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Took the 264 to the range

Sako Collectors Club Discussion Forum

Blip

Well-Known Member
I took my new to me 264 Winchester Mag out this morning to try her out. It’s a L61R Finnbear 4 digit serial number. Just using factory ammo I was quite impressed. Plan on cleaning it and starting the hand load process. Will post pics when I get that going.
 
When was she made?


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I need to get on board here and get the paperwork to know for sure. I’m thinking 1962. But I need to verify that.
 
I am imagining wide open spaces in New Mexico. 264 mag should be perfect. I’ve always liked the idea of that cartridge but I’d never take advantage of its long range capabilities here in Connecticut.

Good luck with your new rifle!


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I am imagining wide open spaces in New Mexico. 264 mag should be perfect. I’ve always liked the idea of that cartridge but I’d never take advantage of its long range capabilities here in Connecticut.

Good luck with your new rifle!


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Thank you! Looking forward to trying it out. I’m gonna take it for hogs in Texas first.
 
I have a couple, one is a three digit, the other is a four, 206x. Both put bullets damn near in the same hole. Both have 26” barrels.



 
The .264 Win. Mag. is a wonderful cartridge. Mine is a Schultz & Larsen M65DL with a 24-in. barrel. With the right powders and any of the many really good 140-grain bullets with high BCs (like the Nosler 140-gr. Accubond and Partition), it's easy to get 3150 fps (with a 24" barrel and over 3200 fps with a 26-in tube) and flat trajectories. For possible longer-range shots with a 140-gr. bullet, I sight mine to hit +3.0" at 100 yards (an old Jack O'Connor recommendation), and it is down only about 9.5" at 400 yards, with 1827 ft.-lbs. of energy remaining.

Properly loaded, the .264 WM is an excellent all-purpose cartridge that is hard to beat for almost all North American game, the exception being grizzlies and Alaskan brown bears. For open-country pronghorn or small deer hunting, a 120-grain bullet like the Nosler Ballistic Tip at 3300 fps is down only about 8” at 400 yards and is still packing 1632 ft.-lbs of energy at that range.

For the larger species like moose and elk, there are a couple of really good 156-grain bullets with great sectional density for deep penetration--the 156-gr. Lapua Mega and the 156-gr. Norma Oryx (which is a bonded-core bullet)--and these can be driven to 2950 fps or more from a 24-in. barrel and 3000+ fps from a 26-in bbl. These and the 160-gr bullets will stabilize in my .264 with its 1 in 8.25" twist, and I suspect that all .264s have a 9" or less twist. I wouldn't hesitate to use either of these heavies on grizzlies, although I've gone with a 9.3x64 Brenneke for my grizzly hunting.
 
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A Sako .264 was my very first Sako, purchased as a teenager in 1965 with summer wages from farmwork. The velocities that South Pender mentions are almost exactly what I get from mine, but you have to use genuinely slow powders to achieve them. I use a surplus military powder (WC872), but there are now a number of very slow powders on the market which will potentially do well with this cartridge. When someone mentions using 4350 in the .264 I retort that it does better when you don't use a pistol powder in it. If you shoot a .264 you need to be a handloader who owns a chronograph and understands how to properly work up loads. It isn't a round for neophytes.

As far as its effectiveness, check out my post on using this 57 year-old rifle last fall: https://sakocollectors.com/forum/threads/old-faithful.16728/#post-94138
 
I use a surplus military powder (WC872), but there are now a number of very slow powders on the market which will potentially do well with this cartridge.
Yes, military ball powder used in 20mm cannon ammunition. Can you still get this? Of the currently-available powders in approximately the same burn-rate range, we have Hodgdon H870, Accurate 8700, Alliant Reloder 33, and Vihtavuori N570. I think any of those will bring out the best in a .264 Win. Mag.
 
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