.264 Winchester Magnum

[FNSafari]

the 6.5mm that most seem to love to hate. I have a pre=64 Win 70 mint bore. I have heard a lot of stories about the 100 grain load being a meat destroyer. True? I'm talking about a well placed lung or heart shot not a gut shooting.

If so, what bullet do you prefer of a larger weight? If you found one that destroyed less meat would you share that info here? I am a meat hunter and not a trophy hunter. Thanks --Greg

 

[Murray Brook]

In my hunting experience any bullet badly placed will destroy meat and any premium bullet that shoots good in your gun properly placed will put meat in the freezer. My preferences are the Nosler Part and the Barnes LRX regardless of caliber. JMO

 

[FNSafari]

In my hunting experience any bullet badly placed will destroy meat and any premium bullet that shoots good in your gun properly placed will put meat in the freezer. My preferences are the Nosler Part and the Barnes LRX regardless of caliber. JMO

Thanks

 

[Idaho-Lefty]

For the LEAST amount of Meat Destruction that, We've ever seen, from Fast .270 and 6.5 PRC Bullets, has been, the 140 grain Elite Hunters in 6.5 and, the 140 Classic Hunters, from my .270 WSM @ 3,175 FPS.
My grandson just Popped, a Nice Buck Antelope at 255 Yards with, my old .270 WSM and the Bullet Blasted thru, BOTH upper shoulders, leaving, a 3/4 inch Exit and Very Little, Bloodshot meat ( Tiny Bit, on the surface only )
Needless to say, he was,.. DRT !
The Worst Loss of, Meat I that, have ever seen, was from, a .264 Win Mag., 140 gr Win Power Point Bullet
( Lost more than, 1/2 of, the rear side, Shoulder roast, Meat ! ) Needless to say,.. T-Was,. UGLY !

 

[Idaho-Lefty]

The Old .264 Win Mag. got, a "Bad Rap" for TWO Reasons,.
1) Hard on Barrels IF, NOT allowed to, Cool Properly.
2) Hard on Meat because the Cup / Core Bullets of, the Day were ,. KRAP ! ( mid-1960 to, 1970's )
My Dad shot, the 125 grain Nosler Partitions for, Deer & Antelope, in his .264 Mag.,.. without,.. issues !

 

[sixshooter1948]

264 WIN MAG IS A WINNER. With 50 years of shooting one it works.

 

[FNSafari]

Lefty, I've sort of reached the conclusion that soft bullets were the cause of excessive meat loss regardless of shot placement. If I hunt with mine this year, I will test Nosler accubond and Barnes TTSX for accuracy. The Barnes bullets rely on impact velocity to expand, but they don't blow up. That should help mitigate excessive meat loss. Tks

 

[Idaho-Lefty]

264 WIN MAG IS A WINNER. With 50 years of shooting one it works.

And, it HAS, the "Horse Power" to Shoot, the Awesome, High BC, 156 grain, Berger,.. Elite Hunters !
@ G Palman,.. YES,. the Regular AccuBonds ARE, Tough Bullets that, stay Together ( another GOOD choice )

 

[Kermit in Va.]

Yep, 130 accubonds do the trick

 

[Hntnhrd]

130 grain accubonds for me also. Shoot tiny group’s and I have killed a couple cow elk with it. Performed great

 

[Flycaster1977]

I shoot 120 barnes ttsx and have almost no meat damage, while also getting excellent terminal performance. I also have a load for 140 grn partition that i like. It sure puts a deer down hard, but it will make a much larger hole.

 

[Adam in WI]

I read stories of the early 264 having a short throat that Winchester remedied with a two diameter bullet. I think if yours is this way it would be a great excuse to try the Absolute Hammer line of bullets.

 

[Bill K]

The 264 Win is a fine cartridge and in that Rifle/year you have will serve you well. Work up a load with a good quality bullet i.e. Nosler Partition, Barmes TTSX or Hammer all in and around 120-130 grain and place it into the lung/heart area. Nothing hit like that will go far and you will have less meat damage than a lot of others would have done. Enjoy your hunts.

 

[Scalloper]

I had one for years and had it came with a faster twist I would still own it. IMO that was the reason this cartridge was not more popular.

 

[deadidarren]

I had one for years and had it came with a faster twist I would still own it. IMO that was the reason this cartridge was not more popular.

I agree and the reason the 243w 22 250 7mm rem mag and some others are going the way of the dodo in my country.

 

[FNSafari]

I was looking at some current Weatherbee vanguard rifles (supposedly made by Ruger) in 25-06 and they all feature 1-10" twist barrels. I would have thought they would have gone with a 1-9". Shilen website says 1-10" for up to 100 gr, but of course it has to do with the length of the jacket and not the weight.

 

[TimS]

The stability is largely determined by RPM’s. RPM’s are determined by twist rate and speed. A 10 twist barrel might be marginally stable for a bullet in a reduced .260 load but be very stable in a full .264 WM load. Twist rate for stability varies with cartridges of a given caliber. Look at the Berger stability calculator for a given bullet over a range of velocities.

 

[NZ_Fclass]

I was looking at some current Weatherbee vanguard rifles (supposedly made by Ruger) in 25-06 and they all feature 1-10" twist barrels. I would have thought they would have gone with a 1-9". Shilen website says 1-10" for up to 100 gr, but of course it has to do with the length of the jacket and not the weight.

Howa, surely?

 

[Darkside]

130 and 140 Accubond.
The 130 Swift Scirocco is my favorite in the 264WM and my 264/7PRC.
The 264/7PRC is throated for the 156 EOL ELITE HUNTER and shoots Bugholes at 3200fps. If you ever rebarrel have a reamer made up for the 156 with a 8twt barrel.

 

[Tommie]

Howa, surely?

Yep