I got my rifle back from the smitty after the chamber job. I fired one minimum charged handload and although it did not lock up on me, it did blow the primer out. Before going to the range I loaded a couple of rounds for my brothers 6.5x 55 sweede. I noticed that it took much more effort to seat the primers than it had for my once fired 264 Win Mag brass. The gunsmith said that this brass should be tossed since it had been fired in that tight chamber and possibly the primer holes are stretched. This seems reasonable since the fired primer will slip back in the case by hand with no effort and it did not seem to be deformed at all. So I tried to find some new brass with no luck; any suggestions? I did buy a box of new Remington ammo thinking I might get better accuracy now that the chamber has been redone. Accuracy still sucks with that ammo but I do have the once fired brass from it to try my reloads again. It's been one **** of an education and I thank everyone again for thier contributions to it. What about 7Mag or 300 Mag brass? Still looking for the new 264 brass.

i reload for four .264s. i use Winchester brass from midway with no issues.

what was the minimum charge that blew the primer?

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Loose primer pockets are a definite sign of to much pressure. Usually loading 10 percent under the max book loads will only drop velocity 2 percent and you will get a good accuracy increase.

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the load I used was 58grns. of H4831 with a hornaday 140 gr. soft point. But as I mentioned, the brass I used had been fired in a tight chamber. I reloaded some brass I fired from the new chamber and found that it took greater effort to seat the primers. So I'm sure there were presure issues that streached the primer holes on those previously fired cases. I hope I'm on the right track. Send me some of your load info if you don't mind.

With this new chamber job I'm going to start out low and work up. I'm hoping to find an accurate 140 gr hunting load for this rifle. The only thing that shot good in it before was 120gr. loads that I got from a local manufacturer who is now out of bussiness. If I can't replicate that kind of accuracy I may have to just get a new barrel.

Don't panic Bluetick. If you can settle you're pressure issues you will be able to find a good load. Even if you're rig doesn't like anything but 120's, there are some stout ones out there and you'll be able to kill whatever you want. The .264 Mag. has no choice but to be fast so the reach is built in. Hang in there.

'tight chamber' i hope means within specs. blown out primers and loose primer pockets mean STOP, DO NOT PASS GO, DO NOT COLLECT $200!!!!
if you've had a rifle rechambered to a belted magnum, you should get a headspace guage and check it yourself to make sure the slot for the belt is not machined too deap. this is a common mistake by 'gunsmiths'
also you should headspace on the shoulder for this cartridge not the belt.

I have worked extensively with the .264 including a Gatgun's custom job with a match chamber all with no primer pocket issues. If you can't find brass simply run 7mm Rem Mag brass through a full length sizing die then trim it. I have done that hundreds of times but generaly use .264 W-W brass that is availible from Midway and Graf during the production runs. W-W doesn't run .264 all year long. Hope this helps. reflex264

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bluetick,
Have you tried new unfired brass yet? We've discussed this before, and I'm not trying to be a pest, but it could save you a lot of headache. Your new Rem factory load once-fired brass should work out for you, although there's still the possibility that starting out with unfired virgin brass may be the best bet. Take a look at what Midway offers, although at present, looks like only Nosler Custom brass is available. Not that this is a limiting factor when trying to eliminate problems. Good luck.

http://www.midwayusa.com/esearch.exe...=Search_Button

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I was having a hard time finding brass for this caliber and that's why I bought a box of new Rem. loads. A couple of the guys suggested Midway so I'll try them. And yes, I'm not giving up on trying new brass, I'm just impatient I guess.

Perhaps I was not clear; the gun was already chambered 264Win Mag, but when the gunsmith checked it he found it to be tight. He then reamed the chamber.

Didn't mean to be preaching to you bluetick, only suggesting something that worked out for me. That 8mm-06 gave me fits for a long time until I tried new 30-06 brass in it. I never did try any brass fired from factory 30-06 loads in it since firing in a different chamber 30-06 wouldn't eliminate one factor...didn't really want to fire 30-06 loads down the 8mm-06. Your situation is quite a bit different, firing new factory loads in the chamber you want to load for. Load that brass, and I hope your problems disappear.

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thats what i mean about the bearing surface for the belt possibly too deep. i've seen 2 factory chambered rifles with this problem and was lucky to be able to return them. use your micrometer to measure the fired case immedietly forward of the belt and see if its in spec. if not, case head seperation is a good possibility.

I Don't have the specs for case diameter. But I did fire a box of factory loads without mishap; then I reloaded some of this brass and fired them today and no blown primers. Accuracy is not there but I'm going to experiment with some different powder and loads to see if I can dial her in. Thanks.