257 weatherby magnum
- Thread starter franktank
- Start date
We've already shot truckloads (literally) of deer with the 100 grain ballistic-tips, so I can tell you a bit about them. Inevitably, the base or what little is left of it is stuck in the hide on the far side, but one or two out of ten will exit on broadside shots. In between the hides is pure carnage.
BigUglyMan
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- New Scotland
Ultimate baboon rifle...257 Weatherby with 100gr NBTs. Guess what everyone's getting for Christmas?
Bahbewn prairie oysters?
the 257 Wbee is OVERBORE but it Kicks the #### out of a 25-06 !RJ
Agreed, but to what end and at what cost? Years ago I shot a good sized whitetail with a 7X57 Ackley improved loaded with a Nosler 160 partition at 2850 fps. Deer was quartering toward me. The Partition wrecked the near front shoulder, liquified the guts and destroyed the off hind-quarter. Meat in both quarters was not just bloodshot but virtually turned to jelly. Lesson learned.
There's just no point in meat hunting with velocities much over 2,500 unless you anticipate ranges of 300 yards or so.
Playing with ultra-high-speed rounds is fun, but you can only kill stuff so dead, and if you destroy half the meat in the process there's little to gain by burning twice the required powder and torching expensive barrels.
Roy Weatherby was a gifted salesman in the fine old American Barnum and Bailey tradition, selling a lot more sizzle than steak, but old P.O. Ackley was, I suspect, a wiser guide. A stock .257 Roberts will kill whitetails just as dead as the 25-06 or the Weatherby out to about 250 yards without the racket, muzzle flash, recoil, expense or wrecked meat.
There's an argument in favour of the larger rounds for extreme range work, but why take a Ferrari to the corner store for a jug of milk? ;-)
L1...........two points.
1) Not everyone is a meat hunter and not every animal hunted is destined to end up on a plate. Velocity has many positive aspects as well as the downside ones you have stated.
2) I drive my Ferrari to the corner store and the liquor store solely because I have one and I can..........
1) Not everyone is a meat hunter and not every animal hunted is destined to end up on a plate. Velocity has many positive aspects as well as the downside ones you have stated.
2) I drive my Ferrari to the corner store and the liquor store solely because I have one and I can..........
Purple shoulder
Regular
- Location
- Winnipeg MB
So basically what your saying is I'm right, but because of the sheer awesome speed of the 257 wby, that explosion caries on right through to the other side. I'll take it.
That does it. This has me shopping for one. The Lazergaurd looks nice. ???
buckbrushoutdoors
Regular
- Location
- fort saskatchewan AB/Edson AB
from my findings both will be devastating and you won't recover any of the 85gr ttsx no matter the shot angle
the BT you won't have the flexibility in shot angles as you will the 85gr ttsx. look forward to seeing what your results are. I've shot alot of game with the 257 now and it's a personal favorite
Ah, all becomes clear now. The need for speed is a terrible addiction; leads to overdosing on dancing bananas. ;-)
Nice ride though.
KH
Nice ride though.
KH
L1...........two points.
1) Not everyone is a meat hunter and not every animal hunted is destined to end up on a plate. Velocity has many positive aspects as well as the downside ones you have stated.
2) I drive my Ferrari to the corner store and the liquor store solely because I have one and I can..........
Don't hear anyone touting IMR 7828 so I will. Reformed 7mm REM W-W and 115 partitions at 3400ish FPS and 1/2" groups at 100Yards. No on game performance for me but sure makes some small groups. Vanguard Lazerguard was the platform. Sold it for a Backcountry that I have not shot yet but have high hopes for. Reloading makes the Bee no different to shoot than any other, aside from reforming brass which I found does not need to be fireformed to produce tiny groups. After the first firing I found partial resizing just to remove primer avoids headspace issues. Really like the caliber even if its not the most practical.
I got a good deal from Gagnons a few months ago, $20/box for 120gr Partitions, bought enough to last a lifetime. Hornady brass is about $1/pop so the 257 is not that painful to load n shoot.
Barnes are great match for this for boiler room shots, but I like explody bullets too....BT's, Speers, take a WT in the neck with those and it's game over quickly.
Great on yotes you don't want to keep too.
Barnes are great match for this for boiler room shots, but I like explody bullets too....BT's, Speers, take a WT in the neck with those and it's game over quickly.
Great on yotes you don't want to keep too.
The 257 Weatherby cartridge speaks for itself. If I were to choose one in a light firearm, I would would look at Legendary Arms. Prophet River Firearms does sell them where they come in a 26" barrel. I had a custom 257 Weatherby built with a 28" barrel that was most accurate and 100 grain. Nosler Ballistic tips reached 3,705 fps. It is a fantastic cartridge!
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Out shooting today; two of us with 14 rifles having a blast. Anyway, finally got around to chronographing the 115 Ballistic Tip/ 7828 load and it came in at 3450 fps out of a 24" Lazerguard which of course is a Vanguard with a fancy handle. Shoots too.
I too love my Lazerguard! It also loves IMR 7828 (69 gr) under a 115 gr NBT. Last deer I took was with this combo at 220 yards. Double lung with minimal meat damage and it fell right there. I wouldn't recommend this bullet at 20 yards though lol.
I'm rocking a Vanguard SubMOA in .257 and love it. Series one so installed a Timney and smartened it right up. I don't know if I'm lucky or cursed but it loves the factory stuff with a 115NBT. To the point we aren't sure if handloading can improve it but 115 Bergers are to be tested here real soon. Personally I haven't dropped the hammer on anything other than coyotes with it thus far but a couple friends have taken deer with it that I've witnessed and it really impressed me. Hoping to purpose it for Trophy Antelope this fall.
