Dear Sirs:

i want to adquire a 25 caliber to shoot at long ranges ,ligth big game (Roebucks and Chamois, mainly). I prefer the 257 Wby, but another good choice is the 25-06. The recoli is ok for both cartridges, but my main question is about the inherent accuracy of those rounds. What is the most inherent accurate the 25-06 or the 257 Wby? May I get easily a sub-MOA 257 Wby rifle or it's easier to get it in a 25-06?

Thank you in advance for your interest and your suggestions

I once had a Weatherby Super Big Game Master in .257 Wby. I did get a couple of sub-MOA loads worked up, but I cannot say that they came easily.

Personally I would say the 25-06 is the most inherently accurate of the two.
One reason is the long throat in the 257Wby.
But I will also say this, are you shooting at game or paper?
The difference in accuracy at 100 yards will most likely neve, and I mean NEVER make any difference on game to any range you will ever shoot at.
Besides there is a lot more to hunting accuracy than there is to paper punching.
I love a 25-06 but if I wanted the ultimate hunting 25 caliber it would be the 257.

Factor in the drop and drift differences and variables between the two calibers at extreme range and you will quickly see that while the 25-06 may well print a tighter groups at under 300 yards, the 257 will actually outshoot it when you really stretch things out.

I have shot a .257 Wby in the Weatherby Accumark for several years now, that is I still get to shoot it when my grandson is not using it. It has a 6 X 24 Burris Signature scope on it and will drill one holers when the shooter does his part. 115 or 120 grain Nosler Partitions are it's favorite fodder at 3400 to 3500 fps. Good shooting.

I think it's much more a factor of the rifle you get rather than the cartridge. A Weatherby Ultralight probably won't shoot as well as an Accumark - same to be said for a pencil thin factory barreld 25-06 vs. A Remington Sendero.
BTW, I have a Sendero in 25-06 Ackley with factory barrel, shoots .5 MOA with numerous loads.

I have a bone stock Weatherby Vanguard Stainless Sporter in 257 Wby. It is one of the most accurate rifles I have ever shot. "Inherent accuracy" is a relative term. Both tend to be accurate rounds. From a 24 inch barrel the 257 will throw 100 grain Barnes TSXs at 3600 fps and shoot clover leafs at 100 yds. I've shot factory spire points, TSXs and handload TSXs from it. The factory ammo clover leafs were only slighly larger then the handloads .

Ken....

I guess if you're looking for a Sub-MOA rifle, you sure can't go wrong with A Weatherby Vanguard Sub-MOA. You know what you're gonna get.

The first custom rifle I ever commissioned was a .25-06. It shot very well, and like many other guns I've sold, I miss it. Since that time, I don't think I've ever been without a .25-06.

Still, for pure accuracy I have never had a .25-06 of my own which would match the day-in, day-out accuracy of my current Weatherby .257 Wby Mag Weather-Mark (composite stocked Mk. V). I bought it used, for $400 at a gun show.

It has all the infamous Weatherby free-bore, and who knows how many rounds have been down that old factory tube? Still and all, it IS a genuine, consistently reliable, circa 1/2 MOA rifle, with a standard Leupold 3x9 scope up.

A bit of a handful to carry because of that heavy action, but still a rifle I'm not planning to sell during this lifetime.

I shoot a weatherby 257 Mk V and using factory 100 gr Barnes bullets, just shot a three shot, sub 1/2" 100 yard group. My hand loads aren't that accurate, yet!

If the freebore is cut correctly when the barrel is chambered, then you will have a better chance of good accuracy with the WBY.

It could still be finicky, it might prefer one bullet weight stongly over others. My 257WBY is a custom barreled M700. It shoots the 115 TSX into sub-moa groups all the time. But it struggles with the 100 TSX.

The 25-06 will be easier and more flexible to load for generally.

Have you considered the 6.5X68S?

As you live in Spain......availabilty of components is much better than here in Australia or the US. It is as flat shooting as a 257 and you have the option of using heavier bullet weights if you are after bigger game than roe deer and chamois.

Speaking theoretically, it is generally easier to find an accurate load when the case capacity is not overly large in relation to the bore size. The late, well-known originator of "improved" cartridges, P.O. ASkley, called this relationship "bore capacity". I believe he would have rated both of these cartridges as "over bore capacity". For example, the .250 Savage and the .257 Roberts are both much easier to find excellent loads for than any of the .25's with bigger cases. Believe it or not, SOME magnum cartridges can actually shoot out a bore before a good combination of bullet and powder are found!

However, since the .25/'06 is not as much over bore capacity as the .257 WM, it should be easier to work up an exceptionally accurate load using the .25/'06 than to do the same with the .257 WM.

I once owned a Ruger 1V in .25/'06. I had several good loads in the 1 MOA region for it, one of which gave right at 3200 FPS using the Sierra 117 PSPBT bullet and Norma MRP. It was a very deadly load on big mule deer, and at 3200 FPS, it was also as good for long-range shooting as any .270 Win. Now I realize that there are a number of magnums of various calibers that are slightly better than the .270 Win. as long-range rifles. However, the .270 has always had a good reputation for long-range shooting of light game such as the animals you mentioned.

It seems to me that there are several European rounds that would meet your needs as well. For example, the 6.5X68mm RWS....

El D -

Yes, accepted theory does tell us that it should be easier to find good loads quickly in the smaller cases relative to any given bore size.

For whatever reasons, though, my experince in the .25-bore has been exactly the opposite. The very first two loads I tried in the .257 Wby were 0.5 MOA performers. About 20% of the 50 or so loads I've tried in the .25-06s produced good accuracy (as good as the barrels/rifles seemed capable of).

I still have two .257 Roberts, and it has taken a LOT of experimentation to get down to the 0.5 MOA level with one of them (it will only do it with one exact load). The other one simply will NOT go much below 1" groups so far.

All my .250 Savages (I've had maybe a dozen) were unpredictable in the sense that one never knew whether the next rifle would require virtually no work or lots and lots of work, to get loads which would shoot MOA or less.

The odd thing (to me) is that all of the various bore diameter magnums I've owned were distinctly easy to work up good loads for, regardless of bore size. That includes such calibers as the .257 Wby, 6.5x61 S&H, the 7 m/m Rem and Wby Mags, various .300 Mags (.300 H&H, .30-.338, .300 Win., 300 Wby., etc.), .375 H&H, .450 Ackley Mag, and more.

The only one which seemed to really fit the rule was the .338 bore. There, the smaller the case, the easier it has been for ME to find good shooting loads.

So, I am left confused by the conventional wisdom. Is it really the cartridge case size relative to the bore, or the rifle itself which is the greater influence over which cartridge is is easier to build loads for?

Darned if I know for sure, but I suspect it is neither. I suspect that given the powders we tend to use in the various bore sizes, the most important influence is the pressure levels we run them at....and there I seem to get the impression that the higher the pressure, the easier to find a usefully accurate load.

(Benchrester competitors generally seem to find that too...either short range (100/200 yard) benchresters, or 1,000 yard benchresters.

Gee, maybe there's another thread we need to start....

I don't own a 25-06 but I do own a .257 Wby Vanguard. I reload and have had no problem getting it to shoot sub MOA with the 117 grain Hornady BTSP and the 100 grain Sierra BTSP. The rifle is not picky. I use RL22 and Federal Match Magnum primers. I can't imagine a .25-06 shooting any better. I know the .257 has the better ballistics. It has become my go-to gun for whitetail deer.

Red, I have a 257 in Wby vanguard and every time I've tried the 100 grain Sierra flatbase at the range they have disinetegrate before reaching the target, so I started loading the 110 Accubond or 117 Sierras with excellent results from both. Have you ever shot anything with the 100 gr Sierras?

A buddy of mine bought a Ruger model 77 varmint/target rifle in 25-06. It has a heavy 26 in barrel and a fantastic adjustable target trigger. It is very accurate at long range and a great value.

I've owned two .257 Weatherbys, three .25-06 and three .257 Roberts.......I can't say as there was any real difference in accuracy in the lot.....and strangely enough when it comes to performance in the field I again saw little difference.....the difference is there...it's real....but it never did a thing for me as the .257 Roberts put just as much venison in the freezer as any of them.....and acted equally well as a varminter.....

I have a Savage model 110 chambered in 25-06 that will literally chase holes @ 100 yds.
I would still like to own a 257 weatherby. Remington is chambering it this year in two of their model 700's.
I have a question though...is the remington going to be free bored? Is that something that the cartridge requires or is that just something weatherby does with their rifles?

Bought my .257 WBY in 1968, it's a Winslow, not a Weatherby, but that has never seemed to make a difference. The .257 WBY has been my "go to" rifle whenever I felt the need to use a .257 caliber rifle, beating out .257 Roberts and .25-06 over an over, in fact, my last .25-06 is for sale now. The .257 Weatherby is a winner.

LLS

I have a Sako in .25-06 it has always been very accurate and has shot 1000's of rounds. It now has over 7" of freebore but still shoots sub moa, so I dont think the long throat of the 257 wby is a handicap, get which everone YOU really want and you wont be disappointed.

rltaylor:
I've not used a Sierra in the 117 gr for the .257 Wby Mag. My son-in-law and I have both been shooting 117 grain Hornady Interlock and haven't had any problems with them.

I do shoot 100 gr Sierra GameKings and love them. This .257 Wby Mag is some kind of accurate long range gun! It is, however, a good thing I reload or I couldn't afford to shoot it if i had to buy factory ammo.

Red, what powder are you using with the 100gr Sierras? I agree that the 257 WBY is an accurate rifle and every bullet that I've tried (except the 100gr Sierras) have had outstanding accuracy especially the 100gr TSX and Accubond.