Looking for the opinion of the OB on this caliber. Do any of you own one and do you reload or buy off the shelf. What recommendations do you have for this rifle. It is a Remington 700 Sendero 26" Barell

hard to beat any 6.5 (.264) for long distance shooting - it has great BC and therefore bucks the wind very well (assuming you choose one of the longer bullets)

that particular caliber is fast, too, so it will shoot flat also.
only downside is that it will have a relatively short barrel life, but if this is a hunting gun, you probably will never burn out the barrel.

excellent caliber, we have one in a model 70. we also buy off the shelf and have worked out a deal with a guy who reloads.

A venerable 6.5 to say the least. You'd probably be better served reloading with 140 gr bullets. The throat life, as "sh****" alluded, has been somewhat maligned in the literature. But, also as he said, unless you're shooting 1000 rds a year through it that shouldn't matter. Another thing to consider is, it is a belted magnum. You might improve your 6.5 performance with another option. Other options would include a 6.5 WSM, 6.5 SAUM, 6.5 X 280AI or 26 Nosler. All are options, there is no "best" cartridge . Even a 6.5 X 284 has throat issues with some loads. Personally, I'm a fan of 6.5s and am very much looking forward to my 6.5 SAUM and 6.5 X 280AI. Both are going to be pushing 140 Bergers.

My dad swears by his old Sako .264

Flat and fast...

Why not just shoot a 7mm mag?

Better BC's, better bullet choices for big game, over double the barrel life, easier to find brass for reloading.

I don't see what the .264 really offers to be honest.

Neat caliber. 7mm rem mag put it out of business but it's got a lot of cool factor

I used to laugh at 6.5, but that's cause I never really looked into it. Seems like an amazing gun. Definitely my next hunting rifle

Winchester offered a "dual diameter" 0.264" bullet for the Magnum. First I had ever seen, the portion residing in the case was bore diameter, the rest before the ogive rode on the lands (0.002-.003 smaller). Less bearing surface I suppose, to get speeds up and control pressure.

The 6.5-284 has ensured there will be some great bullets offered (plus the new 26 Nosler).

in the early 60s, a friend of mine bought a 264 winmag and I bought a Remington 700BDL in 30-06. he likes long range shots. I like them considerably closer. we have both been happy with our choice. his still has the original barrel. he shoots only commercial ammo so he really has had no problems with throat erosion.
his 264 is one accurate, flat shooting rifle. almost makes me want one.

Good caliber. My family has always had at least one around for 40 years. I was standing behind my brother one time at "dusk" as he shot a doe. Flames for several feet out of the barrel...was plumb dark by the time I could see again. That particular rifle went bad last year with erosion, but we hand load and that flame ball tells me there was a hell of a lot more powder in that 458 case than you can burn in 26 inches of .264" barrel. I've seen a lot of deer killed with it. Shoot the heavier bullets as the smaller ones--if they're not pretty hard--can blow up and separate on bigger animals. Plenty of energy transfer, but can have penetration problems. Overall a great caliber for deer.

I love the .264 win mag and .284 win. Both excellent, albeit under appreciated, rounds IMO.

I own 2, one will be my son's when he's old enough. My dad owns 1, my grandfather owns 1, my 3 great-uncle's own 1 each, my great-grandfather had 1, there are about another 4 or 5 among the rest of my family. It's easily my favorite rifle, but it's on the small side for anything bigger than a whitetail, but it's about as good of a Texas deer caliber as you can find. Especially where I hunt. I've got a bunch of 300+ yard shot opportunities.

Plenty gun for elk. Countless have been killed with it

The 264 Win Mag had a history of washing the throats quicker than other calibers, due to head spacing problems and pushing the limits with lighter bullets. I don't know if that is still true, but I'll stick with my 7Mag.

My fiances grandfather killed a 5 pt bull elk a couple years ago with his .264 win mag at 615 yards, shooting hand loads. One shot kill.

I'm sure it'll kill an Elk, but it's on the light side for that purpose. I have a .300 win mag for that kind of hunt.

The same grandfather used a .243 for elk hunting for 20+ years before he upgraded.

First, its nice to have a gun related thread that is not about AR15s or black polymer handguns.


That being said, I know a few people that swear by it. I considered one several years ago along with the .257WBY but never pulled the trigger on in namely because I couldn't find the right gun.

I was thinking of one also, until Derrick Ratliff suggested the 6.5 X 280AI as an option for an old Mod 70 custom 270 that wouldn't shoot. The 6.5 X280AI isn't quite as hot but still will get 140s over 3100.

I have two friends that have them. I made an offer to buy one from an older gentleman but he didn't want to sell it, it had been in his family a long time.

It is a very good round and excellent for shooting long(er) distances.

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I'm sure it'll kill an Elk, but it's on the light side for that purpose. I have a .300 win mag for that kind of hunt.

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Many European Elk (Moose) and reindeer have been taken by the 6.5 swede

I love the Wby Mags -- specifically the 257 and 270 versions. Ammo is high, but so what? I maybe shoot a box or two a year in each caliber.

I find myself almost always reaching for the Wby mags when I go hunt. Just love them.

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I'm sure it'll kill an Elk, but it's on the light side for that purpose. I have a .300 win mag for that kind of hunt.

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Not it's not "light". It has been and is still used by many people to kill elk. Some at 500+ yards.

amen agsalaska. nice to have a cartridge discussion.

I'm not going to get into the too light cartridge debate. But, the 6.5 (.264) caliber really has intrigued me of late. Derrick is building the 6.5X280AI while Russell at Scout Supply is building a 6.5 SAUM. I'm primarily going to shoot the 140 Bergers but may try the 130 and 129 Extended Range Accubonds. Both cartridges will hold less powder with nearly the same velocities as the .264WM.

I wouldn't flinch at taking either of the three into the field for anything, Moose included. The only reason to take something bigger in my opinion is if you think a Brown Bear or Grizzly is going to be a problem. In which case, I'll take a .375 H&H.

Its plenty of gun, As NW80 said the main issue is throat wear and barrel life compared to the other 6.5s. It really got trumped early on by the 7mag but has made a come back recently because of the new 6.5 bullets out there, and mainly because of the 26 nosher. Everyone started thinking about fast 6.5s but no one could get their hands on the 26 so everyone started making runs on the 264. Its a belted case which has its ups and downs, but If I were looking at a fast 6.5 I would go 6.5-284 If I did not hand load and take a hard look at the 6.5-280AI if I did. If I was just wanting a 6.5 to shoot mule deer and down out to 800 and paper out to 1000 and elk under 400 I would do a 6.5 creed. Its a short action good factory ammo, long barrel life and low recoil

Timely post, as I ran across this last night...don't really need it but it peaked my interest. Factory ammo is pricey to say the least.

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Timely post, as I ran across this last night...don't really need it but it peaked my interest. Factory ammo is pricey to say the least.

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Thats a pretty good price too.

I just got the 6.5 Grendel so I could shoot the 6.5 bullet out of an AR platform. The recoil is minimal, but it doesn't have the speed some of the other larger 6.5 rounds do. It is closer to 2500 fps. I also have a .264 win mag in a browning A-bolt WGM and it is packing a ton of powder behind that bullet and you definitely feel the effects of that, but you get up in the 2800fps range.