Light loading a .264 Mag

[yellowfin]

My buddy Jim brought up something interesting the other day. He runs a .264-06 for 1000 yard shooting and gets REALLY nice results with it. I'm interested in getting into precision shooting at some point and have a really nice .264 Winchester that I love and would love to shoot more if I could. I currently don't shoot it much at all because it's a pre-64 M70 family heirloom and I don't want to wear it out which I'm told running lots of ammo through would do in quick order, which makes me very sad. So I had a thought creep into my mind: could I run light loads in it, like say to .30-06 levels, which would give it a lot more normal useful life with the original barrel? Would this potentially yield good results and save me the expense of having to get a whole new rifle when I have one I'd rather use instead if I could?

[ICANHITHIMMAN]

Your talking about throat erosion. Here is a trick dont shoot so fast that your barrel gets hot or even warm for that matter it will prolong your barrel life.

Your budys rifle sounds like a 6.5-06. Are you 100% sure your rifle is worth $$$$$ just cause its pre 64 does not always mean big bucks.

[JStor]

You can load the .264 Win. Mag down. But if the rifle is in really decent shape, besides being a family heirloom, I would use it for a hunting rifle and shoot the normal full power .264 Win. Mags. That way it'll be in fine shape to pass on to your own heirs.

Or, you could shoot it a lot and count the barrel as an expendable item, which it is. But they don't make those pre-64s any more, but much of that consideration depends on what original shape it is in.

I'd find another Winchester 70 long action rifle and barrel it according to preferences, and then order a stock from McMillan or Manners. I'd use Badger Ordnance mounts and the best scope I could afford. You don't need to shoot magnums to reach 1000 yards.

[MistWolf]

Get a good, modern reloading manual and do not go below their minimum load. Large capacity cases with reduced charges of slow burning powders are know to produce erratic pressures. Backing off the throttle a bit will reduce throat erosion, recoil and muzzle blast.

When high velocity cartridges first burst on to the scene, barrel steel was high nickel steel and proved inadequate with the new era of hot calibers. Although barrel steels have improved greatly since, some cartridges still have a bad reputation as "barrel burners".

While some cartridges are harder on barrels than others, by the time a shooter wears out one of today's barrels, the price of a barrel is a drop in the bucket compared to the cost of ammo and the knowledge & experienced gained along the way. Folks who have high round counts swap barrels regularly.

Go shoot your rifle and have fun with it. A rifle that's not shot is like having a wife that's not loved