Parents are starting to get up there in age and the guns are starting to trickle down. Dad just gave me one of the Weatherbys. It's a South Gate .257 made in '68. When he get to where he can't hunt, the German .257 he's carring will come down too. I just popped a 3 pt muley a week ago and the darn thing didn't know what hit him. Here is the question/confusion:

First of all, that factory ammo is retardedly EXPENSIVE!!! Does that mean that it's more accurate??? My 30.06 comes in around $20 a box. Why the heck is this stuff pushing $50 a box?? The darn brass is so expensive that I even went back to where I shot my deer and took 15 mins to find the brass! lol

I do not load to save money. I load for accuracy. I love the tack driving my 22-250 is doing and my .06 is shooting better than ever. Would there be a gain in accuracy over the factory ammo if I reload? I want to think that an elf is hand loading each of the factory rounds which is why it cost so much. For those of you shooting this gun and caliber, what have you found to be true and some combos would be greatly appreciated!!!

oops

I would think that it all comes down to how much you shoot and what volume of ammunition you need.

I reload because I can and really enjoy the process, however, there is an economic component too, in that I could not make myself shoot the 338 Lapua at $5/round for factory ammo when I can stoke it for far less than a buck a pop.
So, as I see it, if you shoot the Wby. only to confirm sighting and then one or two rounds for that deer, don't bother reloading.
Just 2 cents worth of my ramblings.

Gary

well, one of the benefits for reloading IS saving money vs buying MOST ammo.

at 50 bucks a box, you are spending $2.50 per round. If you keep that brass, and you reload it about 100 fps, you should get 5-7 reloads out of it.
Lets got with 5, just to be easy

Its $35 per 20, to buy the brass or 1.75 per round

you cost for reloading 100 bullets (just to make it a good story, that's 5 loads for the 20)
$35 - brass20 piece
$5 - federal 215 primers (current rate) 100ct
$59.58 for 100 nosler partitions
$25 for 1# powder .. you will get a couple mpre than that out of a pound, but close enough
$124.58 /100
$1.25 per shot - factory is DOUBLE that of reloading

If you really want to drop your cose, drop back 200 fps, use a less expensive bullet, and get 10 reloads at least, per case ... you'll be at 75¢ before you know it, and cheaper than shooting the 30-06

jeffe

Yes reload! Price and performance are easily enhanced over factory fodder. With the 257, IMR-7828 and 110gr Accubonds are hard to beat. I love my 257.

+1 to the 110gr Accubonds. Also add the 110gr TSX.

I reload becasue its fun, economical, and I feel its the best way to get to know your rifle.

Make no mistake that I LOVE to reload. It's nice to drop an animal with YOUR round! I've been shooting the IMR 4064 my 22-250. Is that not a good powder for my 257? It would be nice to use ONE powder but I'm guessing that's not realistic huh? Are the demands (burn rate) of a mag like a wby such that you need a totally diff type of powder?

Just to clarify on the factory ammo question.....is there any data to back up that "Weatherby" ammo is is better than Rem. Win, Hornady...etc or is it just over priced? In other words, do you get what you pay for?

IMR-4064 is "WAY" too fast burning fo optimum performance in a 257 WBY. H-4831, IMR-7828, RL-22 & 25, and H-1000 will do best.

See.....this is why I keep you guys on the payroll! lol Thanks for the good info. When enough guys recommend the same thing like the IMR 7828...I start realizing this is at least the place to start.

i don't think win or rem even make weatherby rounds.
norma used to [maybe still does] make the weatherby brass and loads.

Yes the factory ammo is made by Norma for Weatherby. Norma also makes the Wby headstamped component brass. If it says "Norma" on it, it costs more.

I've never fired a factory round down my 257's bore, so I can't compare the accuracy of factory ammo to my handloads. With my pet handload, I can easily achieve sub-moa groups. Each rifle is an individual, and part of the "fun" is figuring out what your rifle likes to shoot.

Mine LOVES RL-22, Federal mag primers and 115 gr Nosler ballistic tips. Mine won't shoot RL-25 near as tight as the -22 powder. Also IMR 4350 and H-4831 didn't come close to the groups I got with RL-22.

Don't be surprised if your gun doesn't shoot the powder someone else recommends.

Do we know what powder Norma or the factory uses? If you say Gold Dust....I will probably believe you! =D

It seems that Barnes TSX 115 grain bullets and Norma MRP-2 powder are a good way to go.

lol,

That I can't help with, sorry, but I don't know what kind of magic powder they use, gold dust or no...

quote:

Originally posted by dubs22-250:
See.....this is why I keep you guys on the payroll! lol Thanks for the good info. When enough guys recommend the same thing like the IMR 7828...I start realizing this is at least the place to start.

Yep, I use IMR-7828 for my 257. I also use it for my 338-378 Wby. You want to talk about expensive factory ammo, $120 a box . When I buy factory ammo for the 257 it seems cheap now .

quote:

Originally posted by dubs22-250:
Do we know what powder Norma or the factory uses? If you say Gold Dust....I will probably believe you! =D

They use what is essentially Norma MRP and MRP2 for virtually all the Weatherby cartridges. By essentially I mean they use one of the two powders but it's made strictly for the factory ammo they make for Weatherby, themselves and other companies they load for. It's very temperature tolerant and I've been tempted to order some up for my reloading.

Ken....