I'm not sure if it can be done or not. the Shoulder would the the key issue. The 7mag brass would be a little shorter. The question I would ask is. If you are going to the trouble and expense of having a new 257 Wby built. Why are you worrying about a few $$ over the life of the rifle. If you bought 40-60 cases at an incremental $20-30 you would have enough brass to last for a long time. Headspace on the shoulder and you will increase the life further. Just sounds like false economy to me.
Posts: 12881 | Location: Mexico, MO | Registered: 02 April 2001
Looking at the cartridge drawings, I would say yes. You might have to set the shoulder back just a pinch, and the neck thickness could be a problem, but it looks do-able. - Dan
Posts: 5285 | Location: Alberta | Registered: 05 October 2001
Mike -- I have been shooting the .257 Wby for three years now and frankly I would not shoot anything but Norma Brass. A great cartridge, but I wouldn't try to build the shoulder of the Weatherby. It may be simple, but for me, I would go Norma. The last time I ordered Sinclair was the cheapest source. Good shooting.
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[This message has been edited by phurley (edited 01-25-2002).]
I can't speak directly from experience about the 257, but I KNOW that it's the way to go for the 270 Wby. The best brass I ever used in the 270wby was WW 264 brass, with WW 7mmRem brass running a close second. A lot harder than Wby, AKA Norma, brass. Cheaper, as well. Run the other brass into your 257Wby resizing die, and you got instant 257Wby brass. The first firing may fireform a bit, but then you have excellent, fire-fitted, hard based brass. Hope this helps.
Posts: 235 | Location: British Columbia | Registered: 08 November 2000
fyi--I made my .270 wby from rem 7mm wby. Then I thought--I'll take that .270 down to .257. It did not work--it crushed the shoulder/neck area. At least in my dies it didn't work. I think I too would look at the new federal offerings--also hornady looks like it's starting to make offerings for weatherby.
It is a one pass operation in a 257Wby FL die,to yield 257Wby cases via 7mmRemMag brass or 264Winmag brass. The necks are a smidge short,but that is it. I've built/shot 100's of them.
My favorite 257Wby brass is the Remington 7mmWby brass,necked down. It is tougher than the Norma,by far...............
Whenever utilizing a different case,to yield end result brass and you are suffering case failure,there is an easy fix. In lieu of using the desired case's FL die,use it's bullet seating die,to make the initial forming operation. Then re-lube and size as per usual in the FL die.
With Hornady OneShot you can take 7mmWby R/P cases,to 257Wby in a single pass,via the FL die,just as fast as you can get them in the shellholder.
I quit shooting "real" 257Wby hulls,once I found the R/P brass was tougher..........
I know my post is a month later than the rest, but don't forget, that Remington has made 257 Wea. in Extended Range ammo for at least a few years. I have 10 boxes in the 122 gr. bullet. They seem to shoot fine, but I got a great deal and bought them just for the brass. I saw two more boxes at a gun show for only $15.00 each. Funny thing is, I can't find this mentioned on their website or in any order catalog.
Posts: 323 | Location: Keithville, La. USA | Registered: 14 February 2002
W. Wilson, I hate to say it but Remington has discontinued making ammo for the 257 & 270 & 7nmm Weatherby... They also have discontinued making brass available for the 7mm Weatherby too... What a shame! Maybe just Maybe Remington will come to their senses and start producing it again.... I won't be holding my breath...
Posts: 193 | Location: AR | Registered: 11 April 2001
With Hornady OneShot you can take 7mmWby R/P cases,to 257Wby in a single pass,via the FL die,just as fast as you can get them in the shellholder.
I remember when I first started reloading, I had a .308 and a heap of .270 & 30/06 empty brass, so I made .308 cases by cutting the longer stuff down and running it through my .308 FL die. Worked perfectly well, and used to get alot of funny looks when guys looked at the headstamps on the cases.
She was only the Fish Mongers daughter. But she lay on the slab and said 'fillet'
Posts: 511 | Location: Auckland, New Zealand. | Registered: 22 February 2006
