Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Rifles Thoughts on Deer Bullets...

I would load a 115 Nosler partition to about 2700 so I wouldn't destroy the total deer. How big are your deer over there?
<br>David

stronics,
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<br>Our deer aren't huge but there are some respectable bucks taken every year. Here's one I got during the rut in Jan of this year;
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BTW, That's my wife and my "other" deer rifle in the picture with the buck.

hey cheaha!!!,
<br> lay it out bud,... i've got to here(hear!) about your other deer rifle. it'd be a boring world any ways if ever body was as smart as me.... or even as good looking,.... or as great a rifleman.
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<br> serious though, you got me curious. i saw the picture, tell me the story....... i won't pick on you too much.... even if i got to wonder.....
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johnw,
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<br>The last two years I have deer hunted with a custom 338 Ultra. 200gr BT's @ 3373fps and assorted loads.
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<br>So you see, this 257 Wby is a more conservative,conventional choice. This is my Ought-six.

Cheaha:
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<br>Uhhhhh..........."Do ya think ya used enough dynamite there Butch???"
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<br>JimF

Hey, Cheaha. Post the shot of the coyote for JimF. He is asking about dynamite. E

Pedestal,
<br> I use the same bullet in my 25-06. it seems to do well on antelope and whitetail. I have spoken to others that use the hornady bullets and they have no complaints. tom

E,
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<br>Yeah, JimF will start calling me Butch after he see's that photo.
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<br>Just checked and Imagestation is temporarly unavailable. Doing some maintinence of some sort. I'll check back later and see if I can post that picture.

The October issue of Shooting Times has an interesting article. 17 bullets are shot into media at different velocities to test expansion, weight retention, etc... The author makes a great effort to include all the variables such as distance and point of impact. Interesting.
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<br>With the data they show, looks to me like the A-Frame Swift has about the best all around performance.

I prefer to test my bullets on deer. Test media can help compare one bullet to another but can it tell you how they will perform inside a deer? There is nothing that can take the place of field testing on game.

PDS,
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<br>That is of course the acid test(field testing) but I do think these type of bullet tests are useful. Good to see Shooting Times do an indepth test instead of one boring article after another.
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<br>I plan on doing my own "field testing" with the Barnes 100gr XBT's and the Nosler 100gr BT's this fall.
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<br>Hope it's cooler down your way. It was 94* here today.whew!!!!

I read that article last night. Interesting reading. It reinforces the fact that X's really shine when bone breaking is included. I was surprised that the CT failsafe was almost identical to the X.
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<br>Wish they'd have included Bear Claws in the testing though.

Those two bullets definately had the best penetration.
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<br>The author went to a fair share of trouble to point out that the test was for comparison and that best performance was dependant on a number of variables. Well worth reading.

wow! i mean wow, cheaha, guess you're doing alright for speed..... i shoot a friends .338 win mag a couple of times a year, and i think of how much horsepower i'm wasting. still though, if i travelled more to hunt i would own one.....
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<br> i guess my ideal battery to hunt anything anywhere would be a .243, and a .338WM. what you're shooting mirrors my ideal in many ways...... only a lot faster.
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<br> too, i have always admired the .257 weatherby for what it can do. i just never thought of it as a whitetail rifle.... john w

I am a big fan of the .257 Wby, and have used it for 18 years on just about anything you can think of. My bullet of choice is the 120 gr. Nosler Partition. Last fall, I took a big Colorado mulie at 320 yards- one shot, the bullet did not exit, one instantly dead mulie. I have in the past used the Sierra boattail, but after two blowups at ranges under 100 yards, I gave it up. Just too much velocity from the .257 for 'normal' bullets to handle reliably.

I've shot about every 25cal bullet offering in the 257Wby. It is sorta in a league of it's own and folks are quick to forget that. She operates at speeds that will unravel bullets in a hurry. It is territory in which very few other chamberings tread,so it is difficult to fathom,if you haven't been privvy to it.
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<br>The 257Wby comfortably operates at 22-250/220Swift velocity levels. I'm of the opinion that to get the most from that raw speed,it is best to employ a projectile that can reliably offer some semblance of penetration. The BT's are the worst of the bunch in my opinion,they simply come unhinged and penetration is very much sacrificed. No fault of the BT,as they were not designed to harness that type of speed and apply it to Big Game. None of my pards with 257Wby's,ever shot a BT again out of their rifles,after the first try on Game(EVERYBODY has gotta try it,I understand that).
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<br>Everybody likes a different shot on Game,but I'll relate mine. I'm looking to line up as much skeletal structure as possible,with as much vitals between the entrance and exit. So I'm not overly concerned with textbook angles and such,though I'm more than happy to have something feeding broadside,with both shoulders lined up. I understand anatomy,what lies where and what it will take to reliably reach it and beyond(the exit,due to penetration capabilities). I love to break both shoulders,especially when it is Mr. Big. There isn't a creature alive,that can withstand that abuse to his anatomy.
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<br>The 257Wby is amongst my favorite tools for delivering that abuse and the X bullet is second to NONE,for reliably granting bone bustin' Oooomph,a nice sized wound channel and a sizeable exit hole. All those events are predictable,with every yank of the trigger,even at these upper echelon velocities.
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<br>Some guys opt heavier bullets,in order to slow the cartridge down and rely upon lesser constructed projectiles to do the damage. My preference is to lean on the 100's and drive them at Warp Speed,relying upon projectile integrity to get the job done. I like the trajectory and the demeanor of this cartridge,when it is wearing the 100gr. It is simply fabulous.
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<br>A pard's Wife just filled her Sheep Tag,with his 700 based 257Wby light rifle. I've talked of this rifle before. It wears a PacNor 26",1-10" twist S/S SuperMatch. The contour is their ultralight Mountain contour. It is stocked in a light filled McMillan in the Mountain Rifle pattern(dark camo) and wears a Decelerator. It has a 3-9X Compact on top with a turret,in S/S Gentry bases/rings. The rifle is amazingly accurate and all it digests is those wicked blue bullets(and yes it exited). Sheep DON'T like the combo!
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<br>I'll share the photo,as the Ram is beautiful..........................
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Stick,
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<br>I was hoping you would weigh in on this subject.
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<br>Like you say, I gotta try the 100gr BT's just to see for myself what they will do on a whitetail but also plan to do serious load development with the Barnes 100gr XBT/Moly.
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<br>The 100gr BT's oughta be pure hell on Coyotes and such.
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<br>Very nice Ram pic!!! I bet she's still smiling......