257 Weatherby

[saltydog]

I believe Weatherby reduced the freebore in factory MV's from the orginal chamber specs in W German made rifles. So if you have an older 257 you should check your to see if you need to increase you OAL to maximize performance.

[Lone Star]

When Weatherby changed manufacture from Germany to Japan in the early 1970s, the original 0.75" freebore was reduced to ca. 0.37".  That is still long enough not to be able to reach the rifling with most bullets and still have loaded rounds function in the magazine.



.

[whsk]

those vanguards will shoot-mine does 1/2 inch or less with the 100 grain NP-i like real well-3 bucks with 3 shots proably don't think much of it-whsk

[fatercat]

damn good elk gun! 120 gn. nosler partitions

[Graybeard]

This is a real old thread recently brought back to life. I had kinda forgotten about it really.

My Remington 700 LSS is a real shooter. I've worked up loads for it with both the Barnes 115 TSX and Nosler 120 PT that have shot half inch three shot 100 yard groups and both loads stay well under an inch all the time.

[Lloyd Smale]

ny vanguard gets a steady diet of 115 partitions and re22. It shoots them into 3/4s of an inch for 5 shots all day long. There may be alot more powerful rifles out there but nothing that is soft recoiling hits with the athority of the 257

[jkelite]

I won a Remington rifle chambered in 257 Weatherby. I've read a great deal on the caliber and it seems like there are many opinions on game larger than deer. I have a moose trip planned in Newfoundland in October 2010 and would like to take it but most people say it's a little on the light side. Shot placement, shot placement, shot placement but is there anyone out there that has taken a moose with this caliber? Any suggestions would be appreciated.

[jkelite]

My mistake the upcoming hunt is this year 2011

[Graybeard]

I like mine but it would stay home and my identical .30-06 would go if moose were on the menu. I've read several folks say they've killed elk with one and that elk are tougher to kill than moose but personally I'd not bet the cost of a moose hunt that it would work.

Should you elect to do it tho I'd stick with the two bullets I use the Barnes 115 TSX or the Nosler 120 PT. Even so I'd use more gun for moose and elk too for that matter.

[jkelite]

Bill thanks for your reply. I am tending to agree but then I look at ballistic charts and see that a 257 120 grain bullet at 200 yds has more muzzle energy than a 180 grain coming out of the 30-06. Based on those numbers you'd think it to be more than enough gun. I've been reloading both the bullets you suggest but haven't hunted them yet. I was planning to use the gun for a crop damage tag on deer to see just how bad this caliber was. If there is anyone out there that knows of someone that has taken a moose with one I'd appreciate hearing about it.

[Lloyd Smale]

ft lbs of energy doesnt mean much. What you need for something like moose is penetration. I love the 257 and its one of my favorite long range deer guns for crop damage shooting but it just isnt going to give reliable penetration on animals that big. No doubt it would kill a moose with a well placed shot 95percent of the time but it takes a precision placed shot that will avoid big bones. I dont use the 257 for normal whitetail hunting either as even on deer at close range bullets can come apart. Used for what it does best. Shooting deer from 200-400 yards theres not much better though. It kills like a lightning bolt.

[fatercat]

i killed a 6X6 elk last year with 257 weatherby 120 NP. appox. 300 yds. pass through on all shots. went through center of hip bones. roy killed water buffs. with his. plenty of gun for moose.

[jkelite]

Fatercat, thanks for your info. Question? are you reloading and if so what recipe did you find worked best for your gun. I've been experimenting so far and haven't narrowed it down for my gun just yet.

[nomosendero]

i killed a 6X6 elk last year with 257 weatherby 120 NP. appox. 300 yds. pass through on all shots. went through center of hip bones. roy killed water buffs. with his. plenty of gun for moose.

Personally, I have bigger guns & would rather have the extra killing power of one of those.

I have no doubt about the pass through on your Elk, I have used the 25-06 & AI for Deer & Hogs, I never recovered a 115TSX or a 120 NP. Afterall, the 120NP has almost identical SD to the 140GR. 270, 150 gr. 7mm & more than the 165gr. 30 cal.    But, I would rather have a 160 gr. or heavier 7mm or 180 or greater 30 cal, etc to give me the insurance & potential for a little more penetration & also importantly a larger wound path to shoot a little further with good power or if a sharper angle shot is necessary.

To me it is not to the same degree, but similar to using a 223 on Whitetails. A 223 with the right bullet will kill any Deer in the woods, however the angles you can use are limited & so is the range. So, it kills Deer, but not a rifle I would take to a Deer hunt off somewhere.

It is more logical for me to take a bigger gun & be better equiped for more situations.

[fatercat]

i'm using imr 7828 i think 69gns(check your load book) and getting 3300+- with nosler partions. 3/4" group. using crony. most people making coments have never shot anything with the 257 weatherby. kicks about like a 270 , kill hell out of a moose and most anything else.  

[nomosendero]

kill hell out of a moose and most anything else

   

I don't see where anyone here said the 257 wea. would not kill a Moose, but some including me stated that other
rounds would be better for the job. All this was in response to someone asking if anyone here has killed a Moose with the round. It looks like no one here has, so we are all offering opinions here.

I am a 25 cal. fan, as most here know. My favorites are 25-06, 25-06AI, the 257 Wea. & really like the possibility
of a 25-300Win. I havn't built a 25-300Win, wanted to but I bought a 264WM. I found out as Cartridges of the World stated correctly years ago that the 264WM is a virtual duplicate of the 257Wea. in the lighter bullets in performance & recoil, with the added bonus of heavier bullets that will give you per. no 25 cal can match. So I don't guess I need to bother with that wildcat.

But in the end if a Moose hunt comes up for me soon, it would make more sense for me to grab my 300WM as it will group with any of my hunting rifles. Again, just a desire to use a better tool for the job.

[jkelite]

I appreciate the responses from everyone. If anyone hears of someone that has used this caliber on a moose I'd appreciate hearing from them via the list. I may just try it and see what it does and have my hunting partner back me with a larger caliber incase . I'll let you all know the outcome in October. Thanks again to everyone. This has been helpful.
John

[nomosendero]

I appreciate the responses from everyone. If anyone hears of someone that has used this caliber on a moose I'd appreciate hearing from them via the list. I may just try it and see what it does and have my hunting partner back me with a larger caliber incase . I'll let you all know the outcome in October. Thanks again to everyone. This has been helpful.
John

Good luck on your hunt!!

I am sure if you are careful you will do fine.

look forward to hearing about it!

[shot1]

A custom barreled rifle in any caliber will cost more than most factory rifles. BUT with the custom built rifle you get what you want, it will be quality, you can have it throated any way you want and 99.9% of the time they will be more accurate. I have a friend in the gun store business. He got a Rem 700 7mm Rem mag that had the barrel shot out for a song. He got a brand new SS fluted 25-06 barrel that a fellow took off a new Sendero for practically nothing. He bought the Sendero just for the action and stock to make into another caliber. My friend had the Sendero barrel put on the 700 action and had it re-chambered to 257 Weatherby. It was finicky about what load it wanted to shoot but when the load was finally found it would shoot bug holes. 117 Sierra prohunter with H-870 powder velocity was a little over 3200 fps. With a 3" high zero at 100 yards all you had to do was hold in the center of a deers shoulder out to 400 yards squeeze the trigger and you would hear the bullet go POP and the deer would go FLOP.

I shoot a Rem 700 with a 26" Shilen #6 SS barrel in 25-06. With the 117 Sierra prohunter and 49 grs IMR 4350, CCI 250, Rem case I get 3000 fps. With a 3" high zero at 100 yards I can center hold a deer shoulder out to 350 yards with the same results.

Now if you really want a really reach out there like a laser beam and thump anything from an elk on down take that Rem 700 mag action and screw you a 28" barrel with an 8 twist and have it chambered in 264 Win. Mag. I have one with a 27 3/4" Shilen barrel (all I could get out of a 28" blank) and with Retumbo powder and 130 gr Nosler Accubonds I get 3350 fps and it just hammers deer. With a 3" high 100 yards zero just hold center of deers shoulder out to 450 yards and its dead. Don't let the old wives tells about the 264 Win mag being a barrel burner scare you off. It is not any worse a barrel burner than any large case 30 cal mag and under. The bad barrel burner rep came because it was one of the first big case smaller bore mag calibers and people started going out and shoot up p-dog towns with them and shooting the barrel hot. A 7 mag would do the same thing. I have had MUCH better deer killing performance from my 264 Win mag that I ever did with the 7 Rem mag that I had.