Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Rifles Is it really that much "better?"

I figure I'll offer up a little food for thought this evening. Of all the reading and browsing I've done on this site over the past few months, one thing has become very apparent: It appears as though many folks around here really like the 257 Roy Mag cartridge; almost to the point of practically worshiping it. Why? Also, of all the various Roy Mag flavors, it appears as though most folks prefer the 257 variety the most. Why? Finally, what can the 257 Roy Mag do - that is, do with respect to what we "really" need doing - above and beyond the likes of say the 25-06 Rem? In other words, let's say you're hunting whitetails or antelope out west. At a decent range under that type of scenario (e.g., +/- 400 yards) what can the 257 Roy Mag do above and beyond the 25-06 Rem (regarding things that really actually matter that is, and would make a substantial difference)? Personally, from a practical standpoint, I cannot picture any perceived advantage. What say you?

As for myself I never liked the Weatherby cartridges or rifles. Of course if something works then thats all that counts. If the 257 Weatherby satisfies its owners thats fine but I just can't go there.

Other rounds will do similar things.

On the other hand the 264 WM has always been a favorite of mine and what with the laser range finders one can get the game with other rounds and not have to carry a 26" barrel around day after day.

Of course I have to carry the LRF then!

You can get 300fps more out of a 257 Wby than you can a 25-06 using the same bullet weight...Thats significant...

That 300fps amounts to about an extra 25 yards for a given amount of drift or drop.

From a practical standpoint I don't see that as worth getting excited about.

On the other hand, if you don't have the 25-06 already and that 300fps is the only difference between two rifles on the rack, you may as well take it.

Energy?
You checked that?
Seems like you want to believe what you want to believe...
I'm just responding to a query...

How much more energy do you need for antelope or deer? Dead is dead.

Sometimes it's very tough to lead folks to water...Dude....

Bart ... the best feeling you can get from banging your head against the wall, is the feeling you get when you stop ...

"much to that" ... (grin)

I know....

I guess a good comparison that these dudes might get is....
Would you rather drive a Mustang or a Ferrari?

I thought you were going to say "which is better, the .30-06 or the .270" ... (grin)

If both have the same barrel length,and you use hand loads,the difference will be around 200fps.

I get 3250 - 3300 with 100 gr TSX's from my 25-06. Are people getting 3600 from the Roy?

Also tend to agree with aspade on the "significance" of the difference, either in term of energy or trajectory.........

Sighted in at 275 yards, a 100 TSX moving 3300 drops 25.5 at 500, the Roy 21.0. Remaining energy: 25-06 - 1119, Roy - 1363.

Guess it depends on your definition of significant. This might be one of the better examples of diminishing returns.

Depends whos hands are doing the loading. I'm halfway to my first one. Rem. 700 action, Timney trigger, Bell & Carlson stock. I need to wait until I can afford to send it to Pac-Nor for re-barrel. Then I can fit it to the stock. It started out as a 7mm mag. with a damaged barrel. Didn't your parents ever tell you....SPEED KILLS!!! The diff between a .257 Roy & a .25-06 is about the same as the diff between a .250-3000 & 25-06. Personally I find a flatter shooting higher velocity round more forgiving at longer ranges & windy conditions. I'll take any little bit of help I can get.

Dshoe, what the 257 Roy does, the 25-06 can do. More than a few guys around here I know use the 25-06 on everything, coyotes to elk. Same goes for the 257 Wby. Just depends if you're a guy that believes getting the last fps possible is worth the extra powder, recoil, noise and barrel erosion of the 257. Some do, some don't. Neither are wrong.

Personally, I like the 257 Wby better but that's just me. Starting out a youngster with a first BG rifle for everything here in MT, it wouldn't get any better than a 25-06.

Put it this way, a practiced rifleman could use one as easily as the other on any game suitable to either and never have a problem.

I've owned several of both 25-06's and .257 WM.'s Is there a "pratical" difference? yes. Not a whopping big difference but enough to justify it to a TRUE GUN LOONIE! Dat's the whole point!
(grin!) Virgil B.

"Would you rather drive a Mustang or a Ferrari?"
For the driving I do, a Z71 4x4 works better.
The way I see it , the .257 Roy is a niche cartridge. When you need it, you need it. Just don't need it often.

Both are supurb cartridges and not much difference between the two with deer and pronghorn. I would rather shoot the Wby for high mountain sheep and goat, as a 115 gr. class bullet at 3,350 fps from the Wby certainly shoots flatter and packs more wallop at 400 yards than the 25-06 Rem at 3,050 fps.

The 25-06 Rem is a nice choice for carrying light weight, high velocity cartridge and getting 3,300 fps from a 22-inch barreled rifle shooting 100 gr bullet. The 257 Wby does move the 100 gr bullet close to 3,600 fps out of a 24-inch barrel. The Wby suprisingly does not lose much velocity out of a 24-inch barrel, unlike the 264 Win Mag with its long projectiles and additional bearing surface.

When I first got turned on to the .257 it was when I had just begun antelope hunting. I had no skills and experience back then other than knowing I couldn't get very close to them. So I got a .257 in the MKV Deluxe version and at first I thought I could get rid of anything else I had. Things have changed since then,I couldn't and I didn't.

I still have it and would be hard pressed to ever get rid of it but it is one of those rigs that now has a limited role in my hunting scheme. It burns too much powder with limited bullet selection to be much of a varminter and that 26" barrel and overall weight doesn't do much for canyon crawling in steep terrain. Then there's always the fact that I just dread the thought of beating it up.

It is an excellent long range, medium sized game taker but mine is not the most accurate rifle in the safe either. That makes it and I about equal. I believe the last time I shot it while hunting was in 1998 when I took my biggest antelope at somewhere around 300 yds.

Hmmmmm.

Exactly,almost 300 fps difference with 2" difference in barrel length.Add 2" of barrel to that 25-06.and the gap closes to around 200fps.