257 Weatherby handloads

[Sykes]

So I'm testing some handloads this morning in my Weatherby Mark V ultra lightweight. 100 gr sierra game Kings with h4350. I'm shooting painfully slow as to not heat the barrel, letting it cool completely between 3 shot groups so what I'm running into it this - my cold bore shot is high and right. The next two I give 3-4 minutes between shots and are low left right together. The barrel is not free floated, the stock has a pressure point, is it possible this is the issue? Should I get it bedded?

Thanks

 

[Canhunter35]

I fought with my 257 with its poi until I free floated it and bedded it. But I could usually make groups, it would just shift if I changed shooting position.

It's possible that's ur group size and you're just getting two close together. If you keep shooting where do the others land?

 

[Sykes]

I'm thinking it's like you said, actual group size, two are just together. As I shot more in the load development groups shifted around and starting seeing some good groups towrads the upper end.

 

[scottishkat]

Canhunter I have glass bedded all of my weatherby's. It definitely reduces fliers The new weatherby's all come with the lug recess bedded I believe they know it helps and that's why they started doing it themselves.

That said I don't own a ULW but have 5 accumarks. At a minimum I would do the recoil lug and get a decent torque screw driver and tighten the screws using weatherby's instructions. Consistent first shot fliers can be traced back to issues with scopes as well.

I would be trying another powder 7828, RL22, H1000 and Ramshot Magnum are all good choices.

Good luck and shoot straight

 

[Sykes]

I did check the action screws, first thing I do when I unbox a new rifle is take the stock off and clean it really well and torque the stock back on to specs. The scope is a vx3i 3.5-10 that was proven solid on a previous rifle. Talley lightwieght rings.
I used 4350 because the sierra tech suggested it as the first powder to try with the 100 gr Game Kings, maybe I'll give some h1000 a try. I did get one 1/2" group towrds the upper end of the powder charges, seemed to be a node from 61.8-62.4
I do like the rifle so I may bed it and put a timney in it. Or I may sell it and try another rifle! Seems to be my habit latley lol
I appreciate the responses

 

[MudRunner2005]

7828, 7977, 8133, RL26, H1000 are all good slow magnum powders. I'd give one of them a look. When I had my .257 Wby, I got the most consistent results (as best it could do given the defective barrel) with 7828 SSC and H1000.

 

[Rich Coyle]

I do like the rifle so I may bed it and put a timney in it.

If you can find a good Weatherby 'smith, you will discover the Weatherby trigger is very good. Maybe better than the Timney. One of my Weatherbys has a Timney and the other has the adjusted Weatherby. The 'smith tried four springs before he got it perfect. I prefer the adjusted Weatherby.

 

[Dosh]

I have two .257 Wby, one a Vanguard and the other a Mark V. I have a Timney on the Vanguard and a smith did the Mark V trigger. A couple of my friends also have.257 Wbys. We all shoot the 115 Bergers with H1000 very accurately and loads are within a half grain of each other. All are free-floated and epoxy bedded in carbon fiber stocks. Great caliber for deer, antelope and varmints. We use a Wally World battery powered air mattress pump modified with a hose and old bore guide to cool the barrel, works great and quickly. Good luck.

 

[Sykes]

Dosh
How much are you jumping the Berger's? What kind of results are you getting on game with them? I shoot mostly Berger's but with the speed of the 257 I wasn't sure if they would hold up very well 100 yards and under on game.

Thanks

 

[Dosh]

Dosh
How much are you jumping the Berger's? What kind of results are you getting on game with them? I shoot mostly Berger's but with the speed of the 257 I wasn't sure if they would hold up very well 100 yards and under on game.

Thanks

Sykes, most are very close to Berger manual spec for OAL. You can't get too close due to the factory Weatherby freebore. I've never had any issues on game, most DRT. The closest was a mule deer at around 80 yds. My friend killed his Az antelope at 515. If I'm not drawn "as usual" for Az mule deer this fall I'm going to take the .257 to southern Az for an over the counter Coues deer hunt. Probably have a long shot for that one if we can dodge the drug runners and human traffickers.