257 Weatherby vs 240 Weatherby

briar rabbit

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Joined
Feb 22, 2010
Messages
53
Location
St Helens, Oregon
Had my mind made up to buy the 257WBY but found a 240WBY Mark 5 factory custom that is calling my name. I have compared ballistics and that was why I was going with the 257. The gun will only be used to hunt deer, muley and blacktail. Should I stick with 257WBY or be swayed by looks of the 240 and settle for less performance?
 
You can get bullets with higher BC and SD for the 240 than the 257 wby, but for all out velocity w/ bullet wights, which equals killing power, the 257 still wins. I have an Accumark that shoots 115gr VLD into 1 hole, powered by 74gr H1000 if I do recall. Velocity was around 3350fps. Best shooting load/rifle combo I have ever owned.
 
For deer hunting you really have to be careful about the bullet construction with the 240 WM if you are going to make a closer shot. My buddy has a custom 240 WM on a 98 Mauser action. With 100 gr Sierra Game Kings he shot a deer in the front shoulder broadside at 98 yards and the bullet literally exploded on the shoulder blade and never made it into the vitals but knocked the deer down. He put a quick shot into the lungs after it got back up before it ran off and dropped it. He has since gone to the 100 gr Swift Scirocco and they work very well. Another thing he mentioned is that cases are hard to find and VERY EXPENSIVE.
 
I have been reloading some ammo for my dad's .240. The only thing I have tried is the 80gr Barnes ttsx and they shoot great. Recoil is super low which makes it a blast to shoot. Good luck
 
I had a 240 once. I shot Nosler partitions in it and it never let me down. Then like a fool I sold it. But now I have the craving for a 257. If I were in your shoes, I wouldn't know what to do either:D
 
I just bought a .257 Weatherby mag and won't be able to fire it till Labor day weekend. I got a great deal at Midway Usa on shells. They had weatherby 257 mag 100 gr sp for 33 dollars a box. I bought 4 and then I got 2 boxes of 110 accubonds I plan to hunt with. My question is I look at the amount of powder and I know will have some recoil but what is a .257 Weatherby mag comperable to? I'm guessing 7mm rem mag but let me know what you guys think. Thanks
 
My accumark weighs probably 12 lbs with scope, not much for recoil, just a real easy smooth push. Try Berger 115gr VLD pushed by 74gr H1000. Runs around 3350fps in mine, all in one hole!
 
You can get bullets with higher BC and SD for the 240 than the 257 wby, but for all out velocity w/ bullet wights, which equals killing power, the 257 still wins. I have an Accumark that shoots 115gr VLD into 1 hole, powered by 74gr H1000 if I do recall. Velocity was around 3350fps. Best shooting load/rifle combo I have ever owned.
If you consult articles by the late great Chuck Hawks, there is virtually no difference between the ballistics of the .240 (100gr Nosler Partition) 24" bbl. vs the .257 Wby (120 gr NP) 26" bbl. at 400 yards. At that range, the .240 has ONLY 100 fps less velocity and 100 ft.lbs. less ft.lbs. of energy. I have both calibers and prefer the .240 for deer sized game. For larger game like elk, while the .257 is adequate but not optimal, Chuck Hawks recommends the .270 or 7mm Wbys if you must have a Weatherby. They have the same cartridge size as the .257 but because of the larger diameters, they offer heavier bullets options
 
Adding to above RT2506 8/21/2010 comment; I shot a doe at 100 yards this year with a .240 Wby using factory 100gr Nosler Partition. The deer was feeding, unaware of my presence and quartering away. The bullet entered high just behind he shoulder and exploded in the spine. The deer dropped but I was concerned the bullet did not penetrate further. What if the deer had been a larger rutted up buck aware of my presence amped up with adrenalin.
in comparison, I shot another doe broadside at 50 yards with a 6mm Remington 95 gr Hornady Superformance round. The bullet broke the entrance shoulder, destroyed the lungs, took off the top of the heart and exited. The deer ran 15'. As a result I have ordered 95 gr Hornady SSTs to load for my .240.
 
If you consult articles by the late great Chuck Hawks, there is virtually no difference between the ballistics of the .240 (100gr Nosler Partition) 24" bbl. vs the .257 Wby (120 gr NP) 26" bbl. at 400 yards. At that range, the .240 has ONLY 100 fps less velocity and 100 ft.lbs. less ft.lbs. of energy. I have both calibers and prefer the .240 for deer sized game. For larger game like elk, while the .257 is adequate but not optimal, Chuck Hawks recommends the .270 or 7mm Wbys if you must have a Weatherby. They have the same cartridge size as the .257 but because of the larger diameters, they offer heavier bullets options
You just revived a 12yo thread........friends most recent 257wby project runs 135 bergers at 3475 fps, with a g7 of 335. The heaviest 6mm is 115 w/ g7 of 315. Itd have to be moving over 3775 to match energy at muzzle and distance. Yes the 6mm will be flatter due to velocity, but it still has more wind drift even running 300fps faster. Drops are a few clicks to fix, I'll take the bullet with wind and energy. 257wby case holds around 30% more powder than the 240, you're going up 5% in bullet diameter and only going up 10% in weight. The 240bee is inept in my opinion. My 22" 6mm creedmoor will push 108 elite hunters over 3250, the factory 240wby ammo with a 100gr is only 25fps faster and I'm doing this with 48.5gr of powder.
 
You just revived a 12yo thread........friends most recent 257wby project runs 135 bergers at 3475 fps, with a g7 of 335. The heaviest 6mm is 115 w/ g7 of 315. Itd have to be moving over 3775 to match energy at muzzle and distance. Yes the 6mm will be flatter due to velocity, but it still has more wind drift even running 300fps faster. Drops are a few clicks to fix, I'll take the bullet with wind and energy. 257wby case holds around 30% more powder than the 240, you're going up 5% in bullet diameter and only going up 10% in weight. The 240bee is inept in my opinion. My 22" 6mm creedmoor will push 108 elite hunters over 3250, the factory 240wby ammo with a 100gr is only 25fps faster and I'm doing this with 48.5gr of powder.

Add to that the recent availability (at lease, in my area--DFW) of 6mm CM and, perhaps more important, the faster twist rate in the factory barrels for 6CM. This is enough for many to lean toward the newer cartridge when looking at 6mm or 257.
 
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