257 weatherby

D.A.T.

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Jun 30, 2010
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ive been looking at some 25-06s but was introduced to the 257,wow i was impressed.anybody here shoot one?
 
Yeah there as flat as Kansas to 500yards but will kill whitetail/antelope way beyond that with a little adjustment. I came up 13 3/8s moa and made the prettiest 721yrd shot back in nov 09.
 
im thinking its going to make one heck of a go to can do it all rifle.so im assuming a 26in barrel will be better than a 24.havent been this excited about a gun since the m1a1 came out.
 
You will be better off with a 26-28" heavy barrel, the 257 can be an all around go to gun for about anything but the 270 wby is just as flat with the right loads and has higher bc bullets easily available, there is hardly any noticeable difference in recoil because there cases are identical except neck size. A 10 twist is best for both. This is just my opinion, I have both, the 257 is awesome, but the 270 is better!
 
I Had a 257 WBY but got rid if it for a 25-06. Now im sure you would like to know why huh. Well my issue was i wanted to shoot the 115g Berger bullet and i tried and tried and tried but i could not get the gun to shoot them. So i ended up getting rid of it and getting a 25-06. The after a little load work up i was getting 1/4 - 1/2MOA groups all the time with only loosing between 100-200fps not to mention the cost to reload the 06 is a lot cheaper and barrel life is also a lot better. So for me the 257 WBY that i had was not all it was cracked up to be. Hopefully you have better luck than i did.
 
Why use bergers in a 25 cal anyway, berger 115 .467, nosler 115 ballistic tip .453, not alot of difference and the noslers are way more accurate because they are actually designed to be slung at the speeds of the weatherby, I've have .25-.75moa groups with all normal hunting bullets i've tried. A 25-06 is good I have one of those as well, its just as accurate but it cant keep up, depending on the load the 06 slacks 300+fps.
 
It was a factory Weatherby Vangard that I had. I did shoot some of the noslers out of it and it did pretty good with them but just not the bullet I wanted to use. I'm sure with a custom barrel it would have shot better. I might would try one again but it would have to be custom but I'm not sure I would want to spend the $$ for the little improvement over an 06 IMHO
 
Mines a vanguard and I HAVE SHOT sub moa, taken 4 speed goats,450-550.Still playing with it shot under 1/2 w/85 nbt for varmints
 
Yes I have a 257 as do three of my friends. It all started when Dan and I decided to make one. We consulted Dave Kiff at Pacific tool and gauge, told him we wanted to shoot the 115 VLD and wanted to have less freebore than Weatherby's design. He made us a reamer to our specs and boy did it work!

The first two rifles used 28" Lilja SS #5 profile 3 groove barrels. Dan's rifle was a model 700 in a McMillan Lazzaroni sporter stock. Mine was a M77 tang safety Ruger with extended mag box in a McMillan hunter stock. Weight of either was 9 1/4 lbs. Using RL-25 and moly coated bullets we were able to get 3600 fps!

We liked the first two rifles so much we built two more lighter versions. This time we each got a #3 profile SS Lilja 3 groove. Dan went wild and had a model 700 skeletonized, fluted barrel cut to 24", added a McMillan edge stock, talley alum lightweight rings and a 3.5-10 x 40 VX 3. Total weight is 6.4 lbs. Mine was done with savings in mind. Left the action and barrel with full weight, barrel cut to 26" and used a Rem Ti stock weight 7.5 lbs.

I tried the 115 nosler BT and it wouldn't go very fast. I figure it was the bearing surface building pressure early. Those 115 VLDs have very limited bearing surface which helped with velocity gains.

Tim borrowed the reamer, used the same #3 lilja and put it into a rem 700.

Imagine....we had four rifles that all used the same bullet with the same load data and ALL shot into tiny ragged holes. Allen, Tim's friend saw what Tim had and bought my lighter 257.

Then we went hunting. It has been 4 yrs now and the animal count is incredible. 14 coues wt, 3 mule deer, and five elk! The deer shots range from 237 to 525 yds. The elk shots were from 50 yds to 400 yds. Many of these deer kills were DRTs, that VLD is amazing.

I also took the rifle out to shoot a few jackrabbits at longer distances. Oh boy what a varminter. It is not a rapid fire rig but for the occasional shot it is great.

Dan says it is the only rifle he wants to carry when big game hunting and he is the guy shooting all the elk!

I would suggest you build your 257 and use a reamer designed for your rifle and bullet choice. FYI all rigs have M1 turrets.

You think you are amazed after having a chance to see a 257 Roy, wait till you have taken several animals with it. It is an incredible chambering.
 
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i seen it comes with a 1/10 twist,would a 1/9 help?im thinkin this wood be a good rifle to put a custom barrel on.what optics are you guys using?i been looking at the viper 6.5-20
 
A 26-28" 10 twist is the best unless you want to shoot the 125 and 130 grain wildcats then you will want a 9 twist, or a 8 twist for 142 wildcats. Mine currently has a 4.5-14 Zeiss but when I used it all the time it had a 8-32 nightforce and I liked that better but the silver zeiss makes it look good, and is still decent at respectable ranges.
 
D.A.T. I recently purchased a 257 wby, mine's a remington 700 cdl 26" fluted barrel. It's all blued instead of the more common stainless model. I have'nt fired it yet, still gettin all my accessories rounded up. I'll be using a Leupold VX3 4.5-14X 50. Once I get my load developed I plan to send the scope to Leupold with my data and have them install a ballistically matched reticle. Just thought I'd mention the remington 257, they're a lot cheaper than a wby mark v, but you can have the 26" tube unlike the vanguard.
 
5 bull elk(last in trophy pics sec) numerous deer and coyotes. I love it. Was a factory weatherby mark v stainless but barrel went to **** after a few hundred rounds. Then went to a Lilja stainless 27.5" at it will shoot 1.5" at 590yds. Shot my elk at 429 with a berger 115. I like the barnes better for animals but crappy bc's. The bergers shoot great but tear animals up.
 
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