Do I really need a .257 WBY?? Yup bought it!!
- Thread starter icehunter121
- Start date
- Location
- Somewhere on the Hudson Bay Coast
A .257 Weatherby is an incredible round, but then so is the .25/06, and I doubt that you could do anything with the Weatherby that you couldn't with the .25/06. Still, it is one Weatherby cartridge that doesn't attempt to rape you with the cost of brass, and the performance far exceeds most other quarter bores like the .250 Savage or the .257 Bob. If I was looking for a go fast cartridge, the .257 Weatherby would certainly be a contender.
Its funny how the description of some cartridges just grabs your attention. So it was with me from a description I once read concerning the .257 Weatherby, and I can still recite it at least partially right decades later . . .
"For those not familiar with it, the .257 Weatherby is the most devastating varmint cartridge ever developed. I touched off the shot with the normal results for the gun, grass caught fire on either side of the muzzle, birds faltered in flight from the blast, someone punched me rudely in the shoulder, and the chuck was vaporized. The farmer came roaring down the road on his tractor and asked if I was alright. I replied that aside from ringing ears I seemed to be in one piece; "Damnedest noise I ever heard, he exclaimed, I thought your rifle blew up!" That still giggles me up.
Its funny how the description of some cartridges just grabs your attention. So it was with me from a description I once read concerning the .257 Weatherby, and I can still recite it at least partially right decades later . . .
"For those not familiar with it, the .257 Weatherby is the most devastating varmint cartridge ever developed. I touched off the shot with the normal results for the gun, grass caught fire on either side of the muzzle, birds faltered in flight from the blast, someone punched me rudely in the shoulder, and the chuck was vaporized. The farmer came roaring down the road on his tractor and asked if I was alright. I replied that aside from ringing ears I seemed to be in one piece; "Damnedest noise I ever heard, he exclaimed, I thought your rifle blew up!" That still giggles me up.
The question posed is "Do I really need a .257 Weatherby?"
It's almost NEVER about NEED......
Good cartridge for sure, and there are lots of bullet weights and types available for the quarter-bores. Having said that, I cannot recall loading any really light bullets for this cartridge.
And I would echo the comments about the .25-06, it is pretty similar in terms of ballistics and also a versatile cartridge. IIRC you can get about 200fps and 200 foot-pounds more from the Wby with the same weight bullet.
Anyways, the nice thing about buying a used rifle chambered for .257 Wby is that somebody else will want it if and when it needs to go to a new home, and one is not likely to lose much money taking it for a test drive.
Doug
It's almost NEVER about NEED......
Good cartridge for sure, and there are lots of bullet weights and types available for the quarter-bores. Having said that, I cannot recall loading any really light bullets for this cartridge.
And I would echo the comments about the .25-06, it is pretty similar in terms of ballistics and also a versatile cartridge. IIRC you can get about 200fps and 200 foot-pounds more from the Wby with the same weight bullet.
Anyways, the nice thing about buying a used rifle chambered for .257 Wby is that somebody else will want it if and when it needs to go to a new home, and one is not likely to lose much money taking it for a test drive.
Doug
Roy also took some other nasties with it such as a cape buffalo with one shot, just to prove he could. He always used nosler partitions for everything. Although people don't recommend it for moose it is a more than capable round. Make a good shot and it will drop them the same as anything else. It typically has more energy than a 270 or 303, which as considered suitable for moose.
You already have dies, brass and bullets you say? Then of course you need the rifle, in fact it would be financially irresponsible NOT to have a rifle to use those components in. No use letting good components go to waste.
Well as I am sitting here this morning I found a WBY Vanguard sporter in .257 located 2 hours from me. An it just so happens that above said 2 hours from me is where I will be on Tuesday morning. I just happen to have brass,dies ,slugs and all the fixins to make it work out. Its the blued model with walnut stock and I handled one b4 and told myself that I need one. It will be just a s**ts and giggles rifle and I always wanted to use a .257 on speed goats...Oh and its brand new and just a smidgeon over 600 bucks for it.
So help me justify it...I havent bought a rifle in over 2 months now and think I am suffering withdrawals...I need some CGN therapy...
Sounds like it's a predetermined outcome. I'm going the .257 Roberts AI route which should run about 300fps less. Enjoy your new rifle.
So it`s been a day already, you must have decided to buy it right. You don`t want to wait to long or it will be gone, then the ass kicking begins.
They have the rifle on hold for me...
Hah if I had a girlfriend I would tell that her all those have expiry dates on them and I cant waste them...but since I am single thats another good reason to buy it...no one to ##### me out when I got home with it...
Hah if I had a girlfriend I would tell that her all those have expiry dates on them and I cant waste them...but since I am single thats another good reason to buy it...no one to ##### me out when I got home with it...
While you are single you should learn the stealth tactics that will stand you in good stead if at some future time you should acquire, through chance or planning, a spouse/significant other. So SNEAK the gun into the house and stash it!
Doug
My latest stealth tactics = all of my rifles/handguns are stainless steel with black/gray laminate stocks my wife can't tell if a new one has come into the house or not...
VERY GOOD indeed.
I can't do that because they don't make rifles in a lot of the chamberings that are interesting to me, so I buy other people's hand-me-downs. If they have a 28" Pac-nor barrel put on, and a purple painted fiberglass stock, that's what comes through the door when I am trying out that .22-280 Ackley Improved, or whatever caught my eye last time..........
I don't think that even Imelda Marcos spent as much on shoes as "some of us" might spend on shootin' irons...............
"nothing shoots flatter, hits harder or is more accurate" than a Weatherby.
So when comparing the 25-06 for example you still come up short by 200 fps when comparing the 257 Wby.
It really doesnt mean much except when sitting around the fire drinking and shooting the breeze or reliving the days hunt with that spectacular one shot kill at 100 yrditis, you know the one where the yardage gets longer and longer each time the events are told...
Me, I talked myself into the cartridge after buying the vanguard series gun for super cheap of course I was a little excited by the published velocities too.
When I touched off that first round I was impressed by the bark and the felt recoil was cool too.
By the time I had five shots down range on paper I convinced this combo was as good as the target provided with the new gun.
Tighter than the 1-1/2 '' guarantee in a non custom built over the counter gun.
All of this added to the confidence when taking it into the bush.
Buy it if you like it is my .02 advice.
Rob
So when comparing the 25-06 for example you still come up short by 200 fps when comparing the 257 Wby.
It really doesnt mean much except when sitting around the fire drinking and shooting the breeze or reliving the days hunt with that spectacular one shot kill at 100 yrditis, you know the one where the yardage gets longer and longer each time the events are told...
Me, I talked myself into the cartridge after buying the vanguard series gun for super cheap of course I was a little excited by the published velocities too.
When I touched off that first round I was impressed by the bark and the felt recoil was cool too.
By the time I had five shots down range on paper I convinced this combo was as good as the target provided with the new gun.
Tighter than the 1-1/2 '' guarantee in a non custom built over the counter gun.
All of this added to the confidence when taking it into the bush.
Buy it if you like it is my .02 advice.
Rob
Either you two are doing it wrong, or they are getting a benefit some how. Have you ever met the pool boy?
