What in your opinions are the real advantages of one over the other.

I'm putting a VZ-24 together and actually wonder if the cost of bolt face and rail work is worth the extra for the .264?

I got an action from vapodog that has a nice new bolt handle, drilled and tapped, three position swing safety, Timney trigger, and has been professionally heat treated, and can't seem to decide which cartridge to chamber it to.

Regardless of the cartridge, the barrel will be 22" max as I like short barrels.

If the barrel is on 22" I sure wouldn't go with a 264. You need a longer barrel to burn the heavy slow powder load. Heck something like a 6.5-257R would milk most of what a 22" has to offer.

With a barrel length of 22" I would definitely go with the 6.5-06. Lou

quote:

Originally posted by ramrod340:
If the barrel is on 22" I sure wouldn't go with a 264. You need a longer barrel to burn the heavy slow powder load. Heck something like a 6.5-257R would milk most of what a 22" has to offer.

A 6.5 257R would be a 6.5X57mm Mauser. Been around for over 100 years now.

I agree with the others. If you want a 22" barrel, go with the '06 case. You'll save a few bucks avoiding the work on the action, too.

(This was a difficult post for a hard-core 2644 fan 0

If the choice is between those two and a 22" barrel, I'd be inclined to go with the '06 case. The 6.5-06 is a fine round and more suitable for that length barrel but if resale issues mean anything, a 260 Remington might sell faster, if not for more money.

My personal choices On the VZ :

.260 AAR
6.5 X 55
.260 Remington
.256 Newton
6.5-06

IMO,the .264 Win requires more action work and the 22" barrel is sub-optimal

quote:

A 6.5 257R would be a 6.5X57mm Mauser. Been around for over 100 years now

My data shows the 6.5x57 to have different dimensions than a 6.5x257R. I do not believe that a 6.5x57 is the same case a a 7x57 Mauser case necked down to 6.5. I show the 6.5x57 to have the shoulder slightly forward and a different angle.

As others have stated the 260 might be better for resale. However you might need a spacer in the mag box.

Go with the 6.5-06 I have all the others.I actually took out a 1948 FN I made a 6.5-06 out of this weekend and it is fantastic. Loves those 129 gr hornady's with 50.9 H4831.I woulldn't think twice about using it even for elk since you also live in Colorado

The .264 needs a magazine of 3.4" or more to be optimal, and also needs at least a 24" (preferably longer) barrel. Leave your action in its current form and use a cartridge on the .470" head. The 6.5-06 (although I would prefer a longer barrel) is a good choice. Since your gun will be a wildcat, anyway, I would suggest going with an improved chamber. Can't hurt anything.

My own personal affections lie with the list Duggaboye posted...maybe in a little different order, but that's meaningless except to him and me.

If I was restricted to any one of that list, I'd go with the .256 Newton.

Why?

- Uses shortened '06 brass which can be found almost anywhere, and

- Will hold plenty of powder of the burning rates I would want in a 22" barrel while leaving room in the mag for about any 6.5 bullet weight, and

- Is defintely an old classic American cartridge yet one not found in every pair of hands at the range, and

- Will slay any game just as well at the same ranges as any of the others, and lastly

- just like the 6.5/06, requires no action body or bolt modifications.

Rolltop:

The 6.5-06 is a very fine cartridge. I have one built on an 1903 action, and it is very effective on game. I am using 120 grain /Sierra/IMR4831 and am very satisfied.

I do have a caution for you, the Mauser Action magazine box, is shorter than the Model 1903, and if you don't watch how your smith barrels your action you will be in for some problems. Most people seem to chamber any 6.5 barrel, for the longer 140 or 160 grain bullets,the throats are so long, the only way to reach the lands, if you are lucky, while handloading, is to seat the bullets out so far, you can't use the magazine. Have your barrel throated "short", with a seperate throating operation. If your smith can't or won't do this, find another. I guess you figured out,this is what I went thru, finally pulled the barrel and rechambered. Great cartridge and Iam very happy with what I have now.

Jerry

6.5x57 Ackley..... excellent combination. redding makes dies. they call it the "6.5x257 roberts improved"... same-same.....
all the case a 22" barrel needs in 6.5 bore.
had one and rechambered it to 6.5x.270 improved(essentially a 6.5-06 improved). saw no really useable improvements,actually more overbore type problems than improvement so, one of these days, the barrel will get set back to the 57mm. case.

I sure like my 6.5-06. That 22" barrel will make quite a bang even with the -06 case. Don't even think about the .264 W with a barrel that short, unless you like a lot of muzzle blast & concussion.
Shotgun

On a previous project I made a 6.5 X 55 and love it. As many have said here the small case makes a very fine load.

I would like to boost the velocity by 200 FPS or more and I'm not sure the magnum case is needed for the task and suspect it'll just burn more powder to achieve the same results.
much the same way the .257 Weatherby doesn't really offer a lot more than the .25-06.

I think you've talked me into a 6.5-06 project.

Thanks guys.

quote:

I would like to boost the velocity by 200 FPS or more and I'm not sure the magnum case is needed for the task and suspect it'll just burn more powder to achieve the same results.

Well a 6.5-06 will burn about 20% more powder than a 6.5x55. Loaded with quality brass to the same pressures in a 22" barrel I wouldn't put any serious money on the fact that you could gain 200fps.

Then you may want to go for the 6.5 Gibbs which is a blown-out short necked version of the 6.5-06. It has an overflow capacity of 73 grains of water versus 66 for the '06 version.

quote:

Then you may want to go for the 6.5 Gibbs

Interesting thought. Will this round feed well in the Mauser (VZ-24) actions?

quote:

Then you may want to go for the 6.5 Gibbs

I happen to like the Gibbs line. Didn't know it at the time but designed my own PDK line. Gibbs + 2Grs. I could match 264 velocities with my 6.5PDK. However I wouldn't dream of doing it in a 22" barrel. I messed up and built my 250PDK on a 24" and all I did was burn more powder to reach 25-06 velocties. With a 100gr bullet I was only getting a 25fps increase. Bigger cases with small bores need slow powder and barrel length to yield much of an increase.

As to feeding mine have a 40deg vs the 35 of a Gibbs from a MKX they feed fine and the M98s as well. Don't know if I have used a vz-24 oe not. Gibbs would likely be 4 down due to the lack of case taper.

If you must have a larger case than an 06 a 264 Hawk would be cheaper. Talk to www.z-hat.com

quote:

I could match 264 velocities with my 6.5PDK.

So do you happen to have the chamber reamer for the 6.5 PDK? Where do you get dies for this cartridge?

Vapo does my smithing and I'll email him as well here.

The 6.5-06 is best for your application.

quote:

So do you happen to have the chamber reamer for the 6.5 PDK? Where do you get dies for this cartridge?

Rolltop I made the mistake of loaning it out on another site and it never made it home.
I've planned on having another cut just haven't had time for that project.

The 6.5PDK holds 75 grs of water I started with a 29" barrel and ended up cutting back to 26". Best velocity was with MRP.

There is no way I would spend a $ on a 6.5Gibbs , 6.5PDK or 264 in a 22". You will burn powder have blast and not much if any gain over a 6.5-06. But each to his own.

RCBS did have the dies for the 6.5 & 280 on file but that was 20 years ago. Hornady has the 340, 380 and 400PDKs on file. Dies run about $145.

I think toomanytools had access to a 257Gibbs reamer and a 264 neck reamer.

If someone just had to have a 6.5PDk I would consider having reamer cut with some rental fees to help with some of the cost. I have posted data on several of the PDKs so a search would pull them up.

Again I would NOT suggest it in a 22". As I stated the 264Hawk would be an option as well.

Ramrod,
Thanks for the advice and reply