264 Winchester Magum

Wally Plath · Post by **Wally Plath** » Wed Mar 03, 2010 9:03 pm

Sorry I am very new to this. But would my Win m70 in 264 win mag, make the cut for F-class? In know it will have to be modified abit but it is a accurate caliber. Or are magnums not allowed?
Thanks in advance.

Ant

Mark Hamersley · Post by **Mark Hamersley** » Thu Mar 04, 2010 12:50 am

As a calibre it would fit into f-open fine. I reckon one could be made competitive but I would expect it to consume barrels faster than most. See if you can get in touch with some local f classers and arrange to try it out on the range and chat about what you might need to do in terms of mods. Somebody may be able to suggest a local contact person/club or a gunsmith too.

Good luck with it!

best regards

Mark

Woody_rod · Post by **Woody_rod** » Thu Mar 04, 2010 10:21 am

Crikey, just reading up on the 264WM - sounds like a barrel burner alright. 140gr bullet at 3,100fps - thats awesome.

An open question: this caliber is based on the 375 H&H Magnum like the 7mm Rem mag? Just wondering. Could give Wally some choices for bolt faces / chamberings in the future.

Nothing wrong with M70 - pretty sure John Whidden in USA used one to win the US Nationals in 2008.

Post by **AlanF** » Thu Mar 04, 2010 10:47 am

Wally,

I had a BRNO actioned 264 Win Mag for a deer rifle once. It was probably because of that I decided on a 6.5mm for F-Open. However as Mark and Rod say, barrel life of the 264 is very short (probably well under 1000 rnds of accuracy life) so i opted for a 6.5-284. Even that is considered by many to be "over-bore" i.e. inefficient in terms of velocity per grain of powder. You could also use the magnum boltface for the WSSM or WSM cases I think. They offer a wide range of calibres and they aren't belted, which is an advantage.

Alan

Wally Plath · Post by **Wally Plath** » Fri Mar 05, 2010 6:50 am

Yes you are right the 264 is quick. I have done abit of research into this caliber. basically is a 458 win mag necked down to 264. It used to be a barrel burner but apparently with todays new age barrels it shouldn't go through them to quickly. at the moment all I have is a standard 24inch. But I will replace that with a 26inch match grade.
Not sure if I should get rid of the walnut stock yet. Looking at scopes, either Leupold or nightforce.
Apparently it has ballistics very similar to the 6.5-284.
I think at this stage I wouldnt change calibers. I like to have something alittle different.

Post by **AlanF** » Fri Mar 05, 2010 7:57 am

Wally,

You might want to consider a longer barrel than 26" - most F-Open rifles over 6mm cal use 30" to get the full benefit of slower powders. And you'll need very slow powder for the 264. AR2225, or some of the Vihta Vuori powders (N170 or the new N570) would go well. And if you're intending to use 140gn class projectiles then I wouldn't go any slower than 8.5 twist.

Keep us posted on your progress.

Alan

Wally Plath · Post by **Wally Plath** » Fri Mar 05, 2010 3:36 pm

AlanF wrote:Wally,

You might want to consider a longer barrel than 26" - most F-Open rifles over 6mm cal use 30" to get the full benefit of slower powders. And you'll need very slow powder for the 264. AR2225, or some of the Vihta Vuori powders (N170 or the new N570) would go well. And if you're intending to use 140gn class projectiles then I wouldn't go any slower than 8.5 twist.

Keep us posted on your progress.

Alan

AlanF Sir thank-you!
I have been looking at barrels but still up in the air about brand. Could you please suggest any good brands and guess of the prices. I know that's hard. But I live in a small town and there are abit slow. I have also read that I cant use muzzle brakes. I guess that's good in away,cause she is very load. Still waiting for a Cairns gun shop for a quote on a barrel, that was last October and no price as yet.
30 inch sounds interesting. Thank you again!

Post by **AlanF** » Fri Mar 05, 2010 4:06 pm

Wally,

Regarding barrel brands, the best will be the one someone's trying to sell you :wink:

! If you want a name, I've used mostly Kriegers - they are relatively easy to obtain, have made a huge number of 6.5mm barrels, and are reasonably priced - if you want somethng Australian, Maddco are right up there. The main thing with barrels is to be sure that it is a match grade one, and that the gunsmith who fits it is experienced with target rifles. Being a standard hunting rifle action, your Model 70 action will probably need to be trued, which not everyone can do.

Hope this helps.

Alan

CodeBasher · Post by **CodeBasher** » Fri Mar 05, 2010 5:12 pm

What he said!

Woody_rod · Post by **Woody_rod** » Fri Mar 05, 2010 7:07 pm

We do Pac-Nor and TS Engineering (Aussie) barrels, and pretty much only play with Target type rifles. PM me if you would like to know more.

Our prices on Pac-Nor wont be beaten by anyone in Australia, guaranteed!!

Alan, I hope you don't mind me mentioning this.

Post by **AlanF** » Fri Mar 05, 2010 9:26 pm

Woody_rod wrote:Alan, I hope you don't mind me mentioning this.

Rod,

There is actually a rule about firearms dealer advertising in the FOR SALE/WANTED TO BUY forum HERE. However as this post is currently in the GENERAL FORUM, then I guess its not against the rules

. Seriously, I would prefer that advertising was done in a more subtle manner, particularly when it may be in competition with the website sponsor.

Alan

RAVEN · Post by **RAVEN** » Fri Mar 05, 2010 9:45 pm

Hi Wally
I started F-Class with a Sendaro 7mm Rem Mag factory rifle
The original 26 inch barrel had in excess of 4000 round through it when I rebarreled to Aus made barrel that only lasted 1000 rounds.
I now have a Krieger 30" I prefer cut rifling rather than button.
The best powder I have found is ADI 2217 it has the coolest burn rate of all powders this will prolong barrel life using a longer barrel you will get the full benefit of slow powder.
You don’t need to drive it flat out either 2800 - 3000 is plenty of velocity for F-Class.
I would just go use it do a barrel learning what you need to know after a season or two you will be better informed to make any calibre or cartridge changes.
Good shooting
RB

Wally Plath · Post by **Wally Plath** » Sat Mar 06, 2010 4:05 pm

Any ideas about scopes? Nightforce bench rest? Or leupold 6.5-20*50?

Woody_rod · Post by **Woody_rod** » Sat Mar 06, 2010 7:51 pm

Wally,

Neither, we use (and lots of others) the Nightforce NXS. The main advantage about this scope over the BR is the parallax adjustment is on the central turret area, not on the objective, which is a pain to adjust when you are in position.

My other suggestion would be the T series Weaver.

VickiMcc · Post by **VickiMcc** » Sat Mar 06, 2010 8:17 pm

thats a lot of xtra money for a little convience.

The BR is much better with 1/8 adjustments, especially now we shoot on ICFRA targets with the super V