So sorry to hear about your brother. Buy that .257, and you will always be thinking about him when you use it.
I have had my .257 Wby. for around 35 years. It was the Fibermark model, and I have since stocked it with a McMillan Edge.
Favorite load is RL22 and the Barnes TTSX 100 gr., pushed at 3700 fps, with phenomenal accuracy. 2" high at 100 yds. gives it a 300 yard zero. Hard to find much that is flatter than the .257 Wby. This rifle has accounted for more game than all my other rifles combined, from coyotes to elk, with caribou, pronghorn antelope, a grand slam of north american sheep, mule deer, and whitetail deer in between.
Nowadays, it gets used mostly for pronghorn and whitetail deer over alfalfa and wheat fields. As I get a bit older, it becomes more of a chore to carry it on long hikes due to weight, but that's not an issue for sit and wait hunts or shorter hikes.
