While I am awaiting my .257AI I thought I would ask you quarterbore shooters what bullet you like best for deer. Anyone who has followed any of my threads I am all new to small bores. I know shot placement is most important and waiting for a good shot is something I have no trouble with. I also know it don't take premium bullets to kill a deer. However I am also shy of little bullets being a .30 cal fan. In .30 cal I am a big fan of the Nosler BT but don't know if I have faith in a little 100 or 115 grain .257 caliber one. So tell me what works for you folks.

100 tsx works great on deer and everything else use it in 25-06 and 257 rob. also working load for 25wssm used to load 85 gr x fb but they quit making it

I have used the 115 Ballistic tip, and most of the 120's in my .25-06. Using the 115 Partition these days. Think it is a good bullet for the bore size.

You are right it does not take much to kill a white tail. Your 257 AI will work fine if you place the shots well. My experience is with a .25/06. At ranges 80 yards to about 300, the 100 grain Sierra gave complete penetration on all but one shot at 11 deer. That buck was shot head on at 80 yards.

I have been really impressed with the 110 grain AB, but the 100 grain Partition should provide through/through penetration unless you're going to take Texas Heart Shots.

I also like the speed that you can achieve with the old 75 and 85 grain Barnes Xs. Although they have been discontinued, Barnes still has them for sale in the "closeout" section of their on-line store at $14.50 per 50. A great thing about the 75 grain X is that you can shoot the 75 grain VMax for varmints and paper punching, while saving the Barnes bullets for game. Or, at least that system works for all of the .257" bore rifles that I've tried it in.

www.barnesbullets.com

Jeff

I use both the 100 and 117gr Sierra's, they are accurate in my rifle and work just fine for Blacktails.

I hunt primarily in Tn where the deer are on the small side. I use a 100 gr ballistic tip @3200 fps from a 25-06 with excellent results. However, if I were going to hunt in Penn. where deer tend to be larger, I would probably choose a 110 accubond or similar bullet.

260 I just bought 1000 85 from barnes closeout. never thought of the 75 combo good idea, but I just use the x for everything. more expensive but oh well

The 115 Ballistic Tip and the 120gr Partition are fantastic bullets out of my 25-06 Sendero. Shoot the one that provides the best accuracy in your rifle.

120's.

I use the 100 Hornady flat base in my .257. Put one through a mature buck last fall. Muzzle vel. was about 3035 fps. Impact was about the last rib on this side, exit was through the far shoulder just in front of the joint. Might over expand and give less penetration with the higher speed of the AI though. The 115 Partition should be great. The 110 Accubond would be a good one if accurate in your rifle. Just ordered some of the 75 and 85 gr. x bullets to try in my old M99 .250 Sav. That 1-14 twist doesn't like the 100's.

I have shot over 100 deer and hogs with Nosler Part., AB and BT, Sierra GK and PH and Barnes TSX. Hands down TSX is far and away best bullet. More lethal, quicker dispatch and MUCH deeper penetration AND match grade accuracy.

Perry

I have killed deer with a 257 roberts using 120 speer hot cores, 117 sierra flat bases, 115 Partations, 120 partations, 120 winchester power points & 120 gr speer boat tails. They all did well on 100-180 pound deer. I wounded a big hog with the speer 120 bt's, so I just use partations now..If we did not have big hogs on the farm I'd use 117 sierra flat bases. They are the most accurate in my rifle.

I have shot the Nosler 120 partitions for deer for many years without failure! Its like they were made for the quarters.

Might I suggest the Nosler 110grn Accubond!!!
They are some of the best bullets I have bought so far. Accurate and deadly all in one!
Wanted something in my 25-06 besides Ballistic Tips, weight retention, and a little less finiky than the Partition.
I have not had the best accuracy with Hornady's without a lot of work but I have heard some like the 117gr SST.
The Gamekings from Sierra are always a good bet too.
Whatever you choose in the 100 to 120grn range should work well. (the bulk bullets, Remingtons and Winchesters etc., usually are'nt consistant in weight)

I took a mule deer buck, with the 100 grain TSX Barnes. Acouple years ago, from the Roberts at 100 Yards. I got a real good hit and the bullet did extreemly well.
My 20 inch Roberts pushes that bullet out at just over 3100 Fps. Excelent load for deer and probably animals as big as caribu...tj3006

I've had very good success with the 110gr Accubond and the Speer 120gr Spitzer. Both are very accurate in my Rem Classic 25.06 and kill deer like lighting. I use RL22 with the accubonds and IMR4350 with the Hot-cors. The accubond is my main go to bullet and the speer is my backup.
I really wanted to shoot the 115gr Partitions and pulled my hair out trying and also went through more boxes than i'll mention in the process. I don't know why but this rifle just absolutely will not shoot them accurately not matter what combination i've tried and believe me i tried many. When the accubonds came out i settled in on those and gave up on the partitions and i have been very satisfied with them. Mike

Thanks for all the info. I went with the AI and a 26 inch barrel so I could get as close to 25-06 velocites as I could in the intermediate action. Looks like 120 grain bullets work well for those who use them as do the 100 grainers. I will see what my rifle likes best and go with it.

My .257 Wby likes the 120 grain Nosler Partition and will push them to 3459 fps with great accuracy. RL-22 powder and Fed 210M primers are the other ingredients. Good shooting.

Just to keep the answer simply, a 120 grain bullet.

So far my 257 AI has been good to me with 115 TBB's, 115 & 120 Nosler Partitions, 117 Sierra Pro Hunters, and last few years the 110 AB. I think it is just the cartridge which I love, among others!

I like the 110 Accubond for Fallow and Reds here in Oz. Accurate, easy to get to shoot and kills well.

In a 257 WBY the 100 or 115TSX is dynamite as well....................

I had really good luck with 100gr B-tips in my 25-06. They acted the most consistant of all the B-tips I have shot. I have killed a few dozen deer with 257,7mm and 308 B-tips and really like them. They were much more accurate than the Partition (100gr)in my 25-06.

I have no experience with the accubond in 257, but they are awesome out of my 280AI. That might be the 1st bullet I would try with the B-tip close behind.

120 Speer Hotcores have proven to be super deer killers in my 257AI. Alo, they post <1 MOA in my Ruger 77.

100 grain Nosler Partitions.

120 grain Hornady hollowpoints

For reasons known only to it, my 257AI doesn't like partitions. For many years, the 120gr Speer Hot Core has worked perfectly on many deer. Last year, out of boredom, I tried the 120gr Hornady HP. It works like magic, too!

So..to sum it up. Find a 100-120gr bullet your rifle likes, put it in the boiler room then enjoy your venison. You just have to love the quarter bores!

Perry

I have great sucess on deer and antelope using 25-06 and 115 NBTs. Lou

The only bullet I've ever used on whitetails from my 25-06
is the 100gr partition.

Never did manage to shoot the same deer twice with one...

Rifle go "Boom"
Deer go "thud".

I'm loading 100gr TSX's for my brother's 257Wby
Sub-MOA Vanguard.

He bought it when he started planning to move to Wyoming.

AD

Sierra 117gr SBT Gameking # 1630

Most any will work well, but I particularily like this one and the 120 HPBT's by both Sierra and Hornady.

If you really want to try something try the Wildcat Bullets 125gr. Nate

I like the Hornady 117 gr for deer.

Whatever Nosler hunting bullet my rifle likes best in the 100-120 grain range.

I'm rather new to this quarter bore deal myself, as I've had a .257 AI built up for me. I have quickly found out the hurdles one must overcome insofar as wildcat cartridges go. In other words, I'm still developing loads after 2 years. One of the quirks I found was the reloading data in some of the manuals can be dicey for this cartridge. I started out using IMR4350 and Re15, powders listed in the manuals I had. Current manuals, mind you. I had loads that were detonating and showing signs of extreme pressure. Cases were blowing primers and showing signs of case separation. Some cases merely collapsed below the shoulder. It didn't matter which bullet I used. I also chronographed these shots and most velocities were under what was published, but not by much. Cases that blew primers actually increased rim diameter by .010"-.012". And these were starting loads. I spoke with the gunsmith who built this outfit for me, of course. He recommended using IMR4831 or Re19. Much slower burning powders, and fill the case. I found published data on this site for 4831 and Re19, and am going to load some test rounds now. I'll post more later on these experiments. And yes, I did slug the barrel to make sure it wasn't undersize. It's a nice, smooth, medium heavy Douglas on a 98 Mauser. If this game were easy, we'd call it golf.

There were quite a few threads on this one a while back. Mostly centered around the Bob or .25-06. Yhis is one.
link
Fav Quarterbore

There are many threads just pull a search. Nate

Except for the 257 Weatherby, I like the 100 grain bullets for the 25-06, 257 Roberts and 250-3000. Myself for deer i use the 100 grain Nosler Ballistic tips. And NO I have never seen one blow up or fail to penetrate.