Its one hell of a positive killer, long range and has a great reputation, but not all that popular in the states for whatever reason, my guess is its so damn destructive on game meat..I found that to be my reasoning..You had to wait until the animal ran 300 yards before you shot if you intended to have steaks..

I now have a 257 Ackley, and Ive only shot a couple of coyotes with it using the 100 and 110 gr. bullets, I have a hunch it is also too destructive on meat and fur..I will try the 120 gr. Grand Slams etc. and see how that goes, but I may in fact end up keeping it as its so accurate, and my fireforming loads are 120 gr. at 2500 FPS and that will be my deer bullet this coming season..That might be a good option for the 257 Wby. I didn't think along those lines in my younger days with the Wby. And yes at one time my goal was to hunt with a 100 gr bullet at 4000 FPS! I only ate backstraps I guess! (humor) thought I better add that, some are void you know..

quote:

Originally posted by Blair 338RUM:
I have taken a 257 Wby to Africa 3 or 4 times. I shot most of the Tiny Ten with it and the 90gr XBT.

It also killed 3 Cape Kudu. And 2 zebra with broadside shots.

If I was loading for it now I'd try the 100gr and 115 TSX for Africa or even the Swift bullets.

Rl-22 for the 100's and Rl-25 for the 115's.

The recoil is negligible even for a small woman, but the blast is something else.

I would consider putting a top of the line suppressor on the rifle.

Yes it makes the rifle more unwieldy but the PH and trackers will appreciate it as will your daughter.

I might get around to getting a suppressor for it. Zebra are hard to get down . .

quote:

Originally posted by Dogleg:

quote:

Originally posted by TexKD:
I want to see the lightning. I am pinning its hunting, at least initially, on the bullets that get "good" expansion at those velocities and that get good penetration too. If some fragmentation occurs then that is ok too. But as light as these bullets are I would prefer them not to get too much fragmentation and as a result then have less penetration. On the smaller and lighter whitetail deer or pronghorn sized game it is less of a concern.

I hope the Weatherby RMA for the brake comes soon as I'd like to get that done and get some bullets flying from the barrel.

I have a good feeling about this 257.

We used the 257 Weatherby a fair bit shooting CWD mule deer and whitetail. Our whitetails rival the size of the mulies here; sure the biggest mulies are bigger, but they arent all bigger. There’s a lot of overlap. Most of this shooting was with 100 grain ballistic tips. Exits were rare, but an animal taking a single step was likewise very rare. I’d worked up the load for my lower teenage son, an as a show of solidarity bought another .257 and used the same load in mine. If theres such a thing as a lightening bolt with a trigger that was it.



Somewhat later I did some fallow and red-deer culling with still another .257. It stubborniy refused to shoot the 100 grain Ballistic tip, or any Partition but was great with the 115 NBT, 100 Scirroco and 110 Accubond. This rifle has a 24” barrel, and if it gave up sometbing in tbe field I couldnt detect it. Managed to take a couple hundred head with that one for powder- burn rsnge out to 700 with most in the 3-500 bracket. Tbe 115 handled itself rather nicely (not different than the Accubond), but if you were concerned penetration the 100 grain Scirroco was good for shooting through two reds anytime you can line the right two deer up. There is also a noticeable difference in recoil, which might make a difference to your daughter. So anyway, a few hundred deer, a couple moose, and more than a few bears later I’m OK with Roy’s favorite cartridge. As a side note, I cant stand the Barnes bullets in it. Once you’ve had the lightning its obvious when it doesn't show up.

I hope I don't have to get 2 of the 257s . . yet.

Thats a good recommendation when you are knocking all that down. I havent got to shoot it yet but IM itching to try it.

Thanks.

In yet another twist of the 257 I am starting to think about taking it for an ibex. So maybe I will have to have 2 of them after all.

If it can take down zebra and kudu and big mulies as above then I think good hit on an ibex would anchor them too.

And the 257 certainly shoots flat which is another plus on its side for an ibex hunt.

The 25-06 ... None better for 'small rifle calibers.'

I never considered the 25-06 a small caliber for the NA, short of the big bears of Alaska..Its a decent elk or Moose rifle as a matter of fact. Ive seen it used on both a few times and am always impressed, but then why should I be, it shoots a 120 gr. about the same as a .270 shoots a 130..Anyway I agree with Hydell, its one hell of a caliber.

quote:

Is the 257 Weatherby the Ultimate in Smaller Hunting Rifle Calibers

While the .257 Weatherby is everything it is said to be, it's doubtful that it's everything many hunter THINK it is.....It's simply another fine cartridge that needs to be well understood before it is used for the longer distances.

I've owned two of them.....and frankly neither was truly noticeably better than any of my .25-06 rifles.

If one is looking for the ultimate smaller hunting cartridge, it's still to this day very hard to beat the grand old .270 Winchester.....if you think that's too much just neck it down to 6.5 MM.....

quote:

Originally posted by Atkinson:
I never considered the 25-06 a small caliber for the NA, short of the big bears of Alaska..Its a decent elk or Moose rifle as a matter of fact. Ive seen it used on both a few times and am always impressed, but then why should I be, it shoots a 120 gr. about the same as a .270 shoots a 130..Anyway I agree with Hydell, its one hell of a caliber.

Now I'm curious about this 25-06 cartridge.

Last year a deer camp acquaintance picked up a Weatherby in 25-06. It wears a synthetic stock, but I'm not sure what model it is. I know zero about Weatherbys. He says it shoots great though.

What's currently the most accurate rifle in this chambering? Any suggestions?

There is no "most Accurate" rifle make in any caliber, its always a crap shoot..The barrel being the heart to accuracy..If I was going to gamble on a 25-06 the Rem 700 would be a good bet as would a newer Ruger..

Your best bet would be a custom or simi custom job with a Lothar Walthar barrel.

Does anyone hunt with the Weatherby factory ammo loaded with the 100gr Norma soft point? I've read a few good reviews on the stuff and seems to be scooting along at a good velocity

Ive used it some, mostly because the ammo so loaded is cheaper than empty brass here. Most of the time anyway. Its the sort of thing that is useful on deer sized game within the cartridges point-blank range which which is a decently long poke. Get much past that and the wind drifts get truly horrible.

I use them on deer. My longest shot has been 225 yds, my shortest about 75. no problems either way. I have zeroed with the 115 and the 110s but the 100 grainers shoot under an inch in my rifle. What's not to like?

I have been waiting for the new Arroyo to return from Weatherby with its new muzzle brake installed so I can see how it is going to shoot. I have a good feeling about this little rifle and especially with the Weatherby Range Certified tag along with it.

I also bought the Weatherby Norma soft points as they were cheaper than just purchasing new Weatherby brass.

I intend to try some different Weatherby factory loads in it first and update the thread with some results one day.

Nice Tex! I purchased a Cooper Model 52 in .257 WBY that is threaded for suppressor and has a lot of upgrades through Cooper...But I am thinking I am going to give it to my dad as a surprise gift and get myself a left handed MK V Accumark in .257 WBY. So we both have .257's

I purchased some of the 100gr Norma ammo and a lot of reviews showed that it is some accurate stuff. Good price too

Thanks man ^^.

I am anxiously awaiting its return and then get to see the little Weatherby punch some holes.

What turn around time did Weatherby have for you to send them a rifle for custom work and send it back to you?

There are many "ultimate" cartridges in every hunting category.

In interest of full disclosure: I do not own a .280 Rem. My OPINION is the .280 Rem is the ultimate North American big game cartridge. An '06 hunter can be expected to hold a much different opinion.

quote:

Originally posted by Buglemintoday:
What turn around time did Weatherby have for you to send them a rifle for custom work and send it back to you?

Weatherby was LONG owing to a variety of reasons. Like over 6 months and over a year if they did stock work. Yikes.

They recommended a Weatherby contract shop ( as it keeps the Weatherby warranty enforce and they have the Arroyo finishes etc ) and they were talking about 6 weeks originally when I sent it to them. There was some delays there too and I am going to follow this up next week.

quote:

Originally posted by EMP3:
There are many "ultimate" cartridges in every hunting category.

In interest of full disclosure: I do not own a .280 Rem. My OPINION is the .280 Rem is the ultimate North American big game cartridge. An '06 hunter can be expected to hold a much different opinion.

The 257 is for this discussion is deemed a small bore ( and in the Small Calibers Forum ) - where a 280 is a medium bore.

For what it is worth the .257 was Roy Weatherby's personal favorite and he could have his pick. I'm looking forward to seeing the 257 on a couple of hunts and personally seeing why it was Roys favorite.

The Weatherby is finally back. And it looks as good you would think it should.

I mounted up the Talley bases and rings and the new Leupold on it. I had to flip the rear base to get it to fit. And the fit for the VX5HD was very close but it all worked.

Now maybe in a week or so I can get a range report up on the 257.

Can't wait to hear about it, I'd love to go to Wyoming and try to tour their facility.

This is a long overdue follow up to my 257 Weatherby thread here.

After mounting the scope and shooting the little 257 all I can say is that I truly am impressed with this little rig. It took about 5 shots to zero the Leupold VX6 and the 257 shot lights out at 1/2 to 3/4 inch little groups with the Weatherby factory 100 grain ammo. The Leupold is almost right on for adjustments and comes right back to zero. I just set the side parallax for 150 yards and left it there for 100, 200, and 300 yard shots without any changes necessary. From a 200 yard zero the drop was about 3 inches to the 300 yard target. Which is a reason why you have these rifles!

Injected pause here. I know there are all kinds of results on AR and all over the internet for different rifles and scopes and various combinations of all of them. But at least for this combination it speaks very highly of the quality control and effort of both Weatherby and Leupold. Is this some bench rest world record rifle? Not in the least. But it is an accurate and nice all around package that is very capable. I am going to soon get to see how capable it is on some plains game too.

The 257 has almost zero perceived recoil with the Weatherby muzzle break on it. I think my 16 inch AR has more recoil than the 257 does. Another thing that is often said is muzzle blast back in your face with the brake. While this is true with something like a 378 Weatherby ( I know from experience ) I felt exactly no blast in the first 50 or 60 times I have fired the 257. With no recoil and no blast I expect the brake to stay on. During actual hunting the few fired shots aren't an issue for the brake to me. I believe the longer 26 inch barrel on the 257 as on most Weatherbys helps to reduce or negate this blast effect. It is very effective in this case anyway.

I didn't fire any long strings through its fluted medium light barrel. But 2 and 3 shots were fine. As usual I think one good hit in a good place with it is going to be enough most of the time. But it can follow it up if needed too. The new Weatherby's have a very nice trigger in them too. All I had to do was pick some rounds out of the box and dial in the scope. Very nice in my book.

As a matter of fact I like this rifle package so much there might be some custom Winchesters for sale, and I might order another Range Certified Arroyo in 300 Weatherby Magnum for myself and just hunt it out for me with those two rifles.

There are lots of good rifles and calibers out there , but Roy Weatherby had it right when he brought out the 257.

The shots both low and to the left are scope adjustments. It really slings them well in my opinion.

quote:

The 257 has almost zero perceived recoil with the Weatherby muzzle break on it. I think my 16 inch AR has more recoil than the 257 does.

The .257 Wby doesn't have much recoil without a brake either. About as much as a .270 Winchester.

Enjoy your .257, it is a great little cartridge.

Yep I am sure that's right too cougarZ.

But this rifle was at least intended for use by my wife and daughter so reducing recoil to the minimum was part of it with this package.

Now . . well other guys might use it some too.

Don’t overlook the .240 weatherby! I have one in a classic stock. I have shot a lot of small groups with it.

I have had the 257 and the 25/308 Norma and also the 270 Wby and 270/308 Norma and I prefer the magnum 270s.

As to recoil (and muzzle blast) to me 25/06 to 270 magnums are all in the same category. The 300 magnums seem to cross a threshold.

I think if someone can shoot a 25/06 without problems then they will be fine with 270 magnums.

After having been all over in the rifle world I think if I had it all to do again I would have the 257 Wby , the 270 Wby, the 300 Wby, and the 378 Wby. The trips through the Remingtons and Sakos, and finally to the Winchesters, I learned a lot. But that would cover it all and probably not have required all the loading effort as that Weatherby factory ammo is normally pretty good and hard to beat. I might still load the 270 and 300 though.

I had started with a 270 Winchester and then added a 300 Wby Mag in Mark V and somehow worked my way through all that and back near that original battery.

For me personally the 270 Wby and the 300 Wby would do 75% of the hunting. The 378 for the rare big stuff and the 257 for the small stuff, and just because I am liking it now.

But yes I could just do the 270 Wby, but for my girls use the 257 is looking like a winner. At least for now.

Tex, I look forward to your hunt reports with the .257.

New fathers or old fathers that hunt tend to want to start their kids out with more gun than they should IMO, and the kids dislike the recoil and/or muzzle blast, as they have not had time to adjust to it..sooo they tend not to hunt or enjoy shooting..

Everyone in my family going back for years started out the kids with a 25-35 mod. 94, and some with the 250-3000..

All my kids started hunting deer with a 222 and later a 6x45 then graduated to the 250-3000 then to the 270 or 06 in later years, all hunt and shoot most any caliber today..My grandson shot his first deer with the 6x45 and being a cowboy packs the 222 and 6x45 everywhere he goes and sees no need for any more gun for deer or a cow elk in the alfalfa, just takes a head or neck shot on depredation elk...

IMO, the 250-3000 is very mild on recoil, mild blast and kills deer and elk beyond its paper ballistics with shoulder shots up to 150 or 200 yards max and Ive shot many deer and elk with it in the past. Today is my go to deer rifle..Early on when the .243 hit the magazines with praise,I just had to have one. Tried the 243 on elk and because of some long follow ups gave up on it and went back to the 250..

Just my take and experience with the 250, and its not for everyone, but it should be.

I bought a 257 weatherby vanguard for my granddaughter handles nice nice trigger 24" barrel 1/2 minute with 110 accubonds IMR 7828ssc good rifle for the money.

I agree Ray + it's hard to beat the 250-3000 or the 257 AI for that matter. I started my boys out with the 7X57 + it worked out well.

The .243 Win is a great cartridge for young hunters, the .257 Roberts and 25-06 also fit the bill. I’ve owned a few 257s and they were all long and fairly heavy because of the 26 inch barrel and huge Mark V action; the 6 lug Mark V action is much more svelte.