

Next question should my brass be full sized to fit my chamber or will this accelerate the throat erosion problem? While we are it has anyone seen any evidence of this throat erosion or barrel damage? Neither of my rifles in the.264 Win Mag have shown signs of any damage whatsover. My second is stainless because i read about the problem but my older rifle is a chromoly from the late 70's. What gives? am I due or is the barrel cooling time and cleaning that I perform just extending the life of my rifle?


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## Scooter (Nov 4, 2005)

Csquaed,
Your welcome I was proud to be serving and ditto you owe me nothing. It is a family tradition the my grandpa started. Thanks for the bumping the shoulder thing too. I will be starting that with my .264WM cases although I have not had any problems with short case life.


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## Csquared (Sep 5, 2006)

With that attitude I see now I owe you both more than dinner! But I already knew that. So in the meantime please accept my most sincerest thanks. It's because of guys like you that guys like me can sleep better than most anyone else in the world!

As to the brass question...I can think of nothing you could do to brass that would affect throat erosion one way or the other, and the only way to prevent erosion is to never shoot it! I've given my 2 cents worth on the subject of full-length sizing vs neck sizing, and simply stated, I don't see any advantage to neck sizing for a hunting rifle. I would grant the possibility of slightly longer case neck life if you use a die that does not use an expander ball....like a Lee collet die as one example, but only slightly. I've come to believe a case that's slightly less than 100% re-sized will chamber like a factory round and will not give up any noticeable accuracy potential, and with the exception of the neck life mentioned above, will last as long as possible if the sizing die is properly adjusted.

Back to the erosion....rest assured it's there. At least a little bit. And not because it's a .264 magnum, but because it burns smokeless powder at a temperature many times the melting point of steel! A gunsmith can assess it with a bore scope, but most of us just watch our groups. I can honestly say I don't think about it much. I'm careful not to shoot my rifles when they're hot, which my gunsmith has explained to me is not until you can no longer grip the barrel FIRMLY with your hand just ahead of the chamber and count to 10 (twenty for a jarhead!  ) without saying "ouch!" But how often will you really shoot a rifle like that? A couple hundred rounds at best for load development, and then yearly checks just prior to the season, and one shot per animal harvested!!!!

I don't think shooting out a barrel in a hunting rifle is something most of us need to worry about. Now a prairie dog rifle is another subject.....and another thread!


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## Csquared (Sep 5, 2006)

Plainsman, nice to hear from another grizzled veteran who still prefers his magnums to be of the full length variety.....and his politicians to sit on the right side of the isle!!!!!!!!

I know exactly the situation you've mentioned concerning head separation. I had a couple of close calls with a deep-chambered .280 factory rifle that taught me very quickly to never assume RCBS knew how far away from the base to cut the shoulder of the sizing die....for my rifle. The bright side is I have a couple of VERY interesting conversation pieces illustrating what can happen!

Since I've mentioned RCBS in a light that could possibly be misleading, let me state that there is not a company ANYWHERE who knows how to take care of a customer better than RCBS. I sincerely hope all who read this will buy their products whenever possible!


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