I received a .257 Wby Magnum Vanguard for Christmas The only remaining deer season was a special 3 day doe hunt. So, I loaded some ammo using the Hornady 117 gr BTSP Interlock bullet. I shot a doe at 70 yds (I was hoping for a much longer shot than that). The bullet destroyed a rib on entrance and clipped the back bone but DID NOT EXIT. There was massive internal damage (the deer dropped in its tracks). Is this bullet too fragile for the .257 Mag? Or, was it because I clipped the back bone and most any other bullet in this rifle would have done the same at the high velocity of a short range shot?

High velocity is devistating. If you had a lot of blood shot meat, you are probably seeing the result of massive hydrostatic shock. I get the same result in mine from the 110 Accubonds.

Any conventional bullet will break up if it hits heavy bone at that kind of velocity. For nothing bigger than whitetail, it probably doesn't matter.

For anything bigger, you should consider one of the super premium bullets.

Red,
If you are unhappy with the performance of the Hdy. Interlock at those speeds, I would try an A-frame/Partition construction bullet. Remember that common bullets for the .25 caliber have to perform down to the 250 Savage range of velocities.

The Interlock is a great bullet and as durable or more so than any of the cup and core bullets. With the Wby chambering you may be pushing the limits of it's capabilities when large bones are involved.

If you want to use it and shoot it at 257 Roberts velocities....

try 30 to 35 grains of SR 4759 in it, with Large rifle primers... at least to practice with..

most 257 Roys, I ever seen at the local range, are ones that someone bought or inherited and they have shot out bores in them...

yet the above load recommendation seems to help them maintain useful velocities, and still have deer hunting accuracy...

The only way to really answer your question is to go shoot another deer with the same bullet and rifle and see what happens.

Sounds like it worked perfectly . My P.O.V.

CLL:
That's a very good point. If a bullet never exited a deer and yet did that kind of internal damage, I should be tickled pink.

I had the same thing happen this year with my 270 wsm while antelope hunting. I was expecting a long range shot so I had it sighted in for a 300 yard zero and practiced as often as possible. I ended up with an 80 yard shot on an antelope buck. The 130 gr. Nosler ballistic tip entered his neck above the shoulder, hit the spine, and exited. It then hit a doe to the right of him in almost the same spot taking out a 2" section of her esophagus. Both animals dropped like a rock and so did my jaw. While gutting the buck his entire vitals were jellied, I am guessing from hydrostatic shock. While skinning the doe I found three holes in her. The only part of the bullet recovered was a 68gr piece of copper jacketing under the back hide of her neck. I promptly switched from ballistic tips to failsafes and some boxes of fusions I wanted to use up.

I switched to either bonded or tougher bullets simply to reduce the amount of meat damage. I also didn't want a repeat for some time when I didn't have two tags to fill. I am not saying you need to switch though. It sounds like your interlock performed better than my BT.

P.S. I also used the BT's to take a doe at 70 yards. I miscalculated and hit her in the spine. It looked like a grenade had gone off. That was actually the final straw.

My understanding of standard "Cup & Core" bullets (aka, the Hornady Interlocks, Speer HC's, Sierra GK's) are designed for optimal performance up to a max velocity of around 3,000fps with an ideal of around 2750fps.

Exceeding 3k my understanding is that one should go with a premium bullet - aka, Barnes, Partition, etc.

Anyway, just what i've heard!

.257"
117 gr.
Ballistics Coefficient 0.391
Sectional Density 0.253
If you are shooting this same bullet and pumping it up to a velocity higher than 3300 + or - then what your seeing is becasue the bullet is too soft for that velocity.
I have shot a few deer with a 1980 production MKV 24" 257 and seen partition pencil at 250 yards and i have seen 100 gr SP explode at 55 yards and not leave anything but shrapnel in goo inside.
I think the best bullet for the 257 weatherby inside of 400 yards is the hornady SST at 3200 FPS MV.
you should be able to get there easy with 71 grains of Reloader 25 and it will probably be a very accurate load for you.

Too fast, too close! The downside of the fast stepping magnums is close range bullet performance. If you expect long shots too be the norm, I'll trade explosive performance up close for the long range capabilities of the big magnums. The 257 weatherby is a tremendous antelope and deer rifle, but it is not a short to medium range cartridge. I wouldn't trade my 257 Weatherby for anything when I'm standing in the wide open spaces of Wyoming or Colorado, and the possibilty of 350 plus yards is entirely possible- but if I know that that is the longest I may encounter, I'd much prefer my 270.
If you don't have the luxury of multiple rifles, consider an accubond, or even an X bullet. They are both much tougher bullets- the x bullet may be to tough for whitetails, but it won't blow up!

Red C.

I have used my .257 WM on deer, hogs and coyotes. I mostly use the factory 100 grain loads because they are the most accurate in my rifle, but have loaded and used some TBBC bullets. The factory Hornady bullets often do not exit and frequently come apart for me on close shots even when heavy bone is not ecountered, but the interal damage, WOW! its impressive.

WLA

I am surprised more haven't chimed in on the Barnes TSX. It'll git-er-done! and it is also the best shooting bullet in mine. I use the 100gr. and have complete confidence in it at any range, near or far, big or small.

Yes, I have had Hornady's come apart many times. But never had anything but "one-shot-kills" Dead is dead. Lately, I have switched to Nosler Accubonds. Great for deer. The Swifts kill well, but copper foul the barrel badly. So I pass on them for deer. They are perfect for bear amd elk though.
WYLD

Or you could simply use TSX bullets and not worry anymore...

Flippy,
That's an awfully scary quote from Hitler. I do hope it is not prophetic about our nation. Hillary & Obama both scare me!

Tundragriz, Flippy,
People keep talking about the TSX bullets. I must give them a try. I'm pretty frugal and have avoided them only because of the cost, but I'm going to give them a try.

I love my .257 Roy -- its the flattest shooting, most accurate gun I own (well, maybe my Ruger .243 is as accurate, but certainly doesn't have the downrange energy of the .257

Red C., TSX bullets are not cheap, but they shoot very well. They were the most accurate bullet out of 4 that I tried in two 338Win Mags (Win Mod 70 Classic and custom Mauser rifle). I also used them in two 270Win (Ruger 77MK2SS, 1950 Steyer B) and at least two different 30-’06 rifles (Win Mod 70 and Ruger 77 tang safety). All rifles chambered for the same cartridge, shot the same load very well.

In the 338 loads, besides the TSX, I used Sierra Game Kings, Speer Trophy Bonded Bear Claws (I had bought a partial box at a gun show to try), Speer Spitzer BTSP and Hornady SP bullets (the last two I considered “practice loads). All 225g. I buy partial boxes at gun shows so I can try lots of different bullets.

While accuracy for all was quite sufficient for hunting uses, most at or under 1 1/2†@100, the TSX bullets were grouping about half of the other three at 1/2†to 5/8†depending on the rifle. The funny part was every rifle shot the same load very well. Either all three holes touching or two holes touching and one just off the group, every single time. No real fliers, except for some probably caused by me.

I think the groups could have been better, had I shot them over a couple of days instead of four or five hours. After shooting way over 60 rounds of 338, my shoulder was getting “tired†and everybody at the range was moving farther down the line…

Oh, and the quote is real.

I am not a 257 W fan, but if I had one come my way and it and I were going out in the field... it would definitely be wearing a TSX on top of the rifle cases...

I am not usually a Barnes fan, but they hit a grand slam with that bullet design...