Confused ............ Why the sudden upsurge in interest in the .257 Wby?

[Lloyd Smale]

how does that #1 264 shoot. Id dearly love to have one!

Hunters I've known seem to go through a progression.  They get their first deer rifle, then they get a magnum rifle and start reloading.  They read several loading manuals cover to cover and droul over the velocity figures of magnum cartridges.  They get bitten and then purchase a few magnums.  Once they shoot them for a dozen years and get a few gray hairs to boot, they setgo back to a standard caliber and discover that accuracy is just a better, deer drop just as dead, and they have a lighter rifle to carry in the field.  Ain't no turning back at this point.  No more magnums.

I guess I live in a time warp!  I just bought another "volume" rifle, a 308 Rem SPS Tact, about to slip a Chote stock on it, but I am also working with a 264WM Number 1. Been shooting serious rifles since the mid 70's. Me and a friend I have known for years still are quite fond of the 300WM rounds, both of us shooting those dreadful heavy Sendero's. Both std. & magnums have their place for some & not for others.
And I kinda like that, I really don't want to be placed in some catagory just because I have shot for a long time.
And really for those who want a light rifle, getting one in 257Wea. is no trick, as the MKV Ultra lite does it well & others are easy to build, as the 257Wea. (the cartridge in question) is mild in recoil.
To each his own 

[nomosendero]

how does that #1 264 shoot. Id dearly love to have one!

Hunters I've known seem to go through a progression.  They get their first deer rifle, then they get a magnum rifle and start reloading.  They read several loading manuals cover to cover and droul over the velocity figures of magnum cartridges.  They get bitten and then purchase a few magnums.  Once they shoot them for a dozen years and get a few gray hairs to boot, they setgo back to a standard caliber and discover that accuracy is just a better, deer drop just as dead, and they have a lighter rifle to carry in the field.  Ain't no turning back at this point.  No more magnums.

I guess I live in a time warp!  I just bought another "volume" rifle, a 308 Rem SPS Tact, about to slip a Chote stock on it, but I am also working with a 264WM Number 1. Been shooting serious rifles since the mid 70's. Me and a friend I have known for years still are quite fond of the 300WM rounds, both of us shooting those dreadful heavy Sendero's. Both std. & magnums have their place for some & not for others.
And I kinda like that, I really don't want to be placed in some catagory just because I have shot for a long time.
And really for those who want a light rifle, getting one in 257Wea. is no trick, as the MKV Ultra lite does it well & others are easy to build, as the 257Wea. (the cartridge in question) is mild in recoil.
To each his own 

So far very good. I started with 120gr. BT's & going roughly .75". I have had some delays with some family business but hope to try 140 A-Max & Partitions next. I think it is going to surpass my expectations.

[charles p]

I was never a big fan of the 270 until I loaded my plain vanilla 700 ADL with a Boyd stock, with Sierra 140 grain bullets.  It is a great long range rifle for me now.  Strange thing, I got the rifle in a two for one trade 20 years ago.  It was unfired.  I didn't take it out of the house until about three years ago.  It is now the rifle I loan my guests.  They can shoot it comfortably, they have confidence in it, and it turned out to be a darn accurate rifle.  I typically shoot a 7-08 or 308 when whitetail hunting because my rifles in those calibers are light and handy.
 
I'm a big 25-06 fan also.  It is my beanfield rifle. 

[yooper77]

I never wanted a belted or non-belted magnum rifle cartridge because of my dad. He was born in 1923 and never used anything larger than a 30-06 Springfield for big game. I have found over the years that I have never been under gunned using a cartridge based off either the 30-06 Springfield or 308 Winchester parent cases. Its never been about the velocity, but accuracy an actual hunting at ethical ranges.
 
yooper77

[Lloyd Smale]

My hawkeye does its best with the 120 bt too. Kills deer like the hammer of thor too. Ive shot over a dozen  deer with that bullet from a 150-500 yards and dont remember one ever taking more the a leap before piling up. It does alot less meat damage then some anti magnum guys will proclaim. But like i said most of them are pulling there opinions out of a body orfice not from actually using the caliber.

how does that #1 264 shoot. Id dearly love to have one!
 
So far very good. I started with 120gr. BT's & going roughly .75". I have had some delays with some family business but hope to try 140 A-Max & Partitions next. I think it is going to surpass my expectations.

[Dogshooter]

I happened on a Vanguard in .257 at a gun show and while I was thinking about buying it I came across another table that had all kinds of once fired brass. I went back and bought the rifle for $250, then returned to the guy with the brass. He had all of the different caliber brass priced alike. I got 10 boxes of .257 brass, in the original Weatherby boxes, for $5 per box. After shooting this rifle for a year or two, I was so impressed with the accuracy, I went and bought a Mark V Ultra Lightweight. I have used it now for 4 years and it gets out of the safe more than any other gun I have. I have taken Mule Deer, Elk, (both at relatively short ranges) and Anteloipe out to a rangefinder distance of 627 yards. The recoil (or lack thereof) is a bonus. My deer and elk season run concurrently for a week or so this year and I will probably take my 270 and 300 as backups but most likely will be carrying the .257 in the woods. 

[nomosendero]

I happened on a Vanguard in .257 at a gun show and while I was thinking about buying it I came across another table that had all kinds of once fired brass. I went back and bought the rifle for $250, then returned to the guy with the brass. He had all of the different caliber brass priced alike. I got 10 boxes of .257 brass, in the original Weatherby boxes, for $5 per box. After shooting this rifle for a year or two, I was so impressed with the accuracy, I went and bought a Mark V Ultra Lightweight. I have used it now for 4 years and it gets out of the safe more than any other gun I have. I have taken Mule Deer, Elk, (both at relatively short ranges) and Anteloipe out to a rangefinder distance of 627 yards. The recoil (or lack thereof) is a bonus. My deer and elk season run concurrently for a week or so this year and I will probably take my 270 and 300 as backups but most likely will be carrying the .257 in the woods.

Wow, did you find a deal & it looks like that great find was a gamechanger for what you use!! And those Ultra Lightweights are really neat. Is it a shooter?

[Dogshooter]

Suprisingly, the Vanguard gets a little bit better groups than Ultra Lightweight with factory loads. Still tweaking the reloads. But what it's getting now ain't bad at all!