Our personal knowledge of the .264 Win. Mag. Dates back to 64 when it came to deciding the caliber of the Mannlicher Schönauer, at the time the rifle for those who wished to hunt chamois.
We had a lot of ambitions, almost nil skills and a lot of confidence in the gunsmith who piloted our first experiences. Two calibers were examined, and even today we wonder why the third one did not appear on the scene: here are the two possibilities with the super classic .270 Win. flanked by the .264 Win. Mag. While what we knew below as the European specific for mountain hunting, the 6,5 × 68 Schuler, was on the run.
Probably the latter was not in the sympathy or availability of the seller, but equally its US counterpart from 6,5 mm was not seen well: who knows that this decisive cartridge was not considered too pushy for a neophyte to whom it was placed as a panacea and solutor of hunting problems the then perty-year-old perky of fame and diffusion more than conspicuous.
But the 6,5 across the Atlantic continued to buzz through our heads as the gunsmith readings spread and, with a hint of regret, we considered a good opportunity lost, especially when, now more than twenty years later, we got into sympathy with a doctor, a mountain hunter with ball and shot, who with a Winchester 70 of this caliber had collected an impressive series of chamois.
We thus began to dribble the specific characteristics of the two equal calibers, learning how the German was highly specific for the chamois with the 6 g ball pushed at a speed still phenomenal today and how the antagonist was thought differently for use on the antelopes of the territories of origin, much more substantial than our rupicapra and equally to be engaged at considerable distances.
The charge, the groove of entry to the rifling and the pitch of the latter were therefore designed to push heavy bullets, with powerful energy and strong penetration even at 300 m and beyond. So much so that the bullet of choice was 140 g against the 96 g of the German one, also equipped with a sturdy structure and thick jacket. Lower weights starting from 100 gr were also foreseen and these triggered the process of decline in popularity among our hunters.