Next Rifle Purchase: 264 WinMag, 300 WinMag, AR

[walters900]

Ok fellow forum members,
Need some wisdom, looking to purchase my next rifle, of course, I can only probably buy one though. I currently have a 7mm Rem Mag I want a 264 Win Mag in order to take advantage of the superior ballistics of the 6.5 bullet but with a little more power than the 6.5 Creedmoor. I am hoping to get a 300 Win Mag in order to have a long range 30 calibre rifle. I don't have an AR yet, and truthfully I am not a big fan of semi-auto rifles, my preference is definitely for centerfire bolt actions, but with the current political climate I may need to move that purchase forward. So all wisdom and ideas welcome, thanks.

 

[elkaholic]

The WM is a good performer but known to be hard on barrels. If you don't shoot that much, it is a good choice. The 6.5/284 won't give the same performance as the WM but is a jump above the Creedmoor. It is not particularly easy on barrels either. The PRC is a little better performer than the /284 version, but the brass is crap. The 6.5 Saum GAP would be my pick of the factory stuff with good velocity and better barrel life.
If you don't mind working with wildcats, the 6.5 Sherman is the best of everything, IMO, because it is on an '06 case size with WM performance and far less powder. It is simple to fire form and gets good barrel life.
If you want a short action that performs like a WM, then the SS "Sherman Shortmag" is the way to go and there will be head stamped brass available for it this summer.

 

[walters900]

The WM is a good performer but known to be hard on barrels. If you don't shoot that much, it is a good choice. The 6.5/284 won't give the same performance as the WM but is a jump above the Creedmoor. It is not particularly easy on barrels either. The PRC is a little better performer than the /284 version, but the brass is crap. The 6.5 Saum GAP would be my pick of the factory stuff with good velocity and better barrel life.
If you don't mind working with wildcats, the 6.5 Sherman is the best of everything, IMO, because it is on an '06 case size with WM performance and far less powder. It is simple to fire form and gets good barrel life.
If you want a short action that performs like a WM, then the SS "Sherman Shortmag" is the way to go and there will be head stamped brass available for it this summer.

I really don't want to work with a wildcat cartridge just yet; I picked out there's three rifles because eventually I intend to have all of them in my safe. That's pretty much a given. However there are three deals that I'm looking at one for a 264 WM, one for a 300 WM, and one for an AR. I believe the 300 WM deal is a tremondous value, yet the 264 deal seems to have good value as well and the 264 might be a little bit more enjoyable to shoot from an ease of use/recoil standpoint. So I'm fishing for some opinions to try and make up my mind. Thanks for the post.

 

[Riflehunter1776]

at least get yourself a couple of AR lowers, so that you can build them later even if you don't want to lay out all the cash for one right now.

 

[benchracer]

If you are concerned about the political climate, just buy an AR-15 lower receiver. It is the only controlled part of an AR. A quality stripped lower can be had for $100 or less (for now). Everything else you can buy online and have it shipped to your house.

That will leave you free to pursue one of the two other bolt actions on your list. The truth is, there is very little ballistic difference between a .264 Win Mag and a 7mm Rem Mag. If ballistics are your main motivation, the .264 Win Mag really isn't worth it. I say that as the proud owner of a Winchester Model 70 in .264 Win Mag.

If, however, you simply desire to own one of each of the three magnums you list, I would grab the .264 as soon as you find a rifle you like that is chambered for it. It is a chambering that waxes and wanes. While it is readily available off the shelf, grab one while you can. Expect to handload for it, though. If you intend to shoot factory ammo, you are wasting your time with the .264 Win Mag. One issue with the .264 Win Mag is that most factory rifles come with a 9 twist barrel, which will not let you shoot the latest and greatest 6.5mm bullets. If you really want a .264, the best course may be to simply rebarrel your 7mm Rem Mag with an 8 twist.

From a sheer utility standpoint, the .300 Win Mag is a bang-for-the-buck kind of cartridge that is difficult to beat with anything short of the large cased .338's. If THAT is your priority (and if you think you can handle the recoil), you should go for the .300 Win Mag. One thing to pay attention to in this cartridge, though, is action length. Make sure you look for a rifle with a long enough internal magazine to permit loading heavy bullets seated long. The Remington 700 and Winchester Model 70 are good examples of this.

 

[nmbarta]

I'm not a big semi-auto fan either, but I do own several of them, I just always reach for one of my nice bolt actions when I open my safe.

That said, your 7mm will do everything a 264 or a 300 win mag will do, and in many cases, it will do it better. There's a million ways to argue which is better, but you'll find quite a few that prefer your 7mm over the other two. They're all great cartridges and all have their strong points, but ballistically they're all similar, recoil is not.

We've been running the whiteoak 22 nosler barrels with really good luck if you do look into an ar. The 69 TMK at 3100+ is a pretty mean ar-15, coyotes love this combo.
It's a little more fun than the standard 556/223.....not that those aren't fun too.

 

[257Tony]

Are you looking for factory rifles or do you want to build? What price range?

 

[edwells69]

northern firearms browning x-bolt 300 win mag and 26 nosler
$1000 for both

 

[walters900]

Are you looking for factory rifles or do you want to build? What price range?

I was hoping to find a used custom build that someone was letting go. I'd like to keep it below 2,000 as I've still got to get optics for it as well as reloading supplies. Thanks.

 

[waspocrew]

I'd go with a 300 WM. For me, there's just not enough difference between a 264WM and 7RM to warrant both (other than just wanting one!). I have a 6.5 Sherman and 7RM, and I plan on selling the 7RM so I can fund something larger like a 30 cal to spread things out a bit.

 

[HARPERC]

......If, however, you simply desire to own one of each of the three magnums you list, I would grab the .264 as soon as you find a rifle you like that is chambered for it.....Expect to handload for it, though. If you intend to shoot factory ammo, you are wasting your time with the .264 Win Mag. ....One issue with the .264 Win Mag is that most factory rifles come with a 9 twist barrel, which will not let you shoot the latest and greatest 6.5mm bullets. If you really want a .264, the best course may be to simply rebarrel your 7mm Rem Mag with an 8 twist.

From a sheer utility standpoint, the .300 Win Mag is a bang-for-the-buck kind of cartridge that is difficult to beat.......If THAT is your priority (and if you think you can handle the recoil), you should go for the .300 Win Mag.

As you're going to buy both eventually, buy the first rifle that meets your criteria.

The one rifle solution is the .300 Winchester Magnum.

 

[MAGA]

I'd go with the AR. You've already got the 7mm Rem Mag, which is basically all-around better than the 264 Win Mag, and is neck-and-neck with a 300 Win Mag. I'd go pick up an AR from Daniel Defense or Bravo Company and call it a day. You'd be set with a high quality AR and you'd be good to go.