Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Rifles Dedicated coues rifle ?

As requested on details on the 257s we built.

The 257s we built all use 3 groove lilja barrels. Custom reamer made by PT&G with shorter freebore. Some of the guys are using .070" others .100" jump to lands. Throat angle is 1 1/2 degrees. Norma brass, Fed 215 primers, moly coated 115 Bergers. The other four are using RL-25.

I wore out my first barrel @ 950 rounds. It got so rough that it was damaging the VLDs so I switched to the moly coated 110 accubonds for a while. When RL-33 came out I tried it with the moly coated 110s and was very happy with the performance. 33 added a bit more velocity.

Current barrel is a 3 groove #3 profile finished at 27.5". I did the barrel installation and chambering. Platform is a Ruger M77 tang safety with a timney trigger that breaks at 1 lb, in a McMillan Hunter stock, action is bedded and barrel totally floated. Scope is a Swarovski Z6 2.5-15 x 44. Weight is 9.75 lbs.

Load is 83 gr of RL-33 for velocity of 3680 fps. ( I know this seems obscenely over the top, but it isn't with this rifle) This load will most likely perform differently for a SAMMI chambered 257 Weatherby. Work up carefully.

I have found the flat trajectory, fast killing, moderate recoil and low wind drift of the 257 Weatherby to be the perfect combination for my coues hunting.

As to the comments on using large chamberings....I know Dave Miller and he uses a 300 Weatherby and has done so for most of his coues wt hunting career. Several of my friends use a variety of large 30 calibers including the 300 RUM. It is all about wind drift and the use of high BC bullets.

Several years ago I had Kirby Allen rebarrel a Model 70 into 6.5 WSM to use as a Coues rifle. Before that, I had used a 280Rem, 270Win, 260Rem, 7mmRM, 300WSM. I think a good factory option now would be the 26 Nosler.

I would stick with your 7mm RM, if you want another rifle I would go 257 Weatherby, 6.5 Creedmoor or a 270 WSM. Good luck!

In a factory rifle, twist rate is going to limit you in the 240 Bee, so that is out for being a great pick.

You already own the 257 Bee, which is about as good as you're going to do in factory guise.

Otherwise, you need to step up to probably the 26 Nosler to actually gain anything at distance. The 264 WinMag would only be of interest in a pre64.

Yeah i got pretty soggy in my blue jeans haha.

I'm still a proponent for larger rather than smaller. (not just for coues deer, for most everything hunting related)

Smallest Ive used is a 257 wby, largest is my 28 Nosler.

Ive seen:
22-250 (that one was PURE luck on finding)
243
257 wby
6.5 creed
270 and 270 wsm
7mag
7 LRM
7 RUM
28 Nosler
30-06
300 win mag
300 wby
338 win mag.

Ive been in on Id guess 50, or more coues kills, my own included. It obviously doesn't take a bazooka to bring down a 100# deer, but in my experience they don't tend to bleed much when on a death march. And, the terrain they live in including the exact colored rocks and tall grass makes me want them dead right then and there, or at least in sight with minimal tracking. As an added bonus, the bigger, heavier high BC bullets fly better in the sometime necessary extended range shots that can be presented. So often in coues country your choices are limited. Shoot 'em at 500+, or try and shoot 'em at 50. (across canyon, or in their bedroom).

Good stuff firstcoues. I agree with lots of that. Good idea to use high bc bullets regardless of cartridge to hedge your chances of a good hit.

Out if curiosity I checked my notes and tallied up the coues kills I've witnessed.

27 kills total

18 with a 243
7 with a 22-250
1 with a 223
1 with a 270

Average shot distance 270 yards
Closest shot 40 yards
Longest shot 570 yards

The quickest kill I've witnessed is a tie between a 223 (55ttsx) and 22-250 (55 hornady). In both cases the bullets hit just above the heart, both dropped at the shot and quivered for a slight moment

The biggest rodeo came from a 55 grain 22-250, buck was hit first in the hip.

The take away is the usual: good shot placement and most calibers work well. Poor shot placement and rodeos result.

I really would like to use a ~140 grain 6.5creedmoor or 260 on a few bucks and see if we notice anything different. That'll be a rifle project for this summer I guess.

This is a fun thread, coues deer are a unique animal, and an addicting hunt

I got addicted !
Seeing as what I have now will work just fine, the want a new rifle is fading.

Guess, I'll just get that new spotter, and have more money towards a rzr.

Casey recommended upgrading glass, but I like my leupold's, and just put a 10x mil quad ss, on my 7 mag. I may go shoot it this weekend.