The other day I had an idea that came out of left field. I've got a 300 WBY Vanguard/Howa.
Bought it on sale at Wally-World for $299. I couldn't resist getting a long magnum length action for that price.

It's been a toy for the most part. Makes a lot of noise and kicks hard. I tend to use my 270 or one of my AR's for most hunting and shooting.

I've been thinking about rebarreling it to 264 Winchester. Yeah, I know. Crazy idea.

I want to know if anyone here has taken a 264 Winchester Magnum and tricked it out for long range precision shooting.
A big heavy SS 28 or 30" target barrel, trued up action, decent trigger, load up the stock with lead shot, 20 MOA base etc.

The long Howa action would allow for seating longer bullets out farther to get close to the rifling.
The cost would be relatively reasonable. Except I might have to keep a spare barrel around. The 264 has been known to toast barrels.

I'll concede the 264 will toast a barrel faster than a 260 Remington, 308 etc. That is not a consideration for me.

What do you think? I think it would be a fun project. Anyone here ever tried getting the 264 Winchester to 600 yards and beyond?

My 264 is my favorite rifle. I named it Betty (Betty was my mother's name and my mother always fed me) and I've been shooting her for almost 40 years. She's a pre 64 Mod 70, 26" bbl, and still launches a 120 gr Nosler SB at 3200 fps and keeps em inside an inch. Yeah, I guess someday the bbl will burn out but it hasn't happened yet.
I used it a few years back to win a local 1000 yd match so I know it will shoot the distance.
As to rebarreling your Howa, consider buying yourself a good 264 and rebarrel your Howa to 300 H&H or just leave it in the Wby configuration. The 300 Wby is a great cartridge.

I've read enough about the 264 to know it is making a strong come-back among the long range shooters. Greybull Precision offers it in one of their long range rifles.

I have a pal who hunts all over the world for mountain species. He thinks the 264 is about perfect with the 7STW equally good. I think it is a great choice with todays quality bullets.

its a cool round with lots of nostalia. Personaly id think on a 257 weatherby. Just as flat shooting and a better bullet selection is available. Id sell your vanguard and buy one in 257 if it were me.

The description you give (30" heavy barrel, etc.) leads me to believe that your intended use is paper and not game. If that is the case, then the large case and extra velocity of the .264 probably has more drawbacks than advanatages.

One the other hand, a well-fed .264 sporter is one of the most effective medium-game cartridges made. Shooting a 140 grain Nosler Partition or something similar at 3100-3200 fps (depending on barrel length and how slow a powder you can find to feed it), the .264 has great sectional density, very flat trajectory, and hits hard far down range on quarry like mule deer, pronghorn, caribou, or the small to medium types of African plains game. However, it is marginal with (scarce) factory loaded ammunition, so unless you have a lot of experience at handloading and have access to a chronograph, skip the .264 in favor of something more conventional.

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The description you give (30" heavy barrel, etc.) leads me to believe that your intended use is paper and not game. If that is the case, then the large case and extra velocity of the .264 probably has more drawbacks than advanatages.

Yep...a 6.5-.284 would probably be a better bet.

I am a .264 fan and it all started just by accident when I was a kid. I inherted a pre 64 westerner in.264. Sad thing is I had to sell it when I was in collage to make ends meet. Since that time I had a post 64 for a long time and now I have a custom shop custom classic. To get to the point I think that the .264's I have used tend to be more accurate at longer range than everything else I have fooled around with. Soooo I had the same idea you are talking about. I built one up on a mark V action with a gain twist 30" brl and a thumb hole target stock. I have mostly been messing around working up loads so far but the 140 grn a-max looks prity good. But I have to admit that I had it re chambered it to 6.5-300 wby to take advantage of the barrel length and the gain twist.