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I am starting to get some plans together for either a SA or Namibia hunt in 2008. I have used my 257 weatherby for all my hunting here in the States and am wondering what experienced African hunters think about the use of this caliber. I realized that for the larger antelope I would be better served with a larger caliber, but the 257 shoots excellent groups, 3 shots at 100 yds group consistently 1", with the Nosler 100 gr. partition. In fact the best shot I have ever made on a Mule Deer buck, downhill at 270 yds with the deer looking up at me. The bullet went through the front of the chest took out top of the heart, one lung, passed through the guts and was lodged in his right ham. The deer just did a nose dive and was done. Just looking for some two cents from you guys. Paul C | ||
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Paul, For areas that are wide open and the animals hunted to be deer size of smaller the 257 W would be excellent. On bigger game like kudu, eland, gemsbok you would probably be better served by a 30 caliber something or larger. Your 257 might work but you'd need to be very careful with the shots you took. It might be better to just have a rifle that would handle the worst case scenario on the biggest animal rather than trying to go marginal and hope for perfect shots. Mark MARK H. YOUNG MARK'S EXCLUSIVE ADVENTURES 7094 Oakleigh Dr. Las Vegas, NV 89110 Office 702-848-1693 Cell, Whats App, Signal 307-250-1156 PREFERRED E-mail markttc@msn.com Website: myexclusiveadventures.com Skype: markhyhunter Check us out on https://www.facebook.com/pages...ures/627027353990716 | |||
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Paul: I've been shooting the 257 for years. In my experience it is the most efficient deer killer I've ever used. Not a single one has ever taken more than one step. Roy Weatherby himself took it to Africa and took lots of game with it including zebra & buffalo. Having said all of that, there are calibers better suited for the larger species of plains game. Itf that's your only rifle, then use it, but you have to realize shot placement has to be practically surgical on the bigger animals. jorge USN (ret) DRSS Verney-Carron 450NE Cogswell & Harrison 375 Fl NE Sabatti Big Five 375 FL Magnum NE DSC Life Member NRA Life Member | |||
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Paul, although your .257 is capable of taking any of the African Plains Game, it would be pushing your luck to attempt to take some of the more resilient larger species. Wildebeast, Gemsbok, Zebra & Kudu to name a few. Wouldn't think of shooting Eland with it. Shot placement is the main objective, followed by a well constructed bullet with deep penetration. But I promise you this, not only are these very tough animals, if you wound it, you pay for it. I trust you are a decent marksman, but to save your ethics and wallet, I'd stay with the midsize PG and use another heftier caliber for the larger animals. Having successfully used a .223 on small to midsize African game, I gained the experience and knowledge to understand my limits, and anything over the size of Impala would be risky IMHO. I use a .280 on larger game (with the exception of Eland). Hope you have a great trip. Good hunting, LDK Gray Ghost Hunting Safaris http://grayghostsafaris.com Phone: 615-860-4333 Email: hunts@grayghostsafaris.com NRA Benefactor DSC Professional Member SCI Member RMEF Life Member NWTF Guardian Life Sponsor NAHC Life Member Rowland Ward - SCI Scorer Took the wife the Eastern Cape for her first hunt: http://forums.accuratereloadin...6321043/m/6881000262 Hunting in the Stormberg, Winterberg and Hankey Mountains of the Eastern Cape 2018 http://forums.accuratereloadin...6321043/m/4801073142 Hunting the Eastern Cape, RSA May 22nd - June 15th 2007 http://forums.accuratereloadin...=810104007#810104007 16 Days in Zimbabwe: Leopard, plains game, fowl and more: http://forums.accuratereloadin...=212108409#212108409 Natal: Rhino, Croc, Nyala, Bushbuck and more http://forums.accuratereloadin...6321043/m/6341092311 Recent hunt in the Eastern Cape, August 2010: Pics added http://forums.accuratereloadin...261039941#9261039941 10 days in the Stormberg Mountains http://forums.accuratereloadin...6321043/m/7781081322 Back in the Stormberg Mountains with friends: May-June 2017 http://forums.accuratereloadin...6321043/m/6001078232 "Peace is that brief glorious moment in history when everybody stands around reloading" - Thomas Jefferson Every morning the Zebra wakes up knowing it must outrun the fastest Lion if it wants to stay alive. Every morning the Lion wakes up knowing it must outrun the slowest Zebra or it will starve. It makes no difference if you are a Zebra or a Lion; when the Sun comes up in Africa, you must wake up running...... "If you're being chased by a Lion, you don't have to be faster than the Lion, you just have to be faster than the person next to you." | |||
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I have also hunted w/ .257wby for years,not in Africa, it is fine for whitetail deer and antelope but for large-bodied mule deer it is marginal. I use a 120gr premium bullet. It is marginal andyou can write that down. Dr.C At Home on the Range-Texas Panhandle | |||
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Look at it this way you are paying for the animals you kill and the ones you wound....But do you want to wound some of the bug guys by not having enough bullet??? Mike | |||
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Paul C, My two cents. I think general African hunting starts at the 7mm and goes up from there. However, my Father was a dyed-in-the-wool .257 Weatherby rifleman and hunted around the world with it. Bottom line: Use it and don't look back. | |||
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A wise first time African hunter will take the advice of the majority as hereinbefore posted and look to something bigger in the .30 caliber range. | |||
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Paul, Welcome to the forum. If I had a choice, I would go to something larger - like a 270 or a 30 caliber for all the plains game. But, If you really wish to use the 257 Weatherby, I suggest you use only premium bullets that are made of copper - like the Barnes X and others. And stick with the heavier bullet available. I am sure you will have no problems with any of the animals you shoot, provide, of course, you pick your shots, and place the bullet in the right place. Bullet placement, and penetration, are more important than the size of the bullet. At least that has been the case of my own experience. | |||
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If you were going to take something bigger for the larger plains game, I think the .257 would be great fun on springbok, impala, duiker, steenbuck, reedbuck and any of the smaller stuff. | |||
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Paul I hunted with some guys in Zim in 2002 that used the 257 they had no problem with impala,warthog and kudu. They did not shoot anything larger and they were using Barns X bullets. | |||
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In 2003 I spent a few months in Africa. I did a lot of meat hunting on open range catle farms in the northern provience. The rifle I used was a 257 Weatherby. I had zero problems with the rifle. I took several large animals like Kudu, Wildebeast, and even a Zebra. I used x bullets and Nosler Partitions....the X bullet was far more effective on the larger animals. The only down side of the Weatherby is that the damn thing is very loud...and the small bullet leaves a light blood trail. However I never lost a sing animal and even the PH's I hunted with were amazed at how well the little rifle performed. So my answer to your question is Yes the 257 will work fine provided you do your part...however like others had suggested...larger calibers are definitely better suited for african hunts. ****************************************************************** R. Lee Ermey: "The deadliest weapon in the world is a Marine and his rifle." ****************************************************************** We're going to be "gifted" with a health care plan we are forced to purchase and fined if we don't, Which purportedly covers at least ten million more people, without adding a single new doctor, but provides for 16,000 new IRS agents, written by a committee whose chairman says he doesn't understand it, passed by a Congress that didn't read it but exempted themselves from it, and signed by a President, with funding administered by a treasury chief who didn't pay his taxes, for which we'll be taxed for four years before any benefits take effect, by a government which has already bankrupted Social Security and Medicare, all to be overseen by a surgeon general who is obese, and financed by a country that's broke!!!!! 'What the hell could possibly go wrong?' | |||
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Paul, I used a custom 257 Weatherby on a couple of plains game hunts, the first time as my lighter rifle and the second as the primary gun. On the first hunt I used 115 Barnes X's and killed Nyala, Reedbuck, Steinbuk, Duiker and Mountain Reedbuck with it.........the Mountain Reedbuck was at over 400 yards!(That is where the round shines) As well as numerous baboons  The second time I took the gun to Arthur Rudmans's great place in the Eastern Cape and killed 3 Cape Kudu, a Zebra, Klipsringer, Vaal Rhebok and Black and White Springbok with it. For Vaal Rhebok, you couldn't devise a better rifle........ Last year I killed Red Hartbeest and Warthog with it in Namibia, though I would NOT have had a go at the bigger kudu, gemsbuck there with it. Get it shooting 115 TSX's and it will do fine for all but those bigger, more tenacious animals. Or better yet if Mike Brady of North Fork Bullets would make some 115's................  Verbera!, Iugula!, Iugula!!! Blair. | |||
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I took a .257 Wby to the Kalahari last year. It worked great on the wide open range - for springbuck amd other smaller species. I also tried it out on a Gemsbok, just out of interest. Based on that experience, the .257 Wby will not be my choice for Gemsbok in the future. I'm sure you can kill a Gemsbok with a .257, but the hole it puts in the animal is awfully small, and Gemsbok can be incredibly tenacious. To me, using a .257 for animals in this category is a stunt. There are just so many other calibers which will give you more of a margin. Good luck whatever you decide to do. - mike ********************* The rifle is a noble weapon... It entices its bearer into primeval forests, into mountains and deserts untenanted by man. - Horace Kephart | |||
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I really enjoy the quarter calibers especially the .257 Weatherby but unless your hunt is for blesbok, impala and gazelle sized game and smaller, I find I agree with the group that says a larger rifle is in order for a safari! I agree that the 7mm is a sensible minimum but prefer the .30's. Never know what you might run into in the bush with your rifle in hand and you want to be comfortable that the caliber you carry covers the gamut of game in your area! On the plains of hesitation lie the bleached bones of ten thousand, who on the dawn of victory lay down their weary heads resting, and there resting, died. If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue, Or walk with Kings - nor lose the common touch... Yours is the Earth and everything that's in it, And - which is more - you'll be a Man, my son! - Rudyard Kipling Life grows grim without senseless indulgence. | |||
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I took all my Namibian plainsgame with a 257 Wby including kudu and gemsbok. Using Barnes x all shots were "pass through's" except on quartering towards Gemsbok (bullet entered through the chest where the skin is 2-3 inches thick!) where the bullet was recovered on the offside under the skin. A good bullet like a Barnes X will have no problem on any of the plainsgame species IMO. AS you shoot it well, I would recommend you use that one. "...Them, they were Giants!" J.A. Hunter describing the early explorers and settlers of East Africa hunting is not about the killing but about the chase of the hunt.... Ortega Y Gasset | |||
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Why not use the 257 for the deer-sized plains game and have a larger caliber, like .338 for the elk-sized plains game? Lots of folks take 2 rifles on safari. My 25-06 and 85gr Barnes X bullets worked well on 6 springbok. (My PH recommended a centerfire 22 caliber!!!) Shots in Namibia can be long. A flat-shooting cartridge is a must. | |||
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The 257 weatherby is my favorite caliber- and i did pack it to Zim on my safari there. It was awesome for Impala, but I always had a 375 or 338 in my hands for bigger stuff. I would have had a go at kudu, but would draw the line there. The reputation of Zebra, wildebeest, and waterbuck are well earned, and I would not want to have shot any of them with the 257. I did however use it for a pile of long range dassies-and really wanted to snipe a baboon or 12 with it. I think it would be a great fit in the open range areas of Namibia and SA, but I would not consider it a one rifle battery. Len Hawkins | |||
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It would be perfection for springbuck just as it is for Wyoming antelope. It would also be great for Impala, etc. but I wouldn't want to shoot wildebeest and gemsbuck with one although it could be done. It would be fun for long-range baboons as well. A shot not taken is always a miss | |||
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As many others have said, it'll be fine for the smaller animals but not so good for the larger ones, however, I'll add that a lot will depend on where in Africa you choose to hunt. If you hunt the thick bushveld areas, you'll probably be doing a lot of your shooting at fairly close range and the calibre probably wouldn't be at it's best. If however you hunt the more open areas such as the Kalahari, you'll be shooting at much longer ranges and then the calibre will be performing at it's best...... | |||
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