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264 win mag for elk?

I've killed two with a .264WM. Was using 140gr Rem corelokt back in the day (90s) when it was a mediocre bullet at best. One DRT at 210yds, the other through the boiler room at 70yds, ran about 40yds maybe, and dropped dead. Get it dialed in with a good bullet around 140 and as several said, never look back! I switched to a custom .340 Wby for mule deer and elk, but 264 is my antelope go to and it is my backup gun for deer and elk if ever necessary.
 
Have shot 264 Win Mag since mid '70's, always 140 Partition on top of a full load of IMR4831. DRT everything, mostly muleys and always one shot. Always took my 300 Win Mag for elk but would have no problem using my 264. Seeing how the 140 Partition passed through everything it hit, even out to 800 yds, penetration on an elk should not be a problem. But there is no substitute for a well placed shot. Like the aforementioned examples, 30-30, 30-06 have probably taken more than all others combined, with their original factory ballistics and thin jacket bullets. My 264 brought me to the dance and still carries a fine tune.
 
codyadams said:
My data isn't pressure tested of course, but I always work up until I see sure pressure signs, and my loads I run are always below that by a fair margin, I work up to max so I know where it is, so I know how much room I have. Once I find max, I stay away from it. I never load at or above max, and strongly advise not to do so. As far as a book listed load, I don'tbelieve there is a book load at this time for the 156 in a .264 wm. In this gun, with this specific set of components, max, or first sign of any pressure signs, comes in around 3225 with the 156. I will keep the load I run in this at 3200 or less for saftey reasons, which gives roughly .5.6 grain or room from initial pressure signs. Once final develooement is finished the load may even end up at 3100 fps, depending on how accuracy plays out.

Also, as Lance stated, the 156 would be a poor choice in a 9 twist. It is being shot out of a 7.5 twist in this .264wm. While you may be able to attain accuracy in a 9 twist, if you fully understand how bc, twist rate, and terminal performance intermix, you will see it simply isn't a good option. The lack of twist will lead to a bullet somewhat unstable, which will drop the effective bc of the bullet, taking away much of the reason for using a heavier bullet in the first place, as well as cause negative effects on the terminal performance of the bullet.

The .264 was designed originally as a "light and fast" hunting cartridge, with the industry standard load being a 100 grain bullet around 3600? fps, and was the main advertising point when the cartridge was introduced, if memory serves me right. It made a fantastic max point blank range pronghorn and deer cartridge. That is why SAAMI standards have the .264 wm with a 9 twist, it was designed to run 100-130 grain pills. But it's popularity faded out for preference of the 7 mag, due to a wider selection of bullets and having a longer barrel life. The .264 wm is coming back around because of the popularity of long range, and high bc 6.5 bullets available. It fills a nice void between the 6.5x284 and the 26 nosler. The vast majority of people building them are putting 7-8 twists on them to run these bullets however, and factory rifles such as the sendero, unfortunately often still come with the conventional 9 twist. That is the biggest hindrance of the commercial .264wm these days.
Click to expand...
I really like my 7mm rifles. I like the 264 cals just as much. I would like to see the 264 win mag make a strong comeback. It has many attributes.
 
For what it's worth, Roy Weatherby used the .257 Weatherby for all kinds of big game both here and abroad. He claimed it was his favorite cartridge to use out of his entire lineup. I'll promise you that in his day he never had anything over the 120 gr. bullet, much less the 140 gr. bullet option you do with the .264 WM with the 1 in 9 twist barrel you've got. Food for thought.
 
140 berger out of my old 264 made quick work of my last elk. Pulled this from under the hide on opposite side, right at 40 grains best I remember.
17CDA02F-2831-4129-8DBE-E680C32199C5.png
 
Anybody ever wonder why these questions are even asked when 6.5s have been killing big game for well over 100 years ?

If you could read, even before the internet, you would have known that long 6.5 cup n core bullet will kill any lower 48 game starting out @ 2400 fps.

Change to a modern controlled expansion 140 @3000 fps ----- any questions ?
 

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