I am looking for something new to play with.
Does anybody have experience with the 257JDJ ?
Thinking about a 14" Contender barrel.
Will use for plinking and Whitetails.
I have a 7x30Waters and 358JDJ so looking for something smaller.

Thanks for any information.

I used one in a 14" SSK Contender barrel quite a bit in the 90s. Re-15 is about the best powder you'll find for it, and you can expect 2850 fps with 85s and 2600 to maybe 2650 fps with 100s.

While I took game with the 85 grain Ballistic Tip and 87 grain Hornady SP, I preferred the 100 grain BT as it seemed to be a bit more authoritative on game. But all three of those bullets put game on the ground for me, and you really can't go wrong with any of them.

You may want to take a look at the 257 Raptor. It is a 204 Ruger necked up to .25 caliber. I have one in a 14" Contender barrel and I am shooting 87 grain Hornady SP's at 2665 fps. No recoil and outstanding accuracy.

I used one this fall to harvest this nice Sika deer.

Who builds the 257 Raptor?

Gary Reeder

I've used a 14" .257 JDJ for about a dozen years. It's plenty accurate for prairie dogs and plenty powerful for deer size game. Very very little recoil. I run a 100 gr. Nosler BT or Hornady at 2620 fps, using RE 15. I highly recommend it.

Thanks for the info.
Is your barrel a factory 25-35 rechamber or a SSK new build? To get that 2620 fps was the load hard on the frame?

It's an SSK barrel. No apparent problems with pressure. Well over a thousand rounds fired.