History
Winchester introduced the .264 Winchester Magnum in 1958, a fast, flat-shooting belted magnum for open-country hunting, first chambered in the Model 70 "Westerner." It drove a 140-grain 6.5mm bullet faster than anything in its class at the time, and on paper read as a long-range hunting cartridge years ahead of the market's demand for 6.5s.
Commercially it faded fast. Remington's 7mm Remington Magnum arrived in 1962 with similar reach, less barrel wear, and far better marketing, and buried it. Overbore and hard on barrels, the .264 sat as a curiosity for decades. The 6.5 PRC and .26 Nosler now do its job with better bullets and less drama. But the .264 got there first.
Lineage
The case is the shortened .375 H&H that Winchester also necked into the .458, .338, and .300 Magnums. It carries the .532 inch belt of that family, headspaces on it, and pushes a 6.5mm (.264 inch) bullet. The direct siblings are those other Winchester belted magnums, plus the 7mm Remington Magnum that shares the parent case and went on to displace it.
Specifications
| Spec | Value |
|---|---|
| Case type | Belted, bottlenecked |
| Bullet diameter | 6.71 mm (.264 in) |
| Neck diameter | 7.57 mm (.298 in) |
| Shoulder diameter | 12.47 mm (.491 in) |
| Belt diameter | 13.51 mm (.532 in) |
| Rim diameter | 13.03 mm (.513 in) |
| Case length | 63.50 mm (2.500 in) |
| Overall length | 84.84 mm (3.340 in) |
| Case capacity | ~82 gr H2O (nominal; varies by brand) |
| Primer size | Large rifle magnum |
| Belted | Yes (headspaces on the belt) |
| Rifling twist | 1 in 9 in (SAAMI reference); 1 in 8 in (recommended, for heavy match) |
| Max pressure | 64,000 psi (SAAMI) |
| Recommended barrel | 26 in, 1:8 twist |
Barrel Design
This is the definition of overbore: a large powder charge behind a small 6.5mm bore. That adds velocity, and it costs barrel life and needs length. A short tube wastes the cartridge. The slow powders need room to finish burning, so carry every bit of barrel you can and turn that big charge into velocity instead of muzzle flash.
Twist is the other half. Factory rifles were often cut around 1:9, which handles the 140-grain hunting bullets of 1958. The modern heavy 6.5mm match bullets, the 140 to 147 grain class with high ballistic coefficients, want a 1:8, and that is the recommended here. It holds them with margin and turns a hunting relic into a long-range cartridge.
On length, lean long. The baseline is 26 inches, about the shortest tube that does the cartridge justice, and a 28 inch barrel is defensible if you are chasing the last of its velocity for ELR. Length also tightens standard deviation on the match loads. The tables below run the 26 inch baseline.
Range Ammo Performance
Prvi Partizan · 140 gr Pointed Soft Point $1.88/rd
| Range (yd) | Velocity (fps) | Elevation (mil) | Energy (ft-lb) | Windage (mil) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0 | 3066 | -0.3 | 2922 | 0.4 |
| 100 | 2864 | 0.0 | 2550 | 0.2 |
| 200 | 2672 | -0.3 | 2219 | 0.4 |
| 300 | 2487 | -0.9 | 1922 | 0.6 |
| 400 | 2309 | -1.6 | 1657 | 0.8 |
| 500 | 2139 | -2.4 | 1422 | 1.1 |
| 600 | 1976 | -3.2 | 1214 | 1.3 |
| 700 | 1821 | -4.2 | 1031 | 1.6 |
| 800 | 1675 | -5.3 | 872 | 1.9 |
| 900 | 1539 | -6.6 | 737 | 2.3 |
| 1000 | 1415 | -8.0 | 623 | 2.6 |
| 1100 | 1305 | -9.6 | 529 | 3.0 |
| 1200 | 1211 | -11.5 | 456 | 3.5 |
| 1300 | 1133 | -13.5 | 399 | 3.9 |
| 1400 | 1073 | -15.8 | 358 | 4.3 |
| 1500 | 1024 | -18.4 | 326 | 4.8 |
Muzzle velocity 3066 fps is estimated at 26 in from the 24 in factory figure of 3018 fps at about 24 fps per inch. Expect your own barrel to read a little differently. Velocity is color coded green supersonic, yellow transonic, red subsonic; treat transonic and subsonic rows as approximate.
Match Ammo Performance
Nosler Trophy Grade · 130 gr Poly Tip $3.61/rd
| Range (yd) | Velocity (fps) | Elevation (mil) | Energy (ft-lb) | Windage (mil) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0 | 3148 | -0.3 | 2860 | 0.3 |
| 100 | 2957 | 0.0 | 2523 | 0.2 |
| 200 | 2773 | -0.3 | 2220 | 0.3 |
| 300 | 2597 | -0.8 | 1947 | 0.5 |
| 400 | 2428 | -1.4 | 1701 | 0.7 |
| 500 | 2265 | -2.2 | 1480 | 0.9 |
| 600 | 2108 | -3.0 | 1282 | 1.2 |
| 700 | 1957 | -3.8 | 1106 | 1.4 |
| 800 | 1814 | -4.8 | 950 | 1.7 |
| 900 | 1678 | -5.9 | 813 | 1.9 |
| 1000 | 1551 | -7.1 | 695 | 2.2 |
| 1100 | 1434 | -8.5 | 594 | 2.6 |
| 1200 | 1329 | -10.1 | 510 | 2.9 |
| 1300 | 1237 | -11.8 | 442 | 3.3 |
| 1400 | 1160 | -13.8 | 388 | 3.7 |
| 1500 | 1098 | -15.9 | 348 | 4.1 |
Muzzle velocity 3148 fps is estimated at 26 in from the 24 in factory figure of 3100 fps at about 24 fps per inch. Expect your own barrel to read a little differently. Velocity is color coded green supersonic, yellow transonic, red subsonic; treat transonic and subsonic rows as approximate.
Trajectory
FAQ
What barrel length and twist should I run?
Run a 26 inch barrel at minimum, longer if you can, because this overbore case needs length to perform. Pair it with a 1:8 twist to stabilize the heavy 6.5mm match bullets that make it a long-range cartridge rather than a period hunting round.
Why did the .264 Winchester Magnum fall out of favor?
The 7mm Remington Magnum arrived four years later with comparable performance, gentler barrel wear, and stronger marketing, and it took the market. The .264 is also overbore and burns barrels quickly, which never helped its reputation.
Is it belted?
Yes. It headspaces on the .532 inch belt of the shortened .375 H&H case it shares with the .300 and .338 Winchester Magnums. Belted cases can be slightly fussier for precision handloading than a modern shoulder-headspaced design.
How does it compare to the 6.5 PRC?
The 6.5 PRC reaches similar velocity from a beltless, more efficient case with a fast factory twist and a deep modern match-ammo catalog, so it is the easier cartridge to shoot well today. The .264 got there first, in 1958, and still hits hard when fed heavy bullets from a long barrel.