Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Ask The Gunwriters .257 Weatherby, 26" barrel or 24"?

I have found that a 24" .257 Weatherby beats the snot out of any lesser .25 for shooting really fast and flat, so don't much worry about getting another few fps. But if a 26" makes somebody happier, why not?

Just acquired a Remington M700 CDL SF with the 26" BBL. Nice balance with the fluted barrel and it shoots. Shot 3 @ 25 then stepped back to 100. The 4th and 5th shot touching and the flyer opened the group up to .750". Oh, and the group was 2 1/2 " high. The guy that sold me the rifle said try the 117gr RN,' it will shoot' he said. It did, and am now waiting on the RCBS dies. I ll save the RN Factory loads and shoot a stash of 100gr CoreLoket(sic) for deer, hogs, and coyotes. I had a MK V once and hated the balance with the #2 barrel. This M700 feels good and weighs 8.2# with scope. It is not in the least unwieldy, which is the case with a whole lot of rifles with barrels that long. Hope it shoots the lighter weight bullets as well as the 117gr RN.

Estacado

I found the 100g Nosler Partitions to shoot half inch three shot groups on a regular basis, 71.5g of R#22 with a Fed 215. The 25 Cal, 100g Partitons are the most accurate partition I have ever shot.

A friend has a 257 Roy with a 30" barrel with a chamber of zero freebore. He is shooting groups less than .400 a with the 100's going 4000 fps...whale of a chuck rifle...or anything else for that matter.

Odd - I just read this entire post and did not see one comment about accuracy.

I have a Wby 257 Ultralight that was not shooting well. I called barrel manufacturers Krieger, Douglas, Shilen, Hart, and Weatherby Custom Shop. They all told me the same thing: a light (#0), 26" barrel cannot be expected to shoot much better than 1.5 MOA. Some do, but don't expect it.

Want more accuracy? They said either (a) get a heavier contour, or (b) shorten the barrel to 24". They believe there is a significant increase in accuracy potential with just a 2" shorter barrel.

If you can get the accuracy you want with a 26" barrel, you should stick with that length.

Don't rule out the consideration of accuracy when deciding. Call Douglas, Hart, or Shilen and ask them if you don't believe it.

my 24 in. Vanguard is scary accurate with factory loads....like 2 inch wide x 1 inch tall groups at 300 yards.

Bob33,

Personally that matches my own experience--and also the advice from more than one custom riflemaker, and not just about .257 Weatherbys but other cartridges.

The two .257 Weatherbys I have fooled with (a Vanguard and a NULA) both have had 24" medium-weight barrels and shot extremely well.

More to think about.....

I had been thinking about a 24 inch barrel being easier to carry not accuracy.

Thank you

I split the difference on my .257 NULA and went 25" Shoots most anything well.

Lefty C

well, yeah, of course. It's a NULA.

There was a time when I would have offered you a small fortune for one of the 257 Weatherby Vanguards you mentioned in an article.

Or was it Layne Simpson?

One of you had one that defied what one would deduce from ballistic tables to 400 yards. We all know that they are flat but the rifle in question wa a laser and it was superbly accurate.

That was me. When sighted 2" high at 100 with 100 TSX's at 3500 it is still an inch high at 300 and around 5" low at 400. And it shoots into 1/2 MOA or so all the way out there as well (3-shot groups). Of course the trajectory is at around 5000 feet above sea level, but still....

See! I have a few cells left.

Is that 100 gr TSX as long as a 117 or 120 gr conventional bullet?

The standard 100-grain TSX just about exactly as long as a 117 Sierra GameKing.

I just bought a couple of boxes of 100-grain Tipped TSX's but haven't had a chance to shoot them yet. They should shoot even flatter!

that is a laser.......when I'm up 2 at 100, I'm down 2 at 300. of course, that's at sea level.

My 270 Wby is almost as flat with 130s at 3500. +3" at 100, -7 at the turkey rail, 385 meters (421 yd)

Both are plenty flat enough for huntin'

Ted

JB, I'd be interested to know how those tipped TSX's work. I have yet to try a TSX but am considering them for my next hunt. If you write an article on your results, please let us know in which publication.

Norm

Bumping an old ass thread to the top from my phone so i can read it on my computer. Deal with it.

I for one am glad you bumped it ... had missed this one the first time (or forgot about it). Dealing with it just fine.

I'm curious how a longer barrel helps on longer shots on a scoped rifle?

Mike