With the 6.5mm craze that is happening, why isn't this caliber making a resurgence?

I have a Winchester Model 70 in this caliber and it is flat shooting and recoil isn't bad at all.

It would be difficult to make the argument that the 6.5 craze is not due to the 6.5 Creedmoor. Sure, the 260 Remington has been around since the late 90's, and the 6.5x55 even longer, but it is the 6.5CM that has brought the 6.5 caliber out of (American) obscurity.

This raises the question of why the 6.5CM has done what the others couldn't? In specifically comparing the 6.5CM to the .264WM, I think the following has, and still does, suppress interest in the 264.

-Magazine length
-Recoil
-Barrel life
-Belted cartridge.

That last one is a biggie for me. It is way more difficult to deal with a belted cartridge when loading for accuracy, imo. The flower fell off the belted cartridge lily in the late 80's, and I don't ever see a resurgence in the popularity of belted cartridges. The last newer belted magnum I can think of that is successful is the 416 Remington. I'd guess the 416 Rem is belted only because it is derived from the 8mm Remington, and the niche (DG) that this cartridge fills. Newer magnum cartridges, like the Ruger magnums, RUMs, Noshers, etc, are unbelted.

Barrel life, it's long and belted, and takes a lot of powder to get it going. That's big when you consider how many rounds some of the shooters put down range. Most people today want stuff to fit into a short action and 6.5CM does this. Personally, I find the 6.5x55 to be the better option across the board but again, it's a matter of action/magazine length that drives most of the sales today.

quote:

Originally posted by sigcrazy7:
This raises the question of why the 6.5CM has done what the others couldn't? In specifically comparing the 6.5CM to the .264WM, I think the following has, and still does, suppress interest in the 264.
-Magazine length
-Recoil
-Barrel life
-Belted cartridge.

Bingo. Furthermore, there is limited selection of factory ammo, which is geared towards hunting applications, and is expensive.

If Hornady continues down the path of producing the 6.5 PRC cartridge, distributes ammo at a reasonable price, and gets a few good rifle companies to chamber the cartridge, the 6.5 PRC could become the "magnum" 6.5 bore for most.

Nothing really wrong with the 264 Winchester Magnum it just never really got off to a good start. Back when it was introduced in late 50s 6.5 were not that popular in the US. Bullet selction for 6.5 was also much more limited back than for the handloader, ammo was not to common in most smaller towns out west where lots of hunting took place in more wide open areas. Many years ago I worked with a guy that bought a Model 70 264 new back in the early 1960s. He always said it cost him a lot of overtime to buy that rifle. He hunted Deer and Elk every with that 264 Win Mag he got his fair share.

He told me that when Remington introduced the 7mm Remington Mag a number of years after the 264, Remington sold the guns a fair amount cheaper the ammo cheaper plus a lot of free press in gun magazines. The 7mm Remington Mag ended up being very popular out west and up in Canada in a short time frame. The 7mm Mag held that spot for decades with big game hunters. I suspect that you could buy ammo in from 140gr to 175gr fairly easy in the 7mm Mag also did not hurt. The 7mm Rem mag is probably the reason the 264 mag never took off.

These days Short and Fat cartridges are the current trend in big game hunting cartridges. This leave out stuff like the 264 win mag yet again.

The current 6.5 craze is generated by guys shooting PRS type stuff and the recoil and short barrel life of the 264 is a deal breaker. The belt doesn't help.

Enough speed to stay supersonic and mild enough recoil to shoot well and perhaps watch hits is a plus. flat trajectory is nice but not always worth the penalties of recoil and reduced barrel life.

If you want an excellent hunting rifle cartridge. There is nothing wrong with the .264 win. Yes ammo is fairly expensive, but not terrible. A 140 grain VLD will do it every time.

If you are joining the ranks of long distance hole punchers that is a different deal.

Jelly's post is an excellent one.

quote:

Originally posted by mutedblade:
Barrel life, it's long and belted, and takes a lot of powder to get it going. That's big when you consider how many rounds some of the shooters put down range. Most people today want stuff to fit into a short action and 6.5CM does this. Personally, I find the 6.5x55 to be the better option across the board but again, it's a matter of action/magazine length that drives most of the sales today.

All the "old timers" would tell me basically this. The 264 Win is a great cartridge but had the reputation of being a barrel burner. I had the opportunity to purchase an exterior pristine Winchester Model 70 chambered in .264 Win, but looked down the barrel and whoa! It was indeed toasty.

My favorite rifles/actions are all long actions. Not that I don't like some of my short actions too

I acquired a couple boxes of .264 Win Mag brass somewhere along the way; never owned a firearm in that cartridge. If one of you 264 guys wants it, shoot me an email.
S.