Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Ask The Gunwriters Mule Deer: what bullet do you like in your .257 Roy?

I am shooting 110 gr NAB's over R-22 but want to try something different, just to try something different. Thanks.

I've used several bullets in mine, but right now am using the 100-grain E-Tip with 77 grains of H1000, which shoots really well at around 3550 fps from the 24" barrel of my NULA.

Tag. Trying to get away from '22 myself due only to temp sensitivity. Gonna try '23 first, but this load sounds devastating at 3550.

Wow, that's a lot of powder to burn for a 100 gr bullet but I guess it ain't no thing when you're a big shot gun writer and get your powder for free.

He is my favorite big shot gun writer!

Don't over look Ramshot Mag

Try the 87gn Hornady loaded to 3800fps+ and try that on deer.
You will never wipe the smile off your face..........

It was Roy Snr's pet load for a reason.

Shoulder and/or quartering on shots included?

I started with 7828 SSC and never saw the need to try anything else, shoots sub MOA with 100 grain TTSX at 3500 and 110 grain accubonds at 3410. My rifle has no freebore. 7828 also seems in my experience to be very temperature insensitive.

JB were you able to work up to 87gr of H1000 with the ETIP? Noslers max at 75.5 seems like 77 would probably be great never saw to many loads shoot really well without being at max or a little better in my 257wby. I have some ETIPS may be worth a try been liking the 100TSX alot but I bet an 85 or 87gr at 3600 fps would hammer these southern whitetails like the vulcan death ray.

Good luck and shoot straight all

Bob

sambo,

HA!

It was also a typo, due to fat-finger syndrome. The charge is actually 77.0 grains.

dvdgeorge,

I used a lot of Magnum in my first .257 Weatherby with the 100-grain TSX, but H1000 shoots a little better with the E-Tip.

That rifle was a Sporter (walnut-stocked) Weatherby Vanguard, which would put three of the 100 TSX's into 1.5" at 300 yards.

I just got this today and scoped and bore sighted it Ruger No 1 .257 Weatherby , I'll start with Ramshot Mag

scottishkat,

I've mostly used 100-grain monos in the .257 Weatherby, due both to less meat damage and the possibility of elk, which they'll handle nicely. But have also used the 120 Partition with RL-25 at 3300 fps, which not only knocks the snot out of antelope and deer but works very well on bull elk too. On a hunt in 2012 a friend used that combo to take good 6x6 with one shot--and the bullet exited. The 120 Partition (and for that matter the 115, which also shoots very will in this rifle) chew up a little more meat than monos, but not much IF the shot's placed right.

I hear you sir. I have shot them with the 115NPT and it is like a switch very humane just don't hit a big bone. Used to hunt a lot more cut over lanes that were lined with briers and honey suckle and loved the NPT cause the last thing I wanted to do was look for them after dark in that heavy brush. I have had really good experience with H1000 if that or 7828 at max or a grain more if that doesn't work RL 22 was great with the 110 NAB.

Good luck and shoot straight all.

Bob

John, when you had your Vanguard were you loading TSX's at maximum COL for the magazine or seating deeper? Any suggestions?

How do you like the Sig scope? Wanting one for my 6.5x55

Is that the Whitaker special run No.1? I really wanted one but found out too late to get one. If they do another run by bank account will take a hit.
A Numero Uno with a 28 inch barrel would launch a 100 gr TTSX pretty well.

Also interested in the Sig Scope report.

Sakoluvr,

I just seated them out to maximum magazine length and worked up loads with Magnum. At 75.0 grains the groups were tightest.

By the way, that was with the standard TSX, since the Tipped TSX wouldn't arrive for a few more years. It still shot REALLY flat...

Not the Whitaker special run and I like the Sig much so far but need to shoot it see how it tracks and how it holds up...if it does I love it

That's a really nice gun, beautiful wood.

Back when I was shooting a .257 Wby, The 115 gr. VLD over 71.2 gr. RL-25 shot half inch groups.

Since then, I've abandoned VLD's at uber velocity. Working with my 26 Nosler, I was told by a Berger tech that they don't recommend Hunting VLD's to be shot over 3,100 fps. Well, neither the .257 Wby or the 26 Nos should be limited to those velocities, so I swapped to bullets that will hold up.

Agree with the TTSX for those kinda rifles.

DF

Reloder 22 was once my favorite powder until I discovered its being affected by temperature. Have not used it since,





My 7 Wby pushes a 120 TTSX at a comfortable 3650 fps @ 1/2 MOA. Have yet to engage prey with it.

I tried H1000 after talking to one of my friends at Hodgdon, who recommended it for the .257 Wby.

I loaded up some 100 gr TTSX's and the little bit of Magnum that I had left. Tried it years ago but had a scope issue. After replacing the scope the first load I tried was with R22 and NAB's and never switched. Going to pick up 1 lb of H1000 tonight and try that too. I do hate waiting for the barrel to cool when testing loads in the .257

Thank you for everyone's replies.

H-1000 is closer to RL-25 burn rate than RL-22, and it's an Extreme, temp resistant, Australian powder.

For the heavier bullets, it may be even better than RL-22. As posted earlier, RL-25 worked very well with 117's.

IMR-7977 may be an interesting one to try.

DF

I tried 7977 as well when working up loads with H1000. It 's slightly faster than H1000, and with slightly lighter charges got very similar velocities to H1000 using bullets 100 and 115 grain bullets. But H1000 was slightly more accurate, so went with it.

There's some camp fire discussion material if I ever saw it.

If I read it right, JB said 7977 was "slightly faster, slightly lighter charges" for equivalent velocities, but H-1000 was "slightly more accurate", so he chose H-1000 over 7977.

Yep, us Loonies love to split hairs. Good stuff, worthly of multi page ruminations...

And 7977 will have to be pretty good to be as temp stable as H-1000.

DF

DF,

You read the post correctly. Dunno which post ".......It 's slightly faster, slightly lighter & slightly more accurate, so I went with it" came from.

IMR7977 has proven very cold-stable in the tests I've made so far. In fact all the Endurons have.

I saw data showing the Enduron series was really good regarding temp stability, just not quite as good as the Extreme series.

I guess at some point, the difference is moot.

And, reportedly Enduron powders have anti-fouling properties, never heard that said about Extremes.

DF

I will say this, ain't it great that we can actually find a powder that we need or want? Pass the .22 LR's. <GRIN>

7828 and 115gr NBT from a Weatherby Ultra Light.

John B, I wonder if the higher load density given by H1000 is making the difference in accuracy?

Maybe, but accuracy was just as good in another .257 Weatherby with 75-76 grains of Ramshot Magnum, which is spherical and so less dense than H1000.

BTW, .257 Bee Norma brass is on sale at Midsouth. Not a bad price considering what they usually sell for, and also beats Midway:

https://www.midsouthshooterssupply....herby-mag-unprimed-rifle-brass-100-count

My 257 STW is a little faster than the 257 Wby and i use the Barnes 100 gr TXS in it.

Holy Warp Speed, Batman!! Faster than a 257 Wby??!!

And this is why I don't use Quickload for everything and cross reference with a few manuals. Getting 77,000 psi and 3720 fps for your load John. Maybe I can make adjustments for a "weatherby bore"?

Barnes #4 is giving me a max load of 75.5 grs @ 3503 fps using the 100 gr TTSX, which normally shows lower pressure than typical cup/core bullets. Quickload was also indicating crazy high pressure for the TTSX.

Edit: seated @ 3.165"

My experience with QL (which goes all the way back to the original version) is that it's fun to play with and sometimes helpful, but often differs from reality! Which is exactly why the QL directions even say it isn't a subsititute for pressure-tested data.

One of the many examples I've run into came from a major pressure lab. They'd been contracted by a bullet company to do the test-shooting for the bullet company's new loading manual, and sent the lab cases of ammo, loaded with QL-generated powder charges. The pressure lab guys told me about 1/3 of the ammo was very close to spot-on, about a third considerably under-pressure, and about a third considerably over-pressure.

QL can be adjusted a lot. I agree with JB, it's a fun program and can help a lot with cartridges we don't have data for. The Weatherby's and RUMs need a different weighting factor for closer approximations. JB has it right, manual and PSI tested data is the best but in the absence I do use QL quite a lot.

What MV are you getting with that bullet?

Folks, I have about 2# of Ramshot Magnum laying around. I've been using MRP or RL-22 on my 257 and practically all my Weatherby calibers since forever. Any load data with Ramshot an 100gr pills will be appreciated. J

Around 75-76 grains has worked in two of my rifles.

Don't overlook the Nosler 115 Ballistic Tip and RL-25. Amazing combo on thin skinned game. Should have no problem obtaining 3350-3450 fps.

Thank you, John.

I tried a 75.5 grs of H1000 with the 100 gr TTSX this weekend and I am very pleased with the accuracy. I did not chrono the velocity in my rifle yet, but I am going to use this load instead of the NAB's / R-22 load that I had been using. Accuracy was so good that I couldn't stop very long to cool the barrel. I was having too much fun. 7 shot group was no greater than 1 MOA at 100 yards. They were seated pretty deep, to the top of the last groove.

I am certain I have posted this information before. Four of us use the 115 Berger VLD for our long range coues wt hunting. To date the combined number of coues wt is 20 animals. Tim and I managed to get drawn once so we each got an antelope. Dan uses his 257 Roy with the 115 VLDs in SE Co where he has taken six elk and four mule deer.

Regarding the bullet performance: it has killed with authority from just over 200 yd to as far as 580 yds. All bullets exit with the typical exit hole of1 1/2" diameter on deer.

Three shooters use RL-25, one uses H-1000 and I use RL-33. Some of the bullets are moly coated. All rifles use the 3 groove SS 1 in 10 Lilja barrels. Custom reamer with 1 1/2 degree throat angle with jump to lands ranging from .075" to .100".

While I would not say negative things about the performance of a mono from this chambering, the 115 VLD, with its high BC and resultant minimal wind drift, is IMO THE bullet for the longer shots we get on the elusive coues whitetails in S. Arizona.

And the max load is?

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