Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Rifles Help Me Choose .257 Wby or .338 WM

Looking to have a rifle built in the next year or so. It's going to be a Model 70 action. I have my eye on a potential donor.

At first I was thinking .257Wby Mag. But .338 has had my attention for some reason. I don't need either one of them for anything particular. But I could see a use for each one certainly.

I'm thinking I'd want the .257 to be a bit lighter, easier to carry, walking around type rifle. Shooting across swamps or poking at deer out west.

The.338 would be an all around type rifle. Could be stand hunting WT deer, could be hunting thick stuff for snowshoe hairs. Neither would be at game further than 400 yds and hopefully...a lot closer. Which kinda leans .338 but I like both.

Had a Ruger in 338 wm.
No thanks, too much recoil for me.
Have a Vanguard in 257 wm. Love it.
Nuff said...

I'll do the Campfire thing and suggest something you didn't ask about. Given your choice of cartridges I'll assume your donor is already set up for a belted mag diameter case. So how about a 264 mag with an 8" twist?

my vote would be for a 257 Weatherby Mag. i have built 4 of them all excellent deer rifles out to 700 yards for me. if i was hunting in Alaska or out west where grizzly bears are i would build a 338 Win Mag. then

I like the 338 Win a bunch. Great elk rifle for me and packs pretty decently as well. I usually shoot 200-210’s around 2950-3000 FPS. Works great for me. It’s not any better than a 300 Magnum but I like the rifle a lot and it’s comfortable to shoot for me. Between it and my 7mm Mashburn Super, they get the lions share of hunting for deer and elk.

A 257 Wby or similar would be pretty slick on a lightweight 70 as well. Tough choice.. I say build both

SS Classic M70 w/#3 Lilja @ 25" in a McMillan Classic w/Edge Fill and 4.5-14x40 A/O Leupold in Talley's weighs just a shade over 8# and is very "shootable" w/100's.

257 Weatherby in a light walking around rifle just doesn't add up in my pee brain. I would think it'd need a long heavy barrel to maximize the potential of all that powder.

DollarShort, I'm thinking the same thing. Actually, a good cross between a .257 WBY and a .338 WM would be either a .300 WBY or .300 Win. Mag. Or if you want something lighter a .325 WSM. which would give you a bit heavier bullet in a light easier recoiling rifle (easier recoiling than the two ,300s I mentioned or a .338 WM. Not so much a .257 WBY).

My 25" Lilja 1:10 3-groove runs 100's over 3600fps. Last time I chrono'd w/LabRadar I had an ES of 28fps and SD of 8fps. 100gn SGK and TSX run close enough POA/POI to use the SGK's for practice on steel out to 500.

Split the difference 7mm Rem mag . Those 2 cartridges are polar opposites.

Similar to my .338.

SS Classic M70 w/factory bbl bobbed @ 23" in a McMillan Bridges w/Edge Fill and 2.5-8 Zeiss Conquest in Leupold DD weighs 7lb 14oz.

225 TSX at 2900.

I'm thinking about taking it to Alaska on a sheep/grizzly combo

Think about the projectiles.
One would be great with 250 woodleighs ☠️☠️
One would be great with 110 gr Accubond at ?3500? , also 💀 absolute laser

Interesting, I've got a SS Classic 300 WinMag that came with a BOSS. Cut/re-crowned @ 23" FL bedded in a standard fill McMillan Fwt pattern, 3-10x42 NF SHV in Talley's is just over 9#. I suppose ~ 1/2 of that difference is the difference in the scope weights.

Also has PT&G LW Oberndorff bottom metal, so theres a few ounces saved.

Thinking about replacing the DD with Talley LW and the Conquest with a Swarovski Z5 2.4-12x50 BT.

Should come in right at 8lb.

My 257 is a blind-belly w/AL trigger-guard which I much prefer but the internal boxes for blind bottom magnums are getting scarce. About have to find a magnum Winlight to rob the box out of it.

OP, I have thought many times about a 257 Roy on the M70.

From my research and what others have posted, including Mule Deer (IIRC), a 24" barrel is all you need.

The 338 Win Mag is somewhat specialized for optimum work on heavy game. Developed for Alaska and used extensively in Africa. Design was to offer more power than 30-06 and close to 375 H&H performance from a std long action chamber. It is a good one but unnecessarily powerful unless hunting large game animals.

The 257 Wby is about as good as it gets when hunting light and medium game at long range out west. Wouldn’t contemplate much use with it unless looking at shooting game way, way out there.

As stated previously if magnum is your desire the 7mm Rem Mag is about perfect as a go between. Offering tremendous power and shooting as flat as the 257 Wby. Better bullet selection and better supply of great factory loaded ammo as well.

.270 Winchester will be perfect fit for Model 70 action, ammo can be had 24/7 almost everywhere.

I deer hunt at times with both the .257Wby and the .338WM. They are indeed polar opposites, and I do find myself carrying a 7mmRM more often when I do feel the need for something more than a 6.5CM or .308Win, which are what I carry most often.

I use the .338WM as a "thumper", since 200gr/2,900fps loads is about all I'm willing to tolerate for recoil. I even load it lower at times, as a 185 at 2,700-2,700 still makes quite an impact on critters at moderate ranges.

Now I see the error in my reasoning. Compared to a 17 pound rifle shot out of a heavy adjustable rest, that thing is probably like toting around a toothpick!