Lately I've got it in my mind to build a 257 Weatherby rifle. I also like shorter barreled rifles. Is a 22 in barrel in a 257 Weatherby just a waste of money? Any idea what kind of velocities I can expect to get with a 100 or 115 Barnes?
257 Weatherby build
- Thread starter keakakea
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First I will start with if that's what you want then do it. Me personally I wouldn't run a 257 bee any shorter than 26, but that's me. Second question do you already have brass as that's been a issue. I haven't been able to buy new brass for a year and a half. I love my bee but if I were building a new one it would be a 25 sherman short tactical. Then with that you can run the shorter barrel and achieve 3200 fps pretty easily with 115. That's what I would do. Now again going back to my leading statement if that's what you want then do a 22 inch I would run the heavies with it. Just my thoughts on what I would do.
I'm going to refer the rest to my resident expert @lancetkenyon
I'm going to refer the rest to my resident expert @lancetkenyon
I have one built with a 24" barrel. Pushing 110 Accubonds at 3380fps. That's almost factory velocity which is measured with a 26" barrel. I'm not sure I would go shorter than 24 and I wish it was 26 (that was my mistake when I had the gun re barreled.) That said, it's pretty handy to carry around.
--md
--md
Thanks for the replies. I do not have components and have thought about other 25s but the 257 Weatherby has always stuck in my head and I have a feeling if I got a different 25, I'd still want the Weatherby eventually. I'm realizing what I want might work better as two different rifles. A short barreled mountain rifle in a different caliber and leave the 257 for a longer 26"+ barrel as a plains gun.
Here's a similar thread
www.longrangehunting.com
Short barreled 257 Wby
I’m looking to rebarrel my .257 Weatherby and was wondering if there’s a good reason, other than loss of velocity, why a 22” barrel would be a bad idea. I figure that the gun has velocity to spare, and it’s just going to be a hunting rig so compact size would be more beneficial. Additionally...
lancetkenyon
Well-Known Member
If you want to run a .257 Wby, go right ahead. But, you could get away with a 1:8" for the heavies, 1:7.5" at the fastest. But the 100-115s might not like that fast of a twist unless you go with a mono.
22" will lose quite a bit vs a 26". But no animal will notice at hunting ranges. The heavies will carry more energy at extended ranges though. But a 100gr mono will spit fire out to 700-800ish.
I had a 28" .25-06AI that spit a 100 TTSX @ 3600, or a 115 VLD @ 3450. Shot that barrel out in about 750 rounds.
I now have a 26" 25SST that pushes a 121 HH @ 3414, or a 133 Elite @ 3199 with a moderate load of H1000. The retained velocity and energy surpass that 100 TTSX about 600 yards, and extend the range to 1200ish for deer-sized game. I would never go back to a lightweight bullet.
I have loaded for several 20-22" 25SSTs. A 133/135 can be pushed to 3050-3100 easily. I would figure a 100-115 would hit 3250-3300 with the rught powder.
22" will lose quite a bit vs a 26". But no animal will notice at hunting ranges. The heavies will carry more energy at extended ranges though. But a 100gr mono will spit fire out to 700-800ish.
I had a 28" .25-06AI that spit a 100 TTSX @ 3600, or a 115 VLD @ 3450. Shot that barrel out in about 750 rounds.
I now have a 26" 25SST that pushes a 121 HH @ 3414, or a 133 Elite @ 3199 with a moderate load of H1000. The retained velocity and energy surpass that 100 TTSX about 600 yards, and extend the range to 1200ish for deer-sized game. I would never go back to a lightweight bullet.
I have loaded for several 20-22" 25SSTs. A 133/135 can be pushed to 3050-3100 easily. I would figure a 100-115 would hit 3250-3300 with the rught powder.
Don't cheat the cartridge... 26" or longer. Give it some room to run or buy a .25-06 Rem and call it good.
I would say run it with a 22" if that's what you like. I would bet with RL22 or RL26 you would still beat the 06' from a 24" with any given bullet. There is alot of 257 brass available right now from Norma without much searching. That said, the 257Bee from a 26 seems to defy physics, at least to 500 yards. It is one of the few cartridges that lives up to the hype in my opinion.
Lenny Foffa
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Hi, I mean no disrespect my friend ,but I think we just did this same topic about 2 or3 weeks ago. No matter, My personal opinion is you are taking a Super Hi Velocity Long Range round, which is EXCELLENT on Deer and Antelope at Extended Ranges, and Turning it into a 25-05. Of Course you CAN do it, I just don't understand why . Thats just me , I would say go find a Model 70 Classic Featherweight, or a Rem Model 700 , and re barrel it with a 21 or 22 inch barrel 25 -06. Good Luck!!
Yeah I guess I didn't quite do my research on old topics before posting.
It's one of those ideas I know isn't quite ideal but needed some more people to say, "That doesn't make sense" for it to sink in that it really doesn't
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Again if it's what YOU want build it. I've done and shoot things that others don't agree with or like. At the end of the day it's your money your time and your the one shooting it. If it's what your heart wants then put the bee together and start slinging stingers!
