25-06 or 257WBY

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257 Weatherby is super awesome but the ammo is 3 times the price for an extra 50-75 yards in effective range. I consider this a killer issue.

25-06 is effective on varmint at 400+ yards and will kill any non-dangerous game in North America with a premium bullet (Nosler Accubond or Barnes TSX).
With modern powders, 25-06 is even better and delivers magnum performance in a non-belted case.

25-06 AI give you a little more cartridge capacity but most reloaders use overpressure load (hot loads running at 70,000 PSI). There are no free lunches: if you get insane performance, you're probably doing something crazy.

The choice is pretty clear: 25-06 will do 95% of what the other 2 cartridges do safely and cheaply.
Never underestimate the cost of ammo when you buy a gun.
Good shooters and good hunters tend to shoot lots of ammo to get and keep their skills.

Alex
 
I split the difference and went .25-06AI.Fireforming is easy and my 85gr.BT fireform load is very accurate and makes a great coyote load.The cost of brass and the amount of powder used to gain 150-200 fps put me off the .257 Roy. Mur
 
I have owned all three. The 25-06 AI is a wonderful cartridge that got 100 gr bullets to 3500 fps, and 120s to 3300, wo me leaning too hard on the brass. It is a handloaders cartridge, and 30-06 brass is everywhere.

The 257 Wby has no problems beating these velocities by 200 fps, but that translates into very little difference in trajectory at usual hunting ranges, 350 yd or less, and requires 15-20 more gr of powder.

The standard 25-06 is a much under-rated cartridge in today's world of ultra fast velocities.............. and kills deer, bear, sheep, goats, caribou, and even moose, better than it used to 80 years ago, using premium bullets that were not available back then. :)

Take your pick! FWIW, only the 25-06 is still in my safe today. :)

Ted
 
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My .257s idle along 200 fps faster than my 25-06. It costs 6 cents more for powder per cartridge or 3 cents a hun like they say kinda say in those MoneyMart commercials.That's pretty cheap speed donchathink? Over 1000 rounds it comes a enormous 60 bucks.
 
I've got both a 25/06 and a 257 Weatherby.

My choice is a 250 Ackley:p

Depends on my mood which one I'd take out.
 
I don't have as much experience as Why not?, but have used two 25-06 rifles. The first was a re barreled Brno 600 with a 24" bbl. and I was unable to get over 3000fps without pushing it harder than I'm comfortable with.
My "go to" rifle is now a Ruger 1-B with the factory 26" tube. The load I've settled on is 55 grs. of IMR 7828 under a 120 gr. Partition which produces 3285 fps and excellent brass life. Recoil wise it's a pussy cat, and accuracy is superb.
 
Cummins4x4 said:
Need a magnum action and bolt face, wby brass and those crummy wby barrels:p
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For the most part the difference between a standard action and a magnum action is the boltface and not much of anything else.The .257 doesn't need a full length magnum action.

The .257 Weatherby doesn't need Weatherby brass, though it is good stuff. Run 7mm Rem mag through a .257 die and you have all the cheap .257 mag brass you want. Certainly cheaper than Nosler 25-06 AI, and without the expense of fireforming 25-06 brass.

I am not exactly enamoured by Weatherby free-bore, but it doesn't seem stop the crummy barrels from delivering hunting level accuracy.

What else ya got? It seems like the .257 Roy is less fuss and bother than the .25-06 AI.:p
 
Dogleg said:
For the most part the difference between a standard action and a magnum action is the boltface and not much of anything else.The .257 doesn't need a full length magnum action.

The .257 Weatherby doesn't need Weatherby brass, though it is good stuff. Run 7mm Rem mag through a .257 die and you have all the cheap .257 mag brass you want. Certainly cheaper than Nosler 25-06 AI, and without the expense of fireforming 25-06 brass.

I am not exactly enamoured by Weatherby free-bore, but it doesn't seem stop the crummy barrels from delivering hunting level accuracy.

What else ya got? It seems like the .257 Roy is less fuss and bother than the .25-06 AI.:p
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Nosler doesn't make .25-06AI brass,.280AI omly in Ackley chamberings.Like I said I hunt coyotes with my fireform loads so nothing goes to waste!:D Mur
 
rodagra said:
I don't have as much experience as Why not?,
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Really though, who among us does? :D

Kidding aside, when I was taking the Fu smithing course at SAIT I had intended to build a 25-06AI. Then I had to drop the course and gave the parts to a gunsmith I knew and had a standard 25-06 built. Still have it. Recently I came into a 257 WBY that I bought as a dono. Haven't gotten around to shooting it yet but the duplication does not offend my sensibilities. That said, when the time comes the 257 will probably turn into a 338. Now to decide whether I build a "Modern Custom Rifle" or an"Real Custom Rifle":D
 
If you handload it doesn't matter.Make weatherby ammo resizing 7 Rem mag brass and load.Resale value skip the AI............Harold
 
I'm generally not a Weatherby fan, but I would far prefer a 257 Weatherby over a 25-06, if I needed a 25 caliber rifle, which I don't. :)

Nothing wrong wiht a 25-06 but I don't see it as doing anything that a .260 or 7-08 can't do just as well with less powder and in a shorter action.

Actually, if I REALLY wanted a 25 caliber I'd break my normal rule about "no wildcats" and go with the 25 WSM.
 
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