The Accurate Reloading Forums THE ACCURATE RELOADING.COM FORUMS Rifles Small Calibers .257 Weatherby AmmoGo | New | Find | Notify | Tools | Reply | |
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| One of Us |
Hey Guys The license for my .257 Weatherby that I purchased has been approved and I have collected the gun. However, currently there is no .257 ammo in South Africa and dealers are not sure when stocks will be arriving. I also cannot find the necessary reloading equipment. I was wondering if there is any company in the US that will be able to sell me a few boxes. Also what paperwork will I have to go through. Many Thanks MD | ||
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| One of Us |
try the manufacturer--WEATHERBY--they have world wide distribution. | |||
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one of us |
Excellent selection in cartridge. Very effective hunting round for a wide range of game. But, you have a tough situation as having to buy factory ammo is going to be very expensive, and even more so internationally. Weatherby ammo cries for reloading due to the cost. I would research international ammo suppliers, but I am afraid you will be dissappointed. I suspect your best long term solution will be to buy the gear and components and learn to reload. I love your Province and the people and wish to revisit someday to harvest a magnificent Nyala. Prayer, planning, preperation, perseverence, proper procedure, and positive attitude, positively prevents poor performance. | |||
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| <Mike McGuire> |
Weatherby will have the distribution butI think the issue will be the export licence. In Australia for example and I think Africa would be similar. coompanies like Wby will do a shipment a couple of times a year for riles and ammo, brass etc and get a single bulk export licence. Wby would certainly have the organisation to arrange a "one of export permit" but cost might be an issue. You could also try Huntingtons which are retail outlet in the US and have lots business out of the US. About a year ago a mate of mine wanted to try a whole bunch of Northfork bullets but Northfork wanted nothing to do with export. However, he got Huntingstons to buy the bullets from Nortfork and then they exported them to Australia. But ammo would be a bigger deal. Huntingtons might be able to set you up with dies, bullets and brass for 257 Wby. http://www.huntingtons.com/ If Africa is the same as Australia then you will need evidence to give Huntingtons (we have a form) that you can legally receive what they send. Probobaly easiest if it was done through your gun shop. | ||
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Mighty Joe I have tried all avenues to get factory ammo but have failed. Reloading is the only way. I have all the necessary dies but, there are no cases for the calibre in South Africa. The local agent is not very helpful and will not order any brass for me. We have a great province and the best Nyala in Africa. Next time you down here, give me a call. Regards MD | |||
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Mike Many thanks for that. Seems Australia has a lot in common with South Afrcica regarding the firearms. Our dealers do not order very often. Thanks for the link. I will try Huntingtons. Thanks for the help. MD | |||
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| one of us |
MD, you could try to form the brass from 7mm Rem. Mag or 300 Win. Mag, a bit laborious, though. Furthermore it could be unlawful.... | |||
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One of Us |
I have formed .270 Wby Mag from 7mm Rem Mag many times, I would think .257 Wby would be easy to form from 7mm or even .264 brass. | |||
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Perhaps you should contact Norma directly for brass. A possible contact and resource for you in RSA would be Don Heath in Zim and Swedan who now is affliated with Norma. He posts on AR. Send him a PM or email for suggestions. Good Luck. RCG | |||
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| One of Us |
Well I managed to secure four boxes of weatherby 115gr. nosler ballistic tip. Anybody had any experience with this type of bullet? | |||
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| One of Us |
MD375, I am a Nosler fan, but do not like/shoot the ballistic tips in anything other than varmint rifles. I think you are going to find that at 257 speeds they are very frangible/explosive on larger than varmint animals. If you must, only take heart/lung broadside shots. You will see what I mean. | |||
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Ive shot probably 20 deer with the 115 bt and its not alot more destructive then some of the premium bullets. What you have to keep in mind is if you all you have is a shoulder shot a premium bullet will about allways ruin both shoulders because they penetrate deaper. Ive had a few cases where bts and sierras were shot into a shoulder and the deer dropped and the off side shoulder was just fine. Anohter big veriable is how far your shooting. A 115 bt at 50 yards is going to rip of things but then about any load out of a 257 at that range is going to make a mess. Out at 250plus yards the ballistic tips do fine. | |||
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One of Us |
As others have stated, you can resize 7mm Rem Mag cases to .257 Wby Mag. I Lube the 7mm Mag cases well (but not so much that I get wrinkles in the brass) and with one smooth stroke I size the cases and come out with .257 Wby Mag cases. They are just a little shorter than regular Weatherby cases, but that is no problem for me as the bullets I use still seat well enough to get the OAL that I desire. (One benefit here is that I never have to trim brass.) There are a variety of bullets and powders that work well, but it will depend on what your gun likes. Some powder options that have worked for me: RL19, RL22 and IMR 7828. Bullets that my gun (Weatherby Vanguard) likes: Sierra 117 gr GameKing, 85 grain Nosler Ballistic Tip, 100 Grain Hornady BTSP. I get the best groups using Federal Match Mag LR primers, but I get good results with Winchester Mag LR primers as well. Good luck. Red C. Everything I say is fully substantiated by my own opinion. | |||
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I do the same but at least with my dies it requires shooting them once to fireform. the first time i shoot i will usually down load a couple grains because the case capasity is a bit smaller. Nice thing is that you never have to trim them as the necks are alot shorter.
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| one of us |
Virgin 7mm Rem Mag or .264 Win mag brass will form perfectly with a single pass through the .257 Weatherby sizing die. The case necks will be a little shorter, but that doesn't seem to adversely affect anything. With Winchester 7mm Rem Mag brass, it takes about 1 to 2 grains less powder to get the same velocities as when using Weatherby brass. Hope this helps, John Lord, please grant me the strength to change the things I can, the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, and the wisdom to know the difference. | |||
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MD375 Just shoot waterbuck/wildebeast sized animals behind the shoulder and it will work just fine. DOUBLE RIFLE SHOOTERS SOCIETY | |||
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I also do as Hondo does. I load the resized 7mm brass 1 to 2 grains lower than I would if I were using Weatherby cases. I have had no problems with the neck being a little shorter on the resized brass. Red C. Everything I say is fully substantiated by my own opinion. | |||
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| one of us |
You will have 80 pieces of Weaterhby brass when you shoot all 4 boxes. That is a very good supply of brass to reload from. The 100 grain TSX from Barnes is a great bullet for the 257 wby. Another bullet to consider would be Nosler's Accubond bullet. Socialism works great until you run out of the other person's money...... | |||
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One of Us |
It looks like a lot of us .257 wby shooters have had to use other belted brass in a pinch. I have done it a few times over the years but when I can get original brass with longer necks I always prefer to use it. I actualy have a step down die for using longer brass but dont think I ever used it. Great choice, I bought my 257 37 years ago and have shot a lot of game with it. I found that mine didnt like heavy bullets so it has shot nothing but 100 grn noslers and 69 grns of IMR4831 for everything ever since. Have fun its a great round. | |||
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One of Us |
X2 Have only shot whitetails with the 115 NBT in my 257 and it is very effective although it can be a little too devastating. Stay away from heavy bone and you should be fine, but as others have said, the TSX or Accubond would be preferable for anything larger than Blesbok etc. In other words, shot placement with the ballistic tip is more critical. Congratulations on a great cartridge! I love mine! Regards, Scott "....but to protest against all hunting of game is a sign of softness of head, not of soundness of heart." Theodore Roosevelt | |||
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