Has anyone used the 257 Wby Mag on Elk? How did it do? Mine will be my back up gun to my 300 this year. Tell me your results.

Good afternoon, in the fall of '66 I shot a 6 pt bull in Idaho's Selway/Bitteroot with a .257 Weatherby. This was the elk of a lifetime, I was just 20, because it was bugled in to within 30 yards. Needless to say, that old 117 Hornady round nose was near muzzle velocity as it entered the rib cage and took out the heart. I wouldn't try it again. I use a .340, 225 grain partitions today. For the price and degree of difficulty, I suggest a bigger gun. good shooting

My gunsmith does every year and wouldn;t complain about a thing.

A gentleman I know has taken 14 bulls, ranging from spikes to 6x6's with his 257 Weatherby. He swears by the Nosler partition, and it works well for him.

Joel Slate
Slate & Associates, LLC
The Safari Specialists
www.slatesafaris.com

I just spoke with my local Game Warden who carries an older WBY in .257 mag as his "work" rifle during big game season. he uses it to finish wounded animals as well as taking his own deer and the occasional elk when off duty. He uses 120 partitions religiously , loaded to WBY velocity. His exact words when I asked him his opinion on the .257 for elk; "It will work, but there are better choices". What does he carry when specifically looking for elk/ A .338 Win mag with 225's or 250's. He further stated that cows and spikes are one beast, yet a truly large bull is yet another. h e takes cows with the .257 and uses his .338 when he feels he may encounter a good bull.
He also mentioned that one needs to use heavy bullets, he felt that Barnes X in 120 grain flavor would work very well. And to follow up your shots as many of the elk he shot really gave no apparent sign of being hit until they dropped a short time later.
Talk about straight from the horses mouth!

Hope this helps........ FN

I shot a number of elk with the 250 Sav. and a 257 Robts a number of years ago and had no real problems, other than I had to shoot them a couple of times, so the Wby should work...I don't use the light calibers anymore..I prefer the 338 for elk, since I hunt in the timber and my shots are usually going away or angled...

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Ray Atkinson

ray@atkinsonhunting.com
atkinsonhunting.com