I am in the process of having a tailor made .264 Win Mag manufactured in South Africa by Truvelo for specific use on long distance shots on springbuck, blesbuck and swartwildebeest - all plains game, lots of open spaces and little bush coverage.
Some of the specifications are: 1:9" twist and a 27" barrel length.

Anybody used this type of rifle successfully under similar hunting conditions?
More detail on bullet types, loads, etc. would also be appreciated.

I can't say for that specific game, but mine is built almost to your specs and I do not load it hot. 60 grains of IMR4831 under a Nosler 125 Partition provides me excellent accuracy and great performance.

I use it when I expect long range shots, which means it doesn't come out of the safe until the last day of the season. I normally don't shoot beyond 200 yards (self imposed limit) but I have taken two deer over 200 pounds with this combo at 300 yards and over.

Sounds like an excellant rig for the animals you mentioned, especially w/ a good 120-140gr bullet. I shoot a 27" .260AI & it will push those lovely, long 140gr @ 2850fps & 120gr @ 3050fps. I haven't hunted w/ it but it's very accurate out to 300yds (farthest my range goes). Good luck w/ your project.

My first 264 WM was on a Mauser with a 1-12" Douglas barrel. It was made for long range chuck shooting and I used the 120 Sierra. Back in 1961 when I got it all we had was surplus 4831. Wish I had another 50 lbs.

I should have had a recoil pad put on it. They were not that common then and in the summer it hurt with a thin shirt.

My current 264 is a M70 Westerner. It did not shoot well for two years and I amost sold it until I did the crown over again and now it's very accurate. One AR member witnessed this rifle make called shots at 200 yds. I sight it 1.6" high there with the 120 Ballistic Tip pushed over 3300 fps with 65 grs of RL 22 and 215M primers. All brass is FL size as the chamber is five tenths out of round. There is still a lot of air space left in the case with this load. Consider a slower powder for even the 120's. Perhaps RL 25 or MagPro if you can get them.

I only fire two shots and put it away.

This rifle has little similarity to a custom job. My fun is making rifles that I like shoot. I am not going to change the load or work up a heavier bullet load. I just use it for long range whitetails and varmints.

In fact this has got me interested to take it out tommorrow. I was going to take the Swift but maybe I will get a shot tommorrow.

This rifle puts the first two shots right there together at 200 yds.



It's the nine pound cannon on the right.

The 1:9" twist could be a little on the slow side if you plan to use high BC 140's.

I have 24" Douglas barrel with 1 in 9,which I think is the standard twist,a three shot group is under MOA with two touching.3200f/s with half rounded primers.I'm using 140gr Hornady SST.My gunsmith chambered it with a normal length throat,instead of the short Winchester, for better acccuracy and much less spikeyness.Accurate powders buys Mag-pro from SA,if you can track down it's local name,I found that to be the second best powder for the 264,Ramshot Magnum from Belguim was the best.Welcome to the 264 club.

quote:

In fact this has got me interested to take it out tommorrow. I was going to take the Swift but maybe I will get a shot tommorrow.

Well I got a shot today but I missed it. The 264 may be the best long range varminter that I have and it still could not compensate for the fishtail wind.

After some time went by I fired a shot at a clump in a field lasered at 310 yds. As soon as the echo came back something showed in a far field and it was a coyote that looked towards me. The distance was 500 yds and the wind seemed right at me. I had a good rest on a hay bale and I fired a shot holding an estimated 27" high and right on for the head wind.

The coyote ran off and did not look hit. When I got half way there the wind was not at 12 o'clock but 2 to 4 o'clock. If it was a steady 10 mph that would drift the bullet over 15". I found my divot and there was no sign of hair.

The coyote is about the only animal that I would shoot that far at. They deserve it.

Thanks for all the input so far, it certainly helps and I appreciate.

To: Savage99 -
Sorry you missed, but here is something that may help in future with winddrift -
Winddrift

Thanks Jagter for the link.

It seems that the load I selected is optimum considering the conclusions of the piece, and other factors such as recoil, ricochets and barrel life.

From observing wind over the water there are places where the wind cells are strong and others where there is almost no wind. Thinking about it now there was little chance of a hit on that coyote even if there were wind flags all the way to the beast. The 15" of drift at 500 yds is just too large a variable to deal with when the wind is that strong. I estimated the wind from 5 to 12 knots. The air was dry and cool also.

The coyote had just sat down after running in a small circle. I shot quick without clicking elevation as the target had a large vertical component at that point.

There was a flock of 36 turkeys there a month ago and now only one was seen. I did find a pile of feathers near where the coyote was. Those coyotes have ruined hunting in New England.

If I had the Swift instead of the 264 yesterday the drift on it at 500 yds would have been 10" more and the drop 1.5" less. I did have my best rifle there that day.

The Swift was in the car however. I can shoot cannons like the 264 on the back 400 there if I give up some shots for a secure backstop.

When I get to the barnyard the farmer and I talk for a long time and if a coyote comes into view he would give the nod to shoot it for him. A rifle like the Swift is common sense there due to the houses in the background.

NO that the 264 mag is my cup of tea, the 6.5 bore is! I just don't need that big of a case for MY use, but if a guy wants a little extra powder capacity, why not?>

One thing tho I will pass on, having using a lot of 6.5 mm bores, instead of the 1 in 9 twist, I'd look at doing a one in 7 or at least a one in 8.

That way you will never have to worry about stabilizing a long bullet.

I never went the 264 mag route, because I was lucky enough to have access to a 6.5 /06 and a 264 mag and in my testing, really got no more flatter trajectory with the extra velocity in the 264s case, or any more velocity period out of an 06 case. So I have stayed with the 6.5 x 55 and 6.5 x 57 cases. The 6.5 x 57 is my long range rifle, with a 1 in 7 twist, a 28 inch heavy sporter barrel on a model 70 action and factory stock.

With 107 grain Sierra Match Bullets or the one box of the Lapua 108 grain bullets I tried, it was amazing how flat they shot with an MV of just 2800 fps at a couple of 600 yd matches I participated in. Very low recoil also!

Cheers and good shooting
seafire

I tested the 107 Mk out of my 260 at 220 yds on wet paper and the bullet does not expand well at all. The 95 gr VMax is the opposite and it's a bomb. Also Tod Bartells shot a coyote with the 107 Mk from his 260 and hit it twice and it still got away.

The subject link makes the point that velocity is a key component of reducing wind drift. Either you agree or disagree?

Sierra has advised me that 2300 fps impact velocity is suggested for a hunting bullet to expand on a small animal like a coyote. That makes my 264 WM a 550 yd gun and my 260 Rem a 350 yard gun shooting the same bullet!

Savage99,
because of their accuracy and for their flat trajectory I decided to try the 107MK in roe, a small deer of 60-65 lbs live weight.
shot one roe buck perfectly broadside and hit him, at 240yds, in the ribs just behind the shloulder and half way down the backbone.
the bullet failed to expand making a tiny entrance and exit holes and simply drilling a neat hole through the lungs.
my bavarian scent hound had no problem finding it, but I was puzzled as I always thuought the promblem wit MKs would come from over expansion and not from behaving like a solid
I have shot a few roes with the v-max down loaded to 3,00fps and they act like a little bomb, penetrating into the chest cavity and almost exploding there. they kill roe extremely efficiently, never exiting.
just my 2cents.
montero

quote:

Originally posted by Savage99:
I tested the 107 Mk out of my 260 at 220 yds on wet paper and the bullet does not expand well at all. The 95 gr VMax is the opposite and it's a bomb. Also Tod Bartells shot a coyote with the 107 Mk from his 260 and hit it twice and it still got away.

The subject link makes the point that velocity is a key component of reducing wind drift. Either you agree or disagree?

Sierra has advised me that 2300 fps impact velocity is suggested for a hunting bullet to expand on a small animal like a coyote. That makes my 264 WM a 550 yd gun and my 260 Rem a 350 yard gun shooting the same bullet!

Savage,

My mentioning of the 107 Sierra was not indicating the use of it for hunting purposes, that is why I highlighted it being used in shooting matches only.

I don't care for the 95 grain V Max at all myself. It is too explosive. If I am going to need something like that, I go to the Sierra 85 grain HP< the 100 grain HP, the 90 grain TNT Speer or the 100 grain Nosler BT.

I have taken antelope sizd deer with both of the 100 grain bullets.

I get an MV of 3350 with a 260 Rem in Model 77 Ruger, and get 3450 out of a Swedish Mauser Model 77, utilizing a 100 grain bullet. The performance that I have seen is in no way limited to 350 yds of being terminal. It had straight thru perfomance at 300 yds, multiple times.

I am not going to say that the 264 isn't statistically superior to the 260 and 6.5 x 55, but the difference in performance vs the extra amount of powder needed, made me pass up on building a 264 Mag. The 260/6.5 x 55 don't give up a lot to the 264 until you bullet weight hits the 140 plus size. And with a handloaded long throated 6.5 x 55 or 6.5 x 57, I can push a 140 grainer to 2950 fps so.... I'll stay with what I got.

Cheers
seafire

quote:

Originally posted by Jagter:


Anybody used this type of rifle successfully under similar hunting conditions?
More detail on bullet types, loads, etc. would also be appreciated.

I will have had a .264 (Sako, 1-9") for 40 years as of this coming August. I own another, and have loaded for three others. By far my favorite bullet is a 140 grain Nosler, which, with a very slow powder, can be driven at 3200 FPS or more from your 27" barrel. I used to use H570 (now obsolete and unavailable). I now use WC 872, a surplus Olin powder manufactured for the 20mm gun. Powders like IMR 4831 and 7828 are far too fast when used with the 140 grain bullet. I have no idea the relative speed of Magpro, so I can't say how useful it might be.

Any of the lesser 6.5's, like the 6.5/06, can only nearly match the .264 if you limit your loading to faster powders. Stoke the .264 with a compressed case full of powder that burns about the same speed as charcoal and you'll leave the lesser cartridges in the dust.

By the way, your 1-9 barrel is fully adequate for the longest 6.5 bullets available.

quote:

Any of the lesser 6.5's, like the 6.5/06, can only nearly match the .264 if you limit your loading to faster powders. Stoke the .264 with a compressed case full of powder that burns about the same speed as charcoal and you'll leave the lesser cartridges in the dust.

quote:

By the way, your 1-9 barrel is fully adequate for the longest 6.5 bullets available.

That's exactly what I thought when I started looking at the .264 Win Mag.

I've found that it's pretty easy to drive the 125gr Partition to 3250 or 3300fps. It's deadly, flat shooting and accurate on whitetails..