A while back on a black bear hunt I found out how much velocity has to do with just how much damage a bullet does. Most of us armed with .30-06s and similar rounds, one of the guys had a .257 wby. We laughed at him calling his gun a pop gun and he took it offensively. A racoon walked out later and he said "I'll show you a pop gun!" Boom, he shot the racoon and the thing exploded like it had a belly full of TNT. I couldn't believe the effects that little 120 grain nosler had on the animal. I've shot smaller animals before with my '06 and never had results like that. Just goes to show how much velocity can effect how a bullet performs on game. It has completely changed the way I look at the small bore magnums. I fired the gun and it had less recoil than my '06 too! The .257 wby is an awesome little round. It has been added to the "needed rifles" list!!!

30 cal,

Rapid bullets expansion is the key point, not just velocity.

Being in Australia I have never shot a racoon but I have shot heaps of animals of similar size.

A 308 with 130 Speer hollow points is really something else, as is a 375 with 220 Hornady flat noses.

You shoulds see foxes hit up the rear end with a 220 flat nose from the 375 H&H or the 300 grain and 400 grain 45/70 bullets when fired froma 458.

I can assure a 257 Wby will look real pale by comparison.

Mike

30Cal,

From your statement I would say that the .257Wby and that particular bullet combination would make a very good varmitte
gun, but I would be very worried about its ability to penerate tissue and shoulder bone as far as Black bear goes. With a tougher bullet, maybe fine, but I would still prefer your 06 on a bear hunt.

Pete

30cal, I once worked up a hi-velocity load for my 223REM. A Nosler 40gr at around 3400fps. This load would pulverize ground squirrels out to 250yds. One afternoon I spotted a nice 32lb bobcat hunting gophers out in a pasture. The range was around 120yds, I had a bobcat tag and the season was open. The bobcat was unaware of my presence so I carefully dropped into the prone position and lined up the crosshairs on his broadside facing shoulder area. At the first shot the cat leaped about 3ft into the air and came down walking with a slight limp. When the cat stopped I fired again, this time the cat went down but rose again and started to run slowly towards a large oak tree to my left. The bobcat was still unaware of my presence, he stopped near the oak offering a third broadside shot so I whacked him a third time, he shook himself after this third shot, walked about 10 feet and layed down on his side under the oak tree. I waited 30 min before advancing on the spotted trophy(a wounded bobcat can be nasty, trust me!)I approached the cat's backside with my RugerMkII 22lr pistol drawn, the cat's eyes were closed,so I tickled him with an oak branch. In a flash the bobcat jumped at me with a low growl, I managed to jump back, his outstretched claws missing me by about a foot. I promptly dispatched him with a couple rounds from the Ruger22lr.(I wanted this one for a mount)

After skinning that cat I discovered two of the 40 NoslerBT hit in the shoulder area with no terminal effects. The other hit in the paunch area. All three bullets fragmented just under the hide, the fragments were small and did not penetrate over an inch or two. I've killed dozens of coyotes(and a few bobcats) with the 55gr NoslerBT with the same rifle with completely different results. It drops em!

Don't judge a big game cartridge on velocity alone or it's performance on raccoons.

Just my thoughts,
sure-shot

The 120 Nosler PARTITION will kill black bears as well as raccoons, but on a big, fat fall bear I would want to make sure I shot him broadside through the lungs.

The 257Wby can indeed be a great round, IS a great round in fact, but one problem that faces it would have to be the current trend in bullet making and barrel twist. For the size of the case, a 130gr or even 140gr bullet would do wonders as far as long-range work is concerned, me leaning toward the 130gr bullet [140 maybe be over-doing it in a standard length barrel]. Of course, rifling twist might, perhaps, need to be increased. What I can honestly say is that I have worked with the 257 Wby quite a bit, and it is one of my favorite rounds. I don't recommend ballistic tips for anything but light work normally, unless the range is greater, as they have a tendency to....as you say, explode. This isn't good, really!--unless you enjoy watching small animals dispense their anatomy across the blue yonder. For the bigger boys, Speer makes a flat-based 120gr bullet that holds up fairly well, there's the Partition bullet of course, and then the nearly armor-piercing 115gr Barnes--this combo will kill deer standing on the OPPOSITE side of a ten inch diameter poplar tree....talk about something to show your buddies.

Lex

The raccoon exploded, not the bullet. I believe the effect is called hydrodynamics. The tissue is displaced outward due to the 'influence' of the bullet. Its rate of displacement is so fast, the animal seems to explode.

I find this effect fascinating, and have seen it in animals as large as jackals when hit with a 300gr. Swift A-Frame from my .375

George

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Shoot straight, shoot often, but by all means, use enough gun!

I use the 115gr ballistic tip in my 257WBY with 70gr of Reloader22. This is a great combination for whitetails,antelope and mule deer.

It is a balance between speed and weight.

But neither compares to shot placement.

Think of it as a simple fact: throw a bullet at the first buck you see this year, then the second buck you see, deliver the same bullet with anything in rifle velocity speed. One feeds you, the other doesn't.

There is a time and a place for "weight" and the same can be said for "speed".

Passing a certain point with either, doesn't do us any good on a given particular game.