Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Ask The Gunwriters 257 WBY or 300 Win Mag as the all around western rifle?

DakotaDeer,

Don't laugh. I talked to a buddy last night who recently started hunting again after a long time. He killed two elk last week with his .243, a cow and calf, one shot each. He doesn't even handload, just knows how to shoot. Complete penetration even on the cow. I don't think he even knows what bullet he used, just "100 grain."

I think the SS SPS is a solid way to go. I looked at the Weatherbys and just couldn't like em, bit bulky and chunky for my liking. Me thinks the 700 with an Edge (which by the way is on order) is a sweet package. This 700 is a tack driving mo fo too, it absolutely loves the 100 grain TSX's in factory fodder, putting 3 into .5". The accuracy was a real suprise, but also highly welcomed since I bought every box of factory TSX's they had in stock for it without knowing if it would shoot em or not!

I bought one of the Remington 700 SPS Stainless/Synthetic .257 Weatherby rifles at Sportsman's Warehouse. It has a full twenty-six inch barrel and really handles nicely.

I put a Leupold 4.5-14 with fine Duplex on it and Leupold QR bases and (low) rings.

Haven't fired it yet, but I've adjusted the trigger (the new Mark-Pro or whatever you call it) came around in a heartbeat; it is now a perfect 3 /2 pounds and as crisp as the finest Remington trigger I've ever felt.

I also free-floated the barrel and glassed (with dark-gray Marine-Tex) both the rear of the recoil lug and the action.

Richard Beebe, the owner of Redding Reloading Equipment, sent me what I consider to be the ultimate set of dies; a body die, a Competition Bushing Neck-Sizing Die and a Competition Seating Die.

And I used umpteen of my Cabela's Points to buy 100 gen-u-ine Weatherby cases from Cabela's.

Right now I'm diligently detailing the cases.

Before I shoot my new .257 Weatherby, however, I'm planning on completely cleaning/degreasing the barrel and treating the barrel with Ultra Bore Coat. I've no experience with this, but UC sent me a kit and it would be interesting to see how it works.

I've had so many great experiences on big game animals with the .25-'06 that can only believe that this new .257 Weatherby will only be more of a fabulous thing.

Steve

Please let us know how it all turns out, especially the UBC. I have had some very good luck with it. (Actually, I would have shot the rifle first to see how it fouled, then UBC'd it. But then I am just that way.)

Almost the exact load I used in my 300 WM except mine preferred 79 grns.

79gr's is the load I use for the 165gr Partition.

Oh, how this thread conflicts me. For many years I worshiped at the altar of the .300 Winchester. It was the doyen of cartridges for me until dogzapper turned me onto the .280 AI. The .280 AI kills deer just as quickly, shoots just as flat or flatter and kicks a whole heap less.

I have also had a recent flirtation with the .257 Wby (Vanguard synthetic NWTF edition) and was really falling in love with it when my dad took a shine to it and the Roy moved into his gun safe so I am now in search of another (likely another Vanguard).


If forced to pick one for the Western task at hand I would show my fickle heart and go with the .257 Wby. Please forgive me .300 Winchester

In the hands of a skilled shooter the 300 has always and will always be a better western big game round.Provided one can shoot it.

Maybe I'm missing something here... but the reason someone should choose a 257 Roy over a 300WM is because of recoil??? GIMME A BREAK! The guy who threw his 300 Winney 10' would still have thrown his Roy at least 7!!! I'm a fan of the 25-06, but it ain't no 300 WM!

Don't feel like you're the only one. Forgive me for I have sinned........

They all threw the 300s and 338s farther than the 270s and 7mm...and the 300 were often heavier guns. "What?...me flinch?? Never"

The 257 Roy, with a good bullet (TSX, NP) may well be a good choice for elk in semi-open and gentle country.

But I wonder if it would be a wise choice in country such as the Salmon River Breaks in north central Idaho. This country is stood up on end with some of the steepest mountains on earth and it's one hell of long way to the bottom.

If a bull can get his feet moving after the shot he's likley to go to the bottom of the canyon. Packing one out of here is now your worst nightmare!

I want a round that throws a bullet capable of breaking at least one shoulder from just about any angle and certainly able to break both shoulders on a broadside shot. I want him on the ground right NOW.

I think that for this type of country that a 300WM/WBY with a 200 grain NP would make more sense, provided you take the time to learn to shoot it well.

Just my $.02

-Mike-

I have thought about this topic quite abit today. I am sorta surprised that quite a few people think the 257 may be a better choice. While the 257 weatherby mag is perfectly capable of killing elk I would consider it to be way down the list of fine elk rounds. The 300 win mag with 165 gr - 200 gr to me is clearly a better all around big game round. Quite honestly I don't know anyone personally that would take the 257 weatherby as one of their top picks for ELK. To many different angles and distances out west in the timber and open country where I just don't see a 257 being a very good choice.I would take a 7mm rem mag all day long over the 257 just do to the fact of punching a bigger hole and a heavier bullet. That's says alot for me becuase I don't even care much for 7mm rem mags. For me a all around rifle would have to be .308 caliber on up.To me the 300 win mag may be as close to perfect for a all around rifle as I can get.

I have, and have used both...but also have a third choice which I think is about perfect, the .270 WBY. more bullet weight then the .257 and actually shooots flater (130 your brand) at 3450-3500. Smacked at lot of stuff big and small DRT.

Actually MD recommended it a some years ago in RIFLE and havent been dissapointed.

less recoil than the .300's

LC

Dang you AC! Every time you post about your new SPS .257 I get closer and closer to buying one!

I hear you. If it weren't this close to Christmas, I'd be $400.00 "shorter".

I would not necessarily agree that advocacy of the 300 mag implies lack of field experience.I have seen some excellent,seasoned shooters using the various 300's and who knew exactly what they were doing with them.

I have found that the guy who sucks with a 300 pretty much sucks with anything,and he is unlikely to get a good deal better if you stick a high velocity small-bore in his mitts.The guy who is likely to have the most problem with the 300's is the one with little experience,practices very little and does not shoot a great deal at all.He reads too much,thinks a 300 is the answer to his sloppy shooting,and generally knows nothing about the performance potential of his rifle. But a GOOD guy with a 300 is going to be pure poison on about anything, if he can shoot it.Such a guy is equally effective with about anything.

I've seen the 250 Savage and 25/06 used on elk; they kill them,I know, cause I helped skin and butcher the animals afterwards.I also have spent a lot of time chasing wound channels made by 25 caliber bullets through lots of elk(along with other calibers),and seen the difference in effect on animals under field conditions between 25's and 300's. Nobody will convince me that there is no difference,and for an all-round sporter to be used for elk and the general run of soft-skinned game, under a wide variety of cover,distances,size of animals, I would prefer something of larger bore diameter and heavier bullet weight than a 25 caliber provides,even if it is not a 300.There is a lot of cartridge choice available between 25 and 30 caliber that will still keep recoil manageable,and still trump any 25.I have seen the 25's used on a pretty wide variety of game,pronghorn to elk, and I hardly fell into a swoon over their effectiveness.I am not prejudiced in this regard,as I am a big fan of the 257 Roberts,but I'm not gonna reach for it when there is a good 270 or 7mm rifle around.

OTOH I understand Steve and John's concerns about recoil and field positions as well. Locked in solidly with bags,a solid field rest or bipod, a 300 is pretty easy to shoot accurately; but if you get into some funky field position,or even off-hand,etc,it take a good deal more muscle tension to control the 300's,which can affect precision a good deal as a guy anticipates getting whacked. As you age,you become recoil averse,but this is easily handled by stepping into the realm of a good 270 or 7mm rifle,any of which make a better general purpose western rifle than any 25.

A good example of much of the above is my old friend,Bill, a cattle rancher in Wyoming,a very good field shot, but not much of a ballistic gacker.He has seen a lot of elk killed with everything from the 243 to the 300 mags. When I met him, his elk rifle was a badly worn Savage 99 in 250-3000,which he had used on scores of elk. I gave him a 270 in 1980 and he has killed everything from cows to herd bulls with it ever since.About 4 years ago I bought a 300 Win Mag in Rawlins and left it at the ranch, and Bill used it on some cows and a couple of herd bulls at distances out to about 350 yards.If you ask him(I did) about how one cartridge compared to the other,he will tell you that the 270 is a far better elk rifle than any 25,but the 300 mags just hammer them. Of course, Bill can shoot.

I completely agree with Britt that animals give you little time to fool with rangefinders,and high velocity and flat trajectory are very desireable attributes in a western big game rifle.

I also think Highridge is spot on,and the fellow who posted on the 270 Weatherby is correct as well, that it's a better choice than a 257.

Meat elk hunting out here in mid-eastern WA calls for long, long shots. You've been on the Roberts Ranch David as I have so you know what I'm talking about.

I would rather have a 300 win mag with a 24" barrel shooting
fast 150's or 168's than a long 26" smoke pole in 257 wby shooting 120's.

Same goes for mule deer.

I killed my very first elk some 35yrs ago with a 270Wby, it did a fine job then and many deer, antelope and a few elk later I still think it does. I don't own the rifle any longer nor do I have another so chambered, but if I were thinking of going under 30cal it would be very high on my list. For general western hunting, especially for an out of state hunter who must travel a long way to get there, spend a lot of money doing it, etc I feel a 300mag is the best by a mile...IF the hunter can handle it. I've never seen any caliber under 30 hammer big game the way a 300mag does when used by someone who knows what he's doing. About 20yrs ago I pretty much retired all of my rifles chambered to anything under 300mag, except for an occasional mule deer or antelope hunt. Did a lot of hunting these past 20yrs and cannot say I ever wished I was carrying something else when a 300 was in hand. Can't say that for the times when I wasn't packing that rifle!

Bob

The Roberts ranch is indicitive of the problem here. Some shots are way out there in the open, and then there's the other parts of WA and ID I hunt where it's broken trees, then fields, then dark forest.

It's hard to discount the experience and number of animals that Steve and John have killed. I suspected they would both advocate the 257 WBY over the 300 Win.

Besides, aren't you the guru of 6.5?