264LBC in pistol form

[bldsmith]

Received the final major component for my latest build, the 10.5" barrel for my 264LBC pistol... HUH what did I say????? A 264LBC IN A PISTOL??? What sacrilege!! The 264/6.5 is a purist long range round!! Could never work as a pistol/SBR eventually. I wanted to make another pistol to eventually SBR in order to take hog hunting. I did NOT want to get into another round to load. Looking at the ballistics the 264/6.5 is very close to the 6.8 so it seemed the perfect round to run in a pistol. Low recoil and great terminal performance will give me everything I am looking for out to 200yds. Maybe even a bit further. So here she is.

Waiting on the muzzle device and trigger guard.
Stag lower, Aero upper, Black Hole Weaponry Barrel and Diamondback Hand Guard. A JP trigger and Hogue Pistol Grip round out the build. Now to take it to the range for some comparative FPS. Also need to get some good glass but may be waiting for Fathers Day for that.

 

[Ratdog68]

Hmmm.... I've always been under the impression that this caliber needed the longer barrels to get enough oomph behind the bullet (slower burning). Should be interesting to see what you find out. Good lookin' bugger thus far.

 

[bldsmith]

There are a ton of 6.8 SPC'c out there in pistol/SBR configuration. THere is very little difference sub 200yds between the two. Talking with BHW they said it will work just fine. It is not the usual for the 264LBC/6.5G though. According to the ballistic calculator it could have a good range out to 400+ yds. Not that I want 400 for this one. That would be in the realm of the 20" I also have. I will see shortly how the numbers turn out. Will be going to the range either tomorrow or Friday. Will post the info when I get it.

 

[rgilbert]

Good looking setup. Is that your forge in the background?

 

[Ratdog68]

Yes, well aware of the 6.8 being plentiful in pistol format... have one myself. The 6.8 has always shone in shorter barrels. Will be inktristink to see how yours does.

 

[bldsmith]

Good looking setup. Is that your forge in the background?

That is one of my forges. I have 3 in different sizes. 1 blown and 2 atmospheric.

 

[bldsmith]

Got the Muzzle Brake in. Here is a shot, just waiting for a trigger guard.

Also went to the range. Things went pretty well. Took the 20" to get some chrony numbers for a start point. Ran 123gn AMAX and SSTs.

..............20".....................................10.5"
Amax.................SST...........AMAX..............SST
2456.................2470............2127...............2118
2466.................2484............2078..............2125
2465.................2473.............2099..............2158
2475.................2479.............2123...............2142
2477.................2488.............2121...............2131
2466.................2486.............2110
2476.................2490.............2119
2474.................2470.............2089
2481.................2471..............2111
2467.................2503.............2117
Ran low on SST's and I wanted to make sure I had enough to run a group.
2470.3avg........2481.4avg.....2109.4avg.......2134.8avg

For the first 20 rounds things went fine. Then the 10.5 started failing to eject. It was closing down on the case or stove piping depending on which side the next round was feeding from. Not sure what is going on. Probably a gas problem. Will trouble shoot and report back.

The scope is the Leupold VX pig plex 1-4. Not a super high resolution and I think it could do better. Here is a group of the sst's at 50yds.

I did make a 2 click down after the first shot. But still not bad.
Here is 100 yds using the AMAX, sandbagged front, held with 2 hands on the grip and cheek touching rear of tube.

And here is Big Sister amax at 100yds

I pulled the 3rd shot as you can see. But even still under 1-MOA.

I did some ballistic comparison between the 264LBC/6.5G and the 6.8SPC. They are virtually identical out to 200yds. I would not want to regularly shoot past 200 with a 10.5" but might do some workups to 300. Other than the fact the 264LBC/6.5G is known as a long range round, there is no reason I can see not to build one. Since the ballistics are identical to the 6.8SPC. There is no reason to get a different caliber just to build a pistol or SBR.

Over-all I am very happy with this build. Once I get the bugs worked out it will be great! I am glad I put it together.

 

[Chopperdrvr]

Very nice. Thanks for sharing the info.

 

[DaveABQ]

Looks good. Will work fine in a pistol. With almost any caliber, longer the barrel, more velocity, but I run a 10.5" 223 Wylde and a 12.5" 6.8 for hunting hogs. Just more menuevrable.

 

[bldsmith]

Looks good. Will work fine in a pistol. With almost any caliber, longer the barrel, more velocity, but I run a 10.5" 223 Wylde and a 12.5" 6.8 for hunting hogs. Just more menuevrable.

Maneuverability and weight are the main reasons I build these pistols. Especially since I will be using a can.

I took it apart today looking at the extraction problem. Decided to try the easiest thing first. I pulled the lower off my other pistol and swapped it out. The buffer tube is about 2" longer. It did not extract. Next I took out the bolt and the extractor looked odd. It seemed loose unlike the 556 I have in the toolbox. Took out the extractor and the pin holes had wallowed out. Called the Co. and new one is on the way. I also ordered an additional 5 to have on hand. I did happen to have a spare, installed and it extracts perfectly.

Now to decide on final optics.