My dad bought this .257 Weatherby new in 1960. I know very little about Weatherbys.

What to look for? What bullet weight works best? Is factory ammunition any good? What to avoid? Lots of questions with very few answers. Since it belonged to my father I will keep and use it. So that leaves out the sell the rifle and get something else response for those that don't like this calibre or rifle.

I would like to use it this October in eastern Montana on mule deer.

Thanks in advance!!

Is the barrel marked with where the rifle was made?

Also is there a name or brand on the left side of the action?

I just wonder if it's a Southgate made rifle.

What a great rifle to have handed down!!! I think the 257 Weatherby is a fantastic deer round. I used 100 gr. soft point Weatherby factory ammo with great success on whitetail deer here in Nebraska. Very low recoil for such a flat-shooting round.

Is that a Mauser actioned Weatherby, or an early Mk. 5 ? Those old Mauser action Wheatherbys were really nice.
I suggest you use ammo with Nosler Partition bullets. Very few bullets perform well at that round's velocity. E

1960 would make it a Mark V De-Lux made in West Germany by JP Sauer.It will say "Made In West Germany" in very small letters on the barrel just in front of the action on the bolt side.

ALL Weatherbys are marked South Gate,as that's where their offices are.The earliest ones made on Mauser and Model 70 actions down through German and Jap made ones and now the new USA produced ones are all marked that way on the action.

FWIW,the German and Jap made guns are by far the nicest.The USA ones don't appeal to me much for some reason.Just MHO.

Back on the subject-my dad's main hunting rifle for years,was and is a 257 Weatherby.His rifle has literaly been to hell and back,and at various times has been a Euromark,a Mark V Deluxe,and now is currently a Fibermark as it wears Weatherby's $100 replacement sythetic stock.The Euromark stock had timber break in it,the Mark V stock got busted in half when the bozo who found it (long story)bashed it against a tree before turning it into the police station.

With any bullet,it's a bit "messy" on deer within 200 yards-you'll loose a lot of meat with it,even with a lung shot.

It is though VERY impressive on deer,shoots flat and kicks little.If you don't mind loosing most of the ribs on a lung shot or both shoulders on a shoulder shot,you will be very pleased with it.

In factory ammo,I'd go with any Weatherby produced ammo in anything exsept the 117 grain round nose.I belive they make it with a 120 grain Nosler Partition now-that'd be a hard one to beat.

Really appreciate all the comments. West Germany is where it was made. Will have to look closer for other information.

Thanks again, especially Brian for all the extra info.

Henry Some of the early 257's had a slow twist and would not stabalize the 117 & 120 gr spitzers.They would shoot the 100gr spitzers or the 117 gr round nose bullets just fine.This may determine what bullet weight you shoot.

When I was in high school my friend had a .257 Weatherby. His Dad had used it out west for lopes and mule deer. Sam used it for whitetail and groundhogs. Man what a rifle. Now we are going back 20 years so I don't remember all the paticulars but as I recall he used factory ammo. The gun shot VERY well and killed fast. One thing I have heard is this cal is a barrel burner. Sams barrel was fine even though it got shot quite a bit. If you experience bad accuracy have a gunsmith check the bore. I would guess rebarreling would take away from the value but it would be worth keeping your Dad's gun shooting.

I have a 257 WBy.

Built on a Ruger 77 and 26 inch Douglas prem.barrel.
You may try cleaning real good.At the speeds you get from it ,it will foul fast in a rough barrel.

Solvent and a good brush may just work wounders.

How old is the rifle,whare was the action made?.

Great deer and varmint cartridge! Use the 100 - 120 grain bullets for deer. Avoid the factory round nose because it doesn't make sense to use a round nose bullet on a long-range cartridge. Defeats the purpose. My family has been using a Mauser '98 based .257 Weatherby since the 1950's and it has killed, instantly, everything we've shot with it. Three generations of satisfied hunters. My son is eyeing it now, but I'm afraid it's due for a re-barrel job as the accuracy is falling off. Regards & enjoy that rifle! Guy

I've been a .257 Wby. guy for as long as I can remember. I have a German built gun I bought in South gate in the late 50's. It's since been rebarreled and I don't shoot it much any more. I just cherish it. It's a tremendous long range killing machine. If you shoot the right bullets in either 87 or 100 grn for a specific target it doesn't matter much where you hit them. I've shot coyotes at 10 feet in the chest with 75 grn hollow points and they don't exit. Deer behind the front shoulder with an 87 grn. hollow point and all you find is copper fleckes on the opposite ribcage. Nothing but mush inside. It destroys the nervous system upon impact. I once shot a mulie in Bodie, Ca. in a hard wind at around 500 yds. I led the deer about 20 feet and hit him in the right cheek of the ass with an 87 grn. bullet. It tipped him over and that's all there was to it. Anyone who has ever shot a .257 Wby. for any length of time will have stories like this.That's a true story and I have more but not here. I love this caliber and I know there are others but this is my pet. I just recieved my new Lilja SS barrel for my Ruger #1. It's going from 25-06 to .257 Wby. Wish me luck. Dale in Spokane.

I've been trying to decide between the 25-06 and 257 Wby for some time now. I'll look at the cost for 25-06 ammo, the similar ballistics, and the fact that I've never owned one and I'm ready to go until I read all the testimonials on the 257 Wby. There's something special there. I've dropped 2 whitetails in their tracks with a 257 Wby that I never should have sold. I'm leaning towards trying a 25-06 due to the cost and the fact that I haven't had one yet but my gut keeps telling me GO FOR THE 257 WBY AGAIN! Decisions....decisions!

Weatherby factory ammo is EXPENSIVE but I've been told by more than one weatherby owner that it's had to beat the velocity safly with reloads. The .257WBY Mag is only Weatherby I've ever wanted. Cherish that rifle, Keep it in good shape and most of all keep it in the family! I wish I had a few of my dads old guns. TC

The .257 Wby is, indeed, an excellant cartridge. I've had a chance to work with just about every round that Weatherby has marketed, and would state my favorites as being the .257, the .270, and the .338-378, for which I had a custom chambering made [the case was shortened, the shoulder pushed back to reduce capacity, and the taper reduced by five degrees.] Like the .270 caliber used to suffer from, the only thing that slightly hurts the cartridge is a lack of good .257 caliber bullets--should anyone begin producing commercial 130gr VLD bullets for this chambering, there could be some serious interest there [from me, for certain, as I do currently own a .257 Wby..] One thing I find interesting as a handloader of the current round in question is that it seems to handle reduced loadings with jacketed bullets quite well, accuracy has never dropped off when running fast powders [as in IMR's 4198 w/ 75gr HPs...] Most of my magnum chamberings have not been so flexible, so...chalk another one up for the .257 Wby.

G'day Henry,

This is one of my favourite Weatherby Cartridges.
I had a lot of luck with Hornady 100 grain ,Nozler 100 BT projectiles.
Reloader 22 Powder gave excellent accuracy and 3500FPS plus velocity.
I always use Fed 215 primers.
Good luck
Charlie.

I absolutely love mine. Besides being a beautiful rifle, they shoot great. However, I did switch from a 100 gr spitzer to the 100 gr Nosler Partition due to the high speeds. Few years back I dropped a whitetail at around 400 yds that got back up on me and scampered away. Haven't had the problem since. It works great at all ranges.

I love my .257 Wby Accumark. I fitted it with a 6 X 24 Burris Signature scope. I get pin point accuracy the the 115 and 120 grain Nosler Partitions, and near that with the 100 grain Partition. I also get good results with a 100 grain Barnes XLC bullet. My favorite plinkers are 110 grain Berger and 115 grain Nosler Ballistic Tip, they also give pin point accuracy. An excellent Deer, Antelope, Caribou chambering. Good shooting.