257 Weatherby?

[Deerhntr71]

Have been thinking about getting a 257 Weatherby. What does everyone think of this caliber? Also is the extra money worth the Mark V for the 26 inch barrel or is the Vangard 2 with the 24 inch barrel sufficient?

 

[MudRunner2005]

Have been thinking about getting a 257 Weatherby. What does everyone think of this caliber? Also is the extra money worth the Mark V for the 26 inch barrel or is the Vangard 2 with the 24 inch barrel sufficient?

Had one since 2008, so 6 years now. Great caliber....But my .25-06 AI can do everything my .257 Wby can, wtih 10 grains less powder, cheaper brass, and alot less recoil, and muzzle blast.

Velocities are even the same pusing the same weight bullets. It's the damndest thing I've ever seen.

There is a theory called, The Point of Dimishing Returns. That basically states that a caliber reaches it's full potential at x-sized case with minimal negatives. But you can get more velocity using a larger case, but it's gonna have several negative effects, like worse barrel life, using significantly more powder, more muzzle blast, more recoil, etc...

So, in my opinion, based on my experiences with both calibers, I would have to theorize that the '06 sized case, is about the maximum case size (efficiency wise), for the .257 caliber bullet. I think anything more than the .25-06 AI, is where you start getting into diminishing returns, just to reach nearly the same end-result.

I still recomend a 26" barrel for either caliber you choose.

 

[Jim in Cali]

I shoot one as well a MarkV 26" barrel, the 26" will get approx 3600fps +/- the 24" will do 3500fps+/- the 25-06 AI is pressed and pressured real hard to achieve what the Weatherby's will do and hey their true Weatherby.

 

[MudRunner2005]

I shoot one as well a MarkV 26" barrel, the 26" will get approx 3600fps +/- the 24" will do 3500fps+/- the 25-06 AI is pressed and pressured real hard to achieve what the Weatherby's will do and hey their true Weatherby.

How are you getting 3,600 fps out of a .257 Wby? You must be shooting some light bullets.

I only shoot 110 Accubonds or 115 Bergers. Around 3,300 fps out of both.

And yes, that's pressing the .25-06 AI, but it's also pressing the .257 Wby. Because I'm getting the same velocities with only 60gr of 7828 SSC in the .25-06 AI, as I am with 70-71gr of H1000 in the .257 Wby.

I have a "true Weatherby" and it's barely a 1 MOA gun on a good day. It's a friggin Mark V Accumark, and it has so many tight-spots in the barrel from the factory, it's a joke...

Won't ever buy another Weatherby, if they can't make a $2,200 rifle without major flaws in it...

 

[Dosh]

71, mine is a Vanguard with a 24" barrel. Timney trigger, re-crowned muzzle, B&C Medalist stock and had the barrel cryogenic treated. Using Berger 115 VLD's and Mudrunner's H1000 shooting .630 at 200. Got it new for a ridiculous low price and have made a little project out of it. I hunt Javelina with it and enjoy it. The most accurate load is not the fastest velocity. Bet the Mark V with the 26" barrel would perform better. Buy the rifle you are happy with and good shooting.

 

[idaho elk hunter]

I am biased on many things in the rifle and accuracy world, Weatherby is very hard to beat and can not be out done by any out of the box rifle. Most of the cartridges are better than many of the wildcats. However the efficiency of the 257 with todays components compared to the 25 06 is not as much as one would think. A non Ackley, non improved, 25 06 loaded with a 100 gr ttsx, Pushed by a max load of rl 25 and a mag primer will impress you to no end. Free bore it to the max in a 26 tube and watch the chrono go to 3650.. NO SH!T

On a side note the ttsx really likes to be pushed hard. This bullet will out perform all competitors bullets up to and including the 120 gr class. It will out penetrate, out kill and the hydrostatic shock is phenomenal. Shoots flatter too.

Mud. Fire lap that barrel. There was a production run of Criterions that did not come out so good. You have one.

 

[MudRunner2005]

I am biased on many things in the rifle and accuracy world, Weatherby is very hard to beat and can not be out done by any out of the box rifle. Most of the cartridges are better than many of the wildcats. However the efficiency of the 257 with todays components compared to the 25 06 is not as much as one would think. A non Ackley, non improved, 25 06 loaded with a 100 gr ttsx, Pushed by a max load of rl 25 and a mag primer will impress you to no end. Free bore it to the max in a 26 tube and watch the chrono go to 3650.. NO SH!T

On a side note the ttsx really likes to be pushed hard. This bullet will out perform all competitors bullets up to and including the 120 gr class. It will out penetrate, out kill and the hydrostatic shock is phenomenal. Shoots flatter too.

Mud. Fire lap that barrel. There was a production run of Criterions that did not come out so good. You have one.

I never knew they had a bad run....You would have thought they would have ran a jag through the bore of a $2,200 hand-built rifle before it left the custo shop....

That's good info, though. Thank you for that.

My smith checked it out and said it looked like a bunch of midgets used pickaxes to rifle it. Said it was THE worst Weatherby barrel he's ever seen, even Vanguards.

So, his suggestion was to call Wby. I would call them, but I want to build a wildcat 6.5, that I have already designed. But I want to use an Accumark barrel blank (since it IS an Accumark already), but I don't think they offer anything in a 6.5mm option, do they?

 

[Deleted member 46119]

First things first.

A 25-06 will not meet or exceed a 257 Weather if both are loaded to the same pressures and barrel length. Its a physics thing. "Modern" components improve the 257 as much as they improve the 25-06.

Then on to the chambering, I have only heard good things unless there was something wrong with the rifle. I have mine but have not done anything with it yet.

Mud, the only Wby standard 6.5 is a vanguard but I bet the custom shop would make you one. Perhaps as an apology for sending you a lunar surface diorama for a barrel.

 

[MudRunner2005]

First things first.

A 25-06 will not meet or exceed a 257 Weather if both are loaded to the same pressures and barrel length. Its a physics thing. "Modern" components improve the 257 as much as they improve the 25-06.

Then on to the chambering, I have only heard good things unless there was something wrong with the rifle. I have mine but have not done anything with it yet.

Mud, the only Wby standard 6.5 is a vanguard but I bet the custom shop would make you one. Perhaps as an apology for sending you a lunar surface diorama for a barrel.

I'm telling you, my .25-06 AI mimics my .257 Wby velocities... I gain nothing by lying or overexaggerating, so why would I?

Maybe they will.....I sure hope they do. I want a 6.5 Wby Mag so bad. Then I can open the chamber to my custom caliber specs.

 

[Deleted member 46119]

I'm telling you, my .25-06 AI mimics my .257 Wby velocities... I gain nothing by lying or overexaggerating, so why would I?

Maybe they will.....I sure hope they do. I want a 6.5 Wby Mag so bad. Then I can open the chamber to my custom caliber specs.

Put a pressure sensor on both and run em the same and the difference will show. Physics. Of course if it is that lunar crater barrel it could be misleading.

 

[Hired Gun]

If you want a pure Weatherby in 6.5 just order up a Krieger cut rifled barrel in a number 5 with flutes. This is exactly what the custom shop uses. Then have your gun plumber put your special chamber in it.

 

[lloydsmale]

ive got 2 of each a #1b 2506 26in, an sps 26 inch. A 257 cdl 26 inch and a vanguard 24 inch. My 24 in vanguard will easily outpace my 26 inch 06s by a 150 fps and the cdl will run 250 faster. Thats loading them all to the same pressure level. Im sure i could run the 2506s at the ragged edge of sanity and get more out of them but i can do the same with the weatherbys. Anyone that tells you theres nothing to be gained with a 257 over the 25-06 is either smoking crack or has never loaded for both. That said i would imagine the 2506imp is probably within a 100 fps of a 257 with the same barrel lenghts. Problem is up here anyway if i puch out a 2506 to improved I cant hardly give it away because nobody that isnt an avid handloader is going to touch it. I can get as good or better performance out of my 257s and actually sell one if the spirit moves me. Actually any one of the three rounds work well out to 400 yards on whitetail anyway. I might stretch that to 500 with a 257 but even doing crop damage the 500 yard shots dont present themselves that often.

 

[BEEMAN]

I totally agree with Mudrunner. My 25-06 AI runs right along side with my friends 257 Weatherby. My load of 60 gr H1000 shows no pressure signs. I run the 115 Berger at 3350 fps. I have shot this load out to 700 yds and my drops are spot on using SHOOTER. I don't really know how to explain it better than Mudrunner did earlier. I believe there is a certain point where your gains are so small by increasing the case size. The 25-06AI seems to be a very efficient case. And like what was said earlier if the weatherby will out do a AI by 100 fps; it takes 10 gr more powder to do it.

 

[lloydsmale]

to me a 100 fps is a 100 fps. Powder cost is pretty minor. If you can afford a weatherby or a custom rifle in 2506ai you sure arent going to quibble about the cost of 10 grains of powder. the o6 beats out the 08 by about the same and the 250 savage is upped by the roberts by about the same and nobody claims that 100 or so fps isnt valuable there. I guess if im hunting where it doesnt matter then a normal 2506 will do just fine and if im hunting where every little advantage is real then i want the faster of the bunch. Im not saying the AI is a waste. It certianly a viable long range gun. But like i said i can at least recoup my money back out of a weatherby. Rechamber something like a rem 700 or a win 70 to AI and it makes it worth less then the gun originaly was worth. At least where i live. I guess everyone has there own thoughts on this and probably no one is wrong here.