Cartridge Decision Help

[terry264]

Mr. Pillow, personally I would go with the .264 win. mag. (as my username implies). Have had one for almost 30 yrs. now. When comparing the really long range ballistics with anything else, with the right bullet pushed hard, nothing else compares with it. If you want the barrel to last for a long time, just load "starting loads" for the .264 and you = the .260 and 6.5x55, ha. But it would be nice to know if you really wanted to push that .264 really hard, you could. terry264.

 

[Shell Shucker]

I think to much has been made of the "barrel life" issue. Come on, a 264 is NOT a barrel burning 30-378. Todays steel is much better than the steel of old that gave the 264 the bad rep'. It sounds like the gun you plan to buy is basically a toy; for your enjoyment at the range. If you wanted a Ferarri for your "toy" (and could afford one) would you buy a Toyota simply because it will go more miles? Buy what you WANT!

 

[rangerruck]

is that 264 like a straight 264 , or do you mean like the 6.5 rem mag? because that one would be killer.

 

[Glockfan.45]

Hate to add yet another choice but why not consider the good old .270 ?

 

[michael_aos]

260 Remington.

Or 700P LTR in .308.

 

[slzy]

or a 280. i think if they had called this a 7mm-06 they would have been better off.

 

[Jim Watson]

.280 Remington is NOT a 7mm-06. It has .050" longer cartridge headspace so you cannot inadvertently load it in a .30-06 or a sloppy .270. It was briefly sold as the 7mm Express but the clientele could not tell the difference between 7mm Express and 7mm Magnum so they changed the name back.

 

[slzy]

well,how do you explain 7mm-08 then?would not the same caveats apply? certainly i can see some confusion here,but 7mm-08 and 308 are different lengths. and,i was thinking more of marketing.

 

[BobMcG]

The rifle I've been looking at is the Remington 700 Sendero SFII, in calibers .264Win, 7mm Rem, and 7mm Rem UltraMag.

Sorry, I didn't realize that the rifle you were looking at was at the exclusion of all others.

Unless someone can give solid edvidence one of the other rounds would suit me better, I don't think I'll change my mind.

I guess I misunderstood what the solid evidence part of that point was about? I thought you were responding to the remarks of others trying to steer you toward the .308 and .30-06 rounds.

 

[Matt-man]

I think to much has been made of the "barrel life" issue. Come on, a 264 is NOT a barrel burning 30-378. Todays steel is much better than the steel of old that gave the 264 the bad rep'.

It may not be a 30-378, but it sure seems close to a 6.5-284. See Jim Watson's note above about 1200-round barrel life out of the 6.5-284 - those numbers are almost certainly using today's finest stainless barrels - and MrPillow's statement that he would rather not be replacing barrels every year. At 1000-1500 rounds a year, that's what he'll be doing shooting 264 WM. Like with Ferraris, the question isn't whether you can afford the car - it's whether you can afford to maintain it.

Hate to add yet another choice but why not consider the good old .270 ?

The selection of match bullets in .277" is very limited. 6mm & 6.5mm are the hot calibers for long-range target rifles these days. I think Sierra alone makes 5 or 6 different Matchkings in .264", but only one in .277".

 

[Shell Shucker]

MM, Point well taken. My line of thinking was: If Mr. P has the time and money to carefully constuct 1200+ precision handloads per year and fire 1200+ carefully aimed shots........ He MIGHT get more grins per bang out of one of the "Ferarri" rounds he mentioned in his original post..... Maybe Mr. P needs to reevaluate his performance criteria (original post) if he values longevety over trajectory.

I said: "Buy what you WANT". My Daddy always said: "It doesn't cost more to go first class; you just can't stay as long".

 

[vinpar092]

Savage for simple barrel changes

I haven't checked if Savage offers a 6.5-.284 but that would be an option for easy barrel changes due to barrel life. Its a nice round and used alot in long range shooting. But, other rounds mentioned would do the job. I like the 7mm-08. Don't own one or have never shot one but, good ballistics, short action, and reloading capabilities--awesome.
vince

Late add, Personally I shoot .270 long range, no complaints with 150 grains.

 

[Will Fennell]

264 Win Mag

I love the .264 Win Mag......its a GREAT long range deer thumper. We have had one in our family's gun safe for years. My father will hardly shoot anything else.....except when it is at the gunsmith getting a new barrel

We have burned the throat out 3 times in the past 20 years. Twice we were able to just set back and re-chamber. Now we are on new barrels.

Great performance, at a price. You need to decide what your needs/wants are......

These days, we are shooting deer at much more reasonalbe ranges....my next Bambi slayer will be a 6.5 Swede.