Yote/whitetail - 257 weatherby or .243

No one has mentioned that there are significantly more (and better) bullet choices for the 6mm's, especially in the lighter weight varmint bullets.

Other than that, as noted, the Weatherby is a much hotter cartridge than the 243. More velocity, recoil, and noise if any of that matters to OP.

Mark
 
I'd argue that you can always load down the .257 wby to make a 'yote "friendly" round. If you want to skin them, I'd recommend necking down to something smaller and shoot FMJ rounds. If you just want to get rid of a couple of varmints, why not make it a more humane end?

In my opinion, the .257 wby is a great all around cartridge, but you do need to reload to take full advantage of it. With good bullets it can easily take moose or elk. With lighter loads, its going to easily take out coyotes. And anything in between is a no-brainer.

If you really don't want to reload, go with the .25-06. Much cheaper, and very similar.

Hell, if you want the best of both worlds, buy the .25-06 and have your gunsmith ream it out to .25-06 AI. You can shoot off-the-shelf .25-06, and fireform to ackley in the process. Reloads will essentially match the .257 in terms of performance and ballistics.

But thats just how I feel about it. You don't have to agree with or even like what I said.
 
JustBen said:
If you really don't want to reload, go with the .25-06. Much cheaper, and very similar.

Hell, if you want the best of both worlds, buy the .25-06 and have your gunsmith ream it out to .25-06 AI. You can shoot off-the-shelf .25-06, and fireform to ackley in the process. Reloads will essentially match the .257 in terms of performance and ballistics.

But thats just how I feel about it. You don't have to agree with or even like what I said.
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just nitpicking here, but if you really dont want to reload, then get a .243.
.25-06 will cost you about $10 more per box of ammo, and youll find .243 just about anywhere but will actually have to look around for someplace that stocks .25-06.

hopefully this will change - like i said earlier i seem to notice a bit of a resurgence in .25-06. there are a lot of new rifles being chambered in it, which is a pleasant surprise.
 
JJ-65 said:
The armchair quarterback/hunters out there will never get what the .257 Weatherby is all about. In a word it's PERFORMANCE

With a .243 and a 100gr slug = 3000 fps. A 25-06 with a 100gr you. fps can reach 3350fps All 3 of my custom 26 in barrelled .257 Weatherbys reach 3800+ fps with 100gr factory ammo and my handloads using IMR 7828 with 100gr bullets.

For all those who think this is slightly faster than the .243 and .25-06, plunk your money down and see what real speed in a hunting rifle/cartridge is capable of in the field. :p
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What factory 100gr load gives you 3800+ fps? Weatherby's MV claim for 100gr ammo is between 3500 and 3600fps - and unless things have changed in the last decade most rifles won't hit those numbers. Even with handloads I felt I was doing well with 3600fps using 100gr bullets.

Back to the original question, I like the .257 Wby...and the .25-06...and the .243 Win.

The first two make for a better dual purpose big game/varmint rig, the latter burns less powder, recoils less and will still kill them dead. Barnes lists the new 80gr TTSX out of the 25-06 at 3800 fps and I'd be tempted to go that route.
 
The factory ammo # on the boxes is H257100SP/16502 they use Hornady bullets. My .257's have all had Shilen 1in 12 twist barrels
 
I loved the Weatherby Vanguard I had in .257 Weatherby...man, does it slam coyotes to the ground...INSTANTLY! :D

Mine was phenomenally accurate too...and yes, 7Mag brass is easily formed to .257W.
 
A .243 is like a Mustang, while the .25-06 is a Porsche. That makes the .257 Bee an Enzo.

Look at it like that. Most people will be fine with the .25-06, but there are some out there who like more, and are willing to pay for the expensive filters and oil changes.

Besides, when you're on the Prairie shooting the next quarter over, I like my Bee, and it's proven good out to 550 on white tail for me using the 100 grain Barnes loads.
 
CreamySmooth said:
A .243 is like a Mustang, while the .25-06 is a Porsche. That makes the .257 Bee an Enzo.

Look at it like that. Most people will be fine with the .25-06, but there are some out there who like more, and are willing to pay for the expensive filters and oil changes.

Besides, when you're on the Prairie shooting the next quarter over, I like my Bee, and it's proven good out to 550 on white tail for me using the 100 grain Barnes loads.
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Not to mention the $600 a pop tires to keep it together! You must have to use the ultra premium bullets just to have enough left to eat! Or do you just wait until he's better than a quarter mile away before you squeeze off? Seriously though, how badly blood shot is the meat with the big Weatherby? Can you still make a pair of mittens out of a coyote? :D
 
I ain't gonna lie to you. I wouldn't use the pelt to make mitts after the Bee gets done with it. Exit wounds on them is ugly, but I use the cheap soft points for Coyote. For deer I'm using the Barnes TripleShock load. Seems to work fine. I find I have less damage than guys using their "good ol' .30 ought Six". However, I find it's an extremely accurate round, and I really like it. I would have no problems using it on elk or moose either.

Anyway, if I want mitts, I can get a pair made from a close relative of the coyote right here where I am now....
 
tactical lever said:
Not to mention the $600 a pop tires to keep it together! You must have to use the ultra premium bullets just to have enough left to eat! Or do you just wait until he's better than a quarter mile away before you squeeze off? Seriously though, how badly blood shot is the meat with the big Weatherby? Can you still make a pair of mittens out of a coyote? :D
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I don't know how necessary the designer bullets are for this caliber. I mean, it's been around since 1944, killing the hell out of deer sized and up game. It did it, and made its reputation with some pretty ordinary bullets like plain old Hornadys in factory loads. Partitions have been going for years, but most of the premium bullets that they are loading are relative Johnny-come-latelys. This 66 year old cartridge will still be casually dumping game and dropping jaws long after some of the current flavor of the month bullets are long forgotten.
Depending on the bullet chosen the luckless critter that runs into one of these bullets may look like it got stabbed with a target arrow or mauled by a grizzly.
 
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