.264 Win Mag project rifle

[Bobby B]

New to this sight and sometimes I ramble, so bear with me .

I have wanted and have kept an eye out for a .264 mag since 1976. I finally came across what I have been looking for a few months back and bought it, a model 700 BDL with a 24" barrel.

I want this rifle to be a looker as well as a shooter, and for me that means blued and a wood stock.

The stock will be from a piece of Black Walnut that came from the ranch where 3 generations of my family grew up, lived and worked . ( Side note, I am having a custom knife made with the same wood for the handle scales )

I want to have it re-barreled with a 26" barrel. A friend has made a suggestion on who to use, but any suggestions will be appreciated.

I have been told to get a Jewell trigger for it. Have it blue printed and quite a bit of stuff I honestly have no clue .

So, if you have suggestions, I'm all ears. I have been thru the Cerakote argument and for this gun that is not an option.

This will be done a stage at a time as I have the funds, and I want the gun shootable between stages, with a new scope being last. ( I have a nice Leopold 3 x 9 for it right now )

And, currently I dont reload, but I have a good friend that does and who also has a .264 and is ready o start cooking up recipes for me to shoot. if anyone has a pet load, that would be great as well.

Thanks guys

Bobby

 

[436]

New to this sight and sometimes I ramble, so bear with me .

I have wanted and have kept an eye out for a .264 mag since 1976. I finally came across what I have been looking for a few months back and bought it, a model 700 BDL with a 24" barrel.

I want this rifle to be a looker as well as a shooter, and for me that means blued and a wood stock.

The stock will be from a piece of Black Walnut that came from the ranch where 3 generations of my family grew up, lived and worked . ( Side note, I am having a custom knife made with the same wood for the handle scales )

I want to have it re-barreled with a 26" barrel. A friend has made a suggestion on who to use, but any suggestions will be appreciated.

I have been told to get a Jewell trigger for it. Have it blue printed and quite a bit of stuff I honestly have no clue .

So, if you have suggestions, I'm all ears. I have been thru the Cerakote argument and for this gun that is not an option.

This will be done a stage at a time as I have the funds, and I want the gun shootable between stages, with a new scope being last. ( I have a nice Leopold 3 x 9 for it right now )

And, currently I dont reload, but I have a good friend that does and who also has a .264 and is ready o start cooking up recipes for me to shoot. if anyone has a pet load, that would be great as well.

Thanks guys

Bobby

Welcome,
Hey that's a pretty good pick for a hunting caliber. I've always like the 246 Win Mag... But as was eluded too, you'll need a good 26" plus barrel to get the most from the cartridge. There are many good barrel guy's... but I do like Pac-Nor for a nice hunting barrel at a fair price.
Depending on the rifle: M700 tune up nice, perhaps all your need is a trigger job, but the "J" trigger's are nice.
Reloads are what make the .264 Win Mag shine… safe ones that is.
Good luck
436

 

[roninflag]

BOBBY- google remington crisp and adjust the rem trigger. i have several factory and 4 shilen one jewell. i would use a krieger barrel 8.5 twist. what are you shooting at?? is your donor a mag action? my gunsmith does not blue print my actions.

 

[C. Smith]

Hey Bobby, I'm Just north of you here in New Braunfels. That should be the perfect caliber for Texas. Keep us posted on your progress.

 

[Outlaw6.0]

The advice stating bbl lenght for the 264 starts at 26" is spot on, in my opinion 28" would be my choice.

There are a literal TON of reputable barrel makers that can/will make your 264 shine, to the likes of: Kreiger (one of my favs), Hart, Lilja, Brux, Rock Creek, Shilen, Pac-Nor, Douglas & I just bought a 31" 1-8.4" Obermeyer 5R in 6.5 for my 6.5WSM project.

Stick with the good ones, yeah they may be a little more $$$, but there will be no "surprises" in the end. If you are going to drop the coin on a new stock & barrel, get the action trued up, some, especially the new Remington's can be quite unsquare. True the action face lap the lugs & true up the receiver threads. Will it help?? Some rifles shoot just fine without all of this done, but it will be FAR easier to do it now then find out you have to do it later.

"Pet" loads are like Pit Bulls in my opinion, what behaves very well for shooter X, may very well bite YOUR hand off. Start with what bullet you would like to use & research data for that bullet, preferably from that manufacturers loading manual. Most all manufacturers indicate which powder was most accurate in their testing which seems to work well. Data can also be found in some online reloading forums, but remember, online you have no idea if "bubba" has any idea what he's doing or not. BE CAREFUL. You will generally find VERY sound advice from the folks on here, always start low & work up.

If you have a pre x-mark trigger, you can tune those fellers to a very respectable weight & feel (if capable). If not, the Shilens & Jewels are top tier & highly recommended.

 

[Bobby B]

Thanks for the replies so far. There is no time limit on this project since I have to do it as my pocket money finances allow.

I have in my mind's eye how I want it to look. I hope I can make it shoot to match.

And this is an older model 700.

 

[6.5Express]

My 264 win mag is supposed to be shipped tomorrow (today is a holiday). It is built on a SS 700 action (blueprinted & trigger worked), 27" stainless, fluted, sendero contour, lilja 8 twist. I probably shouldn't recommend the smith until I have time for load development and such but my neighbor has three rifles that he's worked on for him and comes highly recommended.

If you have time to wait for the barrel, I might suggest a slightly faster twist - maybe 8.4 or 8.5? I would try to get a hold of folks on this forum with more knowledge than myself. I just didn't want to wait for the barrel, so I got one that Lilja keeps on hand. Lilja is the only other aftermarket barrel that I have and to say I've been impressed is an understatement. Not trying to knock other barrel mfg's, this is just what I have experience with.

 

[Bobby B]

My 264 win mag is supposed to be shipped tomorrow (today is a holiday). It is built on a SS 700 action (blueprinted & trigger worked), 27" stainless, fluted, sendero contour, lilja 8 twist. I probably shouldn't recommend the smith until I have time for load development and such but my neighbor has three rifles that he's worked on for him and comes highly recommended.

If you have time to wait for the barrel, I might suggest a slightly faster twist - maybe 8.4 or 8.5? I would try to get a hold of folks on this forum with more knowledge than myself. I just didn't want to wait for the barrel, so I got one that Lilja keeps on hand. Lilja is the only other aftermarket barrel that I have and to say I've been impressed is an understatement. Not trying to knock other barrel mfg's, this is just what I have experience with.

I am in no rush. This is the first rifle I have ever had built like I want and the research is still in progress ( not to mention building the budget )

But maybe either post here or PM me later after you shoot yours and give me your thoughts on yours

 

[1100 Remington Man]

1. I'm Shooting a .264 Win Mag & have shot one Antelope at just over 500 YDS. My load is 120 gr Nosler BT at just over 3250 FPS. Its a stock Model 70 XTR with a 24 inch barrel when its time to put a new one on I will go to a 26 inch since I also backpack hunt. Just FYI at 300 YDS. it shoots. 2 5/16 inch groups The group at 100 YDS is 1 1/8 inch with Factory shells. My load is 59.0 gr IMR 4350 120 gr Nosler BT WIN case & Win primer. When I run out of the Noslers 120gr BT, I'm going to try Sierra 123gr MK or Hornadys A-MAX for a higher BC. I'm not a big fan of recoil and this is ok for me. I am also going to put on a new stock & upgrade my scope to a VX-3 CDS & have the custom shop put a windage knob on it. I have no plans on shooting beyond 700 YDS. unless it's coyotes then till out of sight.....

 

[nksmfamjp]

Do you have a gunsmith in mind to carve a stock from your blank yet? That may be the hardest part.

Is it currently a 700 BDL in 264 WM?

If it is a magnum, then it should likely stay a magnum bolt face, but there are lots of choices from 257 Weatherby to 6.5 PRC to 6.8 Western to 7mm Rem Mag that could all fit.

Take a look at Barnes LRX and/or Hammer bullets. They expand well without losing a ton of weight making light bullets much more effective. To sit in the right place in the case neck, consideration needs made when selecting a freebore. I wish I had another 0.1" roughly in guns I'm target for mono's. Also, rifles for mono's need a faster twist. Calibers which are good at a 1:9 for all cup'ncore probably need 1:8 or 1:7.5 for a long mono. Look at bullet recommendations.

I would think your most important decisions should be rifle weight, balance point and therefore contour and weight. If building for my wife, I would build on the short and light end of the spectrum.

I would build a #2 contour, 22" with a decent balance point….as long as she wears hearing protection hunting…..or maybe a short suppressor on an 18-20" barrel.

I would also target 9lbs max with a 25oz optic. Meopta Optika 6 and Vortex LHT should meet your optical needs. Most projects end up over weight and over budget without careful consideration.

 

[ARlife4me]

While I'm not a rem fan I have shot a few good ones. Not every gun can be a pre '64 mod70! I'm currently building off a savage110 action McGowen 32" 7.5t in 264wm with a savage magnum contour and fluted. As far as aftermarket barrels go this and 1 other barrel is the only 2 I've bought. The only other 1 I've bought is a carbon6 for the same action for a 300wm. C6 gets their barrels from McGowen, so I have technically 2 McGowen's. Some have done the RemAge (remington/savage hybrid) barrels. Remington threads with a savage barrel nut (a little more to it) so headspacing is done more easier (could be more to it). Some like and others don't? Criterion is a brand I've used on AR's with great sucess at a decent price. Many others on here have tons more experience than I do and have at custom and barrel changes! Other than the pre '64 I do have another mod70 with same barrel length (26"). If shooting nothing over 120gr a 24" should be fine, but longer for the heavier bullets will do this cartridge justice!

Just my thoughts!

 

[cowboybart]

This is a really old thread, but I'll throw my 2 cents in anyway..
I speced my 264 with a 29" Lilja barrel in S/S. If you want to go the CM (blued) route, I have a CM Pacnor barreled rifle that I really like and it also shoots well. Some barrel manufactures only work with S/S. I had Ray Montgomery (Grand Junction, CO) put mine together, but he might be retired. 700 smiths are not hard to find. I would recommend a 27" or 28" barrel, and I am very happy with my Rifle Basix trigger. For years I had a Springfield Armory scope on it (6.5-20x56), but a few years ago I went to a Nikon 6-24x50 and am happy with that. Neither are available now, for a budget scope I am liking the Crimson Trace scopes.
What works - works, and mine likes the cheap stuff. I shoot 139gr PMC/Privi hunting bullets using mil surp WC 860 powder in Remington 7 Mag cases that are necked down. They go 1/2 MOA.

 

[ARlife4me]

This is a really old thread, but I'll throw my 2 cents in anyway..
I speced my 264 with a 29" Lilja barrel in S/S. If you want to go the CM (blued) route, I have a CM Pacnor barreled rifle that I really like and it also shoots well. Some barrel manufactures only work with S/S. I had Ray Montgomery (Grand Junction, CO) put mine together, but he might be retired. 700 smiths are not hard to find. I would recommend a 27" or 28" barrel, and I am very happy with my Rifle Basix trigger. For years I had a Springfield Armory scope on it (6.5-20x56), but a few years ago I went to a Nikon 6-24x50 and am happy with that. Neither are available now, for a budget scope I am liking the Crimson Trace scopes.
What works - works, and mine likes the cheap stuff. I shoot 139gr PMC/Privi hunting bullets using mil surp WC 860 powder in Remington 7 Mag cases that are necked down. They go 1/2 MOA.

I bought some PPU 139fmj for my 26cals and their diameter states it at .263. I haven't loaded any yet, so do you get any gas leakage or does it seal up like .264 bullets? I shoot lots of fmj in every caliber and all cartridges I load. .001 shouldn't make much if any difference, but no testing yet.

norma 120fmj-bt
lapua 100fmj and 144fmj-bt
ppu 139fmj
hornady 123fmj-bt

Different weights for 6.5gren, 6.5creed, 260rem and 264wm.

What 139's do you have?

As the op stated wanting a 26" tube is kind of a minimum for me in the cartridge. If not wanting to shoot anything over or ever going to shoot anything over 110-120gr just go with a 9 twist. An 8 twist will cover everything except 150smk according to sierra.

 

[cowboybart]

The 139s that I have are actually salvage PMC from when they shut their ammo plant down in CA and moved it to the Philippines. At that time BrassManBrass.com bought a railcar full of them and I bought 5-7K thru him. They look similar to the Privi 139 SP. They are an accurate bullet in my 264, 6.5 Bower (Contender) and my 260 Encore. They shoot OK (1MOA) in my WSM, My LR 260 does not like them and I haven't tried them in the Roberts or '06. I think they are too much for the Grendel