264 WIN MAG

[Warden]

What do you know about this round ? Is it in jeopardy of being cast aside as much as the 250 Savage has been ? Do you see ammo at the store for it ? What ?

[chansen92]

the 264 win mag never become very popular because it never lived up to expectations. Its velocity is rather slow and there is a raft other caliburs that out preform it. I think it will become obsolet but you canstill find ammo on the market. I chambered a rifle to 6.5x65 and it will far out preform the 264 mag. check out John Lazzarone and his line 6.5 cal firearms.

[Shadow]

The 7mm Rem Mag was the nail in the coffin for the .264 Win Mag. I think it is going to slip away into the history books before too long. I can't recall ever seeing any factory loads for it, but then again, I wasn't shopping for them. I would think factory ammo would be increasingly difficult to find in the future. It never became popular, sort of like the 8mm Rem Mag. The big 8mm was put in the shadows by the .338 Win Mag. The .264 would make a good deer rifle, but it would be on the bottom of my list due to the obscurity of ammo. The factory ballistic tables I have seen only list one or two loads.

[Warden]

I'm not familiar with 6.5x65, but I thought the velocity of the 264 was high. I'm shopping for an Encore barrel for next year but cannot decide on a caliber. I am a big 25 cal. fan. Only certain cal. come in stainless from TC. The best I see is a 7mm-08. I don't want the belted magnum. If I settle for a blued barrel on my stainless frame, I have a broader pile to choose from.

[Walker]

It's 35 years old and not dead yet. I think we might see a re-birth since the 6.5 X 55 and the .260 are gaining in popularity, and therefore more shooters are discovering the benefits of long skinny bullets.

[chansen92]

the rem 260 and the swedish 6.5x55mm are virtually the same in balistics. I feel that the 260 will eventually push the little swede by the wayside simply because it has an American disignation. Either one is an ideal deer gun. They shoot very flat and retain energy at long range better than some 30 calibers. Those little long skinney bullets sabilize and penetrate so well it is awsome. The swedish round was used in africa for a long time because of thier ability to penetrate very deeply . they are a joy to shoot also because the recoil is light. I have my sights set on that new remington light weight mnt. gun in 260 cal. They are rather pricey but I will have one.

[chansen92]

I just wanted to make one more quick comment on the 264 mag. I have no personnel experience with it but I just dont see the need for all these big magnum calibers. They are not fun to shoot and unless you are going to hunt Moose and big bears they are not necessary. I dont think the 264 will come back because there are too many other on the market that out class it.

[Walker]

This isn't a flame chansen92, but the 6.5 Swede has already got about 100 years behind it. Let me know in 100 more years if the .260 is still here. Shouldn't be too hard to find me. I'll be in one of two places. :D

[Shadow]

The main thing the .260 has going for it is that it is based on a the .308 case. The European rounds are just as good if not better in some instances. However, the .308 based cases fit in a true short action. The European following dropped off when our military chose the .30-06 and later the .308 as its rounds of choice. It wasn't that they were that much better than their European counterparts, it was the availablity of surplus actions and ammo in .30-06 and .308. Due to this fact alone, I think the the .260 will remain a popular round in the US, and the 6.5X55 will remain popular in Europe and reloading circles.