Barrel length for a new .264 Win mag Build

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comen

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I recently gifted my 6.5-280 AI to my son-in-law, and I'm now acquiring components for a .264 win mag build. I am looking for at least a 26" Barrel, but would consider a longer barrel if the ballistic advantage were great enough. I have a 28" Mcgowen on my 8x68S, and don't find that length too bothersome. A Mcgowen 28" contoured stainless blank will cost me about $250. I can also get a Wilson blank from Ragged Hole that will finish at 26" for $170. I have one of these on my .240 Gibbs, and have found it to be accurate, and very easy to clean, even the copper!
Please share your thoughts with me, bearing in mind I am already committed to the caliber.

Thanks!
 
I have a 26" Wilson on my 264, like you mentioned, shoots great and very to clean. I'd have no qualms about buying another for a future build. You should be able to get plenty of speed out if the 26, 3150-3200 with 140's.
 
When I first dipped my toe in the rifle building pool, I went with an Adams & Bennett for a budget build on a surplus mauser. It was a decent shooter and served well as a test bed while I learned about rifles and how to handload. From there, I decided to step up to Shilen barrels. I had good luck with them and they were a definite improvement over my first budget barrel.

It was a on a rebuild of a shot out Garand where I decided to go with a Krieger. I was immediately impressed with how well it shot and how easy it cleaned up. From there, I never looked back. It has been cut rifled barrels for me since then, Krieger or Bartlein, 5R where available/appropriate.

There are a lot of good barrel makers out there and a lot of good choices. I have decided that, if I am going to go to the trouble of finding a smith I trust and paying to have a barrel put on, I might as well go with a top shelf barrel. Depending on how you plan to use your 264WM, you may wish to consider nitriding your barrel of choice to extend its life. A 26" barrel is about right for a 264. There will most certainly be a velocity gain from going to a 28" barrel, but not enough to materially alter what the 264 is and what it does.

I started dabbling in 6.5's with a modern 6.5x55 build, then went to 6.5-284, and finally bought a Winchester Model 70 in 264WM when they were re-introduced in 2012. The 264WM is far and away my favorite.

Good luck with your build!
 
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A 264 shines with a 26" bbl. Well balanced. I get around 3440 with Barnes 120gr TSX & 3200+ fps with the 140gr bullets. You can of course go with a 24" Bbl for about 70 fps less. Depends where you plan to hunt . 70 fps less is not going to make a real difference in the field but may be an emotional difference. I have a Rem 700 264 I bought in 1964, 23.5" bbl , A Ruger Hawkeye 24", & two Win's with 26" Bbl. I have taken deer & elk with all of them. Have not really seen a difference in the field , but emotionally I like the 26".
 
In my experience the 264 Win mag needs at least 26" of barrel and longer is better. My current rifle is a Rem 700 with a Shilen #4 that is 27 3/4" long. All that the smith could get out of the 28" blank. My hunting buddy had the rifle barreled with a new barrel blank he picked up in his wheeling and dealing and used a shot out barreled Rem. 700 action that he picked up cheap. I had a rifle that was a safe queen that he wanted so we traded. The barrel only has a 9" twist but since white tail deer over bean fields is the main usage after some long thought I decided to give the 130 gr Nosler Accubond a try first. BINGO! It loves it with Retumbo, 3350 fps with sub MOA accuracy. My thought for choosing this bullet was mainly it's construction. With the speeds I knew I would most likely be getting I needed a bullet that could hold up to close in shots as well as perform at long range and shoot well out of a 9" twist. The 130 AB has proven to fit the bill perfectly. I have killed numerous deer from as close as 25 yards to a touch over 500 yards and the bullet exhibits the same performance. Penetrates both shoulders with about a quarter size exit and deer are DRT. I have only recovered one bullet. It was placed in a buck that was almost facing me with a slight left shoulder toward me angle at 111 yards. Bullet smashed the left scapula penetrated all the way length wise of the buck and was found against the smashed right ball joint in the ham when cutting up the meat. Bullet was a text book mushroom and weight was 87 grs. What ever barrel length you choose I would suggest you choose a bonded or mono bullet to handle the speeds you will be getting, especially taking into count those close shots. In my 48 years of hunting experience I have learned that many times when you plan on that long shot and set up for it old big boy shows up right on top of you.
 

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My personal opinion is 26" is optimal for 264 Win Mag case capacity and velocity. If you want to shoot 147's at 3200-3300 FPS, it's easily attainable without too much fuss in that length with correct powder choice. Be advised Your rifle will dictate how fast you get to go and still have accuracy. I've never had a problem or regret with an extra 2" of barrel on my rifles.
 
comen said:
I recently gifted my 6.5-280 AI to my son-in-law, and I'm now acquiring components for a .264 win mag build. I am looking for at least a 26" Barrel, but would consider a longer barrel if the ballistic advantage were great enough. I have a 28" Mcgowen on my 8x68S, and don't find that length too bothersome. A Mcgowen 28" contoured stainless blank will cost me about $250. I can also get a Wilson blank from Ragged Hole that will finish at 26" for $170. I have one of these on my .240 Gibbs, and have found it to be accurate, and very easy to clean, even the copper!
Please share your thoughts with me, bearing in mind I am already committed to the caliber.

Thanks!
Click to expand...
Any barrel past 28 will have problems. Good luck
 
Barrel length on a 264 Win Mag? Well, I think I'd go up to 27" or perhaps 27.5" if you pick up something great'..., if not, not real big deal, you're not going to lose anything that's for sure, besides you might want to set the barrel back after a few years to pick up some new barrel to work while extending the life of your rifle's barrel. Just trying to think ahead.
 
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