264 win mag for elk?

[AlphaDogs]

Have loaded the ol Hornady 160 gr round nose with great success not thinking about trying to kill one at 800 yrds.

Yup that's a twin to what the boys across the pond kill Moose with.

In my messing around with M96 Swedes I have found that the difference between that bullet and some zoomy VLD would not cause you to miss a big game animal within the 6.5x55 kill zone.

 

[Whitetails45]

Thanks for all the info everyone!

 

[257Tony]

9 twist barrel, 140 Berger's, 658 yards.

 

[AntiPattern]

Here is a descent bull being taken with a 264 win.


And a 243 win.


I would worry about your ability to place the bullet at distance, and choosing a bullet that will preform at your maximum effective range.

Now thats how you wanna see em drop. 264 Winmag, good bullet, under 800 yds, no problem!

 

[Mark carter]

My data isn't pressure tested of course, but I always work up until I see sure pressure signs, and my loads I run are always below that by a fair margin, I work up to max so I know where it is, so I know how much room I have. Once I find max, I stay away from it. I never load at or above max, and strongly advise not to do so. As far as a book listed load, I don'tbelieve there is a book load at this time for the 156 in a .264 wm. In this gun, with this specific set of components, max, or first sign of any pressure signs, comes in around 3225 with the 156. I will keep the load I run in this at 3200 or less for saftey reasons, which gives roughly .5.6 grain or room from initial pressure signs. Once final develooement is finished the load may even end up at 3100 fps, depending on how accuracy plays out.

Also, as Lance stated, the 156 would be a poor choice in a 9 twist. It is being shot out of a 7.5 twist in this .264wm. While you may be able to attain accuracy in a 9 twist, if you fully understand how bc, twist rate, and terminal performance intermix, you will see it simply isn't a good option. The lack of twist will lead to a bullet somewhat unstable, which will drop the effective bc of the bullet, taking away much of the reason for using a heavier bullet in the first place, as well as cause negative effects on the terminal performance of the bullet.

The .264 was designed originally as a "light and fast" hunting cartridge, with the industry standard load being a 100 grain bullet around 3600? fps, and was the main advertising point when the cartridge was introduced, if memory serves me right. It made a fantastic max point blank range pronghorn and deer cartridge. That is why SAAMI standards have the .264 wm with a 9 twist, it was designed to run 100-130 grain pills. But it's popularity faded out for preference of the 7 mag, due to a wider selection of bullets and having a longer barrel life. The .264 wm is coming back around because of the popularity of long range, and high bc 6.5 bullets available. It fills a nice void between the 6.5x284 and the 26 nosler. The vast majority of people building them are putting 7-8 twists on them to run these bullets however, and factory rifles such as the sendero, unfortunately often still come with the conventional 9 twist. That is the biggest hindrance of the commercial .264wm these days.

Just asking I have a factory ruger m77 mk2 in 264 Winchester mag does anyone know what twist it might be thanks

 

[Roger_Roger]

Just like the title says is it a good choice. I know there are better bigger options but this is my rifle I am most familiar with.

"this is my rifle I am most familiar with." Second biggest problem solved now go find an elk to your liking.

 

[codyadams]

Just asking I have a factory ruger m77 mk2 in 264 Winchester mag does anyone know what twist it might be thanks

More than likely 9 twist. You can check yourself with a tight fitting patch, and a piece of tape folded over your cleaning rod to make a flag. Measure how many inches it takes to make a rotation. This method isn't exact, but it will tell you if it's an 8 or 9 twist.

 

[Skimbleshanks]

Probably a better choice than a 6.5 CM.

 

[SmokinCrow]

All good advice, so 140-156 grain bullets will be inaccurate out of a 1:9 twist barrel? No chance of tuning those?

Seems like a lot of wasted cartridge space in the 264 win mag with max load of 57.0 for a 140 grain bullet and 79.0 grains of space overall. Have you worked up to loading above max loads? How does this affect the rifle?

Thanks.

It's always worth trying. Where I hunt elk, I'm always over 7000 ft elevation, and elevation is your friend in stabilizing a bullet. Try them out. My 7 mag doesn't have the optimal twist for the 180 vlds, but it actually shoots them pretty well at 4500 ft elevation. Give it a try and know where you're hunting. What works at 8000 ft for elk may not if you go to 1000 ft to shoot pigs.

 

[flyguy1]

the best elk guide in Montana and was also a guide in Alaska and a Master of the Bob Marshall shoot a winchester Westerner in 264 mag . now I would perfet the 300 win for me, but a 264 will do the same.. 30 cal is better for a griz. .However he kill a large griz with a 22 handgun. the only man I ever heard of but his brother said he did so i took his word. HUNTZ you are correct.

My old hunting buddy, now passed, killed a big black bear with a .22 as well just because it was getting too close to his horses and couldn't be run off. A little shoot shovel and shut up.

 

[AlphaDogs]

Just asking I have a factory ruger m77 mk2 in 264 Winchester mag does anyone know what twist it might be thanks

Easy to measure it. Look up how.

 

[montana west]

speer loading manual #11- Ruger- Remington uses a 1-9 twist for the 6.5 cal and a 1-9.5 for 7mm. Remington uses a 1-9.25 in the 280 and a1-9 in the 7mm Mag in the 30 cal all american mfg uses 1-10 all 25/06 and 270 Winchesters are 1-10.

 

[codyadams]

speer loading manual #11- Ruger- Remington uses a 1-9 twist for the 6.5 cal and a 1-9.5 for 7mm. Remington uses a 1-9.25 in the 280 and a1-9 in the 7mm Mag in the 30 cal all american mfg uses 1-10 all 25/06 and 270 Winchesters are 1-10.

Not that it matters much, but Remington uses a 9.25 twist in their 7mm mags.

 

[montana west]

so the old speer book was out of date and I agree 9.25 in the 7mm mag is better. I am sure it was a misprint most rifles in one calibre will always be the same. as a matter of fact in a good hand load in both barrel length being the same the 280 is very close to the7mm mag.