I just got an old 257 Weatherby and have been trying to develop a good load. 110 and 120 bulets didn't group well so I measured the twist and found it has a 1-12 and not a 1-10 like the new ones. I would like to use this rifle for antelope and mule deer this year but have never hunted with this small of a caliber. Have any of you killed these animals with 100 gr or smaller bullets and how was the performance?

If any of you have some good loads for these bullets I would appreciate having you pass those along too.

Any help is always appreciated.

I've owned two .257 Weatherbys.....however both were 1-10".....

That said....I used Sierra 90 Grain HP on pronghorns with devastating results.....but they are actually small animals often making just over 100 pounds dressed!

For deer you can use the 100 grain Hornady spire point or the 117 grain round nose.

The 1-12 Weatherbys are known to have trouble stabilizing the longer bullets!

I've been using 100 grain Nosler Ballistic Tips in my 257 Roberts with great results but they may grenage at the Weatherby speeds. The 100 grain Barnes TTSX might be a good choice for that rifle. I have not shot anything with them (yet) but they are quite accurate in my Bob.

There are probably plenty of 100 grain .257 bullets that would do fine on pronghorns and muleys, but if you want to use the full velocity potential of the WBY, try the 100 grain Nosler Partitions.

But before you give up on heavier bullets, try adjusting your loads and loading methods as your problem may not lie with the slower twist. It has become fashionable these days to blame every accuracy problem in "insufficient twist", but the problem often lies elsewhere. If you can lay your hands on some factory WBY 115 or 120 grain loads (and your bank account will stand it), try some to see how they act in your 1-12" twist barrel.

All you'll ever need in a .257 Wby is a 100 grs (T)TSX at 3600 fps - or so....

- mike

My 257 Wby is a newer one with, I'm sure a 1-10 twist. Mine absolutely LOVES the Nosler 115 gr ballistic tip. I run a near max charge of RL-22 and a mag primer in mine.

I would expect your 1-12 twist to shoot 120 gr bullets just fine. I believe if I recall correctly that one of the "standby" old Wby factory cartridges was a 117 gr Hornady sp, which they sold for many years.

If you were running at minimum-to-half powder charges, then maybe you could have stability issues in the slower twist. But, if you're running in the upper end of the scale, I think this would be a non-issue.

Some barrels just don't shoot some bullets well. For instance, mine won't shoot the Barnes worth a darn. Doesn't mean there's anything wrong with the Barnes products, or my rifle, just that that combo doesn't work for me.

Also, RL-25 doesn't group near as well for me as RL-22. I don't know why, it just does. I know of others with the same caliber that shoot RL-25 and swear by it.

My buddy used the same 115 gr Nosler ballistic tips in my 257 Roberts to kill a monster mulie a few years ago. It staggered at the shot and dropped after a couple of steps. The 257 Wby mag is just "more" of a good thing than the Roberts.

You might also consider the Nosler 110 gr Accubond. It should hold together better than a lighter bullet, and hopefully be short enough to stabilize in your 1 in 12" twist.

I messed with an old Weatherby that was chambered in .257 Wby Mag and had a 1 in 12 twist, the only thing I could get it to shoot well was an 80 grain Barnes Tipped TSX.

While Weatherby used to load a 117 grain Hornady bullet, that was a round nose.

Back to the 80 grain Tipped TSX. My dad and I have shot a number of antelope with them. My dad shoots them in a .257 Weatherby and I shoot them in a 25-06. They are absolutely deadly on antelope.

Those 80 grs TTSX must move at close to "warp speed"! I could well imagine they would work well - although probably a bit more prone to wind drift (an argument one could also make about the 100 grs TSX...).

- mike

My 257wbs have all been 10 twist, but I have used 100gr B-Tips, partitons, and TSX on mule deer and they have all been excellent performers. RL22 and 215 primers with the TSX should be a great place to start. The 80gr TTSX should be great for antelope, but you may have trouble with a big mulie and raking shots if heavy bone is hit. Those Tipped TSXs open very fast and the low SD will stop or bounce on heavy bone.

quote:

All you'll ever need in a .257 Wby is a 100 grs (T)TSX at 3600 fps - or so....

- mike

I agree 100% with Mike.

..... although for shits's & giggles we've got the Swift 100 gr. Scirocco II's and the Barnes 80 gr. TTSX's plunking satisfactorily, too - all 3 are just too much of a Good Thing in the .257 Witherbee.

ON MY 257WBY MADE IN GERMANY 1-12" ONLY SHORT BULLETS WORKS, AS 100GRS SIERRA SPITZER, 100GRS HORNADY SP, 100GRS NOSLER PARTITION AND THE BEST FPR HUNTING IS THE 100GRS PARTITION WITH 66GRS OF IMR-4350, 3476FPS AND IS REALLY A KILLER ANY MULE DEER OR ANTELOPE THAT EVER LIVE ON EART.

SO BE HAPPY TO HAD A NICE GUN.

BEST REGARDS

I also agree with the 100 grain TSX. Barnes used to have a picture on the web site that showed a piece of aluminum,it was thin, .050 I think behind a one inch piece of gel followed by the rest of the gel block. Everything they shot through it left an X pattern going through the aluminum. I think they all open quick. As far as stopping or bouncing off bone, The 80 grainer may shed a petal or two if the range is close but they will break heavy bone and keep on truckin. DW

Mike and Gerry are exactally right! A 257 Wby and a 100gr. TSX will "get er done"!

A good 87 gr. to 120 gr. bullet of proper construction will literally hammer a big buck mule deer to the ground, if fact you will probably get more instant kills with that caliber as you wil with any caliber.

The downside with any hi-vel caliber is on ocassion you don't get an exit hole, the entry hole plugs up with fat and you get no blood trail and game has been lost as a result..

I like a bigger bore myself, something like a 7x57 on up to a 300 Mag of some sort as Ideal for deer and antelope..even a 30-30 leaves a good blood trail every time.

quote:

Originally posted by Atkinson:

I like a bigger bore myself, something like a 7x57 on up to a 300 Mag of some sort as Ideal for deer and antelope..even a 30-30 leaves a good blood trail every time.

I take it then, that you want to get rid of that 25-35 White Elephant Hmmmm? roger

quote:

Originally posted by Atkinson:
...you get no blood trail and game has been lost as a result..

I like a bigger bore myself..

I tend to agree with Ray, for me the .257 Wby is ideal in open country where you track by sight - as opposed to by bloodspoor.

- mike

quote:

But before you give up on heavier bullets, try adjusting your loads and loading methods as your problem may not lie with the slower twist. It has become fashionable these days to blame every accuracy problem in "insufficient twist", but the problem often lies elsewhere...

quote:

I would expect your 1-12 twist to shoot 120 gr bullets just fine. I believe if I recall correctly that one of the "standby" old Wby factory cartridges was a 117 gr Hornady sp, which they sold for many years.

The above posts reflect a limited experience with the .257 Weatherby cartridge, or poor memory. The old 1:12" barrels WILL NOT stabilize long bullets - no matter how much these poster "expect" they should do so. Weatherby knew this very well, and the only heavy bullet they offered for those barrels was the 117-grain Hornady ROUND NOSED bullet. This one was short enough to stabilize. My old German MkV with 1:12" barrel shot the 117 RN Hornadys well but the one time I tried the longer 120-grain Speers the holes in the target were oval and not close together. You can expect problems with some of the longer solid copper bullets too, some of those 100-grainers are as about long as some 120-grain cup-and-core offerings.

But for pronghorns why not use the proven bullet that Weatherby loaded for many decades, the 100-grain Hornady Spire Point? Are pronghorns tougher today than they were in 1965?


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You wont have any problems, I have seen quite a few shot with the same set up.

Good luck on your hunt.

Tom