Home Forums Hunting & Shooting General Big Game .257 Weatherby culling results.

[quote=AussieGunWriter]A bullet that gets lost in the latest and greatest shuffle is the 87gn Hornady.
It was Roy E Weatherby's favorite and I used it on Fallow, goats and pigs in a .257 Weatherby and it did work very well.
Also tried it in my .25/06 and would definitely consider it for White Tail sized game.

I spoke with a guy whose entire family and friends ( about a dozen in all) all used the 25-06 and that Hornady 87grsp for South Texas whitetail. On the Hill country deer, he said they sometimes got almost "end to end" penetration! I've only used the 115NP and the 100 TSX out of the .257W myself, and had no issues. thanks for "testing" out that 80gr TTSx, I would have "chosen it" if it had been available since it is the fastest. I would love to go on a cull hunt IF I didn't have to do the gutting/butchering! ha. The Wild Game cullers I saw in Leakey, Tx, all used the 22-250, head shots only and had a big cheek full of Red Man chewing tobacco!

our group of deer hunters that shoot 257 weatherby`s only use 100 gr. Nosler partition or myself and some others use 100 gr. Swift A-frames we have tried other bullets but have had poorer results,we hunt whitetails by the border of Canada in Minnesota so these deer are bigger too . thanks for posting your results of the cull hunt I figured the swift bullets would do good always have for me. thank you ,Pete53

I love the cleaning part. Just part of the process.

100 ttsx and my buddy and I have never looked back. Though I only used mine a few years, until the 300/221 and can came along... no need for the 257 and they all run about the same distance anyway.

Pete . . . since you are hunting big woods, I imagine some of those deer can be shot pretty close up too.

How well do the 100 gr. Partitions hold up when the shots are at close range and the velocity is high?

I don`t use Partitions anymore because deer shot close with a Partition make a mess on a deer at close range the guts are just soup and bullet is destroyed ,that`s why I use Swift a-frames these bullets worked better close range or a long ways out ,Swift bullets are as accurate too, swift 100 grain a-frame bullets seem to work well deer or elk as many of my friends feel too.

I'd rather lose SOME meat than maybe ALL of it.

If by guts you mean chest contents, then soup is what I like to see.

Just theorizing but possibly did the 80 grain TTSX shed its petal immediately on entrance? I have had good results with the Barnes but never drove them past about 3500 fps.
I like the term deflowered for this phenomena. I will give the 87 Hornaday a try when ever I get through all my other bullet testing.

Thank you for sharing your experience, Model70Guy.

Since 2005, every year except for this one, I have been going to RSA and Namibia on cull hunts. This, and not an occasional deer shot for the pot, has given me the opportuniyt to do all kinds of testing, and my experience agrees with yours.

My summary would be that NBTs and Bergers are fantastic killers and provide shorter running distances than Accubond/Partitions, ... which are fater killers than non-shedding petal monolithics like GMX, ETips, TTSXs, ... which are faster than petal shedding monolithics like GS Customs, KJG, SAX SRs, Sologne GPAs...

This is not a prejudged idea consequence of manufacturer's pamphlets or else's ideas and/or opinions, and I hope nobody takes offense.

I try not to hit guts. Just about any bullet is going to make a mess if it hits a critter in the guts.

I'm going to do something similar again in a few days. There's a few planned changes; for instance the calibers will be .270 Weatherby and 7-300 Win. Bullets are 140 NBT, 140 Accubonds (3360), 130 Sciroccos (3500) and (prepare to be horrified, you have been warned) 7mm 180 Hunting VLDs.(3150) Not a copper bullet in the mix.

Now that I am excited to hear about! Thank you for taking the time to post up your results! I like those danged Scirocco's!

Why not try some standard Interlocks? So many people seem to think that the more expensive bullets are the only ones that work. I have shot several hundred deer on depredation hunts using 100-grain Interlocks from a 6mm and 129-grainers from a .260. Along with that, a number of them with a 7 mag shooting 139-grainers and .308 and 30-06 shooting 150-grainers. These bullets are all sub-moa in my rifles and I have not lost a single animal, due to what I would call "bullet failure".

I get using premium bullets on heavy game, but I can see no legit reason to use them on average game. I love Partitions on elk and even killed one moose with them, but they just are not necessary for light-skinned game. The same goes for other premium bullets.

I guess if money is no object, then they are fine, but I like a bit more bang for the buck, so to speak.

I've used pails full of Hornady Interlocks in 277. 284 and 308 calibers. Less so in 338 and 358. More 130, 139, 154s, 165s and 180s than anything. As long as I stayed with the flat-based bullets things worked out. At the most extreme velocities and shortest of ranges they get a little iffy, and at the longer ranges that I see more of these days the typically low BCs aren't doing me any favors. For everything in between though; sure why not? I actually did one of my little tests across 600 animals with the 30-06s. Lets just say that across the board I'd rather use it than the darling of the mono-bullet crowd.



Now, I have a plane to catch. Wish me luck; or failing that at least don't cheer for the deer.

I know alot of guys on the 'Fire swear by the Barnes, but this past season, I used one of their 100 grain 'X' bullets on a decent sized Whitetail, shot at right around one-hundred yards distant. Your observations mirror my own. No blood to speak of, and the deer ran off as if not even hit. Luckily, I found it by following it's tracks through the leaf litter. Perfect shot, through the vitals, in-and-out. Bullet is probably still going.

I have used Nosler Ballistic Tips pretty much exclusively for years now on Whitetails, and just about everything else. 99% of the time, it's DRT, and I can count on one hand how many bullets I recovered. I gave the Barnes a try this year, because it was what I had laying around for my Roberts, and I was in a hurry to throw a load together to be able to use the rifle this past season. They shot fantastic, but I don't see what all the hype is terminally speaking. I'll stick with the NBT's from here on out. I have never found anything that has worked better for me.

To me, a lot depends on game hunted and muzzle velocity.

In my 7-08, I like the 120 NBT, and a lot of folks agree.

WIth my 26 Nosler, I like the 120 TTSX/ E-Tip because they're very accurate and don't blow up at extreme velocity. Although they do mess up a lot of meat.

I don't think there is any one correct answer; one size doesn't fit all.

IMO,

DF

Was hoping you were going to try the 100 gr TTSX instead of the 80 in the .257 bee

I would tend to agree, especially with the muzzle velocity part. I didn't Chronograph them, but I can't imagine those 100 grain Barnes leaving the 21" barrel of my Roberts faster than about 2,800 fps based on the load I was using, not exactly hyper-speed. I am going to assume it did expand, just not in a dramatic fashion as do the Ballistic Tip. Based on my experiences with a 250-3000 I have used for a few years, had I been using the 100 grain NBT, that deer would have dropped where it stood.

Though on the other end of the scale, I wouldn't want to be hunting Elk, Moose, or Griz with a standard cup-and-core Ballistic Tip. I'm sure it has been done, but I would probably move up to something bonded such as the Accubond or as you mentioned, the copper E-Tip. Perhaps that is where the all copper Barnes would shine.

I think one needs to balance S.D. with velocity. If you push a low S.D. mono at hyper velocity, some strange things may happen on WT sized game, may be OK on varmints.

An 80 TTSX at 3,600 fps out of my .240 blew a huge, gaping hole in the chest wall of a WT doe, unimpressive chest cavity pass thru with min internal damage and a delayed kill.

I like S.D. > .2, pushed at warp speed. So, IMO, the 100 Barnes would be a better choice than the 80 in that gun at full speed on WT's. May not matter on hogs or varmints.

IMO based on my observation.

DF

^ Yep ^ I would not trust the 80gr and can't see a reason to hunt anything as large as a deer with them at .257 bee velocity. I don't see where there is going to be any earth shattering news coming from the new mix of bullets being used.