257 Weatherby Magnum

[Firepower!]

Hi
I would like to know what is the potential of 257 weatherby magnum and how does it compare to rwgular calibers such as 270, 7mm Mag, 300 win mag and 30-06?

 

[.300 Weatherby Mag]

It screams, shoots flat, and hits hard!! Cons.... Factory ammo is expensive... It will burn up barrels if you aren't careful or shoot a lot... The positives outweigh the negatives... What else do you want to know??

 

[Firepower!]

i want to know how does it measure up to the calibers i mentioned in op interms of energy and velocity and size of game?

 

[hickstick_10]

read a ballistic table

 

[jgcoastie]

***The following is an opinion only***

The .257 Wby is an answer to a question that was never asked.

It does not out-perform the .25/06 enough to justify the cost. Two guys antelope hunting in the southwest. One has a .257 Wby, the other a .25/06. They spy two trophy antelope at 400yds, they both shoot at the exact same moment placing their shots in the boiler rooms of both antelope. The result: both antelope die.

For most practical purposes, the .25/06 will do everything a .257 Wby will do. Only the ammo costs less and it won't burn up your barrel as fast.

As far as comparison, the .25/06 and .270 are just .30/06 cases necked down to the smaller diameter.

Comparing quarter-bores to 7mm & .300 heavyweights is not a fair fight.

 

[crghss]

If you want to spend the money......

Great round. I think 257 Weatherby is tops in 25 cal's. Draw back is cost and limited offerings in factory ammo. So if you want to shoot a lot reloading is a must, at least for me. I think it would work well on large Deer and I'm sure lot of people would use it for Elk but I wouldn't go that route myself.

Now as for comparison to "270, 7mm Mag, 300 win mag and 30-06", well these cartridges can shoot much heavier bullets. The biggest .257 bullet is 120 gr. Where as all the listed cal's will push a 150 gr. With the 30 cal's pushing a 220 gr. So your asking a lot from a much smaller bullet to compete with them.

You would need to look at .270 Weatherby to get a fair comparison IMHO.

But still a great round, if I ever saw a good deal I'd pick it up. Some consider it one of Weatherby's best caliber's.

 

[GeauxTide]

If you want 257 WBY performance, re-barrel to 6.5-06. 100s @3500, 120s @3200, 129s @3100, 140s @2935. And, you can use 25-06 and 30-06 brass. Remember to compare 24" barrels.

 

[rickyjames]

i wanted a 257 weatherby until i saw the ammo was $70 a box of 20. i got a 243 instead i figure my 7mm/08 and 7mm rem mag can do anything the 257 could do alot cheaper.

 

[skydiver3346]

.257 Weatherby:

Awesome round for sure. We have taken really big bucks up in Canada with a Blaser R93 in .257 WBY using their 110 grain Accubond or 117 grain round nose bullets, (very expensive ammo = $79/box). This is without a doubt the most accurate rifle caliber I own (even with factory WBY ammo, no handloads). It knocks big deer down if you do your part, even at very long distances. Also is a super round for Pronghorns and Mulies too. Would suggest the other heavier calibers mentioned for Elk hunting (although the .257 WBY would probably do the job as well).

 

[ZeroJunk]

My cousin was a Weatherby man. He had a Mark V in 257 about 25 years ago and we could routinely shoot 2 1/2 groups at 300 yards and neither of us is a competitive shooter by any stretch.
I was always intrigued by the cartridge.

As far as the answer to a question that was never asked, 90% of cartridges fall in to that class.

 

[natman]

The 257 Weatherby is great for shooting medium sized animals too far away. It's probably the ultimate antelope cartridge, although it is hard to justify the extra cost for the marginal improvement over the much easier to feed 25-06.

If you do a lot of this kind of hunting and ammo cost and barrel life are no objection you should consider it. For larger animals and distances under 300 yards you would be better off with a 30-06.

 

[Firepower!]

Thank you guys for some great input.
I guess for what it is, 257 is expensive to shoot, which probably suggests that a 300 wby mag would be a better option.

 

[javven]

Uh... not sure I concur there. I'm not sure 300 WBY is any cheaper?

Pretty much that double - radius shoulder seems to come with an accompanying price tag. That said - they do every darn thing they say they do.

The jump to 30 caliber is a huge one. That's basically going from antelope medicine to bear medicine.

The most versatile caliber is going to be 30-06 among those you listed. Unless it's going to eat you, you're all set to bag it and take it home. Even if it was going to eat you - 200+gr @ 30-06 velocities can ruin it's entire day.

2nd only to the towering 30-06's 'near perfect for north america' ballistics is the 270win. Google Jack O'Connor - he wrote extensively about the 270 and is perhaps it's biggest fan. He was also an exceptionally good shot, and could really get every ounce out of the .277 pills he was shooting.

When you 'drop' to 25 caliber, IMO you start to get away from the 'all purpose' and more into the 'specialized' numbers. Antelope, Goat, Deer (though... I wouldn't -pick- one specifically for moose) etc are all perfectly legitimate quarry for 25-06, 257 WBY etc.

Don't overlook the 6.5mm calibers. 6.5 is all about efficiency downrange, but still offers decent bullet weight.