Question - Rem 700 Classic .264 WM

[Wv shooter]

I have owned two of the 700 classic 264 mags they both shot sub moa Sold last one for 1100 bucks they are very collectible they both shot 140 Sierra and Noslers very good at 3000 FPS
That is a good price on the rifle if you don't take it I will you can always buy prefit remage barrels form Northwest shooter supply and other barrel markers

 

[6x6 elk]

Shoot it before you re-barrel it. The classics are known to be good shooters. I have one in the 35 Whelen, and it shoots between three-quarter and half inch groups at 100 yards. With factory ammo.

 

[OR_98]

If it'll support a 7mm rem mag or 300 win it'll take a 264. Regardless of what brand it is

This really has gotten me thinking (always dangerous). I have been adamant about owning a .264 WM, and thought I basically had three options: (1) Sendero or an old Classic (the the one mentioned in the original post), (2) Model 70, or (3) custom build.

I'll probably still get the Classic - I've got time to mull it over - but now I'm wondering about another option - Tikka T3x in 7MM RM or 300 WM, and then paying to rebarrel to a .264. I could probably pick one up for $700-800 - and I assume the old Sako barrel would have some value, so net cost would be less. Then $800 for custom barrel and work.

So for maybe $1,500 I have what should be a lighter-weight shooter with the exact barrel I want. Hadn't considered this option before because I didn't know it existed! I know that's more than the $850 for the Classic, but it's still far less than a custom rifle.

I'm intrigued. Am I over (or under) thinking things here?

 

[1894C]

This really has gotten me thinking (always dangerous). I have been adamant about owning a .264 WM, and thought I basically had three options: (1) Sendero or an old Classic (the the one mentioned in the original post), (2) Model 70, or (3) custom build.

I'll probably still get the Classic - I've got time to mull it over - but now I'm wondering about another option - Tikka T3x in 7MM RM or 300 WM, and then paying to rebarrel to a .264. I could probably pick one up for $700-800 - and I assume the old Sako barrel would have some value, so net cost would be less. Then $800 for custom barrel and work.

So for maybe $1,500 I have what should be a lighter-weight shooter with the exact barrel I want. Hadn't considered this option before because I didn't know it existed! I know that's more than the $850 for the Classic, but it's still far less than a custom rifle.

I'm intrigued. Am I over (or under) thinking things here?

The only problem I see there is, if you shoot the tikka you will no longer want to rebarrel it.

 

[Alibiiv]

Appreciate all the input from everyone. I'm probably falling a little too easily for the whole "a .264 WM can't live up to its true potential without a 26"+ barrel" line of thinking.

The new barrel idea probably had as much - if not more - to do with getting a 1:8 twist as it did with picking up a little speed. But I think it's great advice to get it, shoot it, and then go from there.

Thanks again.

You can go crazy with barrel lengths and barrel twists and all of that stuff, but.....in the end you have to decide what you want to do with this rifle and how you want it to shoot. It is nice to read about all the modifications that are being done to rifles to make them shoot and to get that "infinite" last drop of accuracy and muzzle velocity out of a rifle. Just because the barrel has been changed to a longer one with a different twist does not make it a shooter; and....sometimes this stuff can go sideways very quickly. If this rifle were mine I presently wouldn't mess with this rifle other than to glass bed the stock, float the barrel and pillar bed the action screws, get the trigger checked to make sure it doesn't have a recall on it, then either tweak the trigger or replace it with a Timney or Jewel trigger, and....then shoot the rifle to find out if it does what you want it to do. Also remember this is a Remington Classic, once the barrel is changed that pretty much ends that part of the rifle. I do not have a .264 WinMag, but do like the ballistics on the cartridge and find it to be a great rifle for the type of hunting you have described. It is also important that there will be a good $700-800+ price added to the cost of the rifle if you decide to rebarrel. Good luck with whatever way you decide to go.

 

[Hespco]

For what it's worth . I have a Rem 700 264 mag I bought new in 1964. It took my best bull ever in 2014. This one rifle has taken considerable amount of deer & elk. Still shoots under an inch. Never, never have I shot more than two shots with out a cool down. Makes a significant difference as to barrel life. As to a new barrel I have used E.R Shaw for several barrel jobs. All have proved to provide stellar accuracy. All stainless. The last one about two years ago. About $450 , barrel installed & shipped back to me. For what it;s worth.

 

[crystalgayleguy]

for several years I was at a gun show every weekend I've only seen 5or 6 rem 700 s in 264 wi mag. seven mags 270 3006 are at every gun show you go to that's how rare 264 win mag are in a rem 700 220 swifts 280 rem 2506 are hard to find to on a rem 700

 

[DJ Fergus]

This really has gotten me thinking (always dangerous). I have been adamant about owning a .264 WM, and thought I basically had three options: (1) Sendero or an old Classic (the the one mentioned in the original post), (2) Model 70, or (3) custom build.

I'll probably still get the Classic - I've got time to mull it over - but now I'm wondering about another option - Tikka T3x in 7MM RM or 300 WM, and then paying to rebarrel to a .264. I could probably pick one up for $700-800 - and I assume the old Sako barrel would have some value, so net cost would be less. Then $800 for custom barrel and work.

So for maybe $1,500 I have what should be a lighter-weight shooter with the exact barrel I want. Hadn't considered this option before because I didn't know it existed! I know that's more than the $850 for the Classic, but it's still far less than a custom rifle.

I'm intrigued. Am I over (or under) thinking things here?

If you do decide on a tikka, I think your barrel shank will need to be 1.200 instead of 1.250 (someone double check that please) when you order a barrel blank. Which shouldn't be a problem to find that shank size.

 

[Alibiiv]

This really has gotten me thinking (always dangerous). I have been adamant about owning a .264 WM, and thought I basically had three options: (1) Sendero or an old Classic (the the one mentioned in the original post), (2) Model 70, or (3) custom build.

I'll probably still get the Classic - I've got time to mull it over - but now I'm wondering about another option - Tikka T3x in 7MM RM or 300 WM, and then paying to rebarrel to a .264. I could probably pick one up for $700-800 - and I assume the old Sako barrel would have some value, so net cost would be less. Then $800 for custom barrel and work.

So for maybe $1,500 I have what should be a lighter-weight shooter with the exact barrel I want. Hadn't considered this option before because I didn't know it existed! I know that's more than the $850 for the Classic, but it's still far less than a custom rifle.

I'm intrigued. Am I over (or under) thinking things here?

It took me over six-months before I could decide on a cartridge, so.......please do not think that you are "over thinking" anything here. I always try to do my homework before making a large purchase, especially one that I am hoping to last for a long time and perform as I would like it to perform. I cannot afford high-priced stocks or triggers, so try to make a build with the best products/materials that I "can" afford, plus make the alterations on the existing rifle that will make it as accurate as possible using what I already have to work with. In an early reply I suggested glass bedding and floating the barrel, and pillar bedding the action screws and replacing the trigger. I have had good luck with tweaking the Remington trigger, so a trigger job with what you have might give the performance that you are looking for. From what I have read in your responses it appears that your budget is around $1500+-.

Presently I am building a 30-06 because.....I wanted a deer hunting companion-rifle to a Ruger 77 tang safety in .270 Ackley Improved that I already have. I managed to find a Ruger 77, tang safety donor rifle in 30-06 on Gun Broker for $350. It was a beater rifle, however I was more interested in the action and the stock. The stock was in "fairly" good condition, it had dings and scratches in the wood (almost like it was dragged for a couple of miles down a dirt road behind a truck) but.......the stock was salvageable. I have a gunsmith who I use in Montana, he likes/specializes in working on Ruger 77s. He will be truing/blueprinting the action, rebarreling the rifle with a 26 inch Lilja barrel that will be contoured to the existing Ruger 77s dimensions and "rebluing" the barreled action; around $700-800 before he's done. I will do the stock work so another $100 for a glass bedding kit, some aluminum pillars and a KickEez recoil pad. Total for the rifle will run around $1300+-. When the rifle is completed it is a "Classic" rifle for me that I am proud to own, and......know that it will shoot. Between my son and I we have seven of these rifles built the same way, he will have one more after Christmas, just like described above, built on a Ruger 77, tang safety in 300WinMag on a donor rifle that was chambered in 7mm RemMag. I say keep doing your homework it will be worth all of the time and effort that you are putting into your project, and......"no" you are not overthinking this rifle what you are doing is part of a great hobby of shooting and reloading. Good luck with your build no matter what way you decide to go, when it is done it will be "your" rifle.

 

[Alibiiv]

First-time poster, long-time lurker...

I'll get right to it - I have an opportunity to buy a mint (<20 rounds) Rem 700 Classic .264 WM for $850. I believe it was manufactured in 1986.

I've been wanting a .264 WM for as long as I can remember (literally decades...don't ask why it's taken me so long) and I grew up in a Remington 700 family. As far as factory rifles, I think right now a Sendero SF II or one of the Model 70 offerings are my only options, and neither one really floats my boat (I'm aware of the well-documented Remington QC issues in recent years and I've never been a Model 70 guy).

A custom job is out of my price range right now.

I'm thinking about buying this rifle, immediately replacing that factory 24" 1:9 with a high-quality 26" 1:8. This would be a Western (I live in Southern Oregon) deer and elk gun. I'd like it to be a tack-driver, but I'm not looking for some 1,000-yard monster.

Thoughts? Is my plan a reasonable one or are there better options I'm not recognizing? This just seems like a fairly unique opportunity and I don't want to pass up a good thing (if that is in fact what it is).

Happy to be here (officially) and looking forward to the wise input of this board. Thanks!

I'd like to add one last think to this thread. While reading through the numerous replies that you have received I've noticed that you took the time to click onto the "LIKE" response on each reply. I'd like to say thank you for acknowledging (to the people who gave you suggestions) that you have read their replies to you. Oftentimes I have written responses to threads and never even knew if that person ever read "ANY" of the replies that they received from me or the people who provided suggestions or information to the thread. Thanks

 

[OR_98]

I'd like to add one last think to this thread. While reading through the numerous replies that you have received I've noticed that you took the time to click onto the "LIKE" response on each reply. I'd like to say thank you for acknowledging (to the people who gave you suggestions) that you have read their replies to you. Oftentimes I have written responses to threads and never even knew if that person ever read "ANY" of the replies that they received from me or the people who provided suggestions or information to the thread. Thanks

My pleasure. So appreciative of all the good info being shared.

 

[Bob Wright]

I would have a real hard time altering a classic other than accurizing it. It's just that you have one that is practically new and a collectors item. Every guy here would love to have it to shoot and wow the onlookers....

 

[Ckleeves]

This is just my .02, and I'm probably in the minority here. No way I would pay 850.00 if I'm going to take it apart for what's essentially a donor action and a wood stock. If your going to have it rebarreled anyway and decide to have any action work done then your already past the price of some custom actions. Now you just paid a boatload for what basically comes down to a old Remington action and a stock that may or may not have any real value. Either leave it as is or shop elsewhere.

a guy can find a beat up older 700 for under 500 if your patient if that's the route you want to go. Who cares what the finish looks like after you put a new barrel on your probably going to cerakote it anyway so it all matches. If you want a factory Remington stock they are a dime a dozen, the last one I sold was a pretty decent piece of wood and I think I got 50 bucks for it. Or put it in a B&C and your still under the price of the .264.

 

[Laguna Freak]

This is just my .02, and I'm probably in the minority here. No way I would pay 850.00 if I'm going to take it apart for what's essentially a donor action and a wood stock. If your going to have it rebarreled anyway and decide to have any action work done then your already past the price of some custom actions. Now you just paid a boatload for what basically comes down to a old Remington action and a stock that may or may not have any real value. Either leave it as is or shop elsewhere.

a guy can find a beat up older 700 for under 500 if your patient if that's the route you want to go. Who cares what the finish looks like after you put a new barrel on your probably going to cerakote it anyway so it all matches. If you want a factory Remington stock they are a dime a dozen, the last one I sold was a pretty decent piece of wood and I think I got 50 bucks for it. Or put it in a B&C and your still under the price of the .264.

Perfectly stated. Though I'd bet you are in the majority.