Home Forums Reloading Big Game Rifles Tell me about your 257 Weatherby Magnum

So sorry to hear about your loss. What a great way to honor and remember him.

I purchased this exact rifle and topped it with a VX3 4.5-14 CDS with 30mm tube. Just finished the two box break in, and while to.e consuming, cleaning is a breeze with minimal copper fouling. Will be working on load workup with Nosler 110 grain Accubonds and H1000.

Have had a Mark V and Remington 700 CDL in the caliber. I love the caliber, and hope this new one is a tack driver. Almost seems there is a cult like following for this caliber.

Enjoy, and know big brother is smiling every time you toast a case full of powder out of it.

Thanks for the replies, I have reloaded other centerfire cartridges and am decently comfortable with that. Is there anything to known special about the Weatherby? What brand dies are recommended?

300Winnie I purchased a VX3i 4.5x14x40 and several hundred 110 grain accubonds, among other bullets.

Incredible cartridge! I shot a half inch group with factory Weatherby ammo(115 gr Nosler BTs) in my 700 CDL SF. I showed the group to a very knowledgable reloader.. He said he might be able to beat it. Well I gave him 2 boxes of empties. 2 weeks later he dropped off both boxes loaded with 66 grains of H4831 using Fed 215M primers. Bullets are 117 gr Sierra Game Kings with an overall length of 3.250. I shot three shots. All three were in the same hole!!! I told him to load me up 3 more boxes! Killed a deer this past hunting season. Dropped in its tracks. Nastiest most accurate deer round I have ever seen.

Incredible cartridge!! Flat, fast, hard hitting... all with minimal recoil. Just absolutely hammers game. I've had more DRT kills with the 257 than any other cartridge. It's my favorite of all time for South Texas hunting.

Although I prefer the 115gr Nosler Ballistic Tip, the 110 AB is a great bullet, especially with H-1000. Be careful with the AB though. In my experience it seems susceptible to pressure spikes when running close to max loads, the 115 NBT, not so much. If for some reason the 110's won't shoot in your gun, try the 115 NBT with RL-25. This combo has consistently been the most accurate and fastest in every 257 I've owned. 70-72 gr will be the sweet spot, yielding 3300-3450 fps.

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.

As others have said, there's a lot to like about the cartridge. About the only drawbacks are expense and the fact that most rifles so chambered tend to be on the heavy side. Mine is a custom Pre-64 Model 70 with a laminate stock, 27.5 inch barrel, and a Conquest 4.5-14x50 up top. At just under 11lbs it only gets used when I'm sitting and hunting over bean fields. It's definitely not a mountain rifle! I'm running the 100gr TTSX and it hits deer like lightning. One of my all time favorites.

I have had 2 and still have 1. BAD TO THE BONE is the 257 Bee. If you go factory ammo go with the Weatherby 100 SP for the price they shoot great!

110 Accubonds are the ticket. It kills like lightening.

That's a fine looking .257! I have a Lipsey Number 1 that I am fond of as well.

Sorry about your loss. I have owned 3, and killed my last two Elk with. I agree with everyone else, great cartridge. The only down side is that because of its reputation as a barrel burner, I was hesitant to shoot it for fun. I never did own one that liked the smaller bullets, but they all loved 115 grain bullets.