Processing a bunch of 264 Win Mag brass… why isn’t it more…

[Lee Martin]

Winchester uses 1:9 twist barrels. I went with 1:8 (ratchet cut) and it shoots great with 120 - 140 grain bullets. The ratchet cut supposedly holds copper a little less and is easier to clean. At least that's what Shilen claims. I can't prove or disprove that, but I'll say my barrel prints tight and posts good velocities.

-Lee
www.singleactions.com
"Chasing perfection five shots at a time"

[cas]

Feb 11, 2024 21:46:05 GMT -5 woody said:

They have always fizzled. .260, 6.5 REM Mag to name a few.

Both killed or severely stunted at birth by Remington with stupid decision. (wrong twist / wrong rifle)
(Which honestly Remington has/had a track record of doing with other cartridges as well. ( .244 Remington/6mm Rem, 7mm Express/280 Remington))


I always thought it was a shame, they came out with the 6.5 Rem mag and the .350 Rem Mag, two great ideas.... and the Rem 600 & 660 , great little rifles, but putting them together was a terrible idea. Hurting the growth and success of all of them.

[z1r]

The 6.5's are hands down my favorite calibers. All my boys started out shooting 6,5x55's. I'd wanted a .264 for quite some time and one day spied a new Winchester CRF Mod 70 RMEF version and said I'll take it. This was on a Saturday around closing time and the LGS said they'd put it in the back and I could do the paperwork on Monday. They were busy selling ammo to people worried about the Pandemic. Monday came and the Governor shut everything down. A couple weeks later when they declared gun shops essential, I stopped in to claim my prize and it was gone.

Not long after, I spied a ratty looking FN 98 in .308 Norma with a muzzle break and too short barrel. The price was good and since they'd screwed me on the Model 70, they practically gave the FN away.

I took it home, disassembled it, ordered up a barrel blank and chambered it in .264 Win Mag. Contoured the SS blank and fitted it at 26.5", then reworked the stock to make it more presentable. It shoots nicely with IMR 7828.

Before:





After:


I've been shooting a 6,5x55 for almost 30 years. Do I feel threatened by the 6.5 Creed? Heck no, jut another tool in shed. Best part is, you can find quality factory ammo for reasonable prices. I haven't seen quality 6,5x55 ammo on a shelf in at least 5 years. The 6,5 Creed was even available during the pandemic.

[cas]

In "the old days" (not really old days, just not so recent days) what I liked about the 6.5 was most of the bullets were made for the older medium velocity cartridges, which made them work well for hunting and made them work well in thing like the 6.5 TCU, 6.5JDJ and that type stuff. I was going to say "now the world is infatuated with VLD 6.5 bullets..." but honestly I think the part of shooting that drove that ship have by and large sailed on and the rest of the shooting world is just in the remnants of the wake.

I had a 6.5TCU years ago and liked it, but moved on in the T/C game of "what next?". Now and then I think "What could I make one in and what would I do with it? The 264 is a round that every once in a while I'll run across a rifle and be really tempted, but I know where I shoot and hunt, it's go more legs than I need and I'd just be wasting powder and barrel life. I'd love a 6.5x54 M-S if the right rifle ever came along. (I have a 6.5 Grendel, 6.5 Creedmoo' , 6.5 Swede, 6.5x57R, so it's not like I NEED one. lol)

[magnumwheelman]

I had a custom 6.5 X 54 MS, that I sold off a couple years ago, with my Milsurps... now that you mentioned it, the dies might still be on my die shelf???

[Lee Martin]

I too like 6.5's. The only one we didn't get along with is the 6.5 Rem Mag. We built one on a Mauser 98 and thought it would do better in the longer receiver (compared to the old Remington 600. Basically, we weren't seating heavy bullets as deep into the case). That rifle had everything done to it but failed to shoot well. Like 2" groups at 100 yards. As I recall, we worked with 120's up through 160's. Multiple brands, multiple powders, etc. Perhaps we just got a bad blank from Shilen, but I doubt it.

-Lee
www.singleactions.com
"Chasing perfection five shots at a time"