257 Weatherby

[snakeoil]

...anyone besides me uses a 257 Weatherby for deer hunting?...I would like to hear of your experience with this fine round for deer hunting..

 

[SAWMAN]

When guiding in Maine I had a "sport" come up from Pa. several years to hunt with me. He always brought one of the older Weatherby guns chambered in 257Wby Mag. He used the factory 117 or 120gr loading IIRC. At least two of the years that he hunted with me I witnessed a great shot across a clear cut that he made on a nice buck. The deer were 235lbs+ and one was a 10pt with massive main beams.
Several years later him and his son wanted to come up for a coyote hunt. His sons gun was a custom built something or another that was chambered in 257Wby Mag. He had handloaded 90gr ammo,and during sight in at the range I remember how extremely flat that load shot.
He ended up killing a nice yote but not enough pelt remained to have that big male mounted. The very next year he came for a hunt carring a 223Rem.
IMO,like the 25-06,the 257WM is a little much for these small Fla deer. The recoil is a little much also. To me these guns (chamberings) are more designed for long range mule deer or maybe even antalope.
But hey . . . if it works for you,you can't get a much flatter shooting firearm. A coyote that you did not need the pelt off of,coupled with a 75gr should be about perfect. --- SAWMAN

 

[Jerry]

I used to use the .257 Wby Mag for deer hunting in north AL where the deer are somewhat larger than Fl deer. Used it for several years with mostly the 120gr factory load.
Flat, fast, deer destructor. Great caliber for longer range, and certainly does the job on deer. Never had one move very far after impact, and most dropped in their tracks. I shot on loping through a bean field and it just rolled him over right there. About a 230 lb 7 point.
Bought a .300 Wby Mag and put the .257 up for a couple years. Recoil was brutal on the .300 probably due to hot loading my own Nosler boat tail hollow points. Another flat rifle with an advantage hunting larger game.
.257 a great caliber for deer hunting. If your young and don't mind the recoil, go for it! Thats my experience.
SAWMAN is the chambering expert. He is right on in his analysis.

 

[SAWMAN]

And . . . if b you want to stay away from the cost of Weatherby brass thing,just have your 25-06 rechambered to 25-06AI. Comes real close to the Wby.
Ol' Roy Weatherby knew a thing or two about getting the most velocity from a perticular caliber. Anyone remember the old 220 Weatherby Rocket ??? --- SAWMAN

 

[boatbum101]

Another choice 257 Roberts AI . 25-06 performance with less powder , improved barrel life & no brass trimming . It takes " X " amount of powder to wash the throat out of a barrel . It's up to you rather you do it in a 1,000 rounds or 10,000 rounds .

 

[SAWMAN]

I owned,and shot competively, a Weatherby MkV Accumark chambered in 30-378 Wby Mag for some years. Actually brought it down to Fla when I moved down here. When i joined a hunting club,from where I built my shooting house,I had a 750yd shot down a road. I used to put coyote bait at that point and shoot down to them. Missed a couple,but killed quite a few.
Pretty much all the Weatherby chamberings are a step up. Nowadays some of the SAUM,RUM,and WSSM's come pretty close in velocity. But try this on . . . my gun would shoot a 220gr SMK >3200fps and a 125gr well over 4100fps
Today,if I had my choice of just one of the WBY chamberings,it would most likely be the newer 6.5-300Wby Mag. --- SAWMAN

 

[bobinbusan]

Doesn't make a difference to the buck deer what he was killed with as long as it was a good kill shot while he was chasing a "HOT DOE" :flame: and if it was a doe deer it doesn't matter to her :tea: