.257 Weatherby Mag in the south?

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I've got a new Rem 700 LSS in 257 Wby coming to me as we speak, on a UPS truck somewhere in Illinois! :D I'm going to shoot 100 grain Barnes Tipped TSX bullets and try IMR 7828 to start. I should be able to get 3550 out of that combo without blowing anything up. I wouldn't use a standard SP bullet in the Wby. I had a 150gr Core-Lok blow up in a deer going in on a quartering toward shot from my .30-06 at 125 yards. Busted three ribs going in, DRT. No exit, but I couldn't find any bullet fragments bigger than a BB inside her. Bullet came completely apart. Push a similarly constructed bullet at 3500+ fps and you've got a varmint bullet. I am confident the TSX will hold together and perform whether the range is 5 yards or 500.

Mike
 
As has been said, fine choice for clearcuts/senderos. It will work fine the the woods, too. I'd go with .25-06 for cheaper ammo, but the Wby mag is really impressive ballistically if you are willing to pay for the ammo (or brass if you reload).
 
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No experience with the 257 WBY. I do have a 25-06. I learned in very short order that the heavier bullets perform better with the higher velocities that the 25-06 delivers.
I killed several mule deer with 100 gr. bullets. Any animal killed under ~200 yds. was dead in their tracks, but blood shot meat was a problem. One deer killed at about 50 yds was blood shot so bad that I lost entire front quarter. Bullet exploded on a rib and never entered the lungs. Switched to 117 or 120 gr. bullets. Problem solved. Good penetration regardless of range. Meat damage much reduced
I would expect the same kind of performance with the 257.
 
You can get some looong shots here in the South. Anyone who has ever hunted a 40 acre soybean field will tell you that. I think the .257Wby.Mag. throwing a Barnes-x would be great deer medicine.
 
I think you're going to enjoy your .257wby, TacBandit.

I got one a couple of years ago. I "rescued" it from a shop that had it and couldn't sell it because of the ~$60 a box ammo.

I'm a reloader and have been hunting/shooting a .257Roberts for about 25yrs and have lots of components.

Also, I bought 16lbs of some surplus WC-860 powder (pull down from .50bmg) to feed a .300RUM. Actually kinda reversed, and "rescued" that rifle from the "pound" likewise.......

A little know "factoid" is that you can form .257wby brass from 7mm RemMag brass. Yes, the cases end up about .050" short in the neck, but I havn't told my rifle, so it doesn't know the difference. I've got a LOT of "range" pickups from a public range, so, brass is essentially "free".

Hence, I'm shooting my .257wby cheaper than I can shoot the .257Roberts using "new" components. Much cheaper, and at, or under, MOA is the norm for accuracy with my Weatherby Vanguard.

I've shot several deer with my .257wby. The 100gr Hornady Spt (Interlokt) has done "fine!". Ditto the 120gr Speer "Hotcore". I didn't get good performance from the 115gr Nosler BallisticTip, however. (bullet "exploded" on impact, didn't penetrate, and deer escaped...had pictures of shards of "meat" hanging from nearby brush/trees to prove what happened). I Have some 110gr Hornady InterBonds, and some Berger 115gr VLD's loaded up, and on hand, but haven't had the opportunity to tag a deer with one. Also, some 120gr Nosler Partitions, but, those are no mystery, they simply WORK, so, I'm saving those for perhaps an elk hunt.....

The shots I've made on deer, even though hunting powerlines and cut-overs with up to 400yds+ shots possible, have all been 150yds or less.
Guess someone told the deer that there was no "escaping" so, they're just giving up......................making it "easy".

But, then that's what the .257Weatherby was intended to be; the "easy" button for table venison.........
 
I had wanted a 257 Weatherby for years now but could not find a rifle I liked. Then Remington came out with these and I hunted down a synthetic/stainless SPS. Attached a Leupold VX-II 3x9x40 but haven't even shot her yet. The weather is warming up though. Realistically it doesn't do much more than a 25-06 but what the hell...I wanted one! :p
 

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If 300 FPS across the entire range of bullets isn't "much more".

Good luck finding any 257 Weatherby brass. I've been looking for awhile and everybody's out of stock. I wound up necking down 270 Wby and 7mm Rem Mag brass (which is easy and MUCH cheaper than the Wby stuff). What's great about the 257 Weatherby is that it shoots flatter than a 300 RUM, but kicks less than a 270 Win, without needing a muzzle brake (it's still loud though). I really like mine, and I've printed a couple sub-.5 MOA groups with it during the first trip to the range for the initial load workup. Shot the fireform brass inside 1 MOA. Not too shabby for a bone stock Remmy.

Mike
 
I took a pronghorn last year with one using 100 grain triple shocks. Shot was under 100 yards hit behind the leg on the onside; broke the offside shoulder. Meat damage was minimal; pronghorn went straight down.
 
I bit the bullet and bought weatherby brass for mine. I would have used .264 Win brass if I hadn't.
 
At the distances I like to shoot driftrider both the 257 Weatherby and 25-06 are overkill for me. I like to see the "whites of their eyes" but it is comforting to know if one had to take a long shot the 257 Weatherby is as good as any and better than most. Considering the cost difference it was hard for me to justify the 257 Weatherby over the 25-06 but then I thought "this is America and I can spend my money any way I like"...so I bought the big Weatherby. Congratulations on your LSS acquisition.
 
well man 257 weatherby sweet gun! use a heavy! soft point bullet and slow it down. grab some 120 gr spitzer typed bullets. load some imr 4350 in it ans you can slow it down too 2700-2800 fps, this will work great as some southern whiteail medicine
 
The only thing that I've shot with my weatherby is an antelope inside of 100 yards. The thing that impressed me about the 100 grain triple shock is how little meat I lost. I put it behind the onside shoulder; it exited low through the offside shoulder. The offisde shoulder had a couple bone chips and a neglibile amount of bloodshot meat.
 
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