CoJack Report post Posted July 18, 2013 I am considering investing in a .264 Win Mag, and am wondering a few things about the caliber and the rifle... Is this a fairly popular caliber for Coues? Do high quality rifles of this caliber retain their value, asuming that the rifle is in sound condition (doesn't need a new barrel, etc.) ? The rifle I'm considering: High Tech Custom Rifle 'Shadow' .264 Win Mag Remington 700 Action with a Helical fluted Bolt, 3 postion Safety Lilja 1 in 9 26" Barrel with Muzzle brake installed by H.T.C.R. Pacific Research Compostie Stock Here is the link to the Custom Rifle's page: http://htcustoms.com/rifles/shadow.php What do you think this gun is worth? or What should I pay for it? (assuming the gun is in sound condition and doesn't need work) Any suggestions on more research I can do before I lay my money down? Feel free to leave any comments about the Gun or Caliber! Trying to get some different opinions on it! 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Outdoor Writer Report post Posted July 18, 2013 I have owned a POST-1964 M70 .264 mag since 1965, Since then it's probably let the air out of an estimated 150-175 critters from a tiny jackrabbit up to a 61" Canada moose. I don't have exact numbers but I know it's accounted for more than 50 deer of various species/subspecies, including about six or seven Coues. Along the way it accounted for at least a dozen javilina, 10 elk, three black bears, three caribou, six pronghorns, several exotics and a gaggle of game in New Zealand and Africa. IOW, it's been my go-to rifle for 50 years, and it looked exactly like that about 15 years ago. The stock and bluing were well worn from carrying it in a saddle scabbard for many, many miles. So I had Robar rejuvenate it with an NP3 coating on all the metal parts and a new McMillan composite stock. It still looks great today and still shot straight when I killed my desert sheep with it last Dec. For the most part, except for some very early experiments with the 100 gr. bullet, I've stuck with a 140 gr, load. I reloaded for many years but went to using factory loads about 10 years back and it still killed what I aimed at. Now, all that said.... My son Keith shoots a Ruger 77 in .270. A while back I ran ballistic tables for it using a 130 gr. bullet and for the .264 with 140 gr. I was quite surprised to see how close they were in both trajectory and energy. Point: if you want to burn lots of powder and/or spend a bunch of money for factory loads, the .264 would fit nicely. If you just want to kill deer, buy a .270. These show what my M70 looks like now. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
CoJack Report post Posted July 18, 2013 Out of curiosity, how many barrels have you been through? Do you have an estimated round count for each barrel? Thanks for the Info! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Outdoor Writer Report post Posted July 19, 2013 The original barrel is still on the rifle. I even used it to shoot metallic silhouette matches down in Tucson almost every weekend for a year. It's only a wild-haired guess, but I would say I've put at least 2,500-3,000 rounds through this barrel. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
STOMP442 Report post Posted July 19, 2013 There's about 420 ft lbs more energy with a 140 out of the 6.5 at 1000 yards and about 31" less wind drift when comparing a 130 berger at 3000fps for the 270 and a 140 berger at 3100 out of the 264 win mag. At 500 yards the windage and elevation are much closer but energy is still greatly in favor of the 264. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
CoJack Report post Posted July 19, 2013 Outdoor Writer, seems like you have got a heck of a gun there! Those are the ones you gotta hold on to. STOMP442, you seem to have quite a bit of expeiriance when it comes to .264's, from what I can see from your previous posts. Do you have any idea on the value of the rifle I described originally? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
STOMP442 Report post Posted July 19, 2013 Generally guns retain their value pretty well regardless of caliber as long as they are not beat up. It sounds like a very nice set up and you should be well pleased with the caliber choice even though its not overly popular. Are you picking this up used? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
CoJack Report post Posted July 19, 2013 Yes it is used, still needing to take it to a gunsmith and have it checked out. They are expensive to shoot, so i'm also kinda curious about trading for a different gun/caliber... Any thoughts on that? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
THE RIFLEMAN Report post Posted July 19, 2013 I am not a fan of belted cartriges, just a manufacturing trick that alows sloppier chamber tolerences to achieve fair acuracy! I vote for the good ol 270.... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
CoJack Report post Posted July 19, 2013 The owner is looking for a $ number... He said "it didn't sell for $1200, so I would sell it to you for cheaper than that." Any thoughts? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
STOMP442 Report post Posted July 19, 2013 If you reload I wouldn't say that it is any more expensive than the 7mm mag or 300 mag to shoot. Factory ammo though probably is more expensive than the others for no other reason than it is not as popular as the others. I have no doubt that you would love the rile and the caliber but if cost to shoot is a major concern then you may be better off with a more popular factory cartridge. The .25-06, 270 Win, and .30-06 are all great calibers and work well for just about anything. If you want flat shooting lots of energy and a lot less wind drift, then the .264 Mag is very hard to beat. I dont know how much you are willing to pay for this rig but keep in mind that you could build a tack driving custom savage with match grade barrel and a fancy stock of your choice for right around a grand. Brand new and in any caliber you choose. It may not win any beauty contests but it will shoot well within the standards of that custom piece your looking at and best of all the work could all be done by you. No need for a smith with a savage. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Outdoor Writer Report post Posted July 19, 2013 There's about 420 ft lbs more energy with a 140 out of the 6.5 at 1000 yards and about 31" less wind drift when comparing a 130 berger at 3000fps for the 270 and a 140 berger at 3100 out of the 264 win mag. At 500 yards the windage and elevation are much closer but energy is still greatly in favor of the 264. I only run ballistics charts out to 500 yards because that's pretty much my self-imposed limit. At that distance I think they are close enough to kill anything they hit unless something can be deader than dead. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
STOMP442 Report post Posted July 19, 2013 This much is true. But only looking to 500 yards doesn't give a clear picture of cartridge overall performance. Pretty much any common medium game centerfire cartridge provides enough energy to make things dead at 500 yards especially these little coues deer. I know there are not varying degrees of death but there is indeed varying degrees of cartridge performance. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Big Browns Report post Posted July 19, 2013 I have a custom Thompson Encore in .264 win mag. The gun is Awesome! I can shoot a pie plate at 1000 yards all day long(in perfect conditions)! My 8 &10 year old boys love shooting it! It loves Berger 140 grain with Reloader 22. Adam Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
scoutm Report post Posted July 19, 2013 This much is true. But only looking to 500 yards doesn't give a clear picture of cartridge overall performance. Pretty much any common medium game centerfire cartridge provides enough energy to make things dead at 500 yards especially these little coues deer. I know there are not varying degrees of death but there is indeed varying degrees of cartridge performance. On a site where 80% of the guys/gals won't shoot past 500 yards and of the 20% that do maybe only half have put in the work to be consistent at that 500+ yard ranges what's the point of talking about 1000 yard performance? 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
