Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Africa 257 Weatherby

Thanks Big D, i'll be thinking of you and looking for an exit when i line the cross-hairs up on a Blue Wildebeest's shoulders ; ]

Pete, when i bought this rifle i knew it was sort of a specialized rifle with it's 12 twist, knew it'd be more than fine for deer hunting and knew i'd never be able to shoot the 115gr TSX or premium 120gr offerings, still wanted one of Roy's early rifles, they really done some nice work on these, that said, i like the 65gr charge of Norma 204, it's very accurate, less blast, easier on the throat and doesn't heat the barrel like some of the powders that call for 10 or as much as 15 grains more powder per shot, i haven't even fired this old rifle a dozen times.

Worked up 100gr A-Frame load and shot a couple deer with less than 10 rounds, the other 40 bullets in that box went to a friend, picked him a book max load of 7828, he may shoot a deer every year or two, i found i still have two full boxes of the 100gr A-frames, i only bought three.

Looking really forward to taking it to Africa for maybe a half dozen head of plains game.

Might mention that I know two women who went on plains-game safaris and killed animals up through wildebeest with the .243 Winchester and .257 Roberts, both with one shot per animal. Both used Nosler Partitions, 85-grain in the .243 and 120 in the .257.

Of course, their husbands used much larger cartridges

A few years ago I arrived in a hunting camp where the PH’s were discussing the success of the prior hunter. He was maybe 12 and was a little guy. His dad was very experienced and let the young man do all the shooting. He used a 260 with 120 grain bullets. The rifle had a 20” barrel and his dad mentioned that he didn’t load too hot to minimize recoil. Anyhow the kid dropped everything with a single shot. His bag included the general run of plains game except eland.

The group that preceded him consisted of two guys packing, respectively, a 300 Win and a 338 Win. They didn’t do as well.
There you go.

Jerry,
I found your concerns about driving the Barnes TTSX too fast and blowing the petals off interesting and insightful. I have a 1/8 twist 220 swift and I tried the ttsx55gr at 3950 fps and found it an unreliable killer because I believe it was blowing the petals off.
If I remember correctly Dirt Farmer had the same problem with the ttsx in a 240 Weatherby... thinkin the 100 gr Swift a frame may be your huckleberry... good luck on your safari buddy...

after some almost failures with a couple of other brand bullets i now only use 100 gr. Nosler Partitions and 100 gr. Swift A-Frames in my 257 Weatherby mag. i have never had a failure with these 2 great bullets and that is in probably around 30 some years and 20 years in a 257 Weatherby mag., so i have stocked up on these 2 bullets . i wanna mention this while using 100 gr. Nosler Partitions and / or 100 gr. Swift A-Frames we have never had a buck Whitetail or Mule deer buck go farther than 80 ft. with 1 shot out of our 257 Weatherby mags using either of these 2 bullets for me 20 some years son 10 years . many of the Whitetail bucks would weigh over 200 lbs. live weight some up close to 300 lbs. live weight these were bucks shot by the Canadian border in Minnesota.

LOL, that's good news Mule Deer, surely the 100gr TTSX or A Frame with petals blown off or pancaked near flat would equal the weight of an 85gr npt? so, what were you and the other guy shooting?

Thanks RinB, sd's of .264/120gr have to be close to .257/100gr, having the kids load running slower had to help with penetration.

Fubar, that's part of the deal that's bugging me old Buddy, i'm altering a purpose built bullet by pulling the tips to help with stabilization, there lies a pretty damn big hole under those tips, hence the concern for blowing petals before i can drill the vitals, i love that little 100gr A Frame, it's the most accurate in this rifle, but damn it's short, i have to wonder how it will penetrate if i pancake it near flat, hoping if i wind up using it ample damage will be done before it gets riveted, also giving both bullets all the help i can give by using 3450-3500 fps instead of 3600-3700, one thing about that, the stubby bullets slow down fast, 100-200+ yard shooting will certainly lessen my concerns.

Pete, those 2 to 300lb deer will near cover this hunt, red hartebeest, waterbuck and blue wildebeest will be the only things that exceed that weight, but holy damn, what if another 57 inch Kudu jumps up??

I took the rifle to the bench this morning, cold bore fired two rounds at 400 yards with the 100gr tipless ttsx holding 3 inched right wind and dead center on the white bullseye to check drop, strikes landed near dead center 6 o'clock and 7 inches low of dead center bullseye, that'll work, went and put up Redfield diamond target for 100 yard shooting to see which COL worked best, 3.235 COL had two in the same hole with one a bit over an inch high straight up, COL of 3.170 had three in a very nice triangle less than 3/4 of an inch, i'll load the remaining brass to 3.170, it also clocks 24 fps slower, even though not mashing on the gas with these loads i don't know how Norma 204 will behave in 95 degree weather so i'll take the lower pressure, don't expect it to be very temp stable.

you hit that big kudu with either of those 2 bullets i mentioned with your 257 Weatherby mag. you will dump that kudu too.

Pete, that's a great level of confidence in those 100gr bullets, do you think there's any way i would pancake or heavily squat the 100gr A frame enough to inhibit penetration running it into a wildebeests shoulder at say 50 yards should a close shot arise? part of my problem here is i've always been a heavy for caliber with low to medium to high velocity hunter, all African hunting so far has been with:

375 cal 270gr 2800 fps
411 cal 400gr 2255-2400 fps
458 cal 520gr 1240 fps
511 cal 715-750gr 1365 fps
585 cal 750gr 2076 fps

Animals ranged from hippo on the ground at 16 yards to a big Zebra stallion at 277 yards, hippo eland, buffalo kudu, sable on down to Steenbok, i knew these loads and bullets would get the job done regardless of the angle the animal presented OR what ever other animal that was a great representation of the species should appear, i have zero experience with light and fast bullets on heavier [300-700lbs] game, only a few white tail deer.

I owe it to the animals to not go over there and start a rodeo.

Two rounds at 400 yards. 100gr ttsx from 257 weatherby.  

Hello Pacecars, many thanks for posting these pics Sir, sure am glad i have smart friends.

gunner,

I have recovered several Barnes bullets from dead big game animals--ranging from the original "ungrooved" X-Bullet to TTSXs--that didn't retain ANY of their petals. Sometimes I found one or two of the petals, anywhere from the entrance hole to right next to the recovered bullet. Have yet to see any discernible difference in "killing" power between them and the recovered Xs that retained all their petals.

In fact, had a hunting-camp conversation with Randy Brooks almost 20 years ago, just after the TSX appeared. He said that originally he thought Xs that lost their petals might kill better, due to more "shrapnel" around the main bullet wound. But when early X-Bullet fans started bragging how their bullets retained 100% of their weight, he realized that was a MAJOR selling point among many of his first customers. And he was smart enough to know the customer is always right....

Might also add that every Barnes X recovered without any petals still has a far wider, flat front than "caliber sized" This also applies to other petal-type bullets, including the discontinued Fail Safe.

As an example, I put a 120-grain "original" X-Bullet started at 3000 fps into the near shoulder of a BIG axis deer as it quarter toward me at around 125 yards. The buck ran 30-some yards and keeled over. Found the bullet under the hide at the rear of the opposite ribs. It retained 93% of its weight, and the front end measured .41 inch in diameter.

Gunner; thanks for starting this interesting and informative thread.

I do not have extensive experience with high velocity .257s but I did hunt for several years with .25-06. I shot a WT buck at well under 100 yards at a steep angle with the 115 original X bullet.

The bullet was recovered and had lost all of its petals, the metplat measured .41? .42? I would have no concerns with a high velocity 40 + calibre flat nose solid.

I think you would do well with the tip less TTSX (TTTSX? )

Maybe try shooting some into test media at 25 yards and see how they do? Not a 100% reality test but it can give a good idea what to expect.

MD, great info, Thanks, hadn't thought of what Mr. Brooks said and you saw for yourself, seems i need to concern more with keeping the nut behind the butt tight putting these bullets where they belong, Thanks again for the real world experience.

GRF, you're most welcome Sir, i also hadn't thought about what yourself and Mule Deer said, indeed, a 40 cal flat nosed solid should impart plenty of damage, i've said for years 'nothing' lives with a half inch hole blasted through and through, referring to me happily hunting ALL game animals anywhere in range with a 500 Nitro double and 570gr Barnes flat nosed solids, i just hope the little 257 cal tipless drill bit has enough weight/momentum left to exit, good idea on the test media, my old buddy that used to be in the logging business kept me well stocked with empty 5 gal buckets with lids, need to drop by his shop and see if i can find a half dozen.

Three 5 gal buckets filled with water shot lengthways stacked end to end makes a pretty tough customer.

BTW, i noticed my side cutter marks on the loaded round in the last photo Pacecars posted, i pulled these bullets from some 25-06 AI cases i sent to a guy, used these pulled bullets for all shooting yesterday, just think how accurate one of Roy's old rifles will be shooting virgin bullets.

[quote=gunner500]Pete, that's a great level of confidence in those 100gr bullets, do you think there's any way i would pancake or heavily squat the 100gr A frame enough to inhibit penetration running it into a wildebeests shoulder at say 50 yards should a close shot arise? part of my problem here is i've always been a heavy for caliber with low to medium to high velocity hunter, all African hunting so far has been with:

50 yards wildebeest shoulder shot with either a Nosler Partition 100gr. or a 100 gr. Swift A-Frame i bet it goes thru 1st shoulder and knocks it down too , i hope to go to Africa someday and try it. i have no ideal how well a Barnes bullet will do on animals i never have used Barnes bullets that much ? now with some respect and not a lot of knowledge on copper bullets but will these longer copper bullets have more friction , create more heat and cause higher pressure using a 257 Weatherby mag. with hot weather in Africa ? that would be my concern ? maybe someone like the famous Mule Deer could enlighten us ?

I thought I liked R22. Never tried R25. I was at the range on a hot afternoon (about 85 - 90 degrees) and experienced a heavy bolt lift with a well proven and safe load. Never shot in that kind of heat before that day. Packed up the .257 after that.

H1000 for both of my .257's and never had another problem.

for warmer weather the RL.25 might be better ?

Don't sleep on Ramshot Mag mine both of mine love it

I have killed a pile of critters with the 100 gr TSX in the 257 WBY and all died quick. Never have had a failure on one either. I believe if they are pushed fast the better they perform in the smaller calibers.